《Agent of the Alternates》 00001 Tick. Tock. Nathan tapped his pencil lightly against his wrist as the teacher droned on. Glancing around, he noted that none of his other classmates were paying attention to her. Katherine Hall, one of the school''s divas, had her phone on her desk, texting away. If the shit hit the fan, she''d probably be nothing more than a damsel in distress, he thought to himself, turning his gaze back to the oblivious teacher. Eleanor Guciardo was as old as the hills outside, and rarely looked at her Public Speaking class as she taught them, which most of her students found ironic, considering that one of her strongest lessons was to always look at your audience. Dressed in black slacks and a navy blouse, Mrs. Guicardo attempted to look many years her junior, complete with heavy makeup and fake jewels. Tearing his gaze from his vain teacher who liked the sound of her own voice, Nathan swept his gaze across the classroom. Michael Queen, football jock, muscular, dressed in designer clothes despite the school uniform. He was only allowed to do that because of his status as star of the football team and son of the man who all but owned the school. A rather cruel bully, though he always left Nathan alone, due to past encounters. Michael was busy flicking small balls of paper at Keith Ingram. Nathan frowned as he looked at Keith. Normally, the other eighteen-year-old studiously took notes, no matter what. If he wasn''t taking notes, he was studying past notes or notes for another class or reading a textbook. It wasn''t him ignoring Michael that bothered Nathan ¨C that much was normal. People often said that if you ignored a bully, the bully would get tired and leave them alone, but Nathan knew that wasn''t true. Michael had harassed Keith for the last ten years, and never once got a reaction. Yet he still persisted, having made it his personal mission to finally draw one out of the nerd. No, the thing that bothered Nathan was that Keith''s left leg was jittering, his heel lightly but rapidly tapping the ground as the genius continued to check the time on both his watch and the clock hanging above the chalkboard their teacher was writing on. Keith never bothered looking at the time. Nathan didn''t even know why he had a watch, he always knew exactly what time it was without looking. And Keith never looked impatient, either. Leaving that a mystery to ponder another time, Nathan looked around a bit more, his gaze focusing on his lifelong crush, Samantha Baxter. She was one of the only students at their school who knew his secrets, and after they graduated in a couple of months, they''d probably never see each other again, something he was glad for. He knew the long, blond hair, bright green eyes, and flawless skin hid a body of steel, even if she had a decent pair on her chest. Samantha practiced martial arts almost from the time she could walk, though few students at the school knew about her talents. She didn''t keep it a secret, she simply didn''t flaunt it or talk about it unless it naturally came up in a conversation. She also stood as one of the most popular students in their class, despite her tendency to simply read, such as right then. The book was likely one of her fantasy love stories ¨C she was a sucker for those. Tick. Tock. Sighing, Nathan settled back in his seat and focused, tapping his pencil against his wrist. It wasn''t something he chose to do, it was just something his body did when he got bored. Mrs. Guciardo was teaching them something ''new'', which meant something she had already covered twice, minimum. For that particular lesson, it was their sixth time that semester learning it. Deciding to think about their upcoming speech, Nathan mentally began to sort through the various aspects of it. They had to do an argumentative speech on one of three subjects. A persuasive speech. Topic One: School uniforms. Topic Two: Polygamy. Topic Three: Standardized testing. Already, Nathan knew he would be using Topic One for his topic. He didn''t even need to talk to his other classmates to know that most of them would be doing the second or third topic. Their school, like every school in the area, used uniforms, and he knew most students didn''t really think it was okay to dress out of them for school. So he knew most wouldn''t do the topic, giving him an edge over them. The speech grades were the one part of class that their teacher actually did well, and she graded them harshly. If Nathan did a topic few others did, he''d earn a higher score. Plus, he knew he could weave a convincing argument. There was no restriction on which side of the argument he could be on, and he''d settle on the safe side of ''schools should have uniforms''. Not that he wouldn''t give arguments for the other side ¨C it was required for the speech ¨C but he''d stand firmly in that they should stay as they are. He didn''t mind the uniform. White slacks and mandarin-collar jacket with a black button-up underneath and black shoes, socks, and belt. A black-and-white striped tie. The school''s falcon crest on the left breast of the jacket and on the widest part of the tie. For girls, a plaid, black and white skirt was mandatory with black knee-high socks. Their high school actually gave every student five of them, rather than making the students buy them. Five each year, of course, since students grow. Not Nathan, who stood at 5''8" ever since he was twelve. Tall at first, then the low end of average in the end. He didn''t mind not being tall, though ¨C there were advantages to his size, including that it was easier for him to simply blend in. Students also had the option of buying additional uniforms directly from the school, which typically happened if one needed more or outgrew theirs during the year. Nathan''s current set came from his freshmen year.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Suppressing a smile, Nathan thought that if they could, they''d even regulate the underwear color. Possibly even what type of underwear their students could wear. Tick. Tock. Of course, knowing the school, the underwear would probably have to be black, and they''d probably want all the boys wearing boxers or boxer-briefs, though Nathan figured it would probably be the former. Part of the reason Nathan favored the idea of a uniform wasn''t to make the students more ''standard'', but because it made it less obvious who the poor students were, especially if the school supplied a set amount of them with the option to purchase more. Despite what people tried to claim, people would bully the poorer students, especially over clothes. It also kept richer students from flaunting how much they had. It also kept down the amount of makeup students wore. Their school heavily regulated makeup usage on the students, and if they didn''t, Nathan knew that Katherine would probably have a fair bit more than she currently did. Not as much as their teacher, who was exempt as a teacher, but enough to make her look ''pretty''. Nathan''s gaze traveled back to Samantha, who never used makeup, except as a light touch here or there. While most students wouldn''t have noticed, Nathan could tell that she had used a little bit of it on her cheek. Must be another sparring accident, he thought to himself. Not for the first time, Nathan wondered who the new person at the dojo was that could beat her. The last person who could match her in skill stopped attending four years previously, and not even the sensei there could take her on. They must be pretty talented. Nathan''s gaze traveled down to her smooth, fair legs, and quickly turned his gaze back to his pencil, which had continued to tap against his arm. Another reason for having a uniform is to cut down on provocative outfits worn by both sexes, though Nathan knew that girls wore them more. The number of times he''d seen girls his age showing off their cleavage at other schools disturbed him. They''d wear an outfit drawing the eye to it, then get mad at a guy for glancing at it. That said, showing the legs of a girl like the skirts do could also be detrimental. Pants for both sexes would be better, in his opinion. In addition, it''d also mean that fewer girls would be shaving their legs, something he was sure many of them disliked doing every day, but did for appearances'' sake. In general, having the uniform would also cut down on prep time for school every day. No need to pick out the perfect outfit or do shaving of legs or added makeup and such. So there''s that benefit as well, even if it''s mostly on the female side. On the flipside of the argument, Nathan knew that it also could be considered an attack on individual creativity. Tick. Tock. Having a set uniform restricts students'' ability to express themselves through their outfits, even if it did prevent provocative or distracting outfits and makeup. It''s one of the least-harmful canvasses for it for their bodies and the environment. Well, as long as the clothes are made in a sustainable and safe way, Nathan added to that thought as his gaze returend to Keith. Why is he so impatient? The nerd''s frequent checking of his watch had increased, dropping down to every few seconds, rather than every minute or so. The period still had another fifteen minutes to its end, so it shouldn''t be that, right? It certainly wasn''t the speech, he was the only person Nathan knew who would score a perfect on it. Despite being an antisocial nerd, Keith performed exceptionally well on their speeches, creating a small mystery about him. One of many that caused all bullies save Michael to leave him alone. He would likely do the same topic as Nathan. The two of them nearly always did the same speeches, and they usually scored similarly. Lately, Mrs. Guciardo had taken to putting their speeches back-to-back as well. Nathan wondered if she''d do that for the next speech as well. The one after the persuasive speech was an instructional speech, where the students would teach the rest of the class how to do something while simultaneously demonstrating how to perform it. He had no doubt that Samantha would do something related to martial arts; either a warmup of some sort or a series of katas or individual moves. Possibly even something as simple as the proper method of putting on the gi. Michael would likely do something related to football and receive a barely-passing score, but only because of his skill at football. Most teachers refused to give him his actual grades because of his talent, and so let him pass, if only barely, whenever he should have failed. Odds were, it would be a speech on how to properly throw a ball. Katherine, Nathan knew, would do makeup and how to properly put it on oneself or another. She wasn''t the only one, though Nathan knew she''d be the victim of the other person, who likely no one else in the class knew did makeup. Professionally. Nathan turned his gaze to Madeline Turner. Her brown hair had been turned into a tight, high ponytail, which rested over her right shoulder and breast, her green eyes fix squarely on Keith''s back, her lips turned down in an all-too-obvious frown. Tick. Tock. That piqued Nathan''s curiosity, as Madeline never indicated before that she ever had any sort of interest in Keith. In fact, it seemed to Nathan as if she refused to even acknowledge his existence, the way she''d simply ignore him or zone out during his speeches instead favoring her doodles, typically one makeup style or another she either worked on or wanted to do. Her own style of makeup was different than Katherine''s. With Katherine''s style of makeup, one could look prettier or ''better'', cover up flaws, and such. Madeline could do that, too, but she specialized in makeup to change one''s appearance, and it was showcased in plays and productions that she helped out with over the last few years. Knowing her, Nathan knew that she would probably convince Katherine to help her by saying she was doing makeup as well. Katherine, being the diva she was, would either do her best to have an awful face during it or expect to naturally do better than Madeline. Tick. Tock. Then when she sees the result, she''d be horrified, both at what was done to her and at her new face. It would either be that of someone who went through a terrible accident or a zombie whose flesh was rotting off. Madeline would end up scoring higher for that. She not only did it professionally, but did it well, and having convinced the victim of her design to be a willing victim would earn her a little bit of bonus. Nathan''s thoughts traveled off as he contemplated what he would do. He did his best to stay out of the light and had few talents he was willing to show off. Doing a topic rarely done for extra points was fine in his book, but to show some of his talents- Nathan frowned, looking over at Keith, who had stopped tapping his foot against the ground and had begun to stare intently at his watch, an expectant look on his face as he mouthed a countdown. Nathan wasn''t sure what Keith was expecting to happen, it was only 2:48:13, yet he was counting down from ten, already on four. Why did Keith seem to think something would happen seven minutes before the school''s-end bell rang? As intently as Madeline had been for the last several minutes, Nathan watched as Keith''s countdown reached zero. Tick. 00002
Welcome to the Game!
Your in-game stats are based upon your real stats, however, as you gain Levels, you can increase these further, and it will have a real effect on your body! To pull up the tutorial on how to use the interface, call out ''Tutorial''. This will be available until three Challenges have passed. You can dismiss this message by thinking it away. When you do, the next message will appear.
Nathan stared at the blue screen in his vision for only a few moments before swiftly looking around the room. Judging by the reactions of his classmates, they all received the same notification, though several things stood out as odd to him. The first was the lack of their teacher. The other students likely hadn''t noticed yet, but Elanor Guciardo seemed to have disappeared from sight. Something Nathan noticed as soon as the message appeared in his vision was that her voice disappeared from the air. In other words, the two were likely linked. The second oddity was Keith''s reaction. No one else had likely noticed yet, but as soon as the interface appeared, Keith stood and left the room, moving quickly. His impatience before it appeared combined with the countdown told Nathan that Keith had been expecting it. The third was Madeline. She stood and quickly followed Keith out, looking more pissed than anything. And anger wasn''t a face he had ever seen her make before, which told Nathan that she knew both something about what happened and that Keith had a connection to it. Thirty seconds after the windows appeared, Nathan stood and quickly left the classroom, the majority of his classmates only just starting to react, either by saying ''Dismiss'' or calling out commands, indicating they''ve moved onto the next stage. Looking down both directions of the hall, Nathan stood shocked by what he saw. Grotesque monsters walking out of a portal, with brownish-red skin, some with horns, some without, some with tails, some without. There weren''t many of them. Recovering quickly, Nathan noticed blood on the ground and walls, as if something had been killed. His initial thought was that Keith and Madeline were killed by the beasts, but he saw no bodies. None, in fact. Yet the amount of blood on the walls and floor were too much for two people to survive losing. In fact, there had to be at least four or five peoples'' worth of blood, and Nathan began to notice bits and pieces of the reddish-brown skin of the monsters, three of which had begun to move towards him. Quickly assessing the situation, Nathan knew that he''d stand no chance if he moved towards them. Or at least, little chance. The floor was too slick with blood, though where he was remained free of it, so it was good for fighting. Before Nathan could react, the door to the classroom flew open, and out charged Michael wielding a flaming sword. Nathan quickly jumped back with wide eyes as the football jock charged at the monsters, screaming that he was moving on before anyone else. Moving on? Nathan wondered as he contemplated how stupid Michael was. The jock couldn''t even use the sword properly as he attacked the nearest monster, though he did manage to wound it, his sword biting deep into the beast''s arm. Other students began leaving the classroom, though most took off in the other direction. They looked lost to him, as if they weren''t sure what was going on. Nathan looked at Samantha as she left. "What''s going on?" He asked. "How much do you know?" "I''m on the first message." "Read more," she told him. "You''ll be given an option for an ''item''. Michael picked the sword from his. Mine''s an electric knuckle. Brief version: we have to perform ten kills, and once we do, we move on to the next stage. Only sixteen can move on, and it''s only our class performing this." Thirty-two kids. Only half moving on. Based on what Nathan could tell, Madeline and Keith already moved on, scoring their kills already. "In addition," Samantha continued as Nathan looked at the golden knuckles on her right hand. "That''s sixteen maximum. Some of the others are probably trying to find a way out, though most seem to be in disbelief. Whatever''s going on, though, it''s able to affect our vision." "The windows," Nathan nodded, then look at Michael, who ran his sword through the center of one of the figures, which stopped moving. "Keith and Madeline already came out here." "Is that why you ran out?" She asked. "Yes," he nodded. "Though they''re already gone." Samantha looked around, then spotted the immense amount of blood on the floor as Nathan quickly cycled through his messages. This was the first Challenge, and there were only two hundred fifty monsters, twenty-five coming from every portal with ten portals. Each class would fight separately, only the first sixteen to kill ten in each group moving on to the next stage. Killing another student would result in the automatic forfeit of one''s life. Time limit of three hours or until all monsters were dead, whichever came first. Nathan reached the end of his messages, where he was allowed to select an item out of three. He received no information on what they were, only their names, and would need to speak them aloud to receive them.
You may select one of these items as yours. Call its name to confirm.
Burst Knuckle Shadow Sword Return Dagger
"Burst Knuckle," Nathan stated, and immediately felt them form on his right hand, which he curled into a fist. "We need to get going." "But-" "Let Michael and whoever else comes out here deal with those," Nathan turned and started walking. "Only the firstsixteen to get ten kills move on, and whatever this is, we aren''t going to get answers by being squeamish or hesitant." Samantha stared as Nathan walked away. She knew that he had a colder tendency, but had a hard time believing he''d just abandon others. At least, until she thought about it further. Nathan had a point ¨C there was little they could do for the others. Only the person delivering the killing strike received credit for the kill, which meant that helping others could hurt their odds of making it to the next Challenge, and the messages stated that only those who pass on to the next Challenge will survive. Shaking her head, Samantha walked off in search of another portal and set of monsters, locating Nathan just in time to see him vanish from sight. Already? She wondered. He killed those fast. He couldn''t have been out of my sight more than a minute, maybe two. After vanishing from Samantha''s sight, Nathan found himself standing in the empty hallway of the school with a message in his vision.
Level Up!
Well, make that two messages.
Make your way to the cafeteria.
As Nathan walked towards the cafeteria, he pulled up his status window, quickly cycling through the relevant parts of the Tutorial, though some of it was mostly intuitive.
Name: Nathan Sex: Male Age: 18
Level: 3 Health: 143 (1/600s) Mana: 13 (1/600s)
Stat Points: 1 Skill Points: 1 Points: 11
He knew from the Tutorial that there was more to his status than that ¨C his other stats were hidden. Health didn''t actually refer to how much damage he could take until he died, but rather, how much he could take before he actually got hurt.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Here, Health wasn''t an indicator of one''s life, but one''s defenses against damage. A more accurate term, he knew, was probably ''shield''. Nothing would hurt him so long as he still had Health left, though he''d still likely receive bruises and feel some pain. They received Points for every kill, based on the monster''s difficulty, and Stat Points and Skill Points came from Leveling Up. He received one of each type of Point when he reached Level 2, though none when he reached Level 1. From what he could tell, it was only partial points. The other possibility was that it was every two Levels or something similar. There was no way for him to check his Level progress, so he had no idea how far he really was, though he knew that since he''d hit Level 3 with only ten kills, he''d probably hit Level 4 somewhat quickly as well. Reaching the cafeteria, Nathan spotted Keith and Madeline in a heated argument about something, both wearing what looked to be magicians'' robes; plain black with dark blue trim. The moment they realized they weren''t alone, their argument ended, and both of them looked at Nathan with a frown, clearly not expecting him to arrive next. Instead of greeting them properly, Nathan simply dipped his head to them, then took a seat at one of the tables, running through more of the Tutorial. Once he finished, he decided to use his available Points. According to the System, they could only use them between Challenges or once every three days when in a Challenge. "Points Shop," Nathan stated.
Points Shop 11
1 Stat Point 10 Points
Weapon Level 2 Upgrade: 10 Points
Not much to go on, Nathan thought before dismissing the window. "Stat Allocation."
Stat Points: 1
Strength Endurance Speed Charisma Mana Magic
Nathan looked over at Keith and Madeline, who had stopped talking and were staring at him in shock. "What?" He asked. "Aren''t you able to?" "No," Keith responded, talking loudly enough for Nathan to hear him across that section of the cafeteria. "We haven''t earned a Stat Point from Leveling yet." "Normally," Madeline said when Nathan raised an eyebrow. "When someone gains a Level, they gain point-one or point-two in each of the points category, and point-four or point-five in each of the stats." "Category?" Nathan asked. "Yeah," she nodded. "Points category are your Points, Stat Points, and Skill Points. If you''re already allocating a Stat Point, did you buy one?" "No." "Then you had to have earned point-three or more," she told him. "To the Points category when you gained Levels. What Level are you?" "Why?" "Which one you are can help us know which you earned." Half a point, he knew, since the acquisition was at Level 2 and not when he reached Level 3. However, he wasn''t planning on sharing this with them. "And you know that stuff how, exactly?" Nathan asked, resulting in the other two teens looking at each other. "You two clearly knew about this." "We''ve heard of them before," Madeline said, giving an angry look to Keith. "Yeah," Keith glared at Madeline. "''Heard''." The two of them returned to arguing in their little corner in hushed tones, and Nathan returned his focus to deciding on his stat as Samantha showed up and walked over to him, sitting down across from him, blood on her clothes but not her face. She''d likely taken a couple of minutes to wash up in the restroom before making her way to the cafeteria. At least that works, he thought to himself. "They were already here?" She asked. "I expected it," he nodded. "Mana." He stated the word in a declarative voice, though not a loud one, and Samantha gave him a curious look as the message in his vision changed.
Stat Points: 0
Strength Endurance Speed Charisma Mana 1 Magic
Confirm Reset
"Confirm."
Mana increased by 1
Mana increased by 10
Nathan nodded, dismissing the message. Mana and Endurance directly affect Mana and Health, respectively, increasing it by 10 per point. If what Keith and Madeline said was true, then it looked like he gained point-five Points per Level and point-one Stats per Level, since his Health and Mana had both gone up by three. It looked like the System called the stat that affected Mana the same as Mana itself, which he knew would probably be a little confusing to some people, though he was able to tell the difference due to it being somewhat obvious to him. The fact that they were named the same thing in the windows suggested to Nathan that either the makers were being intentionally confusing, or they came from another language and didn''t realize it could be confusing in English. "Allocating Points?" Samantha asked as a student Nathan was unfamiliar with entered the cafeteria and sat down. "Yeah," Nathan nodded. "I received a Stat Point when I hit Level 2." "I haven''t," Samantha sighed, then looked over at the two bickering teens. "I wonder what they''re arguing about." "I don''t know," Nathan responded. "But they seemed to know about this place." He told her about what they told him, and she frowned. "What Level are you?" "Level 3," she turned back to him. "You?" "Same," he answered. "Those monsters probably gave the same amount of Experience per kill." She nodded, her gaze returning to the bickering students. "They seem really heated." "Madeline seemed to imply that Keith might have something to do with this," Nathan told her, and she raised an eyebrow. "I''m not sure, but they were both out of the room immediately after it began, her following him, and they left a path of blood, killing ten monsters immediately after leaving. What Points Shop things do you have available?" "Points Shop," she said. "I can buy a Stat Point for ten or upgrade my knuckles to Level 2 for the same." Nathan nodded, looking through the Tutorial for a few more things. "Item information: Burst Knuckle."
Burst Knuckle Level 1
Burst damage: 5 per Level of this Weapon
Nathan decided to upgrade his weapon rather than obtaining another stat point, though also decided that he would find a private space to allocate his things in the future, just in case. Samantha added a point to her Speed, then the two of them waited, watching as more students entered the cafeteria. They were both a little disappointed, but not surprised, when Michael walked in, his flaming sword quenched and sheathed at his hip. During the wait, the students discovered that the doors to the Multi-Purpose Room, or MPR, were ''sealed'' somehow, not budging when anyone attempted to force them open, no matter how hard they were rammed. Their cafeteria was segmented into three sections, with two of them in the front and a short hall leading to the MPR in the back. The MPR''s main purpose served as a third cafeteria room for the massive school, which had two and a half thousand students between its four grades, though it was also used for sports banquets, a few smaller award ceremonies, and as a fourth gym for the school if they ever needed it. The students weren''t sure why it was sealed, but knew that the answer would likely come at some point before the game ended, though whether or not they survived to find out was unclear. When the three-hour mark passed, only two hundred forty-three students sat or stood in the cafeteria, of the more-than five hundred seniors who had begun. Their graduating class had six hundred students, though several of them determined that only those who were eighteen were pulled into that twisted game. Less than half of them made it to the next Challenge. 00003
Congratulations on passing Challenge 1!
You have earned 1 Stat Point, 1 Skill Point, and 10 Points.
Challenge 2 will begin after Rest 1 concludes. You have one hour until the next portion. You may enter the Multi-Purpose Room. Inside are 243 backpacks. Each one is assigned to a different person. Select your bag, then wait in there. Do not attempt to take someone else''s bag or property. Do not attempt to steal someone else''s bag or property. You will die. You must be in the MPR when the 60 minutes end or you will die.
Nathan dismissed the message, noted a timer counting down from 60 appearing in the corner of his vision, then watched as a few of the other students attempted to enter the MPR, finding the doors unsealed and able to be opened. He was curious how others would respond to the situation, but knew that with the rule in place about no stealing or taking, his bag would be fine. He scanned the students, looking to see in case he missed one, then looked to Samantha. "Katherine didn''t make it." Samantha snorted in response. "She was freaking out when I left the room," Samantha told him. "Though it looks like nearly half did actually get to work and fight." It was more than either of them expected, Nathan knew. He supposed that put in a situation like that, where it was the only option, meant that some people would be spurred into doing something they''d never do before. Others, like Katherine, would just freak out and not do anything, resulting in their deaths, either by the monsters or failing to continue. The other possibility was that something had messed with their minds to ensure they fought if they were at least slightly inclined to, but he didn''t want to think about that potential reason for the high survival count. Of course, there was always the risk that this was a dream or hallucination of some sort and that dying was just removing them from the game, but many of them likely didn''t want to take that risk. Especially not after being forced to kill the grotesque humanoid monsters just to pass on. The monsters seemed human enough that Nathan was sure most people would have issues with it, but it looked to him as if everyone there had gotten past that, if only enough to fight them and kill them. Maybe we''re all monsters, on the inside, he thought to himself. I know I am. It was something that supported the theory he didn''t want to believe. He doubted it would have affected him in the slightest, but the thought that something might be influencing his actions in such a way disturbed him. Once the other students had mostly left the cafeteria, Nathan and Samantha stood and made their way into the MPR. Blood and bits of a student were scattered everywhere, as if he''d simply blown up. A brief inquiry revealed that one of their classmates had attempted to take a bag that wasn''t his and simply exploded. No fire or smoke, just his body and bones. Though he blew with great force, no one''s Health went down too much from the human shrapnel. Nathan located his backpack, a black bag with a hard-sided water bottle in a mesh pouch on each side. Inside of the largest pocket of the bag were three resealable packs of plain beef jerky, ten nutrient bars, a small plastic container of dried apple slices, another of dried bananas, another of dried apricots, and another of trail mix. In the smaller of the two larger pockets were a stick of deodorant, a toothbrush, a small tube of toothpaste, a small bottle of mouthwash, and a small first-aid kit with some basic supplies. Nathan took stock of his first-aid kit, noting three adhesive bandages of each of five different types; dot, regular, small, large, and butterfly. It also contained a small tube of antibiotic ointment, ten sealed alcohol prep pads, ten sealed moist towelettes, a pair of metal tweezers, a pair of nail clippers, and a roll of medical bandage with a small bit of medical tape. Looking at the girls and the other guys, Nathan noted that most of them received shaving supplies. He didn''t, but he also didn''t need them, having a fairly hairless body by nature. No need to shave his face if there wasn''t any facial hair to shave. Looking at a couple of the other students, he saw medical necessities for a few of them. Insulin pens and inhalers, for the most part, though also a couple of allergen pens. The females all received pads and tampons. The bags were tailored to each person, then, he thought to himself. Everyone received the same basic supplies, with some adjustments for personal needs. The thing that told Nathan they were going to be there awhile, however, were the pads and tampons. He could understand a few of the girls, but what were the odds that all eighty-nine of them were around that time of the month? If all of them received it, then it was possible they would all be there awhile. Possibly months.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. We must have a way to eat, then. Right when the timer in his vision reached zero, Nathan watched as it disappeared, a new message popping up which stated that they were sealed in the MPR for the next twenty minutes. The students went through their bags again or compared their ''rewards'' with others, and Nathan moved off to a quiet corner. "Points Shop," he said in a low voice, then quickly read the window, which no longer had the option to buy Weapon Upgrade Level 2. "Hm." He bought the Stat Point available, then added it and his other into his Strength stat, before waiting out the rest of the twenty minutes. During that time, he observed the others. A few were pale and likely feeling sick. Some, like Samantha, were speaking with others, likely discussing what was going on and if there might be a way out. A few had moved to the stadium benches set into a dip in the wall with the doors, and were looking through their bags or fiddling with their weapons. Most were doing that, scattered throughout the room. It was, no doubt, something to take their minds off of what was going on. Off of what they had been forced into. Nathan''s gaze fixed on Keith and Madeline, who had retreated to another corner and were arguing again, back to hushed tones, no doubt. When the timer reached zero, it disappeared from view and let them know that they had two hours until the next Challenge began, and that they could enjoy lunch, use the bathrooms, whatever until then. They weren''t allowed to keep any food from lunch, but the message simply stated that it would disappear if they tried to keep it into a Challenge. Enjoy lunch? Nathan wondered, his gaze traveling to the MPR doors. Do they mean that lunch is served out there? One of the students left, returning a minute later. "The lunch lines are open," he told the rest of them. "No one there, the glass removed so we can grab whatever, like a buffet." A few other students left, and over the next thirty minutes, more and more students left, until only twelve remained in the MPR. At that point, Nathan stood up and made his way into the cafeteria. He was never one for lines and had grown used to being last among the students to receive their food. In the cafeteria, he saw that there were several pizzas set out, rows of sandwiches and boxes of fries ¨C curly and crinkle ¨C the whole set for tacos, nachos, and taco salad, and even wraps and boxes of chicken strips. Sides were put out and the soda fountain worked, in addition to there being milk and juice in the cooler. Making his way to the various lines, which only had one or two students left, some of who appeared to be on their second round already, Nathan watched as a student grabbed the last slice of buffalo chicken pizza. When the student pulled his hand away, the tray for that particular pizza became encased in a box of shadows for thirty seconds. When they faded, a fresh, steaming new buffalo chicken pizza rested on the tray. The student didn''t seem surprised, so Nathan assumed that it had already been discovered that occurred. The student grabbed a second slice, then walked off, grabbing another carton of milk on his way. Nathan reached the lines and grabbed a carrying tray, then a polystyrene foam food tray and set that on top. Following that, he made himself a trio of tacos with meat, lettuce, and cheese before grabbing three breadsticks from the basket of them. He scooped himself some pudding and mixed fruit, then grabbed two cartons of chocolate milk before grabbing a fork, some napkins, and a quiet spot away from others. It looked to him as if around half of them were eating, which meant that most either grabbed food to-go, or had simply ignored it, their stomachs unable to handle the thought of eating at the moment. Nathan ate the rest of his food in silence, then made his way to the nearest restroom to relieve himself before returning to the cafeteria, where he sat to wait until the timer reached zero. "So," Samantha sat across from Nathan, who was watching some of the students who''d wandered around the school make their way to the food lines. "Some of the students exploring said that a shimmering veil of some sort surrounded the school''s property ¨C it extends all the way to the street out front, but crosses the one in the back and engulfs the parking lot back there. It wraps all the way around the parking lots by the highway, too." Nathan thought about that, and what it meant. The game likely let them use those as added space. It engulfed the old soccer field, the baseball field, the tennis courts, the light field between the tennis courts and the street at the front, and all of their parking lots. "Do we still have access to the back field?" It wasn''t much of a field, just a small grassy area dipping down in a hill until it reached a creek that was barely allowed even that name. "The veil ends on the other side of the creek," she nodded. "There are no teachers here, though on one expected any, and we can''t cross the veil. The theory is that we''re in some sort of alternate dimension, though no one knows how we got here." "And that it generated multiple alternates for the Challenge?" Nathan asked, and she nodded. "We''re in what''s probably the ''rest'' alternate," she stated. "While the others were ''Challenge'' alternates." Nathan nodded. It would make sense for that, especially since there was something like sixteen instances for the groups of battle the monsters in. Samantha informed him that for the classes that didn''t already have thirty-two eighteen-year-olds ¨C theirs was the only one that did ¨C the students were generally from nearby classes, but each instance, as far as they can tell, had thirty-two students. Since some of them were already dead before the others found them, not starting together, that made it hard to judge. Nothing yet suggested there was anything less, though, and Keith and Madeline seemed confident that was how it was, too. "Something''s off about them," Samantha said. "They''ve been arguing pretty harshly over stuff, but fall silent anytime someone gets near them. Then the robes¡­" "What about them?" Nathan asked. "They aren''t the only ones with those robes." "No," Samantha said. "But the other three who actually picked them didn''t have any weapons. The magical robes they''re wearing simply boost magical attacks. Those two killed quickly, if they were gone by the time you left the room." In other words, they were already magicians, and ones of considerable talent. However, from what could be gathered, this was their first time in the alternate, even if they knew of it beforehand. Nathan and Samantha processed the fact that there were people outside who were practicing magicians, as well as that Keith very well might be the reason they were going through what they were. If not alone, then he might be part of a group that caused it. When the timer ticked down to zero, everyone received a notice to gather in the main section of the cafeteria within ten minutes. They did, waiting until the next notification appeared along with a timer ticking down from five minutes. 00004
You have five minutes to prepare for Challenge 2.
For Challenge 2, you will be divided into twenty-seven groups of nine and sent into separate instances. Each instance will have an amount of monsters totaling 220 Points. The first eight students to earn 25 Points will pass, while anyone who does not manage it by the time the others have or not enough Points remain will die. If a student in an instance dies and three hours have passed without more than two succeeding, all others alive will succeed immediately. Intentionally attacking or bringing harm to another student is forbidden and will result in death.
Nathan sighed as he read the message, leaning back into his seat. According to the Tutorial, monsters gave varying amounts of Points. It was possible, then, that only seven could pass due to the way the Points worked. There were enough Points for everyone in an instance to earn twenty-four, with four students earning twenty-five. However, that relied heavily on if the students earned them evenly, or only one student earned Points at a time. It was also possible that if all monsters gave two Points, then only four would pass. And it wasn''t unlikely four monsters to give two Points, he knew. Of course, it was also set up so that eight could pass. It just relied on the kills, and whether or not there were enough Points leftover after the seventh victor. Then there was the condition that they could all succeed if no more than two had succeeded and someone died. It made no comment about if someone died within three hours, so it was likely that if someone did, they''d all be stuck there until either they passed or they died. However, the System made it clear that intentionally causing that would result in one''s own death. It was possible that someone could be tricked into it, but Nathan suspected the System would register that as intentionally causing them to die, which would result in three deaths. Then there was the chance someone would suicide that way intentionally. So many factors to account for, before even considering that they had to play this twisted game and kill the monsters. The timer ticked down to zero, then disappeared, leaving a message stating their second Challenge had begun. Nathan looked at the other eight remaining students. Samantha and Keith were among them, but the rest were from other initial instances. He knew most of them, too, though instead of talking further, he simply stood up and left. Keith had already moved, and when Nathan reached the hall, he bore witness to a series of slashes of air cutting through the several monsters already in the hall. Knowing that following Keith would mean taking longer to kill things, Nathan turned and walked in the opposite direction, towards the front of the school. When he reached the first monster, he quickly jabbed at it with his right fist a few times, and the creature flew backwards, slamming into the wall. Nathan pushed off with a foot, springing forward, and connected his fist with the monster''s throat, performing the final strike to it, as noted by the counter in his vision going from zero of twenty-five to one of twenty-five, along with the appearance of a message.
+1 Point
Ignoring it, Nathan continued his path to the front of the school, killing four more monsters and earning five more points by the time he reached the doors, in addition to two more Levels. He gained another Point when he hit Level 4, though his Point Counter for the Challenge didn''t increase, meaning he''d have to earn all of the Points for the Challenge through killing the monsters. Pushing the doors open, Nathan quickly struck down the monster lurking just outside the door, managing to score another two-point kill, bringing his total up to nine. Nathan then ran across the parking lot and towards the small field beside it, taking down monsters as he passed. They were tough, but he was fast enough and strong enough to handle most of them with only a few strikes, especially if he struck at critical points, dealing extra damage as a result. When he finally earned his final kill, earning two Points, Nathan found himself immediately inside the cafeteria again, with the only other students present being Keith and Madeline. The two of them weren''t arguing this time, but sitting as far away from each other as they could, with Keith in the main section of the cafeteria, Madeline in the side section, the two of them facing away from each other. They must have fought again, Nathan thought to himself. They''re like a pair of lovers. Nathan made his way to a spot in a corner and sat with his back to the corner, facing the rest of the visible space as he read the notification in his vision.
Challenge 2 Completed!
+2 Stat Points +2 Skill Points +20 Points
Challenge 3 will begin after Rest 2 concludes. The next stage will begin 60 minutes after all instances have completed. Restock allowed through the tables in the MPR. You may take up to two of each item you began with. Attempt to take more or items you did not start with will result in death. You must be within the MPR when the 60 minutes end.
Restock? Nathan frowned, stood and made his way into the MPR, which did, indeed, have tables upon tables of supplies. Up to two for each of the potential two hundred sixteen students. However, based on the lower counts of supplies for the respective sexes, that meant that it factored in who actually had them. He was sure that if tried to take a razor, he''d die, the same way the student did before he''d entered in Rest 1. If we''re being allowed to restock when we likely haven''t had anything¡­ Nathan added more food to his bag, as well as two more water bottles, resting the latter objects on top of everything. With his bag filled with what he could get into it, Nathan sat in a corner and faced the room. Without a doubt, the next Challenge would take longer. There was no other explanation as to why they were allowed to restock then, which suggested it would be a good idea to at least stock up on food and water. He contemplated checking Guciardo''s classroom to see if his backpack was still there and full of what it originally had. If it did, then he had a little additional food at his disposal. Same with his locker. In the end, he decided to just rest until the next thing happened. If his backpack and locker were the same as when he arrived, it would be useful to check if that was the same during a Challenge. If so, that would extend his food supply in Challenges. Closing his eyes, Nathan took stock of his current allowance. He had six Stat Points to use, as well as eight Skill Points. Without hesitation, Nathan added three to Strength, two to Speed, and one to Mana.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. A message that appeared when he reached Level 10 informed Nathan that he had acquired access to the Skills Shop, so he accessed that next.
Skills Shop 8
Scan: 5 Skill Points
Item Box: 5 Skill Points
Impact: 5 Skill Points
The first two seemed pretty obvious to Nathan in what they were and did. The first one was likely their way of allowing them to see the Health and Mana of others ¨C he could see bars of them in his own vision at all times, as well as their numerical values, but he couldn''t for anyone else. It was possible that it also allowed the viewing of them on monsters, which was a better reason for getting them. He knew how many hits it would take him to take down something that earned one Point and something that earned Two Points just from fighting so far, but that would give him a better gauge for when he came up against something stronger. Item Box, the second available Skill, was likely the System''s version of the Inventory in games. So far in the game, there was no mention of an Inventory, which only added to Nathan''s suspicion. Knowing things so far in the game, however, he believed that it would likely have a strict limitation on how much it could contain. For the third available Skill, Impact, it could go either way, based on the game''s nature so far. It was possible that it increased impacts given to him, but the most likely result was that he would be able to increase the force of his impacts, making it perfect for his martial arts. "Impact," he said, and it immediately spent 5 Skill Points, reducing the number at the top down to three. He would acquire Item Box next, as he would reach enough for it after just four more Levels, or another Challenge completion. With the Skill obtained, Nathan read its information.
Impact Level 1
Damage increase: 5% of your Speed per Level of this Skill.
Cost: 10 Mana
Good thing I have a bit more than ten, now, he thought to himself, clearing the notification and pulling up the Tutorial to see if it added in a section on Skills. Reading through it, he learned that every tenth Level, three new Skills would be added to the Skills Shop based on his actions so far, costing Skill Points to obtain. Skills went up in Level by investing Skill Points into them, though they only required a single Skill Point per Level. It also listed that most Skills had Level Caps. Finishing the Tutorial on Skills, Nathan closed it, then opened up the Points Shop.
Points Shop 51
1 Stat Point: 10 Points
Weapon Level 3 Upgrade: 20 Points
1 Skill Point: 25 Points
Food Restock: 25 Points
Drinks Restock: 25 Points
Toiletries Restock: 25 Points
Medical Restock (Basic): 25 Points
Mana Potion (20 Mana): 40 Points
Health Potion (50 Health): 40 Points
Medical Restock (Adv.): 50 Points
Item Drop: 50 Points
Weapon Repair Kit: 50 Points
So we can see what we can afford, then. He could afford to buy five Stat Points, if he wanted to use those, but he could also upgrade his weapon or buy another two Skill Points. It also allowed him to restock his supplies, though he did not have enough room left in his backpack to risk having extra. In the end, he dismissed the message without spending his Points. Would upgrading his weapon be worth it over buying more Stat Points? The only change would be adding another 5 damage to its Burst, or half of its current value. While he wasn''t able to access the Points Shop in a Challenge unless seventy-two hours had passed, depending on how long the next one took, he might need to use his Points during it, and he didn''t know how many Points he would have. At least it looks like we''ll be receiving decent amounts of Points after each Challenge. That meant they would be able to at least restock a bit better, even if they weren''t able to through something like the MPR''s current supply run. The game had likely counted on them buying Item Box to stock up more, but Nathan was a combat guy. Obtaining weapons and combat techniques was more his style. Closing his eyes, Nathan leaned back against the wall, resting. He listened as some of the other students showed up, a few of them adding to their stock based on the sounds they made, though overall, most didn''t sound like they did. Samantha tried talking with Nathan at one point, though he didn''t respond. Fighting the monsters, while it might have been ''easy'' for him, took a fair bit of energy, especially since he killed nineteen in the second wave and had done so quickly. He needed to utilize his energy more efficiently. His new sensei, who had begun training him after he quit the dojo, was always on him about that. Nathan had a massive amount of stamina, which meant he could spar for an hour or more, but he never really saw the point of maximizing its usage, since fights often ended fast for him. Here, however, that was different. They seemed to be launched from one fight to another, so he needed to rest and focus on using his energy more efficiently. Not a big change for him in fighting style, but the rest was needed. Once everyone had arrived, they assembled in the MPR, and the timer appeared once more. Samantha sat down beside Nathan, mentioning that it looked like he''d stocked up his bag. He simply nodded in response, not bothering to speak. "Looks like everyone," she said. "Or nearly everyone, reach Level 10 during Challenge 2. That was probably the intent and purpose behind it. Counting¡­ we lost another forty-three. sixteen more than the minimum losses. With the Skill Shop, everyone had Scan and Item Box available, as well as one additional Skill." Nathan nodded, knowing she was asking if his was the same. "Did you buy anything from the Points Shop?" Nathan didn''t respond, and Samantha let out a small chuckle. "Keeping it a secret, huh?" She asked, and he nodded. "I don''t blame you ¨C I wouldn''t trust half the students here. Some of the students received healing spells as their third Skill, and took it, which was good, I suppose. Being able to use your Mana to heal yourself would be a definite boost, though they don''t know if it''ll work on their bodies and not just the Health." Nathan nodded. He knew that was true, though that also meant one expected to receive enough damage to their Health during a Challenge that it was needed. Nathan knew that the Challenges would likely only grow harder and that he''d eventually start taking significant damage, but that would likely be a ways off. If the healing spells only worked on Health, that would be a negative. There was no point to it if they couldn''t heal their bodies as well. Instead of responding to Samantha''s continued low chatter, Nathan continued to rest until the timer ticked down to zero. He''d need all of his energy for what was coming next, whatever it was. Another opportunity to eat, which he and many of the others accepted, though Nathan noted that the crowd surrounding Michael stuck around. The jock was discussing his exploits and how easy it was for him to make it through the Challenges so far. After the meal began, they had two more hours to rest up, then another twenty to gather in the MPR. When the final timer ticked down, the next challenge began. 00005
You have 5 minutes to prepare for Challenge 3!
For Challenge 3, you will be divided into 10 groups of 20. The is strength in numbers, though whether you use to form them is up to you. Your mission is to survive until the Challenge ends. Intentionally attacking or bringing harm to another student is forbidden and will result in death.
No time limit given, Nathan thought to himself. He knew it meant the Challenge would likely last at least three days ¨C long enough to force them to need to use the Points Shop. He doubted the people running the game would let them get food from the kitchens and the cafeteria was empty during the last two Challenges, from what he could hear. Of food, not monsters. There was always the possibility that he was wrong and that it would last less time than the cooldown to access the Points Shop during the wave. However, he would treat the Challenge as if it would last that long and conserve his food, eating only what was needed to keep his strength up. When the timer reached zero, he received the Challenge Start message and opened his eyes. Samantha was in his group again, and Madeline was in it that time. The latter girl immediately took to gathering a group of people she trusted to be useful. At the end of that, she set her sights on Nathan and Samantha, making her way over with the other two she had managed to convince immediately. Nathan already didn''t trust her, with the bull she had been spewing about Keith. He didn''t know how much of it was true, and while he had little reason to trust Keith and plenty to believe he was behind the whole thing, she had her own secrets about the ordeal as well, even if most of their classmates were unaware. What reason did she have for making others distrust Keith? That made him suspicious. "Samantha," Madeline said when she arrived. "You''re the best fighter I know. Nathan, you''ve surprised me with your ability to fight, I didn''t know you did martial arts. The more of us gathered together, the easier of a time we''ll have surviving. Would you two mind joining up with us? As it said ¨C safety in numbers." "No," Nathan stood, stretching, then began walking away. "No, thanks," Samantha said. "Samantha," Madeline frowned. "It''d really be best if we formed as much of a team as we could. If he doesn''t want to join, that''s on him, but we could really use your skills. The more talented fighters we have, the better a chance of survival we''ll have." "Sorry," Samantha said. "But you''re right in that we need to work on teams, for however long this will last. And Nathan will probably be by himself if I don''t join with him." "I don''t understand," Madeline frowned. "Why do you suddenly have an interest with him? I haven''t seen the two of you talk once since we started high school. This-this thing starts, and you''re suddenly attached to him?" "We''ve known each other since we were little," Samantha stated, then turned and left, leaving Madeline and their other classmates behind to mull over her statement. Samantha knew where Nathan would likely head, and so made her way there, though she did have to fight a few monsters on her way. Despite that, she knew that had Nathan not already passed through, there would likely be at least two or three times as many of the beasts, based on the amount of blood filling the halls. His trail wasn''t exactly subtle, and led the way as well. One thing she had learned in the previous two Challenges was that the bulk of the bodies of the monsters ¨C the larger parts ¨C would fade away after about a minute. After about five minutes, Samantha located Nathan on the second level of the Dome, the largest of their school''s gyms. It could hold over four thousand people in the bleachers to the sides of the court, which was the purpose of it having two levels. A track formed a sort of balcony around the inner edge of the second level as well, giving a clear view of the court below. When Samantha arrived, the bleachers both above and below were open, despite that not being normal, and the thick, heavy curtains that could section off the upper section''s bleachers were drawn shut on one side. It was behind that where she found Nathan, entering just in time to see him drop his heel onto the head of one of the monsters before quickly following that up with a punch to the throat as he muttered something under his breath. The knuckle''s burst triggered the moment it impacted, blasting apart the throat of the monster. Some of the blood and neck bits hit Nathan''s arm or landed on his face or chest, and he pulled his fist away, examining it for a moment before performing a swift roundhouse kick to the side of the monster''s head. Samantha stared, shocked that the thing had survived. That was a critical point he blasted apart, which meant it took triple damage. Based on its various other injuries and burst pits, it should have been dead already. Nathan followed the monster, which had flown with his kick, and quickly jabbed it twice more in the back. The thing fell to the ground, and he looked over to his classmate. "You''ve got a bit of monster on your face," was all she could say. Nathan shrugged, using a hand to wipe what he could off, though knew that he''d only become even more coated in monster guts. A fair bit already covered his body. That done, he moved to a corner of the space and sat down, resting with his back wedged into the corner.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "That one looked tougher," Samantha commented, walking towards him. "Three Points." "How many of those have you fought?" "Just the one." Samantha nodded. So far, everything had given her only one or two, and from what she knew, the same was for others. As she walked closer, her step faltered, just a little. Nathan was hiding it well, but his left arm¡­ It was limp during his fight. The Three-Pointer had managed to break through his Health and damage his arm. "Is your arm broken?" "No." Samantha sighed, knowing she''d get little else out of him, and just moved to sit near him. After a few minutes, she pulled off her backpack and sat it in front of her, then looked over at Nathan, realizing that his was missing. "Where''s your backpack?" She asked, and he pointed up to the top of the stacked bleachers. She couldn''t see his backpack, and so assumed it had fallen in the gap between the stack and the top row. While standing, she''d probably be able to see its top if from a few steps back, but sitting so close to the stacked bleachers meant it was out of her sight. Realizing that he probably tossed it up there when the fighting started, she returned her gaze to her pack and pulled one of the water bottles from the side, taking a long drink from it. The water fountains worked, so she would have no issue refilling it, if needed. The two of them rested there until night came, only needing to fight every half hour or so, though Nathan usually beat Samantha to the attack, reminding her of just how fast he had been, back when they talked regularly and didn''t have the System increasing their speed. Before he admitted his crush to her and she shot him down. He did it the summer before freshman year, and she told him that she saw him as just a brother and that she didn''t want to risk ruining their friendship. It seemed to be too much for him to handle, having confessed his feelings to her, because he stopped talking with her entirely after that. Most of their classmates from their small middle school had likely already forgotten that the two of them had hung out in the past ¨C Nathan was easily forgettable back then as well. The only thing about him that stood out was his relationship with Samantha. When night fell, Samantha suggested they take turns keeping watch, and Nathan simply nodded. Before he could offer to take first ¨C which she knew he would do ¨C she said she would take first and wake him if she needed his help. He opened his mouth to argue, but Samantha stopped him, saying that he''d fought more than her already and needed his rest, especially with his injured arm. Nathan frowned, but nodded, then settled back into his corner and let himself drift off to sleep. Samantha watched Nathan. There was still a little bit of some monster or other on his face, but past that, he was fairly clean. He had platinum-blond hair that somehow remained perfectly styled, despite all of his fighting so far, but she remembered that from when he was younger. His hair had a natural style to it. Slightly-messy, but overall neat. His sharp jawline, and high cheekbones. While they were closed, she knew his blue eyes were a deep, almost vibrant blue. The last few years, she had wanted to reconnect with him, but just looking into those eyes turned her away. She had liked him back then, too, but turned him away because even though he''d gathered up the courage to ask her out, she didn''t have the courage to respond. And then he cut her off, unable to continue simply being friends with someone he liked knowing she didn''t like him back. He had grown even more handsome since back then, though even more distant to the world at large. Samantha wondered went on in Nathan''s head. She knew he observed everyone and everything, taking in more details than he''d ever acknowledge. He was able to glean secrets from others without a word being said. And had trusted her with some of his own, before the day he cut her out because of her words to him. Tearing her gaze away from Nathan, Samantha began watching the curtain, in case something came through. The monsters seemed to decrease in number once night fell, and she only had to fight every hour or so. At three in the morning, Samantha woke Nathan, though the moment she crouched beside him and spoke his name, his eyes opened, awake and alert, causing her to wonder if he''d even slept. She settled down against the wall, and though she wasn''t comfortable, she quickly fell asleep. Nathan looked at her, then stood and stretched, testing his left arm. It was sore, but it wouldn''t be an issue. He''d always recovered from injuries quickly. As one point to prove it, his arm had been broken when she asked. He walked to the other side of the space they were in and performed a series of stretches, then accessed his Skills Shop and bought Item Box, then read its description.
Item Box Level 1
Storage: 2 items per Level of this Skill
Same-type Stack: 3 items per Level of this Skill
I was right, then, he thought to himself before walking over to the high stack of bleachers and jumped, grabbing onto one of the bars for the rounded railings. He used those and the ''steps'' to climb to the top, then walked down to his backpack and picked it up. As a test, Nathan attempted to send his backpack into his Inventory, but it failed to enter. Through a few more tests, he confirmed that while containers were fine, containers of containers were not. The backpack itself had to be empty, but he could put packs of jerky or containers of dried fruit in without an issue. The types of fruit had to be separate, though, meaning he could only store two of the three types he had. Though I could always increase them with more Skill Points, he thought to himself, before looking at Samantha. What did she pick? Nathan turned and face the monster that had pushed its way through the gap between the curtain and the wall, then charged it. "Impact," he muttered as his fist connected with the monster''s throat. His knuckle''s Burst ability triggered, and the force from both impacts sent the monster stumbling back onto the track. Nathan quickly followed, striking it several more times, killing it and earning a single Point from its death. With that monster dead, Nathan looked around. The track and the other bleacherspace of the second level had roughly forty monsters shambling along it, with three of them spotting Nathan and making their way towards him. I should''ve just let it come all the way in and kill it, he thought to himself as he launched himself at the nearest monster. The further monsters ignored Nathan, but just to be on the safe side, he went around the full track, clearing them all out, his body tired and exhausted by the time he finished, though he was a couple of Levels stronger. Not that it makes much difference, he though. I''m not getting that much Experience anymore. It''s sharply dropped. Nathan returned to his hideout. There were no portals up on the second level, just down on the actual gym floor, so he knew they were a bit safe. It probably took a long time for that many monsters to go up the bleachers to reach them, and they seemed to be a bit more lethargic, now that night had fallen. Settling down into a corner, he watched and waited until Samantha woke around nine. They had made it through their first night. 00006 "I have to use the restroom," Samantha said, and Nathan nodded. "It''ll be safer if we went down together." Nathan nodded, and the two of them made their way down the stairs to the second level, near which were the locker rooms. Samantha killed a few monsters, noting that Nathan looked exhausted, causing her to wonder if things had picked up after she went to sleep. The monsters seemed more active to her, now that it was daytime again. They reached the locker rooms, and Nathan followed Samantha inside, swiftly killing a monster that caught her by surprise. Samantha thanked him, though she was a bit more careful as she made her way into the toilet stall. After relieving herself, she washed her hands, then wondered if Nathan had to go. She doubted he would have left her alone during the night to relieve himself, and didn''t doubt he needed to. Looking over at Nathan, she found him sitting on one of the changing benches, pulling dried fruit from his hand and eating it, using that as his breakfast. When she finished eating, she opened up her bag and pulled out some fruit and a nutrient bar and had her own breakfast, and Nathan walked to the water fountain to wash his meal down. Once they finished eating, they left the locker rooms and made their way back up to the viewing space on the second level of the dome. As the day began to end, the sun outside setting, a trio of other students found the duo, Samantha stretching, Nathan resting in a corner. "Hey, Samantha," the sole girl of the trio said. "You two hiding out up here?" "Fewer monsters this way," Samantha nodded. "We only have to deal with one every half hour or so." "What happened out there?" The girl indicated the track. "What do you mean?" "There''s blood and gore everywhere," she said. "You mean you didn''t see or hear anything?" "No," Samantha frowned. "Nathan and I have left up here twice, but we went down the stairs both times, and the entrance is just inside the curtain. There''s what?" Samantha walked over to the curtains and looked, witnessing the aftermath of Nathan''s attack the previous night. She pulled her head back in and look at Nathan. "Is that why you were so exhausted when I woke?" She asked, and he dipped his head slightly in response. "And if you''d died?" "I didn''t." Samantha knew that arguing with Nathan wouldn''t go anywhere, so dropped it, looking to the other three. "What have you been doing?" She asked. "Hunting if we could," the girl answered. "Though we''ve gotten a few minutes here and there for some extra stuff, if you know what I mean." Samantha snorted. The girl, Kendra, had been pining after several of the boys in their year for awhile, including the two with her. She also knew that the two of them liked her. She should have figured that they''d hook up during this. When you never knew if you were going to live or die, you had to make the most of your time. "How much have you been hunting?" Samantha asked. "Just a little," Kendra answered as her two teammates walked over to try and converse with their silent classmate. "They''re going to fail, aren''t they?" "Yeah." "You two haven''t talked at all since middle school," Kendra said, winking at Samantha. "You two finding some extra stuff to do?" "No," Samantha''s cheeks flushed. "Nathan was never a very personable person, and became less so over the last few years. We''re just sticking together for the safety in numbers. He can handle himself, I''m sure, but I''d feel bad knowing he wasn''t alone." Kendra nodded. "I made it to Level 13," she said. "You?" "Fourteen," Samantha nodded. "I''m not sure what Nathan is, but he''s probably a bit higher, especially after looking at what he did last night. Do you know how the others are doing?" "Madeline''s crew have essentially taken over the North Gym and its locker rooms," Kendra nodded. "Though they''re willing to let anyone hang out. It seems they''re under attack from monsters pretty often. According to Madeline, the monsters seem to be more aggressive the more people there are in a location." The two boys in Kendra''s group, Steven and Blake, were telling Nathan the same thing, and Nathan frowned upon hearing it. Madeline probably knew that beforehand, yet she wanted a bigger party. Odds were, she wanted to lure monsters in so she could fight more and gain a bit more experience and Levels. Chances were, she wanted an edge if they ever had to fight each other. And based on her and Keith knowing about this beforehand, that meant that they likely would need to fight each other at some point. Madeline, when the trio last interacted with her and her group, last had a total of ten people in the locker rooms, leaving only five others unaccounted for. According to Steven, they came across one of the other boys'' corpse, bringing them down to four. They didn''t know what to do with him, so just left him in the hall. He''d be gone once the Challenge ended, anyway.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. However long it would be. The other four were grouped up together and mostly using the Health classroom behind the South Gym as a base. When the duo finished telling Nathan everything, he surprised them by opening his mouth. "As time goes on, the monsters grow more numerous, more difficult, and more aggressive." Steven and Blake looked at each other, then back to Nathan. "What do you mean?" "Know how most only give a single Point?" He asked. "Yeah," Steven said. "Though there are some that give two, and the rare one that gives three. It takes all three of us to take on the ones that give three points, and that''s risking it. Three of us is needed to properly take down one giving two Points. It''s impossible to know which is which, though ¨C I got Scan, and it only lets me see their letter grade, and everything is H." It''s likely a higher level that will let us differentiate, then, Nathan thought to himself, though knew his classmate had likely already suspected that. "More Two-Pointers are showing up," Nathan stated. "And fewer One-Pointers. Time between one poking its head into here decreased as the day goes on as well. We have to survive, but it gets tougher before factoring in our exhaustion." The two of them nodded, then asked if he had any other information to share. Nathan shook his head and they thanked him, then returned to Kendra and relayed what Nathan had told them. The three of them spoke with Samantha a bit longer before leaving, and Samantha walked over to Nathan. "Why didn''t you let me know about it?" She asked. "You hadn''t realized it?" He asked, and she started to respond, then stopped. "Exactly." He knew that she would have already noticed it and so decided not to say anything. Samantha went back to her light exercising on the other side of the space, and when night had long since fallen, they decided to get some sleep, taking the same rotation as the night before. During her shift, Samantha checked the track and other space by poking her head through the curtains and saw that they had filled back up with monsters throughout the day. Rather than acting like her partner, she simply returned to the safe zone they were in, taking on the monsters that appeared every fifty to fifty-five minutes until it was time to wake Nathan. Just like the previous morning, Nathan''s eyes opened alert and ready the moment she spoke his name. "Don''t go and try suiciding again," she told him as she settled down. Nathan watched her until she had fallen asleep a few minutes later, then stretched and left their safe space to fight again. When he finished, exhausted, he returned to their safe space and made his way to the top of the stacked bleachers, opening up his bag and pulling out the first-aid kit. Toward the end, one of the monsters managed to hurt him, cutting into his arm with its claws before Nathan killed it. He was adept at dodging them, but even with that, he had his limits, and by that point, more than half of them were Two-Pointers, and there were fifty of them. Though it was a Three-Pointer that bested him. Nathan frowned as he thought about the fight. He could have easily taken care of that Three-Pointer ¨C or at least, kept it from attacking him. He should have just flipped it over the balcony. He could have done, and if he''d retreated the bleachers during the day, probably would''ve been fine. Even still, it was possible the monster wouldn''t have been able to ascend the bleachers again, or at least, not quickly. He knew it was a Three-Pointer before it even attacked him. Should he have told the others he figured out how to tell which type they were? Or was it right of him to keep that information to himself? He was sure they had kept information to themselves as well, and even if they hadn''t, he wouldn''t feel guilty over doing so. Nathan was, by nature, a private person who didn''t share much with others. The only reason he had was because he knew it would''ve slipped Samantha''s mind to mention it to Kendra until after they''d left and it wasn''t something that was hard to realize. Once Nathan had properly treated his cut with some alcohol and ointment, he left his trash where it was and packed his bag back up, then decided to run through his rewards. He''d managed to reach Level 20 during that fight, but only after he took out the Three-Pointer. "Stat Points," Nathan muttered, pulling up his interface for allocating his Stat Points as he pulled his bloodied school jacket back on. As he read through the message, he frowned a little. Why was Charisma a Stat, and what was it used for? The other two boys had mentioned their own Stat allocations, and neither had mentioned Charisma as being among the ones they used. Nothing he''d seen so far suggested it even had a use, yet why would it exist if it didn''t? There was always the possibility its sole use was to waste Stat Points while enhancing how good someone looked. In fact, the description for it was, quite literally, ''amplifies one''s natural beauty'', and that was it. Deciding he could worry about it later, Nathan added both of his available Stat Points to Endurance before pulling up his Skills Shop. Having reached Level 20, he''d unlocked more Skills.
Skills Shop 3
Scan: 5 Skill Points
Iron Grip: 10 Skill Points
Meditation: 10 Skill Points
Stoneskin: 10 Skill Points
Those three were pretty intuitive to Nathan. Iron Grip likely increased his Strength, but only if he was gripping something, and only for his grip itself. Meditation was likely to increase his Health and Mana recovery rate. Finally, Stoneskin, something that was basically a staple in video games with melee classes. The ability to increase one''s defense. Knowing the System, those likely weren''t passive Skills, but active ones, meaning he''d have to spend Mana for them and they''d have a duration for how long they''d last. It was even possible that the cost for them would increase as they went up in Level. The only way to know for sure would be to buy them, as there was no way to simply view a Skill''s information before doing so. Nathan couldn''t afford any Skills at the moment, though once he had access to the Points Shop again, he''d be able to buy more Skill Points. From what he could tell, Skill Points and Stat Points would remain the same cost, though he wasn''t entirely sure of that yet. However, based on his own experience and what he''d heard, it was a safe assumption to make. It was also a safe assumption that most people would go after Skill Points and Stat Points than Weapon Upgrades. If they went up by Ten Points in cost every Level, then bringing Burst Knuckles up to Level 6 from Level 5 would cost the same as just getting five more Strength. And he would eventually acquire Skills that increased his Strength by percents, no doubt. At least, he hoped so. Because of that, Nathan decided to focus on the weapons aspect. He much preferred weapons, anyway, as they only augmented what he could do. He just wished his preferred weapon had been listed among the three he could have selected. The rest of the night passed with only a One-Pointer entering the safe space, and Nathan dispatched it easily, though without using his Burst Knuckle to avoid waking Samantha, who remained asleep until a little after nine in the morning. They had made it through their second night. 00007 "Morning." Samantha looked up at Nathan, surprised he had actually greeted her. He was sitting atop the stacked bleachers, eating fruit from one of his containers. If she wasn''t mistaken, he had even more blood drying or dried on his school uniform. After stretching, Samantha poked her out and looked at the track, and confirmed that there were only a couple of monsters on there, before looking back at him, her gaze traveling to his arm, noting where part of his sleeve had been ripped, though no cut was visible there. Either it hadn''t made it through his Health, or his rapid healing had already mended his flesh. Samantha wished she could heal as fast as him, especially since she was pretty sure he had broken his arm, despite his denial of it. "You really went and fought all of them?" She asked. "No." "The ones on the track?" "Yes." Sighing, she sat down and ate a small breakfast, and Nathan watched her, closing his container of fruit and pulling a package of jerky out of his bag. He pulled out a single strip of jerky and resealed the package, then returned it to his bag and ate the jerky, downing it with water. They had refilled their water bottles the day before, so he didn''t worry about using up too much. "Nathan," Samantha said, and he looked down at her. "Have you used the bathroom at all since the Challenge began?" "No." "I need to go," she told him. "And it''s not good to hold it." Nathan rolled his eyes, shoved his backpack over a little so it was behind the bleachers instead of on the step, then descended. When he walked over to her, she poked at his cut, and he quickly slapped her hand away with a glare. It had definitely already healed, but she could still see the ointment he''d used resting on his skin. "Just checking," she said. "Stop fighting on your own." "I prefer it." Samantha sighed, knowing she wouldn''t get anywhere arguing with Nathan. He did what he wanted and at his own pace. There was no stopping him. They walked down to the locker rooms, and Samantha killed the two monsters inside on her own, then used the toilet. When she finished and washed her hands, Nathan left, and she followed him into the boys'' locker rooms. Ignoring the three monsters in there, Nathan made his way into the stall inside. Samantha didn''t question why he didn''t simply use the same stall as her ¨C it wasn''t like he couldn''t use the girls'' restroom or locker rooms. Instead, she just accepted it as Nathan being Nathan. No sooner had Nathan locked the door to the stall than Samantha heard the sound of him punching something and it slamming into the wall, as well as the sound of his knuckle''s Burst. Less than thirty seconds of fighting later, and Samantha heard the monster land on the ground. Three minutes later, Nathan flushed and exited stall, washing his hands in the sink and stretching, looking at the fading remains of one of the monsters that had been in there when he''d gone into the stall. The other two had already faded away by that point. He looked at Samantha and nodded, and they entered the lower level of the Dome, working together to take out the monsters lurking around down there. Forty-eight monsters, all of them One-Pointers or Two-Pointers. Nathan took down most of the monsters, though Samantha did keep up with him. Despite everything, she still had some reservations. Besides, he was the only person who had ever managed to beat her, until whoever started at the dojo a few months ago began there. He never stopped practicing, just kept to himself as he did. Being at the dojo with someone who''d said what she''d said to him made it hard for him to focus, so he simply quit and found a private teacher. When they finished cleaning out the lower level of the dome, they repeated the process for the upper level, then returned to their safe space, where two of the monsters had gathered. Before Samantha could react to their presence, Nathan had struck, attacking both swiftly and with as much force as he could, ending them with a minimal amount of hits. The two of them settled back down into a quiet companionship, fighting a monster roughly every twenty minutes with no other disturbances. Exactly seventy-two hours after the Challenge began, Nathan received a notification alerting him that the Points Shop was available for access, and "PS Available" appeared in his vision in small text, just beneath his Health and Mana bars. According to the Tutorial, which he had already completely memorized to ensure he knew everything once it was gone after this Challenge, he could access the Points Shop at any time it was available, but once he purchased something from it, then he''d be unable to access it again until the cooldown ended. However, he wasn''t limited to buying a single item. He had until he closed it after purchasing something to continue purchasing things. He wasn''t sure he''d buy anything just yet, though he knew that other students were probably hastily spending their points on the Food Restocks. "Points Shop," Nathan muttered.
Points Shop 348
1 Stat Point: 10 Points
Weapon Level 3 Upgrade: 20 Points
1 Skill Point: 25 Points
Food Restock: 25 Points
Drinks Restock: 25 Points
Toiletries Restock: 25 Points
Medical Restock (Basic): 25 Points
Mana Potion (20 Mana): 40 Points
Health Potion (50 Health): 40 Points
Medical Restock (Adv.): 50 Points
Item Drop: 50 Points
Weapon Repair Kit: 50 Points
Weapon Mod Upgrade: 50 Points
Additional Weapon: 75 Points
Weapon Modification: 100 Points
"Food Restock," he muttered.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Food Restock 3/3
Beef Jerky Dried Fruit (choice) Nutrient Bar x3
Apple Cookies (choice) Baby Carrots
Yeah, he thought to himself. Definitely going to be spending it on Food Restocks. He knew most of them wouldn''t have near as many points as he did, but even if they did, they''d probably still be wanting to go after Stat Points, Skill Points, and Food Restocks. Health and Mana Regens were abysmal, so some might also purchase those, if necessary. They could only select three items from the list, if his assumption about the three-of-three was correct. Nathan himself still had plenty of food leftover ¨C he''d been conserving it, even if it meant he was hungry. A small handful of fruit, no more than three pieces of jerky, and a single nutrient bar per meal. He had enough food to last another day, though he knew that Samantha needed more. Though he wasn''t completely sure of it, Nathan felt confident that they would not be spending another night past the current one in the Challenge. The third night, he felt, would be their last one in the Challenge. He believed that the only reason the Challenge would last that long was to prove that foresight was needed for the game. That, and to cull out a few more morons, and give them all open game on hunting. Nathan dismissed the Food Restock option and checked Item Drop, which was similar to Food Restock in that it allowed him to select a set amount of items from a set list of them. He closed out of that, moving on to something he wanted. "Additional Weapon," he muttered.
You have received a Voucher for another weapon!
Nathan frowned, but dismissed that message. He had assumed it would be like the Food Restock and that he''d receive an option for it, but that turned out to be wrong. The same thing would likely occur for Weapon Modification, though he selected that anyway.
You have received a Voucher for a weapon modification!
Confirming his suspicions, Nathan dismissed that message, then selected Food Restock again and picked out another pack of jerky and two packs of fruit, then looked through the other options. Judging by the list, Weapon Modifications did not remove the weapon''s primary abilities. Moving the Points Shop to the side of his vision, Nathan accessed his Inventory, where the two Vouchers rested. "Weapon Voucher." The Voucher appeared in his hands, a slim piece of paper with those two words printed on it in curled script. He tapped the paper and a new message appeared in his vision.
Select an Item
Shadow Sword Return Knife
The same options he had before, only without the Burst Knuckle. Did that mean that it counted the shields and cloaks as weapons as well? Or were those a one-time offer, and someone who didn''t select them but had them available would receive only the other item they had been offered? "Return Knife," Nathan muttered without hesitation, and a the paper glowed faintly, reshaping and gaining form and mass, becoming a short dagger slipped into a simple black sheath that had a clip for a belt on one side. Nathan accessed the plain-looking dagger''s information.
Return Knife Level 1
Always returns to the owner''s sheath.
Return Cooldown: 30 seconds (minus 1 perLevel of this Skill, minimum of 1 second)
At the same time the weapon appeared, Nathan noticed a shift in his Points Shop, and looking over, confirmed that Weapon Upgrade Level 2 had appeared. He promptly upgraded the Return Knife, then upgraded both weapons again, spending another 40 Points, leaving him with just 48 Points. Someone else might purchase a second weapon, but Nathan was sure most wouldn''t have, needing their Points for food. After buying a Health Potion, just in case, Nathan closed the Points Shop, unable to buy anything else. He doubted he''d be able to access it again, but he couldn''t simply leave the Points Shop open. According to the Tutorial, it would only remain open for sixty seconds without activity, or five minutes without purchase. Which meant, of course, that someone could cheat the system and go hunting if they needed another few Points by making sure to access something in the Points Shop and buy something cheap ¨C like Stat Points ¨C every minute and five minutes, respectively. Nathan didn''t care for that. There was always the chance he''d need more food, but he was willing to risk it in favor of his own assumptions. The kitchens were empty here, they knew, and they had only a limited amount of food to access. While the game was highly unfair, it was also logical and followed a certain sort of pattern, as far as Nathan could tell. Which was why he felt confident that Challenge 3 would end the following day. When night finally fell once more, Samantha took first watch again, needing to fight every fifteen to twenty minutes. It wore her out, but she persisted, wondering how Nathan would fare that night. He had gotten hurt the previous night, and if he went off to fight everything outside again, there was a good chance he''d end up dead. However, she also knew that he received fewer Stat Points than everyone per Level. He was likely the weakest of them all, physically. Or at least, would be compared to someone of the same Level, even if his starting Strength was likely high due to his actual strength being pretty decent. The only reason he had proven so dangerous so far was his own talent. She might have been gifted and trained her skills, but he was a true prodigy and trained his skills. He could identify a weak spot in one moment and strike there the next. At three, Samantha woke Nathan, and warned him to be careful and not go out and fight everything again. He shrugged, and she settled down to sleep. Nathan watched as Samantha attempted to stay awake and keep an eye on him, but her exhaustion won, and within a few minutes, she was sound asleep. After performing a series of stretches, Nathan stepped past the curtain and onto the track, swiftly striking at the nearest monsters, taking them down. He was careful, knowing most of them were Two-Pointers and that there would likely be a Three-Pointer or two nearby. He knew that the monsters had a ''range'' they could detect things in, and so kept himself near his safe zone, lightening his load by only fighting that which came to him. It was tough to do it, but he managed, then gave himself an hour-long rest before moving around the track, drawing in a few more. By the time Samantha had woken, Nathan had successfully killed everything on the second level, plus a few that traveled up to it, and returned. Without taking injury. I should''ve just fought them like that before. Wouldn''t have gotten hurt, probably. Samantha woke around ten the next morning, later than she had the nights before, and the first thing she noticed was Nathan''s bloodier attire and the dried fruit he was eating out of his hand. She sighed in relief in that he at least didn''t seem to have done too much outside, his clothes didn''t have that much more blood on them. She stood and stretched, then opened up her backpack for breakfast. They had made it through the third night. 00008 Nathan sharply turned his head to the left side of their safe space, to the edge of the curtain, frowning. If he wasn''t mistaken, that sounded like running feet, and the monsters so far didn''t run. Slipping his knife out of the sheath, which he''d clipped to his belt, he prepared to fight from the top of the stacked bleachers, relaxing only a little bit when two of the other seniors burst into the space. "We need help!" They exclaimed. "North Gym!" Jared Nichols told them. "Madeline''s group''s been attacked by a very strong monster! It''s already killed one student, and it''s taking all of them just to hold it off." Nathan returned his knife to its sheath, grabbed his backpack and pulled it on, then descended the lockers as Samantha pulled on her backpack. The four of them ran down to the North Gym, and as soon as Nathan saw the monster ¨C which could pass as any other to the common eye ¨C dropped his pack and launched himself at it, his knife already flying. Samantha frowned. Nathan didn''t normally attack that urgently. Something about the beast set him off. As Nathan delivered strike after strike, dancing out of the monster''s range, the other students fought. A few used swords or knives to fight, one had a whip she kept lashing out at the thing, and two of them used magic, including Madeline, while a third used healing magic on those who needed it badly. Kendra and her two teammates showed up with another pair of student a few minutes later, and the nineteen students had assembled fully, giving their all to killing the thing. Madeline cast fireball after fireball combined with slices of air. She did her best to avoid hitting the other students while still striking the tough monster, and noticed quickly that Nathan seemed to anticipate her attacks without even looking in her direction. The other students noticed that as well, and those who could adjusted their fighting to factor that in. Once they began using Nathan ¨C and later, Samantha ¨C as feints, their bodies shields to hide the blows, the students began wearing down the monster. However, the students themselves began to wear down as well, several of whom had to stop and retreat to rest after a few minutes, more doing so as time went on. "Arm!" Henry West called out as he felt his sword biting all the way through the beast''s left arm, the arm falling to the ground. "Good job!" Madeline called as she rested, recovering her Mana. Without it, she was useless, possessing little physical ability. "Nathan, watch your-" In what seemed to be a superhuman feat, Nathan flipped up, using the monster''s good arm as leverage to vault over it, his knife jamming into the beast''s right eye. He twisted it as he continued his movement, his other hand on the beast''s jaw, twisting that as well, snapping the thing''s neck as the two of them dropped down behind the beast. It stopped moving, and Nathan calmly pulled his knife out and wiped it on a clean spot on his jacket before sheathing it. "Dead," he stated to the staring crowd. While it might have seemed like Nathan killed it with ease, they all knew that he couldn''t have simply done that at will. He had already tried once before, and the thing had blocked its eyes, taking his knife to its arm, and several of them had snapped its neck with enough force to break it, but failed to kill it that way. In addition, they were sure that Nathan wouldn''t have used a Health Potion during the fight if he could''ve just ended it, though only a few of them saw him summon it from his Item Box, most of them noticing only because they were next to him when he called it out. Nathan''s comment about the beast being dead wasn''t needed, however, as they had all received a notification the moment it did.
Challenge 3 Completed!
You have 5 minutes before returning to the neutral instance. Collect your things if needed.
Nathan let out a long breath, then walked over to the bleachers and sat down as the other students talked amongst themselves. That thing was clearly the boss to them, though Nathan knew it was likely simply the next rank of monster. Five-Pointer, he thought to himself. No indication of a type between it and the Three-Pointer, either. When the timer reached zero, they found themselves in a clean, undamaged version of the gym, though they were all still exhausted and covered in any blood and gore they were already covered in. The corpse of their classmate was gone as well. A message appeared in their vision informing them that the cafeteria was stocked with food, and the MPR was restocked with supplies, as well as their rewards for surviving Challenge 3, which cemented the pattern of the rewards to Nathan. They could take up to as many as they had originally, same as before. They were required to enter the cafeteria and could go nowhere else except to the restrooms in front of it or they would die. Nathan knew that it was likely only meant that the people running the thing knew they were all likely low on supplies, and simply wished to let them restock now, and nothing more. The students made their way down to the cafeteria and ate ¨C those who could eat, at any rate. A few of them were still a little queasy eating just after fighting. Those students went into the MPR to restock, while a couple of them just rested. The two sections of the cafeteria also held three flatscreen T.V.s that had been added while they were in the Challenge, though their screens were currently blank.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Hey, guys," one of the restocking students stepped out. "We receive a new notification when we enter the MPR ¨C there are phones in there which we can use to communicate with each other in allowed Challenges and all Rests. They also contain an updated map to the school ¨C there''s a laundry room, now, for starters." Some of the students stopped eating and made their way into the MPR, but Nathan continued eating, stopping only once he had eaten his fill. Once he did that, he made his way to the MPR and picked up the phone with his name on a slip of paper resting on it. He cycled through the handful of features the phone had, confirming there was a laundry room there. There was also a Student Shop, which according to the ''handbook'' would allow them to purchase new clothes with their Points. Odds are, it''s just more of our uniform, Nathan thought to himself, slipping his phone into his pocket as he restocked his bag. His instance was the first to return to the neutral one, and over the next few hours, the rest returned. Total losses were only twelve. Most instances only lost one student, while two of them lost two students. The moment everyone had returned, a notice went up saying that they had an hour before the next stage. Nathan hoped that the next stage was just more waiting and resting, since the normal Victory Message included what was normal for the next stage ¨C the meal. Nathan glanced to the trio of T.V.s mounted on the wall of the MPR. There was a good chance that they would come to life with whatever came next. Why else would they have been added? When the timer ticked down to zero, everyone received a message stating that they were to look at the T.V.''s in the cafeteria, and that in five minutes, the final results of the Challenge 3 ¨C Survival 1 would be posted. Students would receive additional rewards based on their ranking five minutes after the posting. When the timer reached zero, Nathan stood and joined the crowed in the MPR looking at the screens. The center one ranked the instances by the time it took them to kill the G-3 monster after it spawned. Assuming each letter grade had three number grades to them, and three was the lowest, then G-3 was, indeed, the next one up from Three-Pointers, as Nathan had assumed. Based on the monster ranking indicator Nathan had noticed, it was safe to assume he was correct on that. Instance 1 ranked at first, taking only 23 minutes to kill the G-3 monster upon it spawning. It listed it as Instance 1 ¨C Leader: Nathan Hunter, probably using him as an indicator as for which instance was Instance 1. Each Instance had a Leader listed. At first, it would seem as if the Leaders were random, but a quick look at the other two screens revealed that there was a method to it, as there was to everything there. The screen on the right of the trio separated each Instance, ranking each student in each ranking, with deceased students listed at the end as ''Deceased''. The students were ranked by the number of points accumulated killing monsters during Challenge 3, and Nathan had scored at the top of the list, earning 456 Points total from monster kills during Challenge 3. Looking at the other Instances, he confirmed that Keith was at the top of his own, scoring 312 Points, and they were the two top scorers among all the students. The left screen ranked all of the students against each other based on their accumulated Points from killing monsters in Challenge 3. Following Nathan and Keith was Madeline, at 291, and Michael rested at fifth with 253. Fourth-place surprised Nathan, and he turned his gaze to the student who had earned 273 Points. Slightly-short of stature, with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes was William Merk. He''d begun at their school that semester, though no one knew where he had moved from, and William kept to himself for the most part, a bit like Nathan. Nathan looked for a weapon on William, and spotted a white knuckle on his left hand. His gaze then turned to Samantha, knowing she''d followed his gaze. He was the top student for his own Instance as well, and by a far margin. And a martial artist. Samantha caught Nathan''s gaze, knowing his question. "He started attending the dojo a few months ago," she told Nathan. "Just before winter break. He doesn''t talk much, but he''s better than me." Nathan didn''t let up on his gaze. "I''d put my Points on you over him any day," she told Nathan, who nodded, then returned to looking at the scoreboards. "Though I will admit that while he''s better than me at both, I''m surprised he went with the martial arts weapon ¨C he''s actually more talented with a sword." Samantha was about a quarter of the way down the overall list, but still scored a hefty amount of points, reaching third for their Instance, behind Madeline with 212 Points. Nathan finished scanning the lists, then waited until the five minutes were up, as most of them were doing. As soon as the timer hit zero, the screens changed, and he received a series of notifications.
Challenge #3 Instance Rank #1 Participant
+5 Stat Points +5 Skill Points +5 to all Stats +50 Points +5 Levels
Challenge #3 Instance Rank #1 Participant
Points Shop cooldown during Challenges reduced by 6 hours, is now 66.
Instance #1 Rank #1
+5 Stat Points +5 Skill Points +5 to all Stats +50 Points +5 Levels
Level 30 Achieved!
More Skills are now available in your Skills Shop.
Overall Rank #1
+5 Stat Points +5 Skill Points +5 to all Stats +50 Points +5 Levels
+1 to all Weapon and Weapon Mod Levels +1 to all Skill Levels
Nathan frowned a little at the messages, then turned his gaze to the screens, which revealed the rewards he''d just received as being the first-place rewards for their respective sets. The Top Rank bonus to weapons, weapon mods, and Skills was only for him. Only the Top Five in each category received something, decreasing by a Stat Point, Skill Point, all Stat Points, Level, to each Stat, and 10 Points down the rank, meaning that Rank #5 only received one of each and 10 Points. It also meant that everyone knew what had been earned and that those at the top just got better. If the game followed this ranking as rule for any survival challenge, it meant others would try to dethrone those at the top. The only thing that would keep people from killing others for it would be the rule against it ¨C unless that rule left. In addition to that, it would cause students to risk themselves more during survival Challenges, increasing how many died during them. 00009 After five minutes from when the rewards were announced, everyone received a message stating that they were to stay in the MPR for twenty minutes and had ten minutes to gather in there or die. Nathan made his way to a corner and sat down. He knew others were jealous, and probably a few of them plotting a way to deal with him if they end up in another survival Challenge and in the same instance as him. Instead of paying attention to them, he instead reviewed his available Skills. The four from before, as well as three new ones, and they all sounded good to him. Combo Strike, Spatial Mobility, and Silent Trigger, all costing 15 Skill Points, creating a pattern of increasing by 5 Points in cost every set. The first was pretty obvious to him ¨C many games had something similar, where striking with no more than a certain amount of time between attacks resulted in increased damage. The second one sounded like it increased his ability to move around, and the last one, he wasn''t too sure on. At best, he assumed it had something to do with triggering Skills and reducing how much sound he made doing so. Reading the Skill names, he knew they would fit based on his actions so far, which is what unlocked the Skills for the shop. With Combo Strike, he often struck multiple times rapidly. For Spatial Mobility, if it did what he suspected, then his swift movements and using leverage and other things to flip around as he fought would have resulted in that. And finally, Silent Trigger made sense considering how he mumbled his Skill names to trigger them nearly every time ¨C every time while in combat. "Silent Trigger," Nathan muttered, then immediately pulled up its information.
Silent Trigger Level 1
Level 1: Negates the need to speak to trigger Skills.
Level 2: Negates the need to speak to trigger System interfaces.
Level 2 Max
That was even more useful than he expected. It didn''t reduce the sound made, but rather, removed his need to actually speak to trigger something. And Level 2 of it negated the need for vocal triggering of various menus. He immediately spent a Skill Point on the Skill, his first time spending them to Level a Skill. After a few minutes of mental debate, he purchased Spatial Mobility, testing to verify that Silent Trigger did, indeed, negate his need to speak, and found it did ¨C he needed only think it to pull it up. And when he used Silent Trigger on Spatial Mobility, it asked for a confirmation that required him focusing on the ''yes'' or ''no'' and mentally pushing the button. A way to prevent accidental purchases through Silent Trigger. He liked it, and how the System, as cruel as it was, allowed that for the people playing its harsh game. Nathan pulled up the information on his newest Skill.
Spatial Mobility Level 1
Allows the performance of feats that seem to defy the laws of physics through movement in space.
Level 1 Max.
Another Skill that listed a max, and a low one. Nathan supposed that it made sense for something like that, though it probably meant there was a set limit to what he could do. He''d have to test it out to know for sure, though he''d do that when he had a bit more privacy. With 25 Stat Points to use, Nathan thought for a few moments, then applied them. Ten to his Strength, five each to his Endurance, Speed, and Mana. "You know," Samantha walked over to Nathan, sitting beside him. "You got more handsome." Nathan raised an eyebrow, before promptly remembering about Charisma and how it augmented one''s natural beauty. He had just gainedfifteen points to it from the rewards and another seven and a half to it from his Levels, for twenty-two overall points. Overall, Nathan just became a lot more powerful, though he was sure that he was only on-par with some of the other students, such as Michael and William, despite them being at lower Levels. They were more than likely receiving better Stats than him each Level and were investing what Points they did have into increasing them further. Pulling up his Points Shop, Nathan considered whether or not he should buy some Stat Points. He found it odd the Points shop didn''t have anything past 100 Points ¨C this was the second time he had more than 300 Points, the first time having more than 350, yet it seemed everything stopped at Weapon Modification. Buying more of those or more weapons didn''t even increase in price from his previous purchase. That told him that either anything that cost more was locked behind some sort of requirement, or there really was nothing higher than that. It also meant that there was unlikely to be an option to simply buy Levels. There also were no more variations on the two potions, nor on the Restocks and Item Drop. He could buy 34 Stat Points, allowing him to boost his Stats further. He was sure that a bonus that large would be enough to put him above others. Or he could buy 13 Skill points, for a total of 15 Skill Points, with the two he had leftover from his previous spending. He could buy one or two more Skills with that, or upgrade those he already had. There was also that he could upgrade his weapons a few more times. Pulling the knuckles from his pocket, he examined them. There were no traces of damage to them, and when he pulled up their integrity, they still showed at full. He didn''t need to repair them, though he might eventually need to repair his knife, so he purchased a Weapon Repair Kit, which turned out to just be a coin that he could tap to his weapon and it would repair up to twenty percent of its integrity. Deciding to focus on what to buy later, Nathan dismissed the Points Shop. At the moment, he didn''t really need anything, though he was likely going to upgrade both of his weapons again at some point.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. He didn''t see a need to increase his stats so far. Yes, he had gotten injuries a few times, but for the most part, he was able to handle himself. As long as he was able to recover his Health, he would be fine. After twenty minutes passed, they all received a notification informing them that the MPR was unlocked and lunch was served, as well as to check their Student Handbooks for more information on the school''s new setup. Nathan pulled out his new phone, then his old, and compared them to each other. His old phone had no service and no internet, reducing it down to just the features that didn''t need it until it died. His new phone had no battery indicator and plenty of service, though no internet. It did have access to some sort of database, and he guessed that the service only extended to this alternate they were in. Opening up the student handbook app, Nathan snorted as he saw New! indicators on some sections of it. Checking out the items with the new content, he learned that the classrooms across the hall from the cafeteria had been converted into changing rooms, with the ones connected directly behind them into shower rooms and no exit other than through the changing rooms. The no-harm, no-rape, and no-theft rules were reemphasized, and it was stated that unless a Challenge specifically stated they could bring harm or death to another student, it was forbidden entirely. Students could sleep anywhere, and the ACR ¨C the alternative classroom, which was their form of in-school suspension ¨C held sleeping supplies and a few other supply items. The cafeteria would always have food with set meal hours, and between meal hours, only snacks would be available. They would be notified one hour in advance when they were to enter a Challenge, to give them time to prepare and stop what they were doing. In other words, there could be days between Challenges. That didn''t mean there would be, Nathan knew ¨C it was simply a possibility. Standing, Nathan stretched, then made his way to the cafeteria to eat lunch. He was starving. During lunch, Nathan tuned out Michael, who was being asked to recount some of what he did during the previous Challenge. He''d made quite an impression, and a couple of the girls were enamored with him, while a group of guys were just impressed with his feat. It wasn''t like he was the best. However, everyone knew the person at the top was antisocial, and a few were whispering that he likely stole kills from others in order to earn his Points and reach the top. That didn''t bother Nathan ¨C it meant that if they ever had to fight each other, they''d underestimate him. And based on the handbook''s wording, there were Challenges where combat between students occurred. After lunch, Nathan checked out the school''s new setup, then made his way to the laundry room. It was located in the old Health and Driver''s Education classroom, the only classroom behind the South Gym, accessed through either the gym''s locker room or a hall leading off from the back of the hall on one side of the cafeteria, the hall between the cafeteria and the South Gym. There, Nathan saw ten washers and dryers set up, as well as a shelf with premeasured detergent and softener able to be purchased for 5 Points each and dispensed from a couple of machines. There was no restriction on how many someone purchased, nor on how many students could use the same ones. Meaning that several students are allowed to wash their clothes together, Nathan thought to himself. Student Shop. Skimming through the items, Nathan noted that he could buy six pairs of underwear or six pairs of socks for 10 Points, or a pair of pants, a button-up, a tie, a belt, a pair of shoes, a jacket, or a towel for the same amount. They were all the standard school uniform for their school, meaning that they''d be stuck in those outfits for however long they were there. The uniforms were also tailored for the students as well, meaning no two students would likely be buying the same outfit unless they were the same sizes. While most probably thought it illogical, Nathan valued clean and decent clothes even in a situation like theirs. To him, the cost of the clothes was a necessary expense, as long as he took care of them. They would allow him to wear something that wasn''t constantly soaked in blood between Challenges, as one example. They would also act as something to wear while his clothes were washing. Nathan wasn''t much of a fan of going around naked outside of private areas. Others might wait until they had plenty of Points to spend on such things, but he was a bit impatient on that front, even if it meant he might be short a few Points. Purchasing another set of clothes, Nathan sent them into his Clothing Box. According to the Tutorial, any clothes they had would go in there. Weapons had the Weapon Box as well. The Item Box seemed to be for everything else. Making his way to the boys'' new locker room, Nathan stripped off his clothes and went into the showers, where he scrubbed himself down. The showers had soap, shampoo, conditioner, and face wash pumps between each of the shower heads, free to use. After his shower, Nathan pulled his towel from his Clothing Box and dried off, wrapping it around his waist before making his way back into the changing rooms, where he changed into his fresh outfit, then sent his old clothes and the towel into his Clothing Box. That done, he made his way to the laundry room to do laundry. When he entered the laundry room, one of the washers was already going, and Nathan and Madeline were in the room. Judging by the lack of any clothes on them or around, both of them had their clothes in the washer together. Michael had Madeline bent over one of the tables in the center of the laundry room, ramming into her as she rammed back into him, the sound of flesh smacking flesh filling the room. Michael''s body was as muscular as it looked under his uniform, very well-developed. It looked to Nathan as if he was putting all of that strength into every thrust. That''s going to exhaust them fast. "Hey, Nathan," Michael said when he noticed their ''guest'', who had moved over to the dispensers. "Want to join us?" Nathan ignored them and purchased the pre-measured pouches of laundry detergent and softener crystals before tossing them into the washer with his dirty laundry. The washers only had one button ¨C wash ¨C so he pressed it. According to the handbook''s section on the laundry room, the same setting would work for everything, and there was no need for another. Nathan wasn''t sure how true that was, but ignored it, just like he was ignoring the two classmates having sex. He hopped up onto one of the other tables and sat watching the washer. The cycle would last a full hour according to the handbook, and the dryers would last the same amount. A couple of others came in to do laundry, but left when they saw Michael and Madeline. Nathan simply continued watching the washer. The two horny teens stopped long enough for Michael to toss their clothes into the dryer and start that, then they went back to it. They stopped only when the dryer finished and the two of them had orgasmed again after. Nathan was curious how they were able to go for two hours without issue, but dismissed it. Two teenagers were able to go for absurd amounts of time. He knew that from experience, he was just curious because of how much energy they were putting into it. It did raise the question in his mind, though, on whether or not pregnancies would progress in the game. Their hair and such still grew there, even if they themselves didn''t age. Would something conceived in the game be granted the same no-progress? Or would they develop and be born, adding even more difficulty to a female? It was already clear that periods would occur. Nathan thought about that as he folded his laundry on the clean table, then sent it into his Clothing Box before he made his way to the cafeteria. It was time for dinner. As he walked, his thoughts drifted to the clothes he''d just washed. They''d come out completely clean ¨C not a trace of blood on them, even if the tears were still there. That laundry detergent was pretty powerful, to remove dried-in blood. 00010 "Are you gay?" Nathan looked over from where he was setting up his air mattress, blankets, and pillow for the night to find Madeline standing there. "No." "You didn''t so much as blink twice at us fucking," she said. "And didn''t even join in. You''re hot enough I would''ve let you. You sure you aren''t gay?" "Not a fan of threesomes," Nathan returned his attention to setting up his bed. He''d claimed a quiet room in the 500 hall of the school, which was the hall furthest from the main entrance and which the Band Room and North Gym branched off of. He knew that Madeline was sleeping with Michael that night, which meant that the only reason she was down there was likely to hunt him down and question his sexuality. "Oh," she fluttered her eyes at him, before realizing it was pointless, since his back was turned to her. "Would you like to now? It''s just the two of us here." "I don''t like you enough to just sleep with you," he stated. "And I''m not desperate enough to fuck anyone who offered." "Am I hot enough?" She asked, and Nathan looked over at her, looking her up and down. She''d removed her school jacket and bow, leaving her in just the skirt, knee-high socks, shoes, and skirt, her top three buttons undone, showing off a little bit of skin up there. Nathan moved his gaze up to her green eyes, her flawless skin, her glossy brown hair, before fixing his gaze firmly on her eyes. "Is Keith hot enough for you to let fuck you?" "Keith is gay," she said irritably. "And that''s unrelated." Keith being gay was nothing more than a rumor, Nathan knew. It was just something else bullies used against him because of his apparent lack of interest in girls ¨C but he also showed a lack of interest in guys. Nathan was probably one of the only, if not the only, one of them who probably knew that Keith had dated a girl for about six months the previous school year. He''d seen them on dates. "What''s your issue with him?" Nathan decided to be blunt and just ask. "Keith needs to mind his own business and keep out of things," she stated. "Like the game?" "Yes!" She said. "It''d be better for everyone if he just let himself die. If he did, we''d all have a bit of peace." "How so?" "You saw me follow him out?" She asked, and he nodded. "I wanted to know what he''d done. He knew this was going to happen ¨C why else did he immediately leave the room when the game started?" There she goes again, trying to make it out like Keith knew about the game and she didn''t. "You both knew magic." A statement, not a question, and Madeline knew that. "Yes," she nodded. "I was raised by a family of magicians and specialize in air and fire magics, though I only knew a handful of spells. They aren''t in the System as Skills, but still drain my Mana. My Fireballs take around ten, while my air slashes take twenty. Keith seemed to specialize in air magics, though I''m not sure how he learned ¨C magicians aren''t common in this area. Are you sure you don''t want to-" "I don''t." Madeline sighed, taking a few steps closer to Nathan, who adjusted his blanket a little bit, then pulled off his jacket and tie, draping them onto a desk. With the no-theft rule, it was unlikely someone would steal them, though that didn''t mean someone wouldn''t ruin them. "We could always get to know each other better later," she said as he started unbuttoning his shirt, revealing his firm, toned body and tight, six-pack abs. She made no attempt to not gawk at his body. While it wasn''t thick and muscular like Michael''s, taking on a more lean form, it was clear his muscles were much more dense than the jock''s. "You''ve proven yourself surprising," she continued. "And you''ve always been a decent person, even if antisocial. And I know you''re intelligent ¨C even if you aren''t the top of the grade, you''re still near it. I always find myself entranced by your speeches, too. That speech you did on the mounds, it was pretty interesting. You actually made it sound cool, even though you were talking about giant mounds that were nothing more than mass burial mounds. If a teacher had given us the same lesson, I probably would have dozed off. And the way you described what it felt like, standing on top of them ¨C it actually felt like I was there, listening to you." Nathan frowned, just a little. Madeline had actually paid attention to his speech, as little as she ever appeared to. He knew that there were only a couple of their classmates who would remembered what he''d done a speech on, much less that he''d talked about what it felt like atop the mound he''d ascended with a few others. The only reason he''d even known what that felt like was because his Ceramics II and III class the semester before had gone on a field trip to them, and they''d gone to the top of the tallest one as part of the trip there. He knew Madeline was just laying on the flattery in the hopes that he''d cave in, so he ignored it, removing his shirt and adding it to his jacket and tie, before adding his belt. He then sat down and removed his sneakers and socks, stretching a little bit as Madeline moved closer and rubbed his arm, assuming he was giving in.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "Get the light on your way out, please." Nathan then laid down and covered himself with the blanket, turning so his back was to Madeline. The latter student stared at the former in shock, then sighed and left, flipping off the lights as she went. It would take her more time, she knew, to win him over. He knew she''d fail. She was hot, clever, and manipulative. Knowing that, Nathan was mentally guarded from her tricks. Her comments about Keith were designed to sow distrust against him. She knew he''d seen Keith leave the room immediately and used that as part of the suspicion-raising. Nathan wasn''t sure what was going on between the two of them, but he knew that they both knew about the game before it started. Keith was expecting it, and nervously anticipating it, while Madeline was simply prepared. That suggested to him that it might not be Keith who was behind it, but Madeline ¨C and the genius had figured out what was going to happen. There was still no concrete proof of that, however, so he cleared those thoughts from his head, went through his mental checklist, then allowed himself to fall asleep. A little after midnight, Samantha made her way into Room 504, the classroom Nathan had claimed as his own. She made her way to where he was sleeping and knelt down. "Nathan?" She whispered. "What?" He responded. "Do you mind if I join you in here?" She asked. The air mattresses were double twins ¨C two high, though as one piece. They weren''t very large, and if they were to share the mattress, it would require them to snuggle each other. She hadn''t brought her own air mattress, though if he declined to let her snuggle him, she would retrieve her own. "Air mattress?" He asked, and she knew he was asking about hers. "I left it in the other room," she told him. "If you refused, I''d see about joining one of the other groups. Everyone''s grouping up, you''re probably the only person alone." It went unsaid that Nathan preferred it that way, and was probably the only person there comfortable sleeping by himself in their situation. Even the tougher guys, like Michael, would no doubt have at least two or three others. The girls, Nathan knew, were probably bunched up in groups of five to ten or more, of the fifty-nine of them left. He also knew the guys were probably in groups of five or more. No one wanted to be alone that night. Well, other than him. Samantha had probably actually come from a group of girls. After several long moments of silence, Samantha went to leave the room and give Nathan his space. As she did, Nathan turned onto his side and scooted over on the air mattress. "If you want." Samantha looked down. She knew that it was permission for her to join him in there, but it was also permission for her to join him on the air mattress. While others might take it as Nathan needing the comfort of another body beside him, Samantha knew him well enough to know that he was likely only thinking about her. That was, indeed, what Nathan was thinking about at the time. Her coming in there was likely for her and not him. She probably didn''t feel comfortable without having him at her back ¨C or front, or whatever. Nor did she probably feel comfortable leaving him alone in the night. The closer she was to him, the safer she''d feel about their situation. That wasn''t to say she was weak, as Samantha was one of the strongest people Nathan knew, but Samantha was much more of a normal person than he was, and in a situation like this, comfort in numbers and the touch of others was necessary. Samantha was already wearing just her button-up and her skirt, so she stepped out of her shoes and joined him under the blanket, her back to him as she laid on the other side of the air mattress. Samantha did her best to calm her heart, meditating lightly. This was the first sleep since the game began that she didn''t simply pass out from exhaustion. After a few minutes, she managed to calm her heart and breathing to a slow, rhythmic patter, as if she were asleep. It was something she did whenever she couldn''t sleep, and sleep never fell far behind it for her. After a few minutes of the calmness that allowed her tiredness to take over, Samantha felt Nathan shift on the air mattress as he turned over and moved towards her. Samantha did her best to remain as if asleep as Nathan began to spoon her, one arm under their pillow, the other draped over her stomach. He clearly thought she was sleeping, and was using that to spoon her, even after she''d rejected him. She wasn''t sure what to make of it, especially since she could feel him pressing against her behind. He seemed as if he were asleep, so she decided in the end that he had likely done that in his sleep and it had nothing to do with thinking she was sleeping. It took her nearly an hour to fall asleep, though, her heart pounding in her chest and refusing to calm down. Nathan opened his eyes after he knew Samantha had fallen asleep. She didn''t move as if to push him away, and her heart had begun pounding hard in her chest after he moved against her as her breath caught in her throat. To him, that was confirmation that she did have feelings for him. Had they existed, back when she rejected him? Did they form after? Or were they simply because of what they were going through? After thinking about it for a few minutes, Nathan let himself fall asleep, waking a little after six. When he did, he pulled on his sneakers and left the room, making his way to the nearest restroom where he relieved both his boner and his bladder. After washing his hands, he returned to the room and dressed the rest of the way before heading to the cafeteria, where breakfast was ready. "Hey," Tameka, a dark-skinned girl with shoulder-length hair approached Nathan, one hand on the hilt of her sword, as if ready for a fight. Nathan knew she wasn''t planning on fighting him, but rather, it was a habit she''d formed over the last few days. Having one hand on the sword at all times meant one was more prepared to draw it if a fight should suddenly happen. "Samantha disappeared last night, and since she seemed close with you, we were wondering if you knew where she''d gone." "She slept in the classroom with me," Nathan grunted, stabbing the cinnamon roll in front of him, ripping out a piece of it with his fork and shoving that into his mouth. "Was still asleep when I left. 504 if you want to check on her." "Slept with?" Tameka raised an eyebrow. "Clothes on." Tameka laughed. "Your choice or hers?" She asked. "Both." "Uh-huh," Tamkea snorted. "Keep telling yourself that. It''s good to know she didn''t get pulled into some random Challenge and die on us, then." Nathan rolled his eyes as he downed some of his chocolate milk. He highly doubted the game would pull an individual into a Challenge, especially in the middle of the night. It could happen, but he doubted it. Tameka tried talking with Nathan some more, but he focused on eating his breakfast, so she left. It was more than she''d ever gotten him to say before, and she counted that as a win in her book, even if that wasn''t her goal with approaching him. After breakfast, Nathan discovered that the Student Shop had added a few more items. Black shorts, white tees, and white martial arts gis. He had a black belt available, though he was sure that not everyone did. The System probably enabled them to have whatever belt suited their abilities. It intentionally waited until the next day to add them ¨C likely so that students would have spent most or all of their Points by then. Nathan spent the 150 Points to buy the two sets, then made his way to the wrestling room, which the student map showed as a dojo. It still had the mats covering the floor, but it also had a few training dummies added into it. Nathan looked around it, then moved to the nearby locker rooms and changed into his gi before he entered the dojo room and started practicing. 00011 The only students remaining in the school were male. Not because the females all died, but because at exactly five minutes before noon the day after they all returned from Challenge 3, the girls were given a message informing them of Female Challenge 1. From what they were given before they left, they had to search out ''tokens'' through the school in a form of scavenger hunt. However, in order to spawn the tokens, they had to kill a certain number of monsters, only finding out what next amount needed when they finally found their token. After killing all of the required monsters, they would be given the information telling them where the token was. Then, would have fifteen minutes to locate it, or need to kill everything again. The scavenger hunt would last for exactly thirty-six hours. The first token required killing five H-3 monsters, what Nathan referred to as One-Pointers. They had to acquire a total of fifteen tokens, though no one would leave until after the time limit expired. Most of the males were awaiting for the females to return the next night, when the females were due to return, but not Nathan. He had already gone to bed. And when someone climbed into the bed with him, he pretended to still be as asleep as he had been when she entered the room, knowing it was Samantha by the sound of her steps. When morning came, Samantha found herself alone, tracking Nathan down in the cafeteria, eating lunch by himself. She noticed that oddly, a few of the other guys were giving him jealous looks. Wondering what that was about but knowing she''d probably never find out, she sat across from him and filled him in on the scavenger hunt. Three of the girls died, bringing them down to only fifty-six. There was no reward for finishing fast. Nathan listened to her explanation, finished his breakfast, then left, making his way to the pottery classroom. There, he removed his jacket, pulled on one of the aprons, then got to work kneading clay before throwing it on a wheel. He spent the next hour working the clay into a goblet, first on the wheel in two parts, then assembled them together with a sort of stem in the middle of the cup portion of it. He spritzed it with water from a spray bottle, then wrapped it up in plastic and moved it to the clay storage room. He planned on letting it sit like that for a few days. Longer, if he ended up in another challenge. It evened out the drying for him if he let it do that first before unwrapping it and letting it dry. Over the next few days, the students fell into a sort of routine. Michael had found new lackeys, with his old ones being dead, though he always seemed to have a bigger crowd whenever Nathan saw him. They were all adults, but even still, they still had a sort of worship for strong people. That wasn''t to say that Keith, Madeline, Samantha, William, and Nathan didn''t have people wanting to flock around them and listen, but for the most part, they didn''t indulge. No one bothered Nathan, anyway. Madeline successfully turned most everyone against Keith, and it was thus common ''knowledge'' that he had something to do with what happened. William trained with Samantha once or twice a day, and Nathan sometimes joined them, sometimes watched, though William knew their draws when he sparred directly against Nathan were by Nathan''s choice. The game had permitted training injuries, as long as there wasn''t intent to harm, only to train. Most of the students trained at one point or another each day, to get better. Their phones gave them video tutorials on combat using their selected weapons, allowing them a slightly-better experience training. A few days wasn''t enough to make someone an expert, but that, combined with what they had gone through and would go through again, meant they were learning rapidly and adjusting quickly. Experience in the face of a life-or-death situation was the best teacher, for those willing to learn. And they were willing to learn. Nathan suspected that something was allowing them to learn combat a bit faster than they should have as well. Some of the improvements he''d noticed in people went beyond something from just facing life-or-death combat situations. After nearly a week of peace, the students received a notification for their next Challenge.
Challenge 4 will start soon!
You have 15 minutes until Challenge 4 begins. You will be separated into four instances of thirty-seven students. Your mission will be to collect 50 Points. Only 100 Monsters will spawn each day. They will be segmented as: 50 H-3 Monsters, 30 H-2 Monsters, 19 H-1 Monsters, and 1 G-3 Monster.
Nathan frowned as he read that message. 172 Points earnable each day, five of which required a massive team effort. If points were earned optimally between the students, it would take eleven days to beat the next Challenge. Which meant that they were, no doubt, going to lose a fair few of their numbers. Especially as fewer and fewer students were around, meaning the G-3 monsters were likely going to stick around for awhile, possibly remain untouched. And even though working together and spreading points out would be optimal for the students, he knew it likely wouldn''t work that way. When the fifteen minutes were up, Nathan looked around the South Gym. There had been two other students in there, playing basketball, when the notification came. They weren''t there, and they hadn''t left, meaning that they were sent to one of the instances other than his. However, that didn''t mean he was alone. Quite the opposite, as a portal was open in the gym with an H-3 monster stepping through it. Nathan charged forward, delivering a series of rapid strikes to the beast, claiming his first Point for the Challenge. Then, he jumped backwards as a second monster stepped through the portal. As Nathan decided to flee, the Five-Pointer charged forward, intercepting him.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Muttering a swear, Nathan jumped up, landing on the grotesque, humanoid being''s outstretched arms and quickly flipping, his Spatial Mobility giving him that added boost to let him defy physics. Neat, he thought to himself. The added jumping height and flip ability gave him a fair bit of distance. However, the Five-Pointer displayed an amount of speed the previous one didn''t and quickly caught up to Nathan, who deflected its arm while flicking his knife forward, then took off, ignoring the dropping knife. No time to pick it up, it already served its purpose dealing extra damage. Twenty-six seconds. Using his fists worked just fine for the weaker monsters, but the stronger ones¡­ he needed something better, like the sword. Muttering under his breath as the Five-Pointer moved even closer, Nathan opened up his Item Box and pulled out the Weapon Voucher he''d bought, just in case he needed the sword during a Challenge. He didn''t expect to need it that soon.
Select your item:
Shadow Sword
Shadow Sword, Nathan thought, then confirmed. Yes. The sword materialized in front of him and he gripped the hilt. A katana with a black sheath. He drew the blade, tossing the sheath to the side. The elegant black blade was sharpened to a fine, metallic gray edge. As soon as he''d freed the weapon, Nathan stepped forward with his right foot, pushed off with his left in a pivot, and slashed the katana up. It slashed against the Five-Pointer''s arm, but didn''t actually penetrate its Health. Nathan began a sort of dance with the Five-Pointer, alternating between throwing his knife, punching, and slicing with the sword, depending on how close to the Five-Pointer he was. It wasn''t until his own Health had nearly depleted that Nathan remembered¡­ that throwing his knife didn''t do anything against the Five-Pointer. A thrown knife only did its own damage, and the Return Knife had none. Nathan had to actually be stabbing it at the beast in order to have his own Strength affected it. And even if he didn''t need to be holding it, the small amount of damage the knife had likely wouldn''t affect it past the monster''s Endurance. At least, not unless the damage value of weapons ignored that. He wasn''t sure. "Fuck," Nathan muttered as he came to that realization, the Five-Pointer once against blocking his path out, this time hitting Nathan with enough power to drain away the last of his Health and hurt his arm. Just as Nathan, jumped back, a gust of wind blew past him, pinning the Five-Pointer to the wall, and Nathan was positive he was seeing a hand of wind holding the beast. "If you want the kill, kill." Nathan looked over to find Keith standing there, holding a hand out like he was holding something, his knuckles white, an intense look of concentration on his face. "Hurry, will you?" Keith snapped. "I can''t hold this spell forever!" Nathan nodded, then charged the Five-Pointer, slashing his sword across it several times, the blade unaffected by the spell''s grip on the monster. As soon as the beast''s Health depleted, Nathan beheaded the creature, and the grip of air faded. Nathan heard something drop, and looked over to find Keith collapsed on the floor. He slashed his katana with as much force as he could and the blood slid off into a slash on the floor, something he was glad he could do with his enhanced Strength and Speed. It meant he wouldn''t have to take time cleaning the sword as much. With the sword no longer dripped blood, Nathan walked over to the mage, who was breathing heavily. "Thank you." "You''re welcome," Keith struggled into a sitting position and looked up at Nathan. "I didn''t think you''d appreciate me stealing your kill with that. All of the portals seemed to have spawned two initially. At least, the ones I passed." "You kill it?" "Yes," Keith nodded. "I solo''d the one during Survival. This one was faster, but it probably traded Endurance for that speed. You have three weapons?" "Weapons Vouchers." "Ah," Keith nodded. "I got one." The magician reached under his shirt and pulled out an amulet, a dark blue stone carved into the shape of a fox. "It boosts any and all air or shadow magics I use," Keith stated. "Anyway, once I recover, I''m going to hunt down more monsters. It''ll take me a few minutes, though. That''s the most powerful spell I know, and it''s draining." "I''m not teaming up with you." "I know," Keith laughed. "I didn''t expect you would. Madeline''s spread her bullshit to everyone, so I expect I''m on my own. Anyway, there''re a few portals outside, but no one really wants to go out there. At least, no one I''d talked with." Nathan nodded, then walked over to the katana sheathe, slide the blade into it, then sent the weapon into the Weapon Box before looking over to Keith. "I saw nothing," the mage told him. Nathan nodded, then left, making his way outside. Two monsters were roaming the front parking lot, and Nathan took the opportunity to take them down. Then, he made his way towards the tennis courts and opened the gate. Inside, he took out the two monsters that had found themselves trapped before making his way down to the football field and taking care of the two down there. When he reached the soccer field, he found a trio of boys fighting the two beasts there, and so made his way around the rest of the school, not encountering another monster until he reached the front, halfway down which was a single monster still fighting the quartet of students there. With all outside monsters occupied, Nathan made his way inside. He''d earned eleven of the available Points for the day already. Seven and a half percent of them, and he was only a little less than three percent of everyone in that instance. Making his way to the cafeteria, Nathan learned that all of the monsters had been handled apart from a few, but they were being dealt with. He was fine with that ¨C based on what he''d heard and his personal estimations, only about twenty or thirty of them had actually spawned already. Sitting down at a table in a corner, Nathan set his backpack down and opened it up, pulling out some jerky and dried fruit, and enjoyed lunch. Then, he pulled his backpack back on and made his way to a classroom, not really sure why he went to the cafeteria for lunch. There, Nathan meditated until the signs that monsters had spawned showed up ¨C signs in the form of students running down the hall. Sliding off the desk he had been meditating on, Nathan dropped his backpack onto the desk, then left the room just in time to come face-to-face with an H-1. Without hesitation, Nathan struck at it with his fist and knife. The thing was fast, but not fast enough or strong enough to pose a serious threat to him, as long as he didn''t let it hit him too many times. After about a minute, the Three-Pointer was dead, and Nathan began a lap through the school, taking out three more monsters on the trip before returning to the classroom he''d selected. For the rest of the day, Nathan meditated in the room. He could handle not getting more kills that day. He had complete confidence in his ability to win, so long as he didn''t encounter another Five-Pointer focused on speed by himself. At around nine-twenty that night, a notification appeared in Nathan''s vision.
All monsters have been slain. The next wave of them will spawn after 8:00 AM tomorrow.
Knowing he had little reason to worry about needing to fight, Nathan moved to a corner and rested with his back against it, closed his eyes and allowed sleep to overtake him. Tomorrow, he would aim to earn at least as many points as he had that day. 00012 Nathan''s eyes snapped open and he sprang to action without hesitation, his fist slamming into the monster''s stomach. He followed it up with a series of strikes, before ramming his knife through the beast''s eye. It was nice of them to let us know they''d spawned. Nathan brushed himself off before grabbing his backpack, pulling it on, and leaving the classroom. He hadn''t actually been sleeping at that point and had already eaten breakfast. He managed to kill six more monsters ¨C stealing a few kills from struggling classmates ¨C before finding himself in the dome, watching as Michael fought against the Five-Pointer. Michael was fighting pretty decently for someone who''d only begun wielding a sword a couple of weeks prior. The flaming blade continued to strike against the Five-Pointer''s Health Shield. From what Nathan had heard, Michael''s flaming sword did a constant five flame damage per Level of the weapon over three seconds, and the sword was Level 5. So it was pretty effective against the Five-Pointer''s Health, so long as it connected with the edge and not the flat. The problem was, the Five-Pointer seemed to have a high Endurance ¨C and thus a high Health ¨C and knew to block the sword on the flat and not the sharp part. Michael gritted his teeth and took a step back, blocking a strike of the beast''s with the flat of his blade, the force sliding him back across the gym floor. He moved his sword down, arms in front of his body, which was angled away from the beast, the sword itself aimed at the beast. "Charge!" Michael called out, moving forward in a quick bolt, his sword slamming into the beast''s stomach. "Fuck!" He jumped back, his attack serving only to annoy the Five-Pointer. After another couple of minutes of fighting, it was clear he was exhausted and probably not going to last much longer. "You going to help him?" A voice asked, and Nathan looked over from his spot on the bleachers to find Keith standing there, looking down at him. Nathan popped another banana chip into his mouth, then turned his gaze back to Michael, whose breathing had become quick and heavy. "He''s not going to survive," Keith stated. "Not unless someone helps him. His buddies ran the moment this thing came out and they identified it as the G-3. Seems they didn''t want to tangle with something that strong, and smartly ¨C they wouldn''t have survived as long as Michael has, even as a team. If you don''t jump in, I will." Nathan frowned at that. If Keith ''jumping in'' meant the same thing as yesterday, that meant Michael would manage to beat the thing and kill it with Keith just holding the thing down with his magic. Sighing, Nathan stood, performed a quick stretch, then jumped off the bleachers, landing between Michael and the Five-Pointer. Ignoring the suddenly-confused warrior, Nathan stepped forward, striking the backing-up monster square in the face as he triggered Impact, the added damage working against the monster as the Burst caused it to stumble back a step. Nathan unleashed a series of furious blows against the Five-Pointer, and Michael focused on dealing with his breathing, grateful for the sudden save. "Don''t mistake him saving you for kindness," Michael heard, and turned his head to find Keith standing there, wearing his robe, a blue fox amulet displayed prominently in front. "He just didn''t like the idea of me holding it down so you could kill it and take the points. He was originally planning on fighting it after you''d worn it out and died. He''s never been a big fan of the arrogant type." "The hell?" Michael asked. "Just how it is," Keith shrugged. "Letting a monster kill someone is different than causing a monster to kill someone. Nathan''s a bit tired of your incessant bragging. You seem strong, but only because you''re followed by others and charge in head-first. If you and Nathan were to fight ¨C no, if you and Samantha were to fight, you''d likely lose quickly. And Nathan is far more skilled than her ¨C that''s why he reached Rank #1 Student during the Survival Challenge." "At least I''m not an agent of the game''s," Michael snorted, turning back to the fighting duo and readying his sword. "Believe what you want," Keith stated. "But the word of one such as Madeline shouldn''t be taken at face value. After all, what true evidence is there of my dealings with the System?" Michael ignored the comment and charged back into the fight, and Nathan moved to the side, giving Michael enough space to swing his sword. The pair continued to fight against the Five-Pointer, until a blow from Nathan not only forced the beast back, but snapped its face inward, its Health finally depleted. Michael used Charge as Nathan struck again, their attacks striking nearly-instantly. The Level Up notice and the increase in his points let Nathan know that he''d received the final blow. "Damn," Michael muttered. "You got the credit for that. That''s strange." "We hit at the same time," Nathan stated. "It probably looked at who did more damage." "No," Michael frowned as he looked at Nathan. "I''m pretty sure I''m not imagining it, but you look¡­ more handsome than you did before." Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Not flirting," Michael sheathed his sword. "Just an observation." "He did," Keith stated, and the two of them looked over to him. "Which is odd, unless he has the Charisma Stat." "The Charisma Stat?" Michael asked. "Yes," Keith nodded. "It''s held by the person the System has judged the most-likely to survive and win the game. It doesn''t mean they''re the strongest in the System''s eyes, just that they''re the one most-likely to survive the game. Based on what I''ve seen of Nathan, it would make sense for him to have it. If he were to die, the one surviving who was most-likely to survive would have it unlocked. The Charisma stat augments your natural appearance''s beauty to others." "You claim you have nothing to do with it," Michael said, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword. "Yet you seem awfully informed about it." "I knew of the game beforehand," Keith stated. "However, I had nothing to do with it occurring." "Really?" Nathan asked, and something in his tone caused Keith to flinch. "Yes, really," Keith stated, and his eyes turned violet for a few moments. "Now, I''m taking my leave. It looks like Kendra''s team is struggling against a duo of H-1''s that surprised them." Keith turned and left, and Michael stared after him, frowning, until he realized that Nathan was leaving as well, making his way out toward the front of the school.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "Nathan!" He called, and Nathan stopped, turning his head to look at him. "Thanks." Nathan dipped his head, then left the dome, facing off with a One-Pointer in the lobby before making his way outside, where he performed a lap around the building. Once he finished ¨C there were only two more monsters for him, there ¨C he climbed the tree close to the corner of the street their school was on and the highway, looking at the veil that blocked his view of the world outside. Across the street from the school were two churches. The small student parking lot right there was actually owned by one of the two churches, which allowed the school to use it if they didn''t have an event going on. He had never been religious, but thinking about the churches made him wonder ¨C was there a God? And if so, why did He allow something like this game? Clearing those thoughts from his head, Nathan thought about what Michael and Keith had revealed. He was the only one of them there with Charisma, and it was because the System thought him the most-likely to survive. He would''ve put that as Keith, after finding out about Keith''s magic. He didn''t doubt Keith could handle Five-Pointers on his own, while he himself struggled against the one. Then there was that strangeness with Keith''s eyes ¨C they turned violet, and he suddenly knew that someone else was in danger. Why wasn''t Keith the one most-likely to survive? He was best-suited for it, in Nathan''s eyes. There was no reason he shouldn''t have Charisma instead of the fighter. Not unless he had something to do with the System and the game. Madeline being right didn''t mean Nathan trusted her, though. She worked hard to make sure Keith wasn''t trusted by others, and that caused the fighter to distrust her. She had her own goals. It was very likely part of them involved causing Keith to find himself without help, so that he''d die. There was no rule against them letting others die, but causing it to happen¡­ if Keith died because of Madeline''s campaign against him, would she die, too? Nathan shook his head, clearing that from his thoughts, then opened up his Skills Shop.
Skills Shop 3
Scan: 5 Skill Points
Iron Grip: 10 Skill Points
Meditation: 10 Skill Points
Stoneskin: 10 Skill Points
Combot Strike: 15 Skill Points
Damage-Dealer: 20 Skill Points
Student-Striker: 20 Skill Points
Silent Mover: 20 Skill Points
All three of those were obvious to Nathan. Silent Mover was probably a Skill that Cost Mana in exchange for making him completely silent for a period of time. Knowing how the game worked, it likely only dampened his sound by a percent. Damage-Dealer would increase his damage dealt. He wasn''t sure if it was a costing Skill or passive, but leaned towards the latter, due to the name. It would be pretty useful to have, as it would increase his ability to fight. The last one, however, caught his eye. Student-Striker. He didn''t have a doubt in his mind that such a Skill would allow him to harm other students. It likely had limits to it, of course, but it was a powerful Skill to have. Nathan closed his Skills Shop and pulled out some jerky and fruit and enjoyed a little bit of breakfast, washing it down with some water, then waited in the tree until he spotted more monsters, which occurred a little after one. Jumping down, Nathan charged at the nearest monster, taking its life as he noticed a couple of students come out of the front doors. He moved to the front length of the school and took down the monsters there, though by the time he''d reached the front doors again, he only located one more monster. It seemed most didn''t spawn outside. Making his way inside, Nathan tracked down and killed a Two-Pointer, then continued searching until the all-monsters-killed notice appeared. Sighing, he entered a classroom and made his way to a corner, dropping his bag down and resting for the rest of the day, sleeping through the night. At quarter-to-eight in the morning, Nathan made his way out of the classroom and to the nearest restroom, relieving his bladder. As he washed his hands, he watched in the mirror as a portal opened up behind him. At least I was already zipped up. He rinsed off his hands as the monster approached, then flicked the water a few times before spinning, delivering a roundhouse kick to the Three-Pointer''s head, the monster stumbling backwards into the stalls. Nathan charged it, slamming both fists into the beast''s chest, driving it into a stall and against the toilet, causing the thing to fall. He jumped up, grabbing the top of the stall walls, and drove his feet forward, slamming the monster with all his might into the pipes of the toilet. As the thing tried to stand back up, Nathan repeated his double-foot strike, driving it back down. The thing looked woozy, which probably came from having its head smashed in on two fronts. Nathan released the stalls and dropped down, stepping back and pulling his knuckle out of his pocket and sliding it on as the monster attempted to stand. Nathan delivered a swift, Impact-touched strike to the monster''s head.
+3 Points
Nodding, Nathan then returned to the sink and washed his hands again, as well as the knuckles. Inspecting them, he sighed, then used his Weapon Repair Kit on them, watching as they returned to their brand-new state. He slipped the knuckle back onto his fingers, clenched his fist, rolled his neck and shoulders, then left the restrooms, quickly tracking down a duo of One-Pointers and claiming their lives with a quick flurry of blows. With those two dead, Nathan began searching the school, not coming across any students or monsters. By the time he found that the rest of the monsters were outside, the other students had already finished killing them and were watching a battle between Keith and the Five-Pointer on the football field. Nathan joined them on the bleachers and watched, studying both the magician and the Five-Pointer, taking note of the blood on the ground despite the lack of any obvious injuries on the two. It was as if something had been slashed, the blood spraying out in two streaks from nearly the same point. The beast was humanoid, like all of the other monsters so far, but this one was different. Not the nudity ¨C they were all nude ¨C but the presence of genitalia on it. It had an actual dick, and it was pretty hard, sticking straight out and showing off its full, eight-inch long, two-inch thick glory. That''d be painful as fuck for anyone that thing rammed into, Nathan thought. And being rammed into someone was probably the purpose of it, Nathan knew. Why else would it have that when the lesser monsters didn''t? He thought back to the other Five-Pointers and their own erections. Same size. Nathan''s gaze traveled to the rest of the creature. It had a well-muscled body, even with the deformities. A pair of horns, the markers that Nathan used to know which grade the monsters were, misshapen fingers, crimson skin, black eyes ¨C the whole deal. Its skin looked a bit harder than the ones Nathan had fought so far, meaning it was probably high on Endurance in addition to its Strength. The part that caught Nathan''s attention was the fact that this one also had wings, which it was using to fly around and try to attack Keith, who was throwing slash of air after slash of air at it, generating wind barriers to stop the monster from attacking. "Welcome," one of the classmates told Nathan. Eric Peebles, a freckled, redheaded guy with a light Irish accent. "Winged?" "It grew them as soon as Keith started attacking," Hunter nodded. "Just spawned right out of it''s back. That''s where the blood came from." Nathan nodded, understanding that it meant the wings were probably somehow a part of their backs, even if they didn''t have a visibility to them. The Five-Pointer got too close to Keith just before the mage fired off another slash of air and the beast''s right wing and arm were sheered off. From there, it didn''t take Keith long to kill the ground-stuck monster, claiming the high kill for the day. The students dispersed after that, and Nathan found a quiet spot inside to rest in until a portal opened up a few feet away. He delivered a swift series of strikes, finishing with an Impact strike with the knuckle, and found himself in the same classroom, but without the monster, after that strike connected with its throat.
51/50 Points Earned
Challenge 4 Completed
00013
Challenge 4 Completed!
+4 Stat Points +4 Skill Points +40 Points
The MPR is locked until all students have completed Challenge 4 or died during.
Nathan looked around the classroom, then adjusted his backpack and made his way to the cafeteria. It was dinnertime. Inside, he found three other students waiting. William was there, though judging by the fresh blood on his jacket, he had probably only recently shown up. Madeline was lounging at a table, looking as arrogant as she had grown to appear during their trials. And finally, a student Nathan wasn''t familiar with. Another guy, with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes, his bangs a little long, nearly covering his eyes. He wasn''t wearing the school jacket, though most of them had taken to not wearing it. From what Nathan could see, he had it tied around his waist instead. The student had no visible weapon, making Nathan wonder what he wielded. Grabbing a tray and filling it with food, Nathan found a table and sat, then began eating as he reviewed his gains. The Stat Points, he immediately placed into Endurance. He was at 7 Skill Points, and could buy up to 6. Not enough to get anything unless he went with Scan or grabbed one of his Level 20 Skills. He really liked the idea of his Level 40 Skills, though, and wanted to check his Points Shop. He''d consider buying another Weapons Repair Kit, though didn''t think he''d need it for another Challenge or two. Additional Weapon? Nathan wondered as he spotted it in the Points Shop. It cost more, sitting at 150 Points to purchase. Was that because he''d already purchased all three weapons? Or did purchasing all three weapons unlock stronger ones? Nathan found himself at a loss for what to do. He wanted to find out what Additional Weapon (II) did, if that existed, but at the same time, knew he had to conserve his Points for more important things. He already had three weapons. Speaking of the weapons, Nathan closed his Points Shop and opened up his Weapons Box, focusing on the Shadow Sword and pulling up its information.
Shadow Sword Level 1
Damage Bonus: 5 per Level of this weapon
In other words, the ''shadow'' part of it only came from the coloration. The weapon might have been able to receive something relating to its name with mods, though, so he''d have to check that out, once he had a few more Points to just spend freely. Nathan dismissed his windows and finished lunch, then made his way to the ceramics room. He walked over to the pair of cups, which had finished drying on the shelf running along the wall with the door and the kilns during the challenge. After ensuring they were ready, he walked to the back of the room and opened the furthest kiln, set the cups inside, then secured the door before turning it on. It would take three days before he retrieved the cups. One day for the kiln to reach the proper temperature, one for it to actually fire, and one for it to cool down enough for him to be able to retrieve them. Nathan didn''t have to worry about anyone turning it off or opening it on him ¨C the game''s student handbook actually forbid such actions, and considered it an act of theft to sabotage someone''s work. There were two kilns and no other pieces of pottery in the room, so Nathan knew he wasn''t hogging the kiln. With his project firing, Nathan made his way to the nearest restroom, relieved himself, then headed to the locker rooms and stripped, heading into the showers and blasting himself with hot water. He scrubbed himself thoroughly, rinsed off, dried off, got dressed, then went to the laundry room. Michael looked like he had returned, since he was in there with Madeline. The two of them were stripping off their clothes and tossing them into a washer. Nathan ignored them and bought laundry detergent and fabric softener, then made his way to a washer and tossed his dirty clothes and towel inside, slammed the door shut, and turned it on. He set his backpack onto a table and hopped up next to it, then began to watch the washer. Madeline and Michael had left, and after twenty minutes, returned with towels draped over their shoulders and their hair wet from the showers they''d taken. They tossed the towels into the washers, then asked Nathan if he wanted to join them. "No." The duo shrugged, then got busy with each other, and Nathan ignored them. When his washer beeped, he hopped off the table and transferred the clothes into the dryer. "Hey, Nathan," Samantha said as Nathan closed the dryer. He pressed the button and turned around to face her. "Why am I not surprised you made it out before me?" "Points?" "Exactly fifty." Nathan nodded, then hopped back upon to the table to watch the dryer. Samantha was wearing a fresh outfit, her hair still a bit wet from her shower. She cleaned up before coming to the laundry room. Samantha got the laundry stuff and tossed her things into the washer Nathan just emptied, then sat up next to him, doing her best to focus on the boy beside her and not the pair fucking at the other table. That wasn''t hard for her, though, once she started looking at Nathan ¨C really looking. His face had always entranced her, and lately, it seemed he became more handsome with every Challenge. In fact, it was almost as if he''d gone from unintentionally hot while trying to blend to a godlike beauty. The blue of his eyes were the same, rich, vibrant color they had always been, and that near-glow to them seemed to be even stronger than before. His platinum-blond hair was a little dark from the water from his shower, his eyebrows ¨C already dry ¨C nearly invisible, they were such a light blond.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. His eyebrows looked almost as if made out of sunlight, and his hair, while still darker from the wet, looks as if they were strands of sparkling gold. Samantha''s eyes traveled down to his arms. She knew that beneath the jacket and shirt were tight, fine muscles, both because of his training and because of seeing and feeling them at night. His skin was unbelievably smooth to her, and she enjoyed rubbing his arms while he slept. She''d do his abs, too, if she thought she could get away with it. As her eyes moved down to his perfectly-normal-yet-somehow-very-attractive hands, she noticed that they were folded over his crotch, where she could discern a bit of a bulge. Wondering whether that stemmed from the fucking couple at the other table or from something else, Samantha looked up at his face, finding his eyes filled with steel and jaw clenched tightly. He hadn''t been doing that when she was looking at his face. She realized that he knew she was checking him out, and he got hard from it. She quickly turned her gaze back to her washer, doing her best to tune out the sound of flesh smacking against flesh. When Nathan''s laundry finished, he fetched it, swiftly folded it, sent it all into his Clothing Box, then pulled on his backpack and left, leaving Samantha alone. She was grateful when Madeline and Michael finished fucking and got dressed, their clothes finished, leaving her around twenty minutes before her own laundry finished. Once it did, she folded her laundry, then made her way to the cafeteria for a late snack, then went to Room 504, where Nathan was sleeping. As usual, she walked over and knelt down beside his air mattress. "Nathan?" She asked quietly. His eyes opened immediately, and he rolled them, lifting the blanket up. She stepped out of her shoes and laid down, and after she fell asleep, Nathan snuggled up against her, draping an arm over his sleeping crush. When morning came, Nathan left the room and made his way to the nearest restrooms to relieve his bladder and his boner, then returned to the classroom, where Samantha was waking. He ignored her gazing at his abs as he walked over and grabbed his shirt, pulling it on and buttoning it up. "Do you want to spar with me?" She asked. "Maybe later." Nathan finished buttoning up his shirt as Samantha stood and stretched. "Nathan," she said, then waited. "What?" He asked as he fixed his top button, then grabbed his tie and began to fix it around his neck. "For dinner tonight, would you mind staying in here?" "Why?" Nathan gave her a confused look as he tightened his tie, then grabbed his jacket and pulled it on. "Well?" "Dinner for just the two of us," she told him. "I''ll make it myself?" "Date?" "Yes," she answered, her cheeks reddening just a small bit. "I decline." "Nathan-" "You just see me as a brother." Samantha sighed, rubbing her temples. "I know I said that," she told him. "But it was a lie, Nathan, and it''s eaten at me these last four years. And now-now, we''re in this fucked-up game, and it''s probably only going to continue getting even more fucked-up. I want a date with you, even if it''s just once. I know I''ll want a second, and a third, and a fourth, but we can deal with that after. And if we make it out of here, who knows? But I want one now, in case we never get that chance to explore a relationship free from here. In case we all die here, in this fucked-up game. So, please, Nathan ¨C just one date, tonight, for dinner." "Their food isn''t exactly date-worthy." "The culinary classroom is restocked with food daily," she told him. "We can cook in there, if we want. Actually, we can have dinner in there." "You cook?" Nathan raised an eyebrow, causing Samantha to flush. "Yes," she said. "After you stopped attending the dojo and hanging out with me, I learned how to cook. I will still probably bow to you in terms of raw ability, but I can cook a decent meal." "I''m not getting burnt noodles, am I?" "No!" She exclaimed, her face crimson. "And I only did that once!" "Four times." "Once!" "Four times." "Once!" Nathan stared at her. "Okay, maybe I accidentally burned them more than once. But still! I was twelve!" "I haven''t burned noodles. Ever." "Yeah, well, my mother isn''t a professional chef with stars to her name." Nathan shrugged. Samantha was one of the only people he knew from school who actually knew who his parents were or what they did. His mother ran a restaurant of her own not far from the school, and despite their more ''moderate'' living area, it was pretty popular. He didn''t actually learn how to cook from his mom, though ¨C she was rarely home enough to teach him regularly. He started cooking when he was six and his father had forgotten to feed him. He didn''t burn the pasta¡­ but he did burn the sauce. Not that he''d bring that up. Someone else would have to for him to admit it. He didn''t blame his father for forgetting to feed him back then, and hadn''t back then, either. Even at six, he understood his father sometimes forgot about some things when work got bad or busy. He was a high-priced lawyer across the river and often passed out right after dinner when things were busy. If Nathan remembered correctly, his father had been dealing with a complicated mess of inheritance for a family worth about three hundred million when Nathan first braved using the kitchen. A smile played at his lips as he remembered his father''s reaction to the meal. Nathan knew he''d burned the sauce and didn''t like the way it tasted, so cooked it for less time the next time, but his father didn''t comment on it. He''d put a smile on his face, forced the bad sauce down, and complimented Nathan. Then, he suggested that if he ever forgot to feed Nathan again, to just let him know he was hungry, and that if he ever wanted to cook, to just ask, and he''d be more than willing to help. His mother helped sometimes, though most of Nathan''s culinary education came from his father or self-improvement. Or T.V. ¨C he watched a lot of it to learn how to cook. Even when he was little, Nathan''s mind had worked differently from other kids his age, which might explain a few of his quirks and darker secrets. Secrets his father helped him hide. Nathan had panicked the day Samantha discovered one of them. He didn''t want to get rid of her, he''d liked her two much. It was a few months after she discovered it that he confessed his feelings to her. For the last four years, he''d thought part of her response was because of it. Her current comments, however, led him to believe that if that were true, then she''d truly liked him back then. Of course, it could just be manipulations on her part, but¡­ "What time?" "Six?" She asked. "Okay," he said, pulling his backpack on. "See you at six." 00014 "Merk." William jumped, turning to face Nathan, who had snuck up behind him. "Oh, hey, Nathan," William said. "Um. How''re you?" The other senior was clearly nervous by Nathan''s presence, and his silent approach only increased that feeling. Ever since he arrived, William had noticed Nathan throwing glances at Samantha, the second-best student at the dojo. He poked around and heard the rumors regarding Nathan. Of course, most of them came from the fact that no one really knew much about him, that he didn''t have friends and often blended in, unnoticed. William was pretty sure Nathan couldn''t crack a head open just by performing a chop to the top of it. Well, not before the game started, at any rate. Nathan displayed a surprising aptitude for fighting once the game began, and while no one knew his actual Level, the amount of monsters he fought and his 15 Bonus Levels meant he was likely at least Level 50 already. So it was only reasonable for William to be a little bit nervous. He didn''t know how strong Nathan actually was, nor why he seemed to be annoyed. They couldn''t hurt each other, but that didn''t matter, as there were other ways to fuck with each other. Such as with training and sparring. William knew Nathan was holding back when they sparred ¨C but then again, so was he. It was only through his martial and swords skill that William felt he had an edge over the other fighter. "What are you doing?" Nathan asked, and William forced down his nervousness. "Watching Samantha," he admitted. "She''s been cooking for awhile, and it smells pretty good." "It''s also not for you," Nathan stated. "If you want to make yourself useful for once, make sure no one interrupts our date." William''s eyes widened a little as his mouth opened in shock, but he quickly recovered. "I''ll do that if you duel me tomorrow. Friendly sparring match. First to ten strikes on the other wins." "No." "Why not?" William folded his arms. He was standing in front of the door to the culinary class, meaning Nathan couldn''t get in unless he moved. "I''ve been working my way up to getting a date with her for months. And you somehow get her onto you the day we''re stuck here." "I''ve known her since we were little," Nathan stated. "And she asked me for the date." "You two haven''t been talking," William stated. "What makes you think you''re even worth her love?" "What makes you think you''re worth her love?" Nathan asked. "Duel. Tomorrow." "We duel," Nathan narrowed his gaze at William. "And I might not hold back." "I won''t be holding back, either." "No," Nathan growled. "You''re the one who''s been bruising her up in training. The System will register my strikes against you as intentionally harming someone, rather than as sparring." Sparring injuries were allowed, as long as they were just sparring injuries, and had no ''true'' intent of harm behind them. Nathan knew that if he didn''t hold back, he''d have a little bit of selfish protectiveness for Samantha stopping him. William opened his mouth to speak, stopping when a window filled his vision. Nathan read off the one that entered his at the same time.
Duel Nathan Hunter vs. William Merk
Duel William Merk in the Dome at 8:00 AM tomorrow (14h3m16s)
Victory Circumstance: Deplete opponents Health before yours is depleted.
Victory Reward: Steal 5 Stat Points from opponent from any Stat or Stats (total of 5).
Participation Failure Reward: -5 Levels, -5 to all Stats
Silence filled the air for several moments, up until Nathan broke it with a single, seemingly-random word. "Magic." "What?" William asked. "Victory reward," Nathan said. "Magic." "What do you mean?" William asked. "Loser loses 5 Stat Points," Nathan stated. "If it forces, I will take Magic. You aren''t a magician. Your Skills focus on things other than Magic, yes?" "Yeah," William nodded, then realized what Nathan was saying. "I''ll do Magic, too. It''ll be useless to me, but at least it won''t really hinder you to lose it. I¡­ didn''t even know this was possible." "You''ll be losing it," Nathan stated. "Not gaining it. And same, on both fronts. It won''t hinder you, and we need to work together to beat this place. As for it being possible, it makes sense. The System probably has parameters required in order to trigger something like this." "Right," William nodded. "Otherwise, Keith and Madeline would''ve gone after each other already." Nathan frowned. He doubted it. In fact, it was very likely the only reason the two of them hadn''t triggered a duel, with how much animosity was between them, was for the simple reason that Keith avoided Madeline whenever he could. It was also possible that the System wouldn''t trigger a duel if one or both of the members would attempt to truly kill the other. William wanted to prove he was better than Nathan, and Nathan simply wanted to prove to William that he was stronger and more worthy of Samantha. "Maybe," Nathan said, then stuck his hand out. "Eight o''clock." "Eight o''clock," William took his hand, and shook it. At that moment, Samantha opened the culinary room door and frowned at the two of them. "What''s going on?" She asked. "Why are you two shaking hands, and why are you saying eight? What''s at eight?" "Duel," Nathan stated. "What?" She asked. "You can''t duel, the System would probably-" "Approve of it," William interrupted. "Nathan and I were, ah, having a discussion about who was better, and the System decided to give us a duel." "Over you," Nathan added. William blushed as Samantha raised an eyebrow at them. "He thinks he''s better than me for you," Nathan stated. "The System decided we needed to duel. Dinner smells delicious. William''s making sure no one''s interrupting us."Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Nathan stepped forward, and the other boy moved aside to let him past. Samantha followed Nathan inside, and William pulled the door shut. "Did the System really-" "Yes," Nathan stated. "It''ll probably ignore any attempts to force it into creating the duels." Nathan looked at the table in one of the culinary room''s five ''kitchens'', spaces with a small table surrounded by counters, a sink, and a stove and oven, with cabinets fixed to the wall or walls bordering them and under the cabinets. She had taken Kitchen 5, the kitchen by the teacher''s desk, and the only one with a convection oven. Resting on the table were two plates of chicken and rice, two bowls of salad, condiment bowls with dressing, and a pair of glasses of juice with a pitcher sitting to the side. The pair sat down at the table, and Nathan looked at the chicken. It looked a little bit spicy, with an orange tinge to it and a healthy amount of sauce drizzled over it. Samantha watched in silence as Nathan picked up his knife and fork and slowly cut into the chicken, taking a small piece of it and cautiously biting into it. He chewed for several seconds, then swallowed. "Two-point-five stars." She let a small smile show, pleased she''d gotten higher than the one-point-five star rating that was his normal for food. If they were lucky. From what she remembered, Nathan was heavily picky about his food, and she didn''t believe it had changed, even if he ate the school meals without issue or complaint. In middle school, he''d rated their school''s lunches at a point-five. The pair ate in silence for a little while, but only until Nathan had finished his chicken and most of his rice. "Why did you learn to cook?" Nathan asked. "You always said you weren''t going to be a woman who worked in the kitchen." "I''m still not," she laughed. "That doesn''t mean I can''t at least know my way around one. I''ll need to feed myself at times, after all." Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Okay," she admitted. "After you stopped talking with me and hanging out at the dojo, I wanted to prove I was better than you. It was pretty stupid, but I learned how to cook because of it. You really think it''s a two-point-five?" "Barely." Samantha snorted, and they continued eating in silence, until after the last traces of food had left their plates. "What do you make of this?" Samantha asked. "Point-five stars." "No," she refrained from laughing, knowing he was referring to the salad. "I meant the game. The deal we''re in. Who do you think is controlling it, and why?" "No one, and entertainment." Samantha stared at him, unsure of what he meant. "No one''s controlling this?" "Someone started it," Nathan stated. "But it''s automated. It''s following a set of rules and conditions for everything. If a, then n, if b, then o, if c, then p, and so on. Everything follows a rule. Everything follows a pattern." "Not the Female Challenge," she said. "It was only for females." "Maybe," Nathan said. "But it may be that we males do it later." "Why would they be separate?" "Reduce numbers." "Wouldn''t they just do a regular Challenge for that?" "Not if they wanted to reduce it by a small amount," he stated. "Main Challenges are harder, and the Challenge version of your token-finding could be deadlier for us guys. Killing One-Pointers and Two-Pointers? Only the ridiculously weak for how far we''ve come would fail at that, especially if people worked together. You had no Three-Pointers. You only lost a few, most due to slowness and not obtaining all fifteen. It was to reduce our numbers, but by a smaller amount." "Then why the females?" "Nearly twice as many males as females," he stated. "The System registered that the culling needed a smaller amount than what would likely happen with the males, and so used the females. Odds are, however, that to keep it ''balanced'', we males will be forced to. Otherwise, the game wouldn''t be fair. The game is fair." "How is this fair?" She asked. "Depends on how you look at it," Nathan stated. "It isn''t fair, from our perspective. However, it would be unfair to the males to not do the tokens. The females killed more than two hundred monsters that the males didn''t, giving you all that extra Experience and Points. We''re behind. The game will give us the Challenge, but after this one ends. Expect it within three days of this one''s completion, for the balance." Nathan had a good point, Samantha knew. But there were still some inconsistencies with that. "Why didn''t the males do it before this last Challenge, then?" She asked. "If it gave such an advantage to us females?" "It was for this Challenge the numbers needed reducing," he stated. "Otherwise, we likely would''ve simply gone straight to it, rather than having the Female Challenge occur." "Right," she muttered, realizing his point. "Wait ¨C but if it''s trying to balance everything, then why isn''t it separating us by our type of fighter or by who''s stronger? Giving the stronger people stronger monsters, or something?" "Balance." "I don''t understand." "You and William were in the same instance?" He asked, and she nodded. "Keith, Michael, and I were in the same one. It put three of the twelve strongest into each of the four instances." "Yeah," she said. "But why-wait. Three of the twelve strongest? Is that confirmed?" "Theory." "We did have the twelfth-highest from the leaderboards," she muttered, then her eyes widened as she realized what he was saying. "So that they would handle the stronger monsters while others farmed their Points from the weaker ones." "Correct," he stated. "In my instance, Keith sought out the Five-Pointers and let whoever was fighting them take the kill while he pinned them down unless he encountered it directly, in which case, he fought it. That was how it was the first three days, I don''t know how it will be today, but it''s unlikely he''d change. In addition, Michael and I both encountered Five-Pointers quickly." "William and I encountered them quickly, too," she said. "We and a couple of others worked together, and I ended up hitting my fifty taking out a G-3. You mean that they''re spawning near us intentionally?" "More than likely," he nodded. "It allows the weaker people to have the protection of the stronger people while still giving a challenge and letting those of higher Levels gain a bit more Experience. It''s possible there''s a diminishing gain the further above a monster you are in ability." "So an H-1 or a G-3 would be useful to the top twelve, far more so than ten or twelve H-3''s," she said. "The System really is following a set of rules and trying to keep things balanced for the game. What do you think the next Challenge will be? After yours, assuming it''s correct." "Survival," he stated. "Why do you think that?" "Either that, or another ''kill amount''," he said. "Those and ''obtain points'' look to be the primary type. However, there''s a possibility for a student-student fight Challenge next. Small chance ¨C likely to happen later." "There is that," she nodded. "The handbook and notices made it sound as if there are Challenges where we''ll be specified as allowed to fight each other. Why do you think it''d be later?" "To keep our numbers higher," he stated. "The early Challenges specified survival amounts, with steep losses. Then it stopped, and our losses became higher. They wouldn''t want to pit us against each other in violence unless only a few of us died. They wanted to weed out the weak, the slow, the stupid, and the unlucky at the start." "But keep the strong or those able or willing to adapt to the situation for the Challenges," she continued. "How many people here do you think have figured it out?" "Keith and Madeline no doubt know," he stated. "You and I know. William knows if he heard us. He may have figured it out on his own. Not sure who else would have figured it out." Nathan stood done with talking for the evening, and stepped over to Samantha, grabbing her hands and pulling her to her feet, then he pushed her against the cabinets, pressing himself against her, his lips to hers. Samantha, in response, pushed her tongue into his mouth, and they began to wrestle their tongues as she slid her arms around him. Nathan used one hand to untuck her shirt, then slid his hand up her back, feeling her soft, smooth skin. His other hand worked its way between them and unbuttoned her top. Then, he unstrapped her bra and slipped his hand underneath it, eliciting a moan as he rubbed her nipple, massing her as he pushed his tongue past hers and into her mouth. Samantha worked her hands between them and unbuttoned his shirt, running her hands around his firm, smooth skin and his tight abs, before sliding them to his back and moaning into his mouth as he expertly massaged her breast and nipple. After several minutes, Nathan pulled away from her, ending their kiss and contact. "What''s wrong?" Samantha asked. "Nothing," he smiled. "Dinner was delicious, I got to kiss you, and I even got to play with a hot girl''s boobs. And tonight, she''s sleeping in her underwear." "Only if he is," she smiles at him. "Though I''m surprised it''s just underwear." "Maybe some other time," he said. "I want to wait a bit, before going further." "Alright," she smiled. "But don''t wait too long, Nathan ¨C you never know when we won''t be around anymore, with this game." He knew that she was inviting him for more, but he had reasons for not wanting to. Not at the time. There was something he felt she had to know before they did it, and he wasn''t ready to tell her about it. It was the first time he had ever found himself hesitant or embarrassed about telling someone something for emotional reasons. "I plan on being around a very long time," he stepped back up to her. "And I''m planning on keeping you around a very long time, too. The monsters will have to get through me if they want at you." "What if we''re in a different instance?" "They''ll leave you alone out of fear of me," he said, pulling her back against him and giving her another kiss. "I''m heading to the restroom, then to bed. Meet me in there, don''t bother cleaning up. I have a duel over you tomorrow morning, and I want to be as rested as possible." 00015 "Keep doing that," Samantha muttered. "And I''m not going to wait for sex, Nathan. I''m going to turn around and put you in me." Nathan chuckled, squeezing her nipple one last time before pulling his hand away from it, then kissed her neck before rising and stretching. He pulled his pants back on, then fixed his belt before looking over at Samantha as she sat up and smiled at him. "How long were you doing that for?" She asked, noticing that he wasn''t pulling anything else on. In fact, his clothes weren''t even there. "Where are the rest of your clothes?" "Clothing Box," he answered. "Will put on after the duel." Samantha nodded, and he told her that he was going to do some preparations for the duel, then left. Twenty minutes later, each of the other twenty-three students who had completed the Challenge so far were in the Dome as William entered. Nathan was sitting in the center of the court, a pair of wooden training swords sitting on the floor in front of him. Taking note that Nathan was wearing just a pair of pants, William stripped to his and sent his clothes into his Clothing Box. "Training swords?" William asked as Nathan picked them up and tossed one to him. "Samantha said it''s your specialty," Nathan stated. "No bonuses, no extra powers with these. Just us and our Skills." It made the fight more fair between them, to use the same weapon. William wasn''t sure what Nathan''s specialty was, but he favored martial arts, so unless he was hiding his real specialty, then William had the advantage with the sword. At exactly eight, the pair of them received a message.
Duel Start!
"Charge!" William shot forward, his sword passing through where Nathan had stood moments before. The other warrior had stepped to the side at the last moment, easily evading the speed-fueled Skill. William pivoted and swung his sword around, only to have it deflected. Every attack William made, Nathan deflected, barely moving from where he was on the occasion he did move. Nathan never made a move to attack, only blocked or avoided being struck. After thirty minutes of that, William was exhausted, soaked in sweat, and breathing heavy. Nathan watched the other boy. He had good style and technique, but just wasn''t good enough, even with his own specialty. Quite a bit of talent, though. William moved forward, faltering a moment as his exhaustion began to beat at him, and in that moment, Nathan struck.
Target Health -3!
45 Endurance, 450 Health, 150 Strikes at full-force before factoring in whatever his regeneration is. Nathan knew he could be off a little on his estimates, but if he was right, then that was how many strikes he would need in order to remove William''s Health. He had no doubt the warrior had likely used some Health Potions to bring himself back up to full for the duel, if possible. As William corrected himself, he found Nathan''s sword striking again and again, and did his best to defend against the sudden onslaught of attacks. At first, he managed to block all but every fourth attack, then all but every third, then all but every second, then finally, none. "Zero," Nathan stated as he slashed the wooden sword at William''s chest, the blade sliding across the other boy''s chest.
Duel End! Victor: Nathan Hunter.
"Zero?" William gasped, dropping to the ground and sitting, doing his best to calm his breathing. "You knew I hit zero?" "45 Endurance." "How did you know how much Endurance I had?" William asked. "You can tell how much Strength I have," Nathan stated. "Say it aloud, and you will regret it." "But how-oh." "Yeah." Nathan dismissed his message.
Steal Stats 0/5
Strength Endurance Speed Magic Mana
Nathan focused on Magic and selected it five times, then confirmed his selection.
+5 Magic! Target -5 Magic!
"Wait," William frowned. "How did you do that? You didn''t use the vocal triggers." "Skill," Nathan stated, bending down and picking up William''s training sword. He then made his way to the training room and put the swords away, then made his way to the showers to wash off his sweat. William was already in them, scrubbing down, and Nathan took a nearby shower. "How long have you been fighting?" "Since I was eight," William looked over at Nathan, who was pumping shampoo into his hands. "You?" "Three." "You''re pretty good." "I''ve had several private tutors," Nathan stated. "Trained often, before this thing started." "Same," William nodded. "I don''t have a chance with Samantha, do I?" Nathan went silent at that, scrubbing the shampoo into his hair, then rinsed it out and pumped some conditioner into his hands and started scrubbing that into his hair. "We talked last night," Nathan stated. "And?" "Do you shave your pubes?" "I trim them," William looked down at himself. He kept the rest of his body hair-free, but his pubes trimmed. Then, he looked over at Nathan, whose body was smooth and devoid of hair. "You?" "I''m a blond with good genes," Nathan stated. "Don''t have anything to shave. You shave your pits, too?" "I don''t like hairiness."Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Are you bi?" William didn''t answer, returning his gaze to the wall in front of him. It was his boner and his shaving habits that revealed it, wasn''t it? "I take that as a ''yes''," Nathan stated. "Unless you challenge it." "Are you going to tell people?" "No," Nathan stated. "It''s not like it''d be a problem for anyone. Those who decide to cause a fuss about it while we''re in this are the people who''ll find themselves abandoned when the fight gets bad. Samantha said that if I was alright with it, she would look at dating both of us. After all, there''s a chance we''ll never leave here, dying together in the end. Why not take the moment?" "And you?" William looked over, noting Nathan''s lack of an erection before letting out a small sigh, his hope of a three-way relationship destroyed. "Are you okay with me dating her at the same time?" "As long as you don''t have sex with her," Nathan stated. "And don''t try to get between us, I won''t abandon you when the fight gets bad." "I can date her because we might all die, but I can''t have sex with her, even if she wants it, because we might die?" "Yes." Nathan rinsed the shampoo out of his hair, then pumped soap onto his hands and started scrubbing his body. "You can have sex with Michael, though." "Michael only fucks girls," William said. "And he''s an ass." "Not as much of one as he was when we started," Nathan stated. "And how do you know?" "He thanked me." William took several moments to process even the thought that Nathan was serious about Michael thanking someone for something. "¡­for what?" "Assistance against a Five-Pointer." "A what?" William asked. "G-3." "Ah," William said. "Wait ¨C why do you call it a Five-Pointer?" "Because it gives 5 Points. Duh." William laughed in response, then returned to washing himself. "Still not gonna have sex with Michael," William said. "He''s still an ass, and I''d rather top." "Rather, but not exclusively?" Nathan asked. "I''d bottom for the right guy," William admitted. "You''re a lot more talkative than I''ve ever heard you before." "Thinking about Samantha," Nathan shrugged. "I asked her out four years ago. She rejected me." "And she changed her mind?" "She apparently liked me back then," Nathan''s hand worked down to his member and began stroking it, bringing it to attention as he thought about Samantha and feeling her body. "I almost went all the way with her last night." "You did?" William looked over and saw what Nathan was doing, quickly moving his eyes away. "What stopped you?" "Pretty sure she''s a virgin." "And that bothers you?" William asked. Nathan continued to slowly stroke himself, not answering. His mind was focusing on the image of Samantha he''d conjured up in his mind. "Or¡­ you''re not," William said. "And you''re worried that''ll bother her." "Yeah." "When?" William asked. "Who? Um. Do you mind if I ask that?" "No one you know," Nathan answered. "Probably. One''s dead ¨C died in the initial wave ¨C the other two were seniors when we were freshmen, so they were out of the school before you started." "You banged a couple of older chicks." "Twins." "You banged a pair of older twin chicks." "Yeah." "At the same time?" "I only have one dick," Nathan said. "And they''re only about three years older. I know actual couples with bigger age differences. We were just hookup buddies." "When was your last time?" "With the twins or our classmate?" "Both." "The classmate, a week before we got thrown into this game," Nathan answered. "The twins, about two days before." "Any others?" "A chick who graduated last year," Nathan nodded. "She lives across the street from me. Got some that morning." "And these were all sex-based relationships?" William asked. "Yeah." "Damn," William responded. "You sure were getting some. How did they feel about sharing you with others and just being used for sex?" "Who says I was the only one sharing?" Nathan asked. "I wasn''t the only one some of them slept with. We were all using each other." "Damn," William let out a long sigh. "I''m still a virgin." "Most of us were, when this started," Nathan stated. "How did you convince the twins?" He asked. "I can''t imagine they''d have stayed in contact with you after graduating, even if they were classmates." "We already knew each other when I started high school." "How?" "They took turns babysitting me." "You banged your babysitters." "They''re my former babysitters," Nathan laughed. "They weren''t babysitting me the first time we hooked up, and hadn''t in years. Even though they''re in college, they still do some sitting, and sit my cousin. So I had a way to contact them." Nathan went silent after that, focusing on the way Samantha had felt that morning, picking up speed, his breathing picking up speed as well, until he reached his climax, blasting his load onto the shower wall with a light moan. "Fuuuuck," Nathan exhaled. "What do I do?" "Talk with her?" William suggested. "I''m sure she wouldn''t care. And hey ¨C maybe she''d be fine letting you sleep with others. Though¡­ I don''t think I could handle a relationship here unless I can get some." "Then don''t," Nathan told him, then finished washing up. "And I don''t think I would take anyone but Samantha. Not while we''re here, anyway." William nodded, then watched as Nathan left the showers. Nathan dried off in the locker room, pulled on a fresh outfit, then left, finding Michael standing right outside the locker rooms. "I''m not sparring with you," Nathan stated. "And the System won''t initiate a duel for us, I''m sure." "I-what?" Michael asked. "I wasn''t thinking of trying to provoke the duel, William told us what the punishment for losing was. I wanted to know if you would teach me some swordplay." "No." "If you don''t teach me," Michael says. "Then I''m going to fall behind in the Challenges, especially if things keep getting harder. If there''s a hope of us getting out of here, then we all need to work together and support each other. You''re the best swordsman here, beating out even William." Nathan assessed Michael. It was unlike the jock to ever ask for help if he needed it, and the guy had been an ass for as long as Nathan could remember. "No," Nathan stated. "But-" "Ask William," Nathan jerked a thumb in the direction of the locker room. "He''s still showering." "I doubt he''d do it." "That''s what you get for being an ass," Nathan stated. "Try offering to suck his dick." That out, Nathan walked past the stunned jock and made his way to the cafeteria, where the other students were busy eating breakfast or chatting about the duel. Nathan grabbed two icing-covered cinnamon rolls and a couple of biscuits, splitting the latter in half and drowning them in sausage gravy. With his breakfast ready, he grabbed two cartons of chocolate milk and two containers of orange juice, then walked over to where Samantha was eating her own breakfast. Nathan sat beside her and enjoyed his breakfast in silence. As soon as he finished eating, Samantha spoke. "Are you satisfied, now that you fought for me?" "¡­a little." Samantha laughed at his shy response, noting his cheeks had flushed just a tad. "Don''t worry," she put a hand on his leg and gave it a little rub. "It was enjoyable to watch and kind of sexy, seeing you and William hot and sweaty as you went at it. I bet it would''ve been even more enjoyable if you two were wrestling." Nathan punched her arm, receiving another laugh in response. "Also," she kissed his cheek. "Regarding what we talked about last night ¨C I don''t mind if you date others, as long as I''m your first." "And no sex?" "Please," she snorted. "You can have sex with whoever you want, but I doubt you''ll sleep with any of the other girls here. The only ones I can think of who''d catch your interest probably haven''t. The thing with William was your concession. And it was only until we leave here, remember?" The agreement they''d made was that if all three of them made it out of the game alive, Samantha would be free to sleep with William. Nathan refused to tell her why he didn''t want her sleeping with William in the game, though she had a suspicion about it. "If we leave here," Nathan reminded her. "Yeah," she said. "If we leave here. Though I really think you just want to take me, first." Nathan''s cheeks flushed again, and Samantha continued to rub his leg, her hand brushing against his crotch. "I''ll wait for you," she whispered into his ear. "But don''t wait too long. We really don''t know if we''re going to die here, and if so, when. And I would rather it be you." Nathan turned his gaze to his tray and stared at it, fiddling a little bit with his fork, poking at the remains of the thick gravy. "What is it?" She asked him. He took several seconds to decide to tell her the thing that made him hesitant with her, hoping she wouldn''t be mad, upset, or disappointed. "You wouldn''t be my first." "Really?" She exclaimed, pulling her head back and staring at him in surprise. "Who? When? How? You?" Samantha realized that she''d drawn the attention of the others, and stood up, pulling Nathan to his feet, noting his obvious surprise at her exclamation. He clearly hadn''t been expecting that as her response. "Come on," she said. "Let''s head to our room. You''re giving me all the details." 00016 "What are these?" Samantha asked as Nathan pulled her to one of the kitchens. "Cups," he told her. The two ceramic cups he''d made were sitting on the table, along with a pitcher of water. They had been glazed royal blue everywhere but the very bottom of the thick cone that made up the handle. "Here," he offered her one, then filled his with water, not quite reaching the top of the stem in his. "Fill it with water." "Why?" She asked. "Just do it," he told her, holding out the pitcher. "Do it, do it, do it, do it." Giving him a weird look, Samantha took the pitcher from Nathan and filled her goblet all the way to the top. As soon as she stopped, she realized that the water was draining out of the cup somehow and looked at it in confusion. "Where''s the water going?" She asked. "Into the handle," he tapped the cone. "The stem acts as a sort of siphon. If you fill it too full¡­ the drink drains out." "And it just stays in the-eek!" She jumped, letting go of the goblet, which Nathan caught, laughing. "Yeah, no," he grinned at her. "The handle is just a little too small on the inside to hold all of the liquid if you fill it all the way up. It''s hollow inside. In a normal one, it just drains right out of the bottom into your lap. In this one, the handle is two-part, with the upper part being an empty space that can hold a little more water than what would be to three-quarters of the cup. If you''re filling it fast, you wouldn''t notice the water ¨C or whatever ¨C draining out." "And since it can hold up to three-quarters of the goblet''s contents," she said. "In the handle, then it wouldn''t go the normal route and just drain it onto you." "Not unless you filled it even fuller," Nathan confirmed. "The container in the handle has holes at the top, just beneath where it meets the cup part, and the water or whatever drains out of there. Since you filled it all the way¡­" "It drained out, onto my hand," she punched him in the arm, and he grinned at her. "How did you learn to make that?" "It''s our finals project for Pottery this semester," he told her. "If we''re allowed to resume classes as-normal after this whole thing ends, anyway. Nearly everyone was in that class was a senior, so even if not, there''d only be a few students left for it. They''d probably still do it, but¡­" "You know about the finals project?" "He told us about it last month," Nathan nodded. "Since we''re here, I decided to try making them." Nathan turned her goblet over above the sink and let it drain out, then handed it back to her, thinking about their conversation after the duel. She was surprisingly receptive to the idea that he wasn''t a virgin ¨C even stated it meant he''d better be able to pleasure her right when they crossed that line. They hadn''t, yet, though mostly because Nathan was still a little bit hesitant. Having sex with someone he liked rather than someone he just wanted sex with was a fair bit different to him. "Samantha," he said, then took a sip from his own goblet as she began to fill hers. "I-"
Challenge 4 has been completed by all!
The MPR is now open. You may restock your bags, standard rules apply.
Male Challenge 1 will begin in 3 hours. Any male student not in the MPR at that point will die. There will be a 15-minute notice alerting you in advance.
"Told you," Nathan said. "You did," Samantha nodded. "I was still doubting you, but that confirmed your suspicions. The System is giving us a ''fair'' game, even if it''s unfair for parts." Nathan nodded, and the two of them drank from their goblet, cleaned them up, then brought them to their room before making their way to the MPR, where they restocked their backpacks. Nearly all of the boys had assembled by the time the three hours were up, with the final two arriving just before it was over. They were Keith and some kid Nathan had seen around, but never really got to know. The kid had picked a sword, like most of the guys. Looking around, Nathan counted one hundred thirty-five students including the girls, all of whom came to see what was going to be the Male Challenge 1. They had a loss of thirteen from Challenge 4. None of the thirty-seven from his own instance ¨C Keith had probably made sure everyone survived, claiming the final points he needed after the other guy he walked in with did. There were fifty-one girls left, making the total number of guys eighty-four. It was divisible by two, four, six, seven, and twelve, among others, meaning that it could evenly split between the boys in multiple ways. "Seven of twelve." "What?" Samantha looked at Nathan. "We''re being split into seven of twelve," he said. "One loss each." "What do you mean?" She asked. "Male Chall-" Nathan cut off, reading the message that appeared in his vision.
Male Challenge 1 will begin in 5 minutes.
You will be divided up into seven groups of twelve students. You will be required to collect 15 Tokens. The tokens will spawn in a random location and are student-specific. You will be required to kill a certain amount of monsters to cause each token to spawn. Once it does, you will be alerted of its location and that you have fifteen minutes to collect it, or you will have to meet the circumstances once more to cause it to spawn again. No Points or Experience will be earned on reattempts. 77 students will survive this Challenge. If 7 students die before 77 students have collected all 15 Tokens, all remaining students will be returned to the neutral instance. Students who collect all 15 Tokens will be returned to the neutral instance. 7 students will die, be it from monsters or lack of Tokens when the count of students remaining added to students deceased equals 7.
"It''s almost the same as Female Challenge 1!" Michael called out, then explained it to the girls. "I''m going to be the first to return, ladies!"The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Nathan snorted, then looked around. He didn''t really care if anyone else heard that, but still felt satisfied that only Samantha had. He ¨C and the other guys ¨C waited the five minutes, and as soon as they were up, Nathan assessed his combat partners. He was the only of the top seven males in the room. By his own estimates, they had one from each of the twelve sets of seven in terms of ranking. In other words, the System divided them up evenly. He returned his attention to the System, which had sent him another notice.
To spawn Token 1, you must kill 10 H-3 Monsters.
Nathan sighed, then left the MPR as the other students began formulating a battle plan and team. They called to him, to see if he wanted to join them, but he ignored it. They''d either adapt, or they''d be the reason everyone failed. A One-Pointer was an easy kill. Three of the One-Pointers were waiting in the hall to the cafeteria from the MPR. Nathan struck quickly, taking each of them out with only a few strikes. He moved towards the others One-Pointers in the cafeteria, defeating them quickly. There were eight of them, and he did receive a Point for the last one, confirming to him that it was only kills to respawn a Token that didn''t reward anything. Probably to avoid people farming the Points.
Nathan Hunter Token 1 is located in Room 1004.
You have 15 minutes to locate it.
The far side of the school, which bordered the street at the front of the school. As the timer moved to the corner of his vision, Nathan took off across the school, dodging the monsters before reaching the history classroom and beginning his search, locating his Token in the teacher''s desk. Immediately upon his touch, the Token vanished, and another notice appeared in Nathan''s vision, giving him a counter for how many of his Tokens he''d found, which then moved to beneath the empty timer. In addition to that, he received a surprising notice. He received a Stat Point, Skill Point, and Point for obtaining the Token. No one had mentioned that before. At least, not to or around him. However, he doubted it was new to the Male Challenge, that the Female Challenge included it. He also received a notice informing him that he had to kill fifteen One-Pointers, and so he got to work, hunting them down. It took him twenty minutes to locate enough One-Pointers, and once he did, he received a notice that his second Token would be located in Classroom 609, a chemistry lab. Groaning, Nathan took off and began frantically searching the classroom, eventually locating the Token in the chem lab''s storage room, where all of their dangerous chemicals were kept. He received two to each type of Point upon claiming it. The next Token required twenty One-Pointers, and when Nathan left the classroom, he realized that the numbers of monsters were slowly increasing. Eventually, he''d be forced to fight in order to reach the Tokens, and he was only on the third one. As Nathan fought, he bumped into one of the other guys, who was wielding a sword while trying to handle two One-Pointers at once. It was just a touch beyond his ability. Nathan quickly took out one of the monsters, then looked at the exhausted senior, who finished off the other a few moments later. "How did you make it this far?" He asked. "Dude!" The guy exclaimed. "Not everyone can be as badass as you, Nathan! Plus, I''ve been having to fight them in twos and threes! I''ve only fought them one-on-one or in teams!" "Weren''t you in a team?" "We got separated." "Good luck," Nathan clapped him on the back, then took off, taking out several more monsters on his way. After locating his third Token in the woodshop, Nathan received his bonus for completion and the notification that he had to kill twenty One-Pointers and five Two-Pointers. It took him nearly an hour, but he managed to do it. Part of the reason it took him so long was because the other students were also working on the monsters and had been occupying a fair portion of the school, forcing Nathan to travel pretty far. One downside to working alone while everyone else worked in groups was that the others could cover a lot more space, and there was a limited number of monsters. For his fifth Token, Nathan had to kill only two more Two-Pointers than before, and the same amount of One-Pointers. As he fought his way through the fifth, sixth, and seventh Tokens, he began to wonder how the girls managed to complete the Challenge. Thirty-six hours with increasing amounts of monsters and difficulties for victory would be pretty hard to do. He also wondered what they spent their Points on, as well as why no one mentioned their Skill Points and Stat Points bonuses for each Token. That was a huge bonus and someone would have bragged about it. During his battle for the spawn of the eighth Token, Nathan knew he was losing stamina. He''d been fighting for nearly five hours straight and things only got tougher for him, even with dodging every monster after a Token spawned until he had to fight again. During his battle for the spawn of the ninth Token, Nathan finally reached Level 41, though had nothing notable form for him, nothing going up and no new Skills unlocking from the last Level. To spawn his tenth Token, Nathan had to fight twenty One-Pointers and fifteen Two-Pointers, same as for his ninth, but also had to battle five Three-Pointers. Groaning, Nathan made his way to the roof of the school, where there were no monsters, and moved beside one of the air conditioning units, resting his back against it and closing his eyes, setting a mental clock of five hours. He was too exhausted to continue. Nine hours had already passed by the time he was ready to face the tenth Token''s spawn requirement. Five hours passed, and Nathan opened his eyes, stood, stretched, and made his way back into the building, ready to face the next portion of his Challenge. Another seven hours passed, and he frowned at the final portion of the Challenge, then made his way back to the roof for another five-hour rest. There was no way he was going to be able to handle it unless it was rested, not unless he had a decent team backing him. And he knew that only a few people would have a chance at beating him to the victory. Only one person. As soon as Nathan woke, refreshed and ready for the final token''s spawning, he prayed to whatever powers may be that he found the Token in time. He doubted he could fight a Five-Pointer a second time without a lot of resting after this challenge. At least the message let him know where it was located so that he didn''t have to hunt it down. Pulling up his Status, Nathan assessed his options.
Name: Nathan Sex: Male Age: 18
Level: 41 Health: 501 (1/575s) Mana: 281 (1/596s)
Stat Points: 105 Skill Points: 112 Points: 914
He couldn''t use the Points, due to it not having been sixty-six hours yet, but he could use his Stat Points and Skill Points for sure. Once again, he wondered why the girls hadn''t mentioned their 120 Points, Skill Points and Stat Points bonus from Female Challenge 1. Why did they keep it a secret? That would have given them a huge advantage. In fact, from what he could tell, their advantages and differences in the latest Challenge were too small. Did the System change its parameters? Was that because Nathan confessed what he had figured out, and it decided to give them a bonus this time? Or was something different? Nathan opened up his backpack and pulled out some food as he thought about his options, and what he would spend his Stat Points and Skill Points on. The Five-Pointer would be tough, but at least it was all he had to kill for the fifteenth Token''s spawn. How did the girls take on the Five-Pointer? He wondered. Even if they worked in teams, eventually, there''d only be a few of them. Clearing those thoughts from his head to ask Samantha later, Nathan got to work allocating his Stat Points and Skill Points. 00017 Stretching, Nathan descended from the roof of the school and made his way inside through the doors to the dome, nearly bumping into one of the other guys. "Nathan!" He exclaimed. "You''re alive!" "You''re still alive." "Well, yeah," the student nodded. "We just hadn''t seen you in six hours, and with how late it''d gotten into the run, we had started to wonder, you know." "Ah," he nodded. "I was on the roof. Nice and quiet. Good place to rest." "Oh," the student nodded, and Nathan looked around, a questioning look on his face. "They fled through the other doors. There''s a G-3 in there." "Need to kill it for the fifteenth Token." Nathan walked past the horrified senior and looked at the grotesque being, which was standing in the center of the dome. As soon as Nathan stepped past the marks outlining the basketball court, the beast turned its head and looked directly at him, then attacked, charging forward. Stoneskin, Nathan triggered one of his new Skills, taking the brunt of the attack with his arm. Te impact shook his body, but he held firm in his spot.
-1 Health
The monster only had 121 Strength. The Five-Pointers had a wide range on how many Stats they could have, since previous ones had fewer. They''d been able to hurt those, after all. Nathan pulled his arm back and slammed his fist into the beast''s stomach without triggering Impact.
Target Health -9
Damage Dealer only affected net damage, which meant that he only did six to it. Since Nathan had 93 Strength now, that meant the beast only had 87 Endurance. 870 Health. If he only did nine damage to it each time, plus the extra twenty from his Burst Knuckle, then he could break through its Health in thirty strikes. If he added in Impact, he could do twelve to it with the net damage, which meant that he could handle it in twenty-eight strikes. As long as he was optimal about his strikes, but he knew he wouldn''t manage that. As Nathan processed his calculations, his struck again, four times in a row before delivering an uppercut to the beast''s jaw to throw it off-balance as it attempted to yank his other arm out of its socket. The Five-Pointer stumbled back, then found a kick delivered to its stomach, followed up by the Burst Knuckle to the side of its head. Nathan didn''t let up his assault, determining that it was definitely a good idea to have spent a fair amount of his Stat Points into his Speed as well, a decision he''d made after his fight with the first quick monster he''d faced. The Five-Pointer couldn''t keep up with him. Combined with striking optimal spots, Nathan''s assault yielded his victory after just a single minute of combat, the Strength- and Endurance-based Five-Pointer unable to defend properly against the harsh attack combination. No Token message appeared in Nathan''s vision, and he frowned. He gained 3 Levels from the fight, but that didn''t surprise him ¨C it was, technically, a tough fight, and he had figured he was near Level 42 already. It wasn''t until he read how many Points he''d earned that he realized his mistake. That wasn''t a Five-Pointer. That was a Seven-Pointer. He hadn''t checked the markers, and took out something even stronger. The notices didn''t let them know there was something stronger around, so he had assumed that the monster with a dick was the Five-Pointer he was hunting. Yet the notice said it was in there¡­ Nathan looked around, spotting the Five-Pointer in the rafters, dropping down towards him. With his new Stats, it was laughably easy to take it out, and he received a Token''s spawn notice, letting him know it would remain when the monster faded. Sure enough, a minute later, the Token fell out of the fading monster. Nathan picked it up.
Male Challenge 1 Completed!
You will be returned to the neutral instance in 5 minutes. For receiving the 15th Token, you have earned 15 Stat Points, 15 Skill Points, and 15 Points. Congratulations!
Nathan made his way to the doors of the dome, where the senior he''d spoken with had been. "That wasn''t a Five-Pointer," Nathan told him. "That gave seven, meaning it was a G-2. With the Stat Point and Skill Point boosts, as well as the Levels you''ve gained so far, you should be able to handle the Five-Pointer needed for Token 15 when you''re on it. It might be a struggle, so make sure you strike at the critical spots." The student nodded, and Nathan closed his eyes, allocating his Stat Points, then moved to the bleachers and sat down, resting. A Five-Pointer might have been laughably easy to take out, but he was still exhausted. He hadn''t gotten proper sleep, and he did take on two powerful monsters in a row. Even with his higher stats, he wasn''t sure he could do that again. Not without some help. He''d gotten lucky and had to fight Strength-based ones. A Speed-based Seven-Pointer probably wouldn''t have gone down that easily against him. One that was a good mix of things might have even been able to take out his Health ¨C especially if he''d already been fighting or had to fight several monsters at a time. When the timer reached zero, Nathan found himself sitting on the bleachers in the dome in the neutral instance. Checking the clock on the wall, he confirmed it was lunchtime and made his way down to the cafeteria, where most of the girls were eating.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Rather than going to the food and getting some for himself, he walked over to Samantha, who was chatting with a few of the other girls. Then, he stood there and crossed his arms, staring down at her. "Hey, Nathan," she said. "What''s wrong?" "Token rewards." "What?" One of the girls asked. "Ah," Samantha said. "That. We were given a notice that all rewards from it had been temporarily suspended and neutralized until further notice, and that anyone who informed the guys of them and the specifics of the Challenge would lose all of them permanently. As soon as you guys were in the Male Challenge 1, we were given them back and informed that we could discuss it with you guys." Nathan relaxed. That was why no one had said anything, then ¨C the System threatened them with permanent loss of those rewards if they did. And that explained why they didn''t seem to be much more powerful than a few Levels. "Seven-Pointer." "Yes," Samantha nodded. "There was a G-2 in there. It seemed to spawn only once someone reached Token 15''s notice. In the dome?" Nathan nodded. "Yeah," she said. "We were all sent into it as well. It took a full team to kill it, but it didn''t seem to respawn after. That thing was tough as fuck, too. How many did it take to kill?" "One." "One?" One of the other girls asked. "You''re claiming to have taken it by yourself?" "Yes," Nathan stated. "Barely strong enough, but still managed." "Smart people," the other girl at the table said. "Would go after Skills if they could. There are Skills that increase damage, if you manage to unlock them. And your resistance. Theoretically, he could have done it on his own. Didn''t we discuss that he, Michael, William, and Keith could all potentially manage it alone? With Keith being a guarantee, since he was a lot stronger than Madeline, and she could take on the G-2 by herself?" "Yeah," the second girl admitted. "We did." "Sit by me," Samantha said. "You''re the first back, by the way." Nathan was surprised by that. He was sure Keith would''ve returned first ¨C he didn''t have to get into the personal space of every monster to claim his kills. The warrior made his way to the food area and start filling a tray with several burgers, slices of pizzas, and boxes of fries, then grabbed several cartons of milk and orange juice before sitting beside Samantha, who had returned to talking with the girls at her table. Nathan pulled up the Skills Shop while he ate and purchased Player-Striker. It allowed him to harm other players for five percent of the normal damage per Level of the Skill, up to Level 20, which was its maximum. He immediately spent another 19 Skill Points to master it, allowing him to deal full damage to anyone. He wasn''t able to kill others, but he didn''t care about that. He just wanted to be able to hurt them in case he needed to. Especially if they went after Samantha without harming her. Odds were, it would be awhile before he revealed his exemption from the rule. With that selection finished, Nathan pulled up the Points Shop. He had nearly a thousand to use, and wanted to see if anything new showed up. There was nothing new, which disappointed him. He had nearly a thousand Points, and yet no new items appeared for him to buy. That did not, however, mean that no new items would appear. After all, he did unlock the Additional Weapon because of him meeting the requirements of having purchased all three of his ''items''. "Oh, damn," Nathan looked up at the voice to find a surprised Keith standing on the other side of the table. "I wasn''t expecting anyone else to have finished already. How was your fight against the G-2?" Keith had drying blood on his scalp and a slightly-dazed look in his eyes. "Better than yours." "Yeah," Keith chuckled, then winced. "I''m going to get something to eat, then rest for a bit. I think I have a concussion." Keith walked off, and Nathan watched him, then returned to eating and deciding if he''s going to purchase anything. He knew most of his classmates would probably spend half of their Points into Stat Points. "Samantha," he looked at her. "Did you use your Points already?" "Yes," she nodded. "After our Female Challenge, it became clear that I''m going to need to be a bit stronger. Most of us probably used our Points from it on Stat Points. You?" "Same," he shrugged, then returned his gaze to the table. "I could only do a few damage to the Seven-Pointer at a time." Maybe it''s time to upgrade my weapons again. As if he was going to answer what he was doing with his Points with even a hint of honesty. "I''m going to rest for awhile," Nathan told Samantha once he finished eating, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I need it." "I''ll be in there in a bit," she told him. He nodded and took care of his trash and set the plastic tray on top of the can, then made his way back to Room 504 as the tray was covered by the black box of shadows, nothing remaining in its place when the shadows faded. Once Nathan reached his room, he stripped down to his underwear and laid on the air mattress, closing his eyes and pulling his Points Shop up again. His primary weapon were the knuckles and their extra twenty damage, plus the second of stun, was pretty useful. He could increase those ¨C it looked like Weapon Mod Upgrade didn''t scale in cost, since it didn''t list a Level. Then the Return Knife. He really needed to get its Level up, so that he could have a shorter return time on it. Being able to throw the knife was pretty useful. He''d probably need a mod to increase its damage, so he could just buy that for it and see if it was listed as an option. However, he also had his sword. As far as the other students knew, he didn''t have a sword for a weapon. The sword also still sat at only Level 1. Increasing its Level, and using it when absolutely needed during a fight against monsters ¨C such as against the G-2''s he knew he''d be fighting regularly soon ¨C would be good. It''d also benefit him when the System required them to fight each other. They''d expect him to fight with his fists, after all. They knew he was talented with a sword, but with that not as a weapon, they''d feel they had the advantage. Making a decision, Nathan spent 450 Points on the sword, bringing it up to Level 10. Then, he opened up his Skills Shop and bought Combo Strike while pondering the new option in the Points Shop. Combo Strike increased his damage by one for every successive strike, with a maximum Level of 5. What increased by the Level wasn''t the damage, but the timeframe he had for the damage boost ¨C a single second per Level of the Skill. He had a feeling that the net damage boost would be factored in after the bonus damage from his new passive Skill, meaning that he could potentially do a massive amount of damage, so long as he continued striking. And with his Burst Knuckle''s stun, that gave him an extra second to strike during as well. Returning his attention to the Points Shop, Nathan wondered what would happen if he bought Weapon Upgrade. It wasn''t a Weapon Level 11 Upgrade, simply a Weapon Upgrade. It clearly had to do with having a Level 10 Weapon, though, as that''s when it appeared. Deciding that upgrading his sword would be for the best, he purchased it, and frowned. His sword returned to Level 1, with its bonus damage doubled, doing ten per Level rather than five. That meant that he¡­ "Argh!" Nathan groaned. At least the Level Upgrades didn''t increase in price, he thought to himself. But should I do it again? Or should I save my remaining Points in case they''re needed in the next Challenge or two? Since it was back at Level 1, the sword''s damage was at its base again. Sighing, Nathan closed his Points Shop and decided to sleep on the decision. Or rather, to just sleep, since he really needed it, having barely kept himself away long enough to do as much as he had. 00018 Nathan frowned. Everyone who had returned from the Challenge and all of the females were in the cafeteria, eating, and yet Keith wasn''t there. It looked like the Challenge was over, since he counted nearly the allowed survivors in there. He walked over to Samantha. "Keith?" "No clue," she answered. "No one''s seen him since he left." Nathan frowned further. "Did you come?" "Yes," she snorted. "You slept for more than a day. From what I heard, you basically rushed through the whole thing. A few others passed out for awhile, but none as long as you." Nathan shrugged, then left the cafeteria. He was hungry, but he was also concerned. While he didn''t trust Keith, they did need to save every person they could when possible, and Keith was truly the strongest. He suspected the injured boy had made his way to the nurse''s office first, so he started his search there as he thought about Keith. Why did he not have Charisma? What did Nathan have that made the System think he was better-suited to surviving than the other boy? The Seven-Pointer likely only managed to hurt the mage with catching him by surprise. Reaching the nurse''s office, Nathan spotted Keith collapsed inside the dark room, just past the door. He actually had to push the door against the other guy''s legs just to get inside. Once inside, Nathan flipped the switch for the lights, then picked up the other senior. With his System-boosted Strength, it was a feat that took little effort on his part, surprising Nathan, who had momentarily forgotten about his greater strength. Looking around, Nathan saw the door on the left-hand wall leading to the restroom, then the door on the right-hand room leading to the ''recovery'' room, which was where there were two beds for students who needed it. Nathan took Keith to the recovery room and laid him down, then returned to the office and started looking through the supplies, realizing that they had a fully-stocked medical room and no rules against stocking from it. Pushing that from his mind, he continued searching, grabbing everything he thought he needed. Keith had a pretty nasty gash on his head and had lost a significant amount of blood. Once he had everything, Nathan returned to the recovery room and got to work cleaning up the wound, then stitching it together. Keith remained unconscious the entire time, and Nathan assumed he''d remain that way for awhile. The other senior was pretty pale and his breathing was shallow. He probably needed a blood transfusion, but Nathan had no idea how to perform one on the spot. Nathan cleaned up his supplies after stitching and bandaging the other senior''s head, then grabbed something from one of the two nurses'' desks and entered the recovery room. He was planning on watching over Keith until the other boy woke, anyway, and so it wasn''t like he was going to be going out of his way to do this. He loosened up Keith''s tie, then moved it to the side and spread open the other teen''s jacket and robe, then began unbuttoning his shirt. Once Keith''s chest and stomach were exposed, he spread apart the shirt, uncapped the permanent marker, and started drawing. Nothing inappropriate ¨C just a bunch of smiley faces ¨C but it still amused him to do it. When Nathan finished, he capped the marker and fixed Keith''s shirt, tie, jacket, and robe. Then, he sat on the other bed and stared at Keith. An hour and a half later, the mage woke up and reached up to rub his head, feeling the bandage. "Huh?" He asked, sitting up and looking around, spotting Nathan. "You treated me?" "Yes." "Even though you don''t trust me?" "I don''t trust anyone," Nathan stood up and walked over as Keith shakily stood off the bed. "Thanks," Keith said, then started to leave. "I probably need to eat, so I can-" "You owe me," Nathan grabbed Keith''s arm. "Ow!" Keith winced. "You''re-how are you hurting-" "Explanation," Nathan said in a commanding voice. "Ow!" Keith yelped. "You''re squeezing really-" "Now." "Okay!" Keith responded, and Nathan released his arm. The other senior started rubbing his wrist. "I''ll explain. But¡­ how did you do that? The System doesn''t let us hurt each other. It''s explicitly forbidden in the handbook. Or¡­ did it change, while I was out? I didn''t get a notice-" "No," Nathan stated, frowning. "Either you''re a good actor, or-" "I have nothing to do with the game," Keith told him. "I only knew that it was possibly happening, and at that time. That was it." "How?" Nathan asked, and Keith sat back onto the bed, leaning back and closing his eyes, rubbing his temples. "Here." Keith opened his eyes to find Nathan holding a handful of dried fruit and a water bottle. "Thanks," Keith said, eating the fruit and draining the bottle. "Not much, but¡­ thanks. Ugh. My head hurts so bad." "What happened?" "Damn thing dropped on me," Keith answered. "I don''t have a high Endurance, and it''d already taken out most of my Health. It slammed into me and threw me into the dome''s floor, though I managed to kill it. How long was I out?"Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "I dunno," Nathan answered. "Probably a day. I was sleeping for that long." Keith groaned, rubbing his temples again. "Continue." "Alright," Keith said. "You know I''m a hacker, right?" "Yes." "Six years ago," the mage said. "I hacked into a website. It was hard to get through, but not impossible. Only took me about two days of work, but considering I''d hacked three different governments in that same timeframe two years before that, that was hard for me. It only fueled my desire to get through it. "When I did," he continued. "I was both confused and delighted. I was twelve, and the site seemed to deal with the supernatural community. To my twelve-year-old self, that was amazing and proof that magic was real. I was slightly-skeptical, so I poked around, and got enough information without raising suspicions to learn a few basic spells. "From there," Keith''s eyes unfocused for a moment. "I started learning magics a bit faster. It seemed I had a natural aptitude for it, based on what I managed to learn through the site, which was a global site for the supernatural. "To learn a bit more," he continued. "I mentioned that I was a kid who''d recently discovered magic on my own, but didn''t have anyone to teach me. They wanted to find out where I was and how I''d found the password, and I simply told them that I had a psychic vision of the site and the password, but I was a kid, and had been told to never give out my location." "Psychic vision?" Nathan asked. "A bullshit lie," Keith shrugged. "Though not long after that, I discovered I actually did have slight psychic powers?" "When your eyes turned violet?" "My actual eye color," Keith snorted. "It shines through my contacts when I use my psychic ability." "Your eyes are violet?" Nathan asked, and Keith tilted his head back and moved a finger up to it. When he pulled it away, a contact with a brown ring was on his finger, revealing a bright purple iris beneath. "They started turning after I started learning magic," Keith told Nathan. "I started wearing the contacts when I noticed it so others wouldn''t. Thankfully, it was summer, so I didn''t really interact with a lot of people." "Parents?" "Clueless," Keith answered. "I used my hacker skills to get the contacts. Well, and my contacts to get them, but those came through my hacking. I found out later that purple eyes were a sign of psychic abilities, but by that point, my actual psychic abilities were already pretty active, and my eyes had fully turned." Nathan nodded, then sat down on the other bed and stared at Keith, who put his contact back in. "Did your girlfriend know?" Nathan asked. "My girlfriend?" Keith asked. "I''ve never had one of those, and wouldn''t fake it, either. Why did you think I had one?" "You''re actually gay?" Keith shrugged. "I bet that if you offered to teach Michael in exchange for getting blowjobs and getting to fuck him, he''d be happy to let you." "No," Keith made a disgusted face. "I don''t want to even touch Michael, much less in a sexual way." "If you ever do, let me know so I can watch." "Aren''t you with Samantha?" "She''ll watch with me," Nathan nodded. Keith stared at the other senior for several long moments. "I don''t know if you''re serious or just fucking with me," he said, then looked at the mirror over the counter on the wall the beds weren''t touching. "I look like shit. At least you didn''t draw on my face." "Yeah," Nathan said. "So. Continue." "Who did you think was my-oh," Keith sighed. "You live near the place we were meeting up. That was a forty-year-old witch who looked like she was our age, Nathan. I wasn''t dating her, I''d finally given in and agreed to meet up with her for a little project of mine. As good as I am with air magics, I''m even better with enchanting, and I was working on a project that needed some stuff I couldn''t get online. Ancient enchanting techniques that were highly-guarded by the handful of people in the world who still had them." "What were you making?" Nathan asked. "And why are ancient enchanting techniques guarded and kept secret?" "The last time they were used caused an Ice Age," Keith answered. "You attempted to cause an Ice Age?" Nathan''s eyes widened. "No! No!" Keith held up his hands, then winced. "Ow. No, I wasn''t trying to cause an Ice Age. Theoretically, there are other worlds with humans out there. As well as with beastkin or whatever, and elves, and dwarfs. Real ones. I was attempting to create a gate to them." "Success?" "Failure," he shrugged. "We''re going to try again this summer. Or¡­ were. Who knows if I''m going to be one of the survivors." "One of the?" Nathan asked. "So you do know stuff about it? Specifics?" "Yes," Keith nodded. "Because of my hacking. Have you wondered why Madeline has tried to turn everyone against me? And continued even after she succeeded?" "That did make me wonder," Nathan said. "She knew, too, then?" He wasn''t asking that after coming to that conclusion then, but rather, to confirm his long-standing suspicion that she''d known before it started. "She didn''t just know," Keith said. "She''s part of an organization that forced this particular incident. We aren''t the first, but we are the first forced one. No one knows what''s been triggering them. The organization she''s a part of is global, and when it discovered these incidents a few months ago, and decided to force them to happen to attempt to get their younger adults stronger, they did everything they could to. The power boosts from these events are massive, and if they can get just a few people stronger, they can just break the rules and wipe out any competition and take over the world. "Madeline wasn''t their first attempt," he continued. "Just the first one they succeeded in forcing. She''d already been attending here, so it''s not like it''d be suspicious. The reason she went at it with me is because she realized I somehow knew. She didn''t even know I was a magician until then." "If she''s supposed to be working her way to the top," Nathan said. "Why does she gather as many as she can and bring them to her side? So that they''ll side with her after this?" "No," Keith answered. "Remember in the Survival Challenge? The more people gathered together, the more often monsters would attack." For the Experience. She gathered people as her allies so that she could farm monsters easier. She did steal a lot of kills from those with her, but it was played off as the others needing help or her payment for their protection. And Keith being that much better than her likely only increased her animosity. That, and the fact that he knew about the situation, who she was, and that she was part of the organization behind it. "What else?" Nathan asked. "Do you know, that is." "The Charisma thing," Keith answered. "And that in the nine incidents so far, the survivor count has been five, three, one, six, four, two, five, three, and three, in that order." "So we''re the tenth?" Nathan asked. "How come no one knows about it?" "The governments are keeping it a secret," Keith answered. "We''re the fourth in the States. Two have been in China, one in Japan, one in Hong Kong, one in Brazil, and one in Britain. I''m not sure what the other governments are doing, but ours, after the last batch, bought up an abandoned prep school campus and is converting it into a recovery place, where the victims ¨C us ¨C can recover and continue their education safely. We''ll probably be moved there to join the other survivors." "Okay," Nathan said, then stood and stretched. "Want me to bring you some food?" "I can make it to the cafeteria," Keith told him, realizing only after the offer that he was feeling light-headed and probably needed more than a handful of dried fruit. "Thanks, though." "Teach me how to use magic." "Why?" Keith asked. "You''re a martial artist, aren''t you?" "Yes," Nathan nodded. "But I''m only around the same amount of power as everyone else ¨C despite being several Levels higher than the next-highest. Some of you are probably even stronger than me. Having a better set of abilities would be useful." Keith thought over the request. It was a fair request, and there were several reasons why he should be willing to teach Nathan. However¡­ "Why do you believe me?" 00019 "Why?" Nathan asked. "Yes," Keith answered. "Why do you believe a word of what I said?" "It fits your personality and hers," Nathan answered. "Simple as that." "Sometimes, people have a secret side to them," Keith said. "Sometimes," Nathan stated. "But you haven''t gone out of your way to spread negativity about someone, and you simply accepted her doing that. In addition, you''ve mentioned ¨C when it''s brought up ¨C that it was bullshit. Plain as that. You didn''t answer until I forced you to." "Yes," Keith frowned. "You hurt me, even though that shouldn''t be possible without dying. Are you a part of-" "Skill," Nathan said. "Unlocked for me at Level 40. Share it, and I''ll use it on you again." "Understood," Keith swallowed hard. "I won''t tell anyone." "Good." "You know," Keith said. "This is probably the most I''ve ever heard you talk before." "I don''t usually have something worth talking about," Nathan stated, then walked over to Keith. "Arm." "Huh?" "You''re going to fall on the way to the cafeteria." Keith nodded, then wrapped an arm across Nathan''s shoulder and leaned into the other senior, putting nearly all his weight onto him. Nathan assisted the mage to the cafeteria, where he received several annoyed looks. It wasn''t until he had gotten Keith into a seat that someone spoke up about him helping the mage. "Why did you help him?" Madeline demanded as she approached, drawing attention from everyone around them. "It would''ve been better to just leave him to die! Do you even know-" "How much more difficult," Nathan fixed his gaze on her, and the female mage stumbled back a step. "It would be for us to survive without someone as powerful as him?" "He-" "Is much more powerful than you," Nathan stated. "And hasn''t done anything that proves a word of what you say about him being a force behind this. Now shut the fuck up and go slut yourself off, you whore." "Who do you-" "Shut the fuck up, bitch," Nathan growled. "Kieth has done much more to help people survive than you have. Was it not because of you gathering so many people together during the Survival Challenge that so many monsters were attacking you? And didn''t you steal many of their kills? Keith at least lets people take a kill after he weakens it. Even if said person bullied the hell out of him for no reason. Isn''t that right, Michael?" Nathan turned his gaze to Michael, who timidly nodded. "Yeah," the warrior responded. "Keith let me kill a G-3 when I was struggling against it during the last Main Challenge. He used a spell to hold it down, actually." Nathan was impressed by Michael''s honesty. The game had changed the bully, who normally wouldn''t have admitted something like that. He had been half-expecting the other guy to lie, in fact. "How does he know where everyone is?" Madeline sent Michael a death glare. "He always knows when someone''s in danger, doesn''t he? How can-" "Because I''m psychic," Keith answered, removing his contacts and sending a violet glare to Madeline. "Now shut the fuck up, will you?" "You-you-what?" Madeline almost shrieked. "How are you, of all people, psychic? I''ve worked my ass off my whole life in an attempt to gain the ability! I-" "Shut. The. Fuck. Up. Bitch," Nathan growled, and Madeline went silent, turning pale and taking another step back, then another. "Now be a good bitch and fuck off." Madeline sputtered for a few moments, then stormed out of the cafeteria. "How many people here did Madeline ''protect?" Nathan asked, and quite a few raised their hands. "And how many did she go out of her way to save?" All of those hands went down. "And how many here did Keith go out of his way to save?" Many of the hands rose back into the air, along with a few others. "Keep that in mind," Nathan said, then turned and walked to the food area to pile two trays with food. As soon as things turned against Madeline, she threw a fit. Nathan knew that she''d likely gotten too used to having her way. To have things change so suddenly, and to have someone actually blatantly defy her, was likely an entirely new experience for her. She''d probably do what she could to get revenge on Nathan and Keith, and probably cockblock Michael if she could, but that didn''t bother Nathan. Keith didn''t mind her, he could handle her, and Michael wasn''t staying exclusive to her in the first place. And as pretty and influential as she was, Michael was hot enough that the chicks he was banging wouldn''t stop just because Madeline didn''t like him. Especially after having it so blatantly and obviously put that she was using them. Nathan returned to the table with Keith and set a tray in front of the mage, who began to stuff himself. The warrior sat down across from him and began to eat, and Samantha walked over and sat beside him. "You know she''s going to find a way to get revenge on you, right?" Samantha asked. "She isn''t the type of girl to let something go."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Most things she could do would violate the rules and cause her to die. "She''d better do it in a way that I don''t know, then," Nathan responded, then returned to eating, not saying another word. When he finished eating, he took care of his tray and trash, made sure Keith had enough to eat, then made his way to his room. When he arrived, he found Madeline pouring water from a pitcher onto his air mattress. "You know," she smiled at him. "This doesn''t count as stealing or anything else that violates the rules." "No, it doesn''t," Nathan said as she finished. Then, he walked over to her, grabbed her arm, twisted her, and slammed her face into a desk, eliciting a cry of pain from the mage. He leaned his face down next to hers and glared into her eyes. "However," he growled. "There isn''t a damn person here apart from you, me, and Keith who will even believe that I slammed your face down like this. After all, we can''t hurt others without being killed by the System. I know the truth about you, Madeline, and I''m not going to let you leave this place alive. How painful that death is depends on how much you piss me off. Do you understand?" "How are you-" He lifted her head up and slammed it down again, resulting in her gritting her teeth and biting back a scream. "No matter what you say," he told her. "No one will believe that I did this to you. They''ll think you did it to yourself, forgetting that we can''t hurt others, with the intent of saying I did it. Am I clear? You''re going to back off. Or I''m going to kill you." Nathan then picked Madeline up and carried her out of Room 504, throwing her into the hall. As she scrambled to her feet, she found the pitcher flying toward her face, slamming with enough force to break her nose. "You might want to get that looked at," he snarled. "Now fuck off!" Madeline took off out of the room, and Nathan sighed, rubbing his temples, then shucked off his backpack and set it on a desk and looked down at the air mattress. It would be awhile before he could use it again, and there was no doubt that water had leaked through inside of it by then. He lifted up the air mattress and flipped it over, then set it on a couple of desks so that the wet side was down. The pillows and blanket were soaked as well, so he set the former on desks and draped the latter across two. With those set out to dry, Nathan made his way to the supply room where the ''sleeping materials'' were located. As he pulled out a new air mattress, set of pillows, and blanket, he checked the lube supply. There were six bottles of it left, and from what he''d heard, it restocked anytime it went empty. They were all plain, water-based lubes, but also completely edible. He wasn''t sure why the System supplied them with lube ¨C why whoever set up their hellish alternate dimension thought it was necessary for them to have. Or at the very least, cared enough to let them have ''easier'' sex. There were many things he''d yet to figure out. Such as Player-Striker. Was it a Skill that always unlocked at Level 40, or was it one of those Skills that he''d met the requirements to unlock? Skills didn''t show what their requirements were, making some of them difficult to guess. Silent Trigger probably came about because of his constant use of mumbling to trigger things, and Spatial Mobility because of his constant movement around and above his enemies. Damage Dealer and Stoneskin probably came from his constant hitting and high amount of damage dealt and taken. Combo Strike likely stemmed from the fact that his usual style of fighting involved striking fast and repeatedly ¨C the main thing that let him win so many fights. Well, that, and the mod for his Burst Knuckle, Stun Strike, which stunned his opponents for a single second. It''d increase if he raised its Level, but so far, that single second was all he needed. For most cases. Some monsters seemed immune to the Stun Strike mod. Returning his thoughts to what he had been doing, Nathan checked the supplies under his arms and in his hands, then left the supply room and made his way back to Room 504 and set up his new bed. After everything was done, Nathan stripped to his underwear and laid down, closing his eyes and resting, though not sleeping. Around an hour later, he opened his eyes, and Samantha jumped. Nathan checked out his girlfriend, who had stripped down to her panties and bra, and made no effort to hide that he was staring at her breasts. "Jeez," she held a hand to her chest. "You startled me. Did I wake you?" "Already awake," he grunted. "Mind if I feel?" "No," she snorted, lying down beside him, the thing she had been doing when he suddenly opened his eyes. "What happened to the others?" Nathan quickly glanced at the drying air mattress, blanket, and pillows, then back to Samantha as he worked a hand under her and undid her bra. "Madeline had a pitcher of water." "She seriously decided to soak our stuff?" "Inconvenience," Nathan pushed her bra off and started fondling her as she leaned into him. "Did you see her face?" "Yes." "She tried claiming you did it," Samantha said, rubbing a hand along his thighs. "Which is ridiculous. She was trying to claim that you were exempt from the rules and could hurt people at will. She''s crazy, and that feels amazing." Nathan smiled at her, then leaned over and gave her a kiss, moving his hand to her other breast and sliding down, taking the freed nipple into his mouth. After working it with his teeth and tongue for a few minutes, her other with his fingers, he swapped nipples, enjoying the moans he was eliciting. When he felt himself coming close, Nathan released her and laid back down beside her, forcing his breathing to still. "Nathan," Samantha moaned, turning onto her side and pressing her lips to his. "You having some experience isn''t a bad thing. That felt amazing. Why''d you stop? Did-" "I''m close," he breathed into her cheek. "If I kept going-" She silenced him with a kiss. "I know we said we''d wait on fucking," she kissed him. "But we didn''t say anything about oral." Nathan smiled at her, then she scooted down the air mattress and slid his boxers down to his knees, letting his erection stand at full mast. Opening her mouth as much as she could, she took him into her, and Nathan grabbed her head, running his fingers through her hair. "Mind your teeth," he exhaled slowly. "Fuuuck, Samantha. Ow, teeth." "Sorry," she pulled off of him for a moment, then returned to what she was doing. She could only manage a few inches of him, but Nathan didn''t mind. He knew it was her first time, she didn''t have the experience yet. "Gonna cum," Nathan grunted after a couple of minutes, and Samantha forced herself down as far as she could go, then choked as he started blasting his load into her throat. When Nathan finally finished releasing his load, Samantha pulled off and licked her lips, swallowing what she could before using her tongue to clean up the mess of cum that had escaped her. "Impaling yourself orally like that isn''t a good thing," Nathan told her when she finished and laid back beside him. "Especially when new. Work your way to that." "Alright," Samantha traced circles on his chest. "Did you enjoy it?" "Yeah," he responded. "You?" "It was definitely a new experience." "You didn''t like it?" He asked, and his expression told Samantha he was heavily disappointed ¨C and upset ¨C that she hadn''t been into it. "It wasn''t how I expected it," she told him. "Seemed almost¡­ boring and tedious." "Next time," he told her. "Don''t just suck it." "Don''t?" "You''ve never really watched porn before, have you?" "I prefer watching two guys get it on than a girl getting impaled by a monster." "So you want to be blindfolded when we do go all the way?" She pinched his nipple as hard as she could, and he laughed, playfully swatting her hand away. "You could''ve stopped," he kissed her cheek. "If you want to enjoy it more, try doing more. Don''t just suck. Lick from base to tip, the thighs, the area around, the balls, the space between them and my dick. And make eye contact." "Eye contact?" "Yeah," he smiled. "I''d like to see these beautiful jewels of yours a bit more if you''re blowing me. You only looked at me to respond." "Is that a turn-on for you?" She asked. "As much as my foreplay to you is for you," he responded, sliding a hand back to her chest as he pulled their blanket over them. "Now shh, let''s relax and rest a bit." 00020 "Am I smelling cookies?" Nathan looked over to see Michael poking his head into the culinary classroom, the jock suddenly seeming nervous and as if he''d rather be anywhere else. "Yes," Samantha answered. "Nathan and I are competing against each other. We were going to have just Keith and William judge, but if you want to join, feel free to come on in." "Are you sure?" Michael asked. "Two isn''t a proper judging panel," Nathan stated. "They could be biased or tie." Michael nodded and entered, then walked over to the table, where the other four were playing poker, using strips of paper as their betting tool. Judging by the massive mound of them in front of Nathan, the silent martial artist was winning, and the tiny piles in front of the others indicated they were nearly broke. "How could we be biased?" William asked. "We weren''t even in the room when you mixed the cookies and put them in, and we''re pulling them out." "Keith could use his psychic abilities." "And I swore I wouldn''t," Keith said as the two ovens in-use pinged almost simultaneously. "And that''s our cue, you win." Keith and William stood and made their way to the two kitchens in the back of the room, Kitchens 3 and 4, and pulled the two trays in each oven out, setting them on the cooling racks. After about a minute, they scooped the cookies off and let them sit directly on the racks, under which parchment paper had been spread to catch any dropping crumbs. Then, they selected three cookies from each batch and put them onto a smaller plate and made their way back to Kitchen 5, the one by the teacher''s desk and the only one beside Kitchen 4, where the other three students were sitting. They set the two plates on the table as Nathan got up and went into the two kitchens, piling another plate with half a dozen cookies from each batch, eating a few more as he did. By the time he returned to Kitchen 5, the three cookies from each batch there to be judged had already been consumed. "Which won?" He asked as he sat back down and started eating. "Kitchen 3''s," Keith answered. "Who made those?" "He did," Samantha pointed at Nathan. "I told you two that he was better." "Do I smell cookies?" Someone asked, poking their head into the room. It was Kendra, along with her two new boyfriends, since her two old ones died in the previous Main Challenge. She moved fast, Nathan noted, though he guessed it was likely the case for most of them there. They knew they could die at any time, and so could anyone they were with, and so they were prepared to move on. It was still unusually fast, unless something else had interfered and made them more willing to accept things and move on. It was a theory he was still entertaining, even though there wasn''t much of a way he could prove it. "Chocolate chip," Nathan held up the plate in front of him, then set it back down and resumed eating. "Come on in," Samantha rolled her eyes. "We made two and a half dozen each." Kendra''s eyes widened, and she looked around the classroom, frowning. "Nathan and me, I mean," Samantha amended. "Keith and William didn''t believe that he really did make better cookies than me." "Your cookies are good," William told her. "But Nathan really did beat you out on that. Where did you learn how to make those?" "A goddess of baking bestowed upon me the gift of baking," Nathan answered, then took a bite into another cookie. Samantha rolled her eyes in response, and Keith frowned at him. "Isn''t your mom a professional chef?" "She contributed to probably a tenth of a percent of my cooking ability." Kendra and her men joined them at the table, and the girl herself looked at Keith. "Your eyes really are violet?" She asked, and he nodded. "Wouldn''t your contacts have-" "The System gave me more," Keith clarified. "It was one of the things I could restock on. I don''t need them to hide my eyes'' natural color anymore, so I''m not wearing them. Using my psychic powers cause my eyes to glow, and it''s visible through the coloration, anyway. People were already noticing." Nathan nudged Samantha as Kendra and a couple of the others looked confused, since colored contacts weren''t necessary, yet the System supplied them for him. "Nathan has a theory," Samantha said, and the others looked at her, then at him. "He''s not saying it, though, so I''m going to. The System is just that ¨C a System. It''s running on a series of rules, ifs, conditions, whatever. Male Challenge 1 occurring was what confirmed it to me. "The reason it supplied Keith with the contacts," she told them. "Was probably because, when we were launched into this, he was wearing them. The System registered them, registered their prescription ¨C which was none ¨C and the coloration. It was likely just set to register and supply contacts if worn or held on a person when the game started, not to determine if they were needed or not." Samantha explained the rest of Nathan''s theory to them as well, and by the time she finished ¨C and finished answering their questions on it ¨C Nathan had finished his plate of cookies. Then, he looked at Michael. "Not hanging with Madeline?" "She''s mad at me," Michael shrugged. "Said that if I wanted to betray her, I can find someone else to fuck. It''s not like we had an agreement I''d lie for her, and Keith did save me. You, too." "Speaking of fucking-" Nathan turned his gaze to Keith and William, who were sitting to his left. "No!" They exclaimed in unison, sending Samantha into a fit of laughter. "You actually said it to them!" "Anyway," Keith shook his head. "Nathan, I never did give you an answer." "Yes?" "Yes."This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "An answer?" Samantha asked. "Training," Nathan answered. "Speaking of training," Michael said. "I know I''ve been an ass, but would any of you three warriors be willing to help me a bit?" "No," Nathan answered. "Yes," Samantha responded. "Yes," William responded. "We need to work together as much as possible." "Don''t think for a moment, though," Nathan told Michael. "That just because we''re training you that we''re going to let you live, if it comes down to saving you or someone else." "What if it''s Madeline?" "I''ll abandon you both." "I thought you said you weren''t willing?" "They agreed," Nathan shrugged, then stood. "I''ll let you guys sort things out. Keith, come with me. First session is now." "Alright," Keith said. "We''ll be back later," Nathan gave Samantha a kiss on the cheek. "Don''t hurt him too much." Nathan left the room, Keith following, and made his way to the dome, pushing open the door at the back of the dome leading to the stairs up and letting Keith through. Then, they made their way upstairs and across the short path to the other side of the track and through the doors. After walking through the short room and the second set of doors, they found themselves on the wide set of stairs that formed almost a pillar on the corner of the dome, leading down to the parking lot below. Nathan fiddled with the doors at the stairs leading up, then beckoned for Keith to follow once they opened, and they made their way to the roof. "You can pick locks?" Keith asked. "Learned how years ago," Nathan shrugged as he strode to the center of the roof. "How do you start using and learning magic?" "Alright," Keith stripped off his robe, shirt, and tie, then stepped out of his shoes and shucked off his socks, tossing them into the shoes. "Get down to your pants?" "Magic, not ogling," Nathan glared at him. "Magic, not ogling," Keith told Nathan as he sat and crossed his legs. "When first learning how to use magic, it''s best to be wearing as little as possible. You''ll understand once you ''awaken'' your magic. Sit and relax." Skeptically, Nathan did as he was instructed, mirroring Keith''s attire and position, facing the mage. "Take a few deep breaths," Keith instructed. "Breathing slowly. Meditate lightly. Clear your mind, while at the same time, focusing on the way your body feels. For the part after that, listen to what I say before you do any of it. "As you meditate on how your body feels," Keith continued. "Visualize a sort of blue energy, similar to your blood, flowing through you. As you sense it, it should feel off to you, as if needing ''stretching''. Tap into it as if it''s a muscle that you can use. As soon as you succeed, you''ll know it ¨C you''ll start venting your mana. Both your Mana and your Magic values will probably increase ¨C there''s always a jump when someone''s awakened. It''s always two times to ten times as much." "What was your jump?" "Ten times," Keith answered. "My Mana stat ¨C not my mana itself, is over two hundred naturally. Madeline''s is roughly eighty, and she had the ten times boost, too. I''m referring to what they were when we started this game. When I awoke, I probably had around a hundred or so, but I''ve focused heavily on increasing it and have a decent rate of growth. What was your starting?" "Ten, I believe." "Decent," Keith told him. "Keep in mind, though, that starting doesn''t necessarily relate to your boost. There are people who start with fifty who only have it doubled." "So you had it at ten and multiplied by ten?" Nathan asked. "Yeah," Keith leaned back, using his hands to prop himself up as he looked up at the sky. "It''s said that, about fifteen centuries or so ago, there was a magician whose magic increased beyond the ten-times maximum that''s known." "Merlin?" "He was pretty famous," Keith grinned, righting himself and looking at Nathan again. "Though most of the tales were false, according to what I''ve researched." "Hacked?" "Some," Keith nodded. "Supposedly, his mana multiplied by at least a hundred when he awoke, though no one really knew the exact amount. If there was ever a monster when it came to magic, it was him, the most powerful magician in recorded history. "Anyway," Keith took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. "Once your magic awakens, focus on controlling that flow within you. Until you have a handle on it, you''ll continue to vent mana until you run out." "What happens then?" "Your magic continues to try venting itself out and you die, your body ripped to shreds." Nathan stared at Keith in disbelief for a few moments. "You''re joking, right?" "No," Keith admitted. "This is the fast way of doing it. The ''proper'' way is to just focus and meditate, and spend months doing that, sensing your magic before ever tapping it. The more familiar you are with it when you awaken it, the easier it is for you to get a handle on it. It can actually be hard to do that, too, since once you''re aware of it, you can always sort of sense it, and it really, really feels like you need to scratch that itch to stretch your magic." "Alright," Nathan said, then closed his eyes. "One last thing," Keith said. "There''s more?" "Yes," Keith nodded. "When you awaken your magic¡­ be prepared for your senses to as well." "My senses?" "Yes," Keith answered. "Consider your current sensory limitations to be your sleeping version of your senses. When you awaken your magic, the venting ''awakens'' your full senses." Nathan immediately understood why Keith wanted him to strip down. If his senses heightened with the awakening of his magic, then even the slightest touch would be enhanced to him. If it was bad enough that stripping was needed to help ''handle'' it, then he might as well go all the way, right? "What are you doing?" Keith asked as Nathan stood up. "You said it''s best done naked," Nathan answered. "What about ogling?" "Why are you even partly-stripped in the first place?" Nathan asked. "You''ve already undergone this." "You''ll understand once you''ve awoken," Keith gave him a sly smile, then averted his gaze as Nathan dropped his pants and boxers. "You have a nice body." "Samantha agrees," Nathan stepped out of his clothes, then sat back down on the roof, grateful it was smooth and clean. Mostly because he''d swept it up previously, preferring to nap on a clean surface than one that had leaves and dust and such. "Anything else?" Nathan asked. "No." "Alright," Nathan said, then closed his eyes. As he meditated, he visualized an energy flowing through him. At first, he imagined it like blood flowing through his veins and arteries, but as he did, that felt off to him, and the visualization adjusted. The energy changed from bluish in his mind to white, with no central point, nor any real ''pattern'' to it. It was simply there, flowing throughout him. Nathan spent a little while simply feeling the flow, sensing how it moved within him, before eventually ''dipping'' into it, mentally. As soon as he did, his body felt as if aflame and he could feel his mana venting out of him at a rapid pace. He wasn''t sure how much he actually had, nor how much it increased by when he awakened it. All he knew was that at the rate it was draining, he had probably three or four minutes before he was completely out. And so, he got to work attempting to harness his mana and stop it from venting out. Keith stared at Nathan in horror. The other senior''s body had begun venting mana like crazy. Normally, they had up to half an hour of venting before they''d die, but at the rate Nathan was venting, he''d be out in two minutes. Maybe. Not only that, Nathan was screaming, his face contorted in pain, his body clenched up tightly. A sign of a massive boost was intense pain as one''s body not only awoke to its magic but to its full senses, all six senses overwhelming at once. To make it worse, Nathan was venting as much mana every second as Keith had in his stat. The air had grown so thick with it that Keith knew any mundie, any person without magic, would be able to sense it. He could see the white mana filling the air and distortions in the alternate as a result of it. The coloration was unlike any mana Keith had ever seen before, too. Normally, raw mana took on a blue appearance. Psychics, like Keith, had a violet mana. Necromancers had gray mana. But he had never seen nor heard of white mana before. Once someone started venting, it was impossible to stop it, and Keith hadn''t expected Nathan to have so much mana once awoken, else he''d have told the warrior it was a bad idea. His mana had to have multiplied by at least a hundred. Keith could sense Nathan''s mana getting low and felt helpless. There was nothing he could do to save the warrior. As time passed, Keith realized that Nathan didn''t even have close to two minutes. He had a minute and a half, roughly, before he''d be completely out of mana. Just a few seconds before Nathan ran out, his mana stabilized and the warrior passed out. Keith let out a heavy sigh of relief. He''d managed, just in time. And he felt powerful. Nearly as much mana as Keith currently held. Before he could consider the implications of Nathan''s mana increasing three hundred times upon awakening, a blue message appeared in his vision.
Challenge 5 will be starting soon!
All students must assemble in the MPR in the next 15 minutes.
"Fuck!" 00021 Keith spent seven minutes panicking. He wasn''t strong enough to get Nathan off the roof. He wasn''t even strong enough to get Nathan to the stairs. He was purely a magician, with little strength. Not for the first time since the game began, he cursed his lack of attention to his physical strength. Even with the System''s Level''s boosts to it, he was still pretty weak, and probably among the weakest of them. He had some Points left, but he didn''t know if spending them on Strength then would be worth it. What if he desperately needed them during this next Challenge? And even if he did use them and get strong enough to carry Nathan, there was still no guarantee that he''d make it to the MPR in time, especially since he was still weakend from the head injury. He couldn''t wake Nathan, either. His five minutes of panic occurred after two minutes of attempting to wake Nathan, not aware of how much time had really passed. The ''nap'' after awakening wasn''t something someone could be woken from ¨C they''d wake once their body adjusted to handling its true mana and strength of magic. His own awakening left him unconscious for six hours, and the more mana and magic one had naturally, the longer their awakening nap was. "Fuck!" Keith swore when he noticed the timer, realizing he had less than six minutes left. "Think! You''re better than this. You''ve got an array of spells at your disposal! But none that''ll-that!" Closing his eyes, Keith focused hard, and when he opened them, his violet irises had begun to glow with their psychic light. "Samantha! William! Michael!" He projected his voice to his targets. "I need you on the roof! Pronto! Nathan''s unconscious, and I can''t wake him up!" Stretching his telepathic powers, he sensed the three of them panicking, then taking off towards him. He relaxed. Hopefully, they''d be able to help him get Nathan to the MPR in time. It wasn''t until he had started to calm that he realized that Nathan was still naked, and did his best to get the senior''s pants back on. He was just tugging them up Nathan''s legs when the trio showed up. "What are you doing?" Samantha demanded, beside Keith before he could respond. "Putting his pants on!" She pushed him out of the way and finished the job for the fumbling magician. "Why was he naked?" She demanded. "We don''t have time for that!" Keith reminded her. "Right!" She grabbed Nathan''s clothes and looked to the other two warriors. "You two ¨C carry him. We have to get down to the MPR in-three minutes! Fuck!" Keith hurriedly grabbed his clothes as Michael grabbed Nathan and slung him over one shoulder. The quartet then hurried down the stairs, rushing as quickly as they could as the timer ticked down. Unfortunately, descending two sets of stairs while careful to not drop Nathan took them precious time, and they reached the hall to the MPR just as the timer reached zero. With a slam, the doors to the MPR closed.
Due to not being in the MPR within the 15-minute timeframe, the difficulty for you for this Survival Challenge has been increased from Tutorial to Beginner.
Minimum Monster Rank increased to H-2. Monster Spawn Rate increased by 10% actual to 20% actual Maximum Monster Capacity increased from 10% actual to 20% actual Monster Stats increased from 10% actual to 25% actual Monster Magic no longer locked Hardest Monster will spawn 30% of normal time instead of 20% MPR doors will reopen in 5 minutes. If you are not within the MPR 10 minutes after that, difficulty for you will be increased to Easy.
The four conscious students looked at each other, then Samantha glared at Keith. "Why was Nathan naked on the roof with you?" She asked. "You''re a psychic, what did you do to him?" "Nothing!" Keith protested. "He asked me to teach him how to use magic, and-" "And that required him being naked?" "He got naked on his own!" Keith held up his hands defensively. "I''d told him to go down to his pants, and then he went naked!" "Why would he do that?" "The awakening of magic," Michael said, receiving a glare from Samantha. "Madeline told me about it. When you awaken your magic, you also awaken your senses. It heightens them, making them stronger. The texture of clothing feels abrasive until you get used to it, she said. Nathan probably heard that and decided to go all the way just to make Keith uncomfortable." "That''s¡­ something he would do," Samantha nodded. "Why is he unconscious?" "The awakening nap," Michael answered. "Madeline said you get knocked out after, and it can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, based on how strong your mana and magic really are. Keith ¨C how strong was his awakening? The air felt thick with something that I''m assuming is magic." "He vented nearly as much mana as I have total," Keith told him. "He¡­ defies the norm. He needs a familiar, and fast. But they can''t be contracted from here, so that''s a problem." "A familiar?" Samantha asked. "And what do you mean? Why?" "I''ll explain once he wakes," Keith said. "I don''t want to have to repeat it multiple times, and possibly answer the same questions multiple times. I also plan on being in the MPR within ten minutes of it opening back up."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The others echoed an agreement on that, and as soon as the MPR opened, the five of them entered, not wanting to find out how much harder Easy was than Beginner, if they''d been doing the Tutorial version and things had been weak in the System''s eyes. "What took you so long to contact us?" Samantha asked Keith. "Panic," William said, and she looked at him. "You saw him freaking out, and the way he reacted. He''s been calm and collected because he''s been confident of survival. However, he''s not used to things going against him, sort of like Madeline. Instead of becoming a bitch, he just panicked, most likely because Nathan wouldn''t have made it down here if he didn''t find a way to bring him down. You don''t have any spells that would let you carry him? You specialize in air magics, don''t you?" "I can fly," Keith admitted. "But I can''t exactly carry others with me with the spell. I still have to support their full weight, and I''m pretty weak, if you hadn''t noticed." "Alright," Samantha looked at Nathan, then to the three conscious guys. "You saw the notice, we''re about to face a Survival Challenge, something the others aren''t aware of, unless the System decided to let them know to keep it balanced. Either way, we''re going to be in there at least half as long as they are before the ''Hardest Monster'' spawns, and since we know for sure that we''ve faced G-2''s before, we''ll probably be facing a G-1 for that. "It stands to reason," she continued. "That this will be at least nine days long. Our last Survival Challenge was only four before the G-3 Spawned, so I''m considering at least half that more for the normal, and half that more for ours. "Because we won''t be able to access our Points Shops," she continued. "Until at least sixty-six hours have passed ¨C I''m assuming you''re all at least 25 here ¨C we need to stock up now. Food is a priority, but there''s also a severe need for Stat Points. We''re also going to have to farm as many of the weaker monsters as we possibly can, both for the meager Experience and so we can get more Stat Points and food as soon as we''re able to if we need it. If you can, go ahead and get one or two Health Potions, our regens are shit. Asking around, starting was one of six hundred for pretty much everyone for both. However, keep in mind that while it''s good for a pinch, it''s not the same as 5 Endurance, since there''s also that added resistance with the latter." "To make things worse," William added. "They can use magic, too. Apparently, they''ve been locked against it for the Tutorial. Do you know anything about this?" Keith ran his fingers through his hair as he thought over what he knew, then shook his head. "No," he answered. "But it sounds like this isn''t the full game, just the beginning. That might be why the governments are sending everyone to a central location ¨C to keep an eye on things and help cover it up if someone dies again." "What?" Michael asked. "How much of what Madeline said is true?" William asked. "I didn''t have anything to do with this," Keith shook his head. "I was only expecting it because of my hacking skills. This one was forced, the others weren''t. No one actually knows what''s causing this or who''s running it." "But someone can force it?" "An organization," Keith nodded. "Madeline''s been trying to put it all off on me for a reason." The other three teens thought over that remark for a few moments. "I don''t get it," Michael confessed. "He means," Samantha said. "That anyone who''s listened to her was an idiot. Or in your case, a bigger idiot." "Hey!" "Seriously," William groaned. "We''ve all been had by her. Having someone else that was pretty much perfect for putting it on made it easy for her to trick us into not even considering that she had something to do with this happening. That would explain how she knew about having larger groups of monsters, then. I''m guessing they forced it here to try to get her stronger?" "Yes," Keith nodded. "It wasn''t their first attempt, but it was their first success." "Nathan knows?" "Yes," Keith answered. "He forced it out of me." "How?" Samantha asked. "We can''t exactly hurt people, and most every way to force someone into doing something is forbidden with a literal death sentence for doing it." "I''m sworn to secrecy," Keith told her. "Sorry. And no offense, but Nathan scares me a lot more than you scare me, and that was even before he awakened his magic." "Let''s get to work," Samantha told them. "We''re almost out of time, and we don''t know how long we have until the Challenge starts." The other three agreed, then pulled up their Points Shops, taking off to different corners of the MPR, with Samantha remaining by Nathan. While they were working together, they still wanted to keep exact values or near estimates secret. Once they finished, they gathered back together. "How long do you think he''ll be unconscious?" Samantha asked. "My awakening nap was eight and a half hours," Keith answered. "He''s, like, three times as powerful as I was. Maybe more." "So he could be out for what, a day?" Samantha asked. "Unfortunately," Keith said. "The more powerful you are, the longer it takes in comparison. Someone half my power when I awakened my magic would''ve only been out for maybe two or three hours, not four and a quarter. Nathan could be out for several days ¨C possibly the entire Challenge." "And there''s no way to wake him up?" "Not without breaking the rules." And if he did that, then they''d be down the most powerful conscious member of their team and the most dangerous member. "Damn," Samantha swore. "What''s that method?" "Forcefully pushing my magic into him, learning his own magical pathways, and forcing whatever mana he''s recovered from the venting and has leftover to cycle through him. It''s almost as painful as the venting itself." "If the venting''s painful," Michael said. "Why are you still alive?" Everyone stared at him. "What?" He asked. "I might not be the smartest, but I''m not a complete moron. Plus, Madeline mentioned that the only reason she wasn''t going to teach me how was because it''d probably count as her causing harm to another student." "Which means," Keith said. "That she probably wants to hurt you, Michael. The rules are pretty explicit about intending harm. If you step on someone''s foot and accidentally hurt them through that, you don''t die." "We have both our enhanced Endurance and our Health preventing us from actually getting hurt," Michael said. "Getting our foot stepped on is different." "Is it?" Keith asked. "Comparatively, I mean. If you did get hurt by accident because of someone else, you don''t die. I had no intent of harm towards Nathan, and never have. In addition, he knew beforehand it would be painful, and did it anyway. The System didn''t register-" Keith cut off, his eyes widening and jaw dropping as he looked down at Nathan. The others looked at him uncomfortably for a few moments. "What?" Samantha asked. Keith looked up at her. "N-"
Challenge 5 will be starting soon!
Your Challenge is to survive. You will be separated into 3 instances of 41 students and 1 instance of 5 students. The single instance with 5 students has an increased difficulty and time spent in the Challenge, due to their lack of presence in the MPR by the appointed time limit''s expiration. Your challenge will be to survive. If, once all instances have finished the Challenge or been wiped-out, the death count is not a multiple of 8, then the student who earned the lowest amount of Points will die. This will continue until the death count for the Challenge is a multiple of 8. The Challenge will begin in 5 minutes.
00022 "We can get back to that later," Samantha told Keith. "We have five minutes ¨C do any of you have any last-minute preparations?" The others shook their head in response. "Alright," she said. "Then we need to formulate a battle plan before shit hits the fan. Having us together will attract more monsters, but it''s also the only way we''ll make it through this Challenge. Our first order of business will be deciding where to hide out." "Locker rooms might be a good idea," Michael said. "They have two entry points, plus bathrooms. If we go to the ones behind the South Gym, for the boys'' P.E., we''d also be near the kitchen." "But there''s never any food in them," William shook his head. "No," Michael said. "We can''t enter them. Not in the neutral instance." "We can in the Challenges?" Samantha asked. "I did during the last Survival," he nodded. "Food''s still in there." "The culinary class," Samantha said. "It has food, too, but one point of entry. It isn''t near any restrooms, but-" "No," William said. "We''d need a way out, if monsters get in. I second the locker rooms." "The dome," Samantha said. "Nathan and I hung out up there, on the second level. We hung around where the bleachers extend out to, and pulled those heavy curtains shut. The monsters usually only poked their heads in once every now and then, but it seemed more like curiosity than anything. No portals ever opened up on it, either, and the monsters take awhile to walk up stairs or the bleachers from the floor. In fact, if we keep the doors closed-" "The monsters just force their way through doors," Michael shook his head. "Not these ones," Samantha told him. "She''s right," Keith said. "They don''t force their way through the heavier doors, and the doors at the bottom and the top of the steps to the second level count as fire doors. They''re thick, they''re heavy, and they''re durable." "These monsters also have magic," Michael reminded them. "Maybe things are different." "Maybe," Samantha said. "But that doesn''t change that Nathan and I were pretty safe in there. We only left it to use the bathrooms in the dome''s changing rooms. It was safe as hell." "If that''s the case," Michael frowned. "How did Nathan get Ranking #1?" "He left at night while it was his turn to keep watch to kick the shit out of the monsters around the track and on the dome''s floor." "He just left you alone in there?" William frowned. "Does he not care about you at all?" "No portals opened up?" Keith asked. "In there?" "No," she answered. "None. They opened up on the track or the floor, but not in that space." "And portals open in the same spots," Keith muttered. "If I create a proper enough disruption field, we might be able to prevent any new ones that haven''t opened there before. Yeah, that would work, but I need the proper-we''ve got it all here." He looked at everyone, realizing that he''d spoken aloud. "Time''s almost up," he said. "That sounds like the safest spot, and I might be able to prevent any from opening there, since none have before, but I''ll need some stuff." "Great," Samantha said. "We''ll also need something from the AV room ¨C Michael, William, you two take Nathan up there and protect him, Keith and I will go get the things from AV, as well as check out the culinary class, if possible. If there''s food in the kitchens, there''s probably food in there." "What''s in the AV room?" "What''s something that''s used at every sporting event?" She asked him. "Regardless of if it''s your football, basketball, or baseball game?" "Balls," he answered. "Jerseys." "Not something the players or teams used," she told him. "But something the event''s staff used." "Clothes?" He suggested. "Well, and the whistles and walkies, but-" "Exactly," she said. "They''re kept in the AV room. Having them will be a good idea, in case we need to send people out. I already checked, and the phones aren''t working. Keith, you and I are getting them. Time''s up! Let''s move!" The four of them read the Challenge Start notices, then got to work, Michael slinging Nathan over his shoulder once more and heading out, William prepared to protect the jock from monsters to keep Nathan safe. They reached the Dome after fifteen minutes, both of them exhausted. The monsters were already more-numerous than the previous Survival Challenge, and since the bulk were H-2 instead of H-1 and their stats were increased, that made them all that much harder to kill. Once they''d arrived, they sat and waited, with Michael frowning at Nathan every now and then. "What''s wrong?" Samantha asked once they arrived, with her dropped Nathan''s bag down beside him. "I should''ve sent that with you, but it did make a good club." Michael snorted. "Keith," Michael looked at the mage. "Does the awakening of magic affect anything else?" "Yeah," Keith answered. "But only a tiny, tiny fraction of how much everything else was affected. Something like three-thousandths'' of a boost compared to what everything else got. It took them decades to narrow down that percent, by the way. Three-tenths of a percent, for your math-deficient brain." "So that explains why he''s suddenly a helluva a lot hotter, then," Michael commented, and the other three immediately looked at Nathan. As they looked at the unconscious warrior, they realized that Michael was right ¨C Nathan had become a lot more beautiful. They''d just been too preoccupied by the flurry of activity and panic to notice. "Which can only mean one of two things," Keith said after several moments of silence between the four seniors. "Either it affects the System-granted stats since those are technically part of our body, or it only affects our base value ¨C what we''d have without the System. And if it''s the latter case¡­ then Nathan had quite the boost. But that''d also mean he had an absurdly low amount of Mana."Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Could be a mix," Samantha said, and Keith nodded. "We''ll have to wait for him to wake," William said. "Did you guys get them?" "Yeah," Samantha answered, taking off her backpack and opening it up, revealing five black walkie-talkies and a charging cradle for them. "Cradle''s purpose should be obvious." "We''ve got the food in our packs and Item Boxes," Keith added. "Michael, will you come help me get some stuff?" "William and I''ll watch over Nathan," Samantha added. "Keith thinks he can muster up the necessary components from around the school to make a protective barrier around this area and the dampening field he mentioned earlier." Michael nodded, then joined Keith, the two of them leaving. Samantha looked down at Nathan. She''d put the rest of his clothes on while they were using the Points Shop, so he was at least dressed, and he was much, much more handsome than he had been that morning. How she hadn''t noticed it was beyond her. Normally, she was a lot more aware of her surroundings. Nathan would''ve noticed immediately, she knew, if one of them suddenly became much more attractive. He noticed everything. It was bad luck that they''d awakened his magic just in time for a Challenge to start. What was Nathan thinking in the first place? He wasn''t a magician, even if he''d received a boost massive enough that three-tenths of a percent of the boost to his magic and mana affected him so much. After an hour of waiting ¨C and an H-2 kill ¨C Samantha and William heard voices outside the curtain, followed by the sound of something slamming into a wall. Samantha poked her head out and watched as Keith turned away from the monster and walked into the space from the other side, Michael following behind. Once within the space, Keith began preparing his spell, drawing on the ground a series of runes to encircle the space along the curtain. Then, he began drawing the runes along the two side walls, just above the ground, before drawing them straight up beside the bleachers. Then, he had Michael boost him up to the top of the bleachers, and he continued the runes along the wall, just above the seats. "What''s he painting with?" Samantha asked. "I know that''s a glaze bottle, but canary yellow isn''t normally light green." "He cleaned out the jug," Michael snorted. "He mixed up a gallon of whatever that thing is ¨C I''m not entirely sure ¨C and said that he can use it to create both barriers. He wanted a five-gallon bucket, but we didn''t have any on-hand. I''m sure there are some here somewhere, I know I''ve seen them before." "He made more?" "I think he made three gallons," Michael nodded. "The rest are in his Item Box." "Okay," she said as Keith called for Michael to help him down. Once he was down, they gathered up near Nathan. "That should do it," Keith said. "The only thing we can do now is hope it works. The barrier should prevent anything that isn''t human from passing as well as disrupt any spatial magics." "Speaking of magic," Samantha said. "None of the monsters so far have used magic, even though-" "We only faced H''s," Keith told her. "Michael and I discussed that, too. He confirmed that he and William only fought H''s." "You think the G''s are the ones that can use magic?" She asked. "Or the F''s, which we haven''t fought yet, since the G''s can fly? That''d suggest-" "Not necessarily," Keith interrupted. "It could just be a standard message. The difficulty went up, so it just listed the differences, not accounting for the fact that the ones that use magic aren''t spawning, rather than we''re acquiring not one but two grades of monsters for this Survival Challenge. "Plus," Keith added. "We fought a magic-based G-1 on our way here." The group compared their personal analyses of the monsters and how much stronger they were, confirming that they were, indeed, about two and a half times as strong as they were before. Which meant, of course, that they''d need to farm them. "Two at a time," Samantha said. "During waking hours. The Dome''s floor usually spawns between three and eight an hour, so probably five to twelve an hour, now. About half of them leave the dome ¨C the doors leading outside and to the rest of the school aren''t as heavy as the ones leading up here. Then there''s also the few that come up to the second level. Farming that way, we can all get stronger, little by little. "That said," Samantha fixed her gaze on Keith. "Do you really thinking blocking spatial magics would work to stop a portal from opening in here? There''s nothing suggesting-" "That this whole thing is magical in nature?" Keith finished. "Yes, there is. I realized it earlier. The System messages ¨C they''re this shade of blue, right?" He held up a hand and let an orb of mana form. At first, it was his normal violet coloration, but after a few seconds, it changed to blue. The other students pulled up their statuses and compared, confirming they were the same shade. "This is the exact shade," Keith told them. "Of pure mana for a normal person. Mine''s purple because I''m a psychic, and a necromancer''s is gray. However, the fact that the System''s messages are the exact same shade of blue as normal mana? That tells me that everything we''re dealing with is magical in nature ¨C which means the portals are, too. There''s a chance that they aren''t designed to rip through wards against spatial magic, and mine are quite potent. And took a lot of magic for me to make. I''m going to have to rest for a bit." They nodded, and Keith laid down near the bleachers, using his backpack and robe as a pillow, quickly falling asleep. The three conscious seniors started discussing a plan, then Michael and William left to perform the first sweeping of the track and bleachers, returning after half an hour, exhausted from the fighting. "Do you think Nathan''s going to want to switch to a magic-based build?" Michael asked. "He never struck me as the magical type." "Knowing Nathan?" Samantha snorted. "He probably wanted to learn how to create magical barriers or mix magic and his martial arts together, not go a magician''s path. I can''t see him being a magician. Michael ¨C you banged the bitch witch, did she ever mention her studies?" "She may have been exaggerating," he shrugged. "She said it can take anywhere from three months to a year to be able to use a spell competently enough for it to be considered usable. Her best time, she said, was two months." "Not unreasonable." The three looked over to Keith, who had shifted onto his side to face them. "To properly learn a spell," he explained. "Can take anywhere from a quarter to a year or more. You can use it before then, but it''d take intense training to be able to use them reasonably well. That''s why most magicians only have two or three spells they''ll really use." "Like you and your air slashes?" Samantha asked. "Yeah," he nodded. "That was the second spell I learned. I''m technically a prodigy, and it took me a solid month to be able to use that spell with actual precision. Initially, the slashes were a lot thicker, and nearly resembled force magic ¨C the first spell I learned. And I practiced it at least three or four hours a day to get it to the proper form. "On top of that," he continued. "Magics get cheaper in terms of how much mana they cost, the more you use them and the more familiar you are with them. Something about magic memory ¨C the magical form of muscle memory. I''m sure you two fighters know what I''m talking about." "I do, too," Michael snorted. "The more you perform an action, the easier it is to do, and the better your body remembers how to do it. If you''re a prodigy, what would that make Nathan?" "Something that makes prodigies look like normal people?" Keith offered. "Though without knowing his exact boost, we won''t be able to tell if he was hiding a high amount of magic and mana from us. So we have to wait for him to wake up to find out." "Did he mention to you why he wanted to learn magic?" Samantha asked. "No," Keith shrugged. "He''s terrifying, so I didn''t ask. Also, there''s another terrifying thing we should keep in mind." "What?" The three of them asked. "Even if we survive this, we might not survive Challenge." "And that makes sense¡­ how?" Michael asked. "Points," Samantha gasped. "The difficulty-increase notice didn''t mention Points rewards being increased! Even if we survive, we''re out the H-3''s that filled the halls, and the weakest monsters, H-2''s, are a lot more difficult! There''s a strong chance we''ll be having less Points earned than anyone else." Michael and William immediately understood what that meant. They''d need to farm hard in order to ensure they weren''t in the bottom eight once they finished. Even with the extended time, facing harder monsters and lacking the easiest of them meant they would never have a shot at the top again. And that they''d be pushing it to succeed in not being in the bottom eight by the end. After all, everyone knew that being there meant a risk of dying, which meant everyone was going to be pushing hard for more Points during the Challenge. And those students had the H-3''s to farm, and without increased stats. 00023 "They''re breaking through!" Keith hollered as he did his best to reinforce the glowing runes directly through his magic while simultaneously sustaining the largest barrier he had ever created. Five days passed without incident, and the quartet of conscious students managed to gain a few Levels each by farming, though Nathan remained unconscious through it all. Then, in the middle of the night, a G-2 suddenly led a force of monsters against their wards when it realized it couldn''t break through. While it couldn''t handle the ward on its own it knew that it would probably break through sheer force, and so rallied others. Four G-2''s were fighting, along with nearly a hundred other monsters, including a dozen G-3''s. All of the G-ranked monsters were flying, assaulting the barrier and warding with their magics and fists while the lesser, nonmagical monsters below attempted to break through. It had begun two hours previously, and the four students were exhausted and at their limits. Samantha and William had already accessed their Points Shops again before the fight began, and Keith and Michael quickly tapped into theirs to acquire Mana Potions for the mage so he could continue to protect them. It was nearly the sixty-six hour mark after Samantha and William had accessed their Points Shop, but they doubted they would make it to that point, at this rate. Keith knew he could handle the entire horde on his own, but his main issue was that it required pulling out his familiar, which he absolutely did not want to do because of its species. If the flying monsters weren''t around, he''d be fine, too. Unfortunately, he could only handle one or two at a time, but fighting them took his focus off the barrier, and they learned fast that wasn''t a good thing to have happen. Samantha and William could both handle the horde as well, but only without the fliers around. The fliers stayed out of their reach, meaning the pair of warriors couldn''t touch them while having to defend against aerial assaults at the same time they dealt with the ground forces. If they could reach the fliers, they would have no issues taking them out. Instead, they were forced to perform swift attacks outside the barrier and retreat back inside to avoid being blasted by the fliers and surrounded by the horde. Michael himself was mostly useless, as he couldn''t handle more than ten or twenty a time, partly due to inexperience, partly due to lacking the stamina for a prolonged fight. The combined situation led to their current predicament, with the only person able to handle the fliers focusing on sustaining the ward to protect his teammates as they recovered. A ward that was quickly failing. A few moments afterKeith called out, the glowing green runes dimmed, turning inert. "They''ve overpowered the wards!" Keith hollered. "I can''t hold out much longer! I''ve got maybe ten minutes'' mana left! I''m not casting anymore spells!" Michael burst through the barrier, recovered enough to strike at a few more of the monsters before jumping back through the spell and evading a fireball from a flier. It didn''t matter how many they killed ¨C more just took their place. With only five students there, the monsters were at the limit of capacity, and it seemed to them as if they''d all come to invade the space. According to Keith and their own exploration of the school, there were roughly three thousand monsters, meaning the capacity had been two thousand outside of their increased Challenge. And it certainly looked as if three thousand monsters were in the room, though thankfully, there only seemed to be the dozen or so G-ranked monsters. Those were the worst of the problem. Cracks began to form in the shimmering blue veil of the barrier, and Keith dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. "Five minutes!" He called out. "No more magic!" Samantha and William jumped through the barrier and took out a few more monsters until they didn''t think it was safe to stay anymore, then returned. They''d already attempted getting to the stairs, but that had failed. If they were able to get to the roof, things would have been so much, much easier. Once again, they cursed the fact that their Points rewards hadn''t increased. The Stat Points they''d bought with the last round hadn''t helped them enough. An H-2 went from having around 15 Endurance to around 40 Endurance ¨C a huge jump. And while they were the weakest and beatable, they still had large numbers and even stronger monsters. Most of the G-3''s ended up with 200 or so Strength and Endurance, making it so that onlyKeith could even hurt them. The G-2''s were a completely different story entirely. AllKeith could do was agitate them. The two martial artists jumped back through the barrier and Michael charged out, swinging his sword and cutting through more, returning once he started to get swarmed again. "We have six until our Shops are open again," Samantha said. "Can you push it?" "This is me pushing it,"Keith gasped as more cracks formed. "Fuck. Two minutes. Fuck, fuck, fuck!" One of the G-2''s created a large fireball between its hands, then threw it at the barrier, which cracked even further. "That was even stronger than before!"Keith clutched his chest. "It just-almost-" "Samantha! William! Michael! Catch!" The three warriors turned to find a pair of vials filled with a blue liquid flying towards each of them, the trio briefly wondering where Nathan had gone before catching the vials and hastily giving them to Keith. Nathan, meanwhile, bounced off the wall, which he had leaped onto. The fighter soared up into the air, catching the nearby G-2 by surprise. He had woken a few minutes before and watched the fight long enough to get a grasp of the situation. The primary issue were the fliers, so he made them his first target. With Spatial Mobility, he was able to move around a lot easier, allowing him to close the gap between himself and the fliers. What was twenty feet into the air when the walls counted as a floor? As soon as he dealt with the primary threat, his team would be able to assist in cleaning up the rest of the monsters. "Impact!" He hollered, his right fist slamming into its face, throwing it back a little bit. Nathan flipped backwards, then pushed off the wall again, catching the Seven-Pointer in a grip, his knees pressed against the thing''s sides as he began pummeling its face, a vicious snarl forming in his throat. "No! Touching! My! Girl! Impact!" He finished his combo with a strong punch to the face with his right fist, then jumped off of the G-2, briefly noting the mending cracks of the barrier which signified that the Mana Potions were in use. He''d bought a little more time.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "You''re next!" He jumped off the Seven-Pointer and rapidly approached the nearest one, which attempted to evade. Nathan''s launch had enough force behind it to throw the other Seven-Pointer into the wall and to catch the evading one, grabbing onto its leg and flinging it down. He followed with it, the monster landing on the others, then having the warrior land on top of it, performing a series of strikes. "What the-" Michael cut off as he watched Nathan strike. "He''s¡­ pretty pissed." "Probably saw Samantha''s bruise," William commented, and Samantha touched her cheek. One of the monsters had gotten her about an hour previously, breaking past her Health before she could jump back behind the barrier. "You heard his comment about not touching his girl, after all," William said. "It''s a good thing he woke," Samantha said. "Talk about the cavalry arriving at the last moment. How in the fuck is he even moving around like that?" They watched for a minute as Nathan continued his assault against the monsters, seeming to defy physics as he jumped up and down, off the walls and railings, taking down monsters. They had stopped their assault on the barrier to focus on stopping the powerful warrior. A warrior who was growing more and more agitated as the fight went on. He wanted to know exactly why they weren''t helping him ¨C the only one he would excuse was Keith, who was clearly the most exhausted of them and who had clearly nearly run out of Mana, the sole thing he used to fight. "Spatial Mobility," William said, and the others looked at him. "I unlocked it in the Skill Shop at Level 40." "You hit Level 40?" Samantha asked. "During the fight," he nodded. "With him moving like that, I got suspicious. It''s in there for me." Samantha pulled up her own Skill Shop, and confirmed that she had it available as well. "I don''t have it," Michael said. "Probably has to do with how you move about," Keith answered. "Damn, that must have cost him. Six Mana Potions¡­ 240 Points." "It''s at least enough to let you restore the barrier," Samantha said. "William and I will have access again in a few minutes, so we''ll get you more." Keith nodded, and they returned to watching Nathan, who was currently pummeling another G-2, which was attempting to throw him off using a mix of air magics and summoned stones. Nathan proved to be highly-resilient to the thing, however, and eventually killed it before jumping down and taking on more of the lesser monsters. He was furious. He wasn''t sure how much time had passed, but he was clearly in a Challenge, and his girlfriend had been hurt. He muted his notifications so he could read them once he''d finished taking care of things. With his increased mana, he was able to cast Impact and Stoneskin many times more, and he had far more stamina than the others from his time before the game began. By the time he''d even started feeling exhausted, all of the Five-Pointers and Seven-Pointers had been slain. He was stronger ¨C he''d gotten that much from his notifications before muting them for later ¨C and the monsters seemed stronger, but he was much better than them. His newly-increased Strength, combined with the 50% boost from Damage Dealer to all net Damage and Combo Strike and the Burst Knuckles, meant he was taking out anywhere up to 400 Health per strike. Needing two hits to take out a Two-Pointer had been a surprise to him, but he decided he''d sort out what was going on later. Especially since he''d finally taken out the magic-using monsters, another surprise for him. He would definitely be asking the others there what was going on. And the fact that the top five ¨C outside of Madeline ¨C were there told him that either everyone was in one instance, or the strongest were given a tough Challenge for some reason. Clearing that from his mind, he returned to work taking on the monsters. As he began to wear down, so did the numbers of his opponents. Nearly twenty minutes passed before the others rejoined the fight, and from there, they managed to clean up everything, then returned to the ''safe space''. Exhausted and soaked in sweat, the team relaxed instead of talking, and Nathan checked out his messages. The Challenge notification told him enough about the situation ¨C and the fact that they''d probably gotten the notice either while he was in pain from the awakening and attempting to focus on it, or right after he passed-out. Keith had probably panicked over the situation, resulting in a delay. That, or he reacted quickly, but took a minute to find the others. And the others ended up getting delayed because of helping get Nathan there. Samantha and William, he had expected, but Michael sacrificing himself for that surprised Nathan. He supposed that the jock had changed plenty, if he was willing to help out Nathan ¨C and Keith. Once he sorted through the messages relating to the Challenge, Nathan looked at one of the other messages in his vision.
Due to your awakening of your magic, your stats have been increased. All stats have been changed to reflect this, however, it does not affect the stats earned through the System, only through your natural and worked-for stats.
Your Mana and Magic were increased 300x as a result of your awakening. All other stats were increased by 3% of that (9x) as a result of your awakening.
That explains my increased Strength, Endurance and Speed, Nathan wondered. Keith didn''t mention those would increase ¨C is that not normal? And does this mean they think I''m even hotter, now? Nathan dismissed that notification. He could tell what his Mana and Endurance were due to his Mana and Health being exactly ten times them. 211 Endurance and 3028 Mana. That''s a lot bigger boost than Keith said was possible, he thought. Well, other than in the case of Merlin. Fucking hell. I''m not a magician, I just wanted to learn to make barriers. He looked over to the one of them who was, and watched as the mage started washing off the paint. A faint, violet aura shrouded Keith, and decided to ask about that in a few minutes. Once they''d recovered and once he''d finished processing his earned Levels and Points. Focusing a little, Nathan let the System tally up the totals into a single set of messages, rather than for every kill.
4 G-2''s Slain ¨C 28 Points Earned 12 G-3''s Slain ¨C 60 Points Earned 437 H-1''s Slain ¨C 1,311 Points Earned 1,536 H-2''s Slain ¨C 3,072 Points Earned 1,989 Monsters Slain ¨C 4,471 Points Earned
In addition to the high amount of Points he earned, Nathan slaying nearly two thousand monsters by himself net him seventeen Levels. It was possible, he knew, that even though the Points hadn''t increased, Experience amounts did ¨C after all, he had tested the System and determined that it looked like, from what little he could tell, that Experience gains decreased the easier a fight was, and increased the harder it was. And the System probably registered taking on two thousand monsters in an hour and coming out the victor as being very, very difficult. And it had been, towards the end, due to his physical exhaustion. Then again, he hadn''t even taken out that many monsters before, so it may have just been how much he got naturally for it, even with how easy the initial part of his fight had been. It did grow more exhausting as time went on, and he wondered why the rest never joined in. Without the fliers, they could have all helped him. He knew for a fact that Samantha could handle the horde by herself without the fliers, and he was pretty sure Keith could. He gave the magician a pass, though, since Keith had clearly exhausted his Mana with the barrier that had been constructed. The only downside, he saw to the situation, was that he wouldn''t be able to access the Points Shop for another sixty hours. When he hit Level 50, the cooldown for it decreased by another six hours. Deciding to not focus on that, and deciding that his teammates still seemed a bit too exhausted to talk much, Nathan opened up his Skills Shop to see his new Level. He''d hit not one but two ten-Level thresholds, after all, going to Level 61 during that fight. There were a few good things in the Skills Shop, and he made a mental note to revisit it once he possessed enough Skill Points to buy some of them, then closed it and his eyes, resting and listening. His senses truly had enhanced quite a bit, and his clothes did feel itchy against his skin, but he supposed that having spent time unconscious allowed his body to somewhat adjust, even if it was somewhat disorienting. Briefly, he wondered if they noticed him fumble during the fight. He''d done so a few times because things had been unexpected. Such as realizing he could hear the monsters'' hearts, the other students'' breathing, or feel and smell the blood of the monsters in an entirely new way. That last one didn''t bother him, it just caught him off-guard. After listening to his teammates purchase a Skill or two while thinking they were in private, Nathan decided it was time to see what had gone on while he was out. That, and if Keith was able to eavesdrop on the others, too. 00024 "Everyone done?" Nathan called out, and his four classmates looked over at him. "Come here if you are." They all moved over to the corner he''d claimed, his backpack already tossed up onto the bleachers above. "I need to hurry and get all of that cleaned off," Keith told him. "So that it can dry and I can repaint the runes. We''re estimating at least eight days and it''s only been about five. Also, it''s night, so that''s considered docile." "It''ll take time for them to get back up here," Nathan waved a hand dismissively. "For now, I need to be filled-in on what''s going on. I''m sure we can handle it if something comes up here while we''re waiting. The four of them filled Nathan in on what had been going on, which was mostly the same as when he and Samantha had been there, though with each of them working in pairs to farm monsters. He thought for a few minutes, then told them to aim for a thousand earned Points, if they hadn''t already reached it. That would guarantee that they''re at least in the top half. "Alright," Nathan said, then looked directly at Keith. "Is there anything I need to know?" "Your body will probably continue to adjust the better senses over the next week or two," Keith responded. "Though the brunt of the bad part probably happened while you were unconscious. I wasn''t expecting you to be that powerful. And you''ve at least three times the ''safe'' mana amount, based on how much you vented. By the time someone reaches a third of where we are, they need a familiar." "Why?" Nathan asked. "I don''t know," Keith shrugged. "I just know that it''s necessary. And we can''t get one here." "Okay," Nathan said. "Why do you know it''s necessary?" "Because magicians who exceed that much mana," Keith informed him. "Start showing symptoms. The more over it they are without a familiar, the worse they get, and eventually, they die. Having a familiar stops that. If I didn''t have a familiar, I''d be dead right now, due to being roughly triple the point at which someone needs one." "Can you call upon your familiar?" Nathan asked. "Yes," Keith responded. "He''s actually here. Familiars are bound to us through the soul, and when the game began, I felt him pulled into this. He''s pulled into every instance I''m in when I''m pulled into them. Well, was, I bound him to my body." "To your¡­ what?" Nathan asked. "My body," Keith responded. "We can do that, too. It merges them into us, sort of. It actually augments our magic a bit, though it''s generally better to have him out during a fight, since the augmenting to my own magic doesn''t make up for the lack of his own abilities. "How are you feeling?" Keith asked. "You aren''t shaking, which is a good sign, but getting light-headed, being shaky, your teeth aching, these are all things that start to happen once your mana exceeds the amount where you absolutely need a familiar." "I feel fine," Nathan answered. "Any other important information I should know?" "No," Keith answered. "But look out for those symptoms or anything else feeling out-of-the-ordinary. We can''t contract you a familiar here, since that requires actually finding a magical creature, and these things more than likely don''t count, and they need to agree to it, too." "What kinds of things are familiars?" Nathan asked. "Commonly," Keith responded. "They''re cats, frogs, birds, and the like. Most magicians can''t actually contract with magical things due to a lack of power. How powerful a familiar you can contract is based both on how much mana you have and how powerful you are. I''ve met a few people who have pixies or fairies contracted as their magical creatures, and there are those with fire salamanders and other things like that." "And you?" Nathan asked. "I''d rather keep mine as secret as possible for now," Keith answered. "If we do end up needing to fight each other, the fewer who know, the better, especially if I have to fight Madeline." "What are the stronger types of familiars?" Nathan asked. He then opened up his backpack and fished out a container of dried fruit and a package of jerky, then pulled out a water bottle from one of the pouches and began snacking. The others all looked at him for a few moment, then realized they were hungry, too, and put the conversation on hold so they could grab some food. Once they had all returned to Nathan, Keith answered his question. "There''s the Grand Set," Keith told him. "Which consists of things like griffins and thunderbirds ¨C nearly all things in it can fly. They''re all extremely powerful and have mastery or affinities for several elements. They''re third on the list of most-powerful types of magical creatures. There''s a witch a few hours from here who has a thunderbird as her familiar. "Second on that list," Keith continued. "Are elementals. They''re extremely rare and are embodiments of their individual element. They''re limited to it, but with all things, there are ways around that. There are only two people in the entire world alive right now who are known to have an elemental as a familiar, and odds are low that there is anyone else who does. "Finally," Keith said. "You have the Ultimate Trinity. There are only three on this list, but they''re the most powerful of all creatures. They''ve also each only been contracted as familiars once before ¨C and all of them to the same person. The most powerful magician ever recorded." "Merlin," Nathan concluded. "Yes," Keith nodded. "Merlin himself once contracted these creatures. A unicorn, a creature of magic with the power to nullify nigh any enchantment or curse. A dragon, a creature that could destroy nigh anything. A phoenix, which could heal nigh any injury, even if it were the cusp of death itself." "So those are all real?" Samantha asked. "Yes," Keith nodded. "And keep in mind that in order to have a familiar, you need to be powerful enough to have it. If you''re taking on several at once without neutralizing the contracts, you need to be powerful enough for them at the same time. So, actually, the System makes it easier to explain. Say you have 20 Magic, and you want to contract two different creatures. One of them requires you to be at 18 Magic, and the other, at 14 Magic. You can only contract one of them, as you''d need to be powerful enough that you''re at or above 32 Magic to contract both. It might work different functionally, but there''s no way to know, and that''s a comparison I''m making here."If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "I get the point," Samantha said. "You have to be powerful enough to support both at the same time, not individually." "Merlin had all three at once?" Nathan asked. "Yes," Keith nodded. "It''s one of the reasons that he was actually so well-known back then, to be honest. If he hadn''t contracted the unicorn and the phoenix after the dragon, he may have actually ended up lost to records for the most part ¨C just that there was an extremely powerful magician in that time who had contracted a dragon." Nathan thought on that for a few moments, then closed his container and package and returned them and the water to his backpack, before standing and looking down at the others. "Alright," he said, then stretched. "I''m not feeling the signs here, but after we leave, I''ll look into contracting something. Know where any phoenixes, dragons, or unicorns are?" Samantha broke out into laughter, and soon, all four of the students still sitting were laughing at Nathan''s sudden and casual inquiry. Nathan himself just looked at them, his face neutral, and waited for them to calm down. "I was serious." "I know," Samantha told him. "It''s just¡­ the way you said it made it sound like contacting them was like driving over to Hicks Dome on the theory that a phoenix lived in volcanoes, and that could potentially qualify as one." "They do, actually," Keith responded. "But there''s no phoenix there. There is a dragon living in the Appalachians, though. He''s rather temperamental, though, and the government''s managed to placate him through shiny things. It''s expensive as fuck, though ¨C I think they pay him something like thirty or forty billion a year in gold and other precious metals and precious stones just to keep him from going on a rampage and revealing that magic exists." The other students all stared at Keith in response to that news. "How much of our government''s expenditure goes to stuff like that?" Nathan asked. "It increases every year," Keith responded. "I think something like three hundred billion for last year." "Damn," Michael whispered. "More dragons?" "There''s a covert government agency that deals with the supernatural," Keith said. "Though there is another dragon over in the Rockies, but it doesn''t want as much gold. I think only five or ten billion dollars'' worth of shinies each year placates it. The Department of Supernatural Investigative Service is expensive to run, though, and makes up probably half the budget each year. We''ll probably be dealing with their agents, once we get out of this." "It was them you hacked that caused you find out about this, wasn''t it?" Nathan asked. "Yes," Keith nodded. "Just a routine hack for me, they haven''t figured out I''ve been hacking them yet. Or at least, haven''t revealed they have." "Wouldn''t spending that much," William asked. "Cause a problem? That much precious metals and stones would be noticeable, wouldn''t it?" "Maybe," Keith shrugged. "But they manage somehow." "So," Nathan said. "Trying to contract with him would probably be problematic?" "Probably," Keith nodded. "He''d probably throw a fit if you approached him and asked for a familiar contract, and that would reveal things to the world. The dragon in the Rockies might be reasonable, but there''s also the question of whether or not you''re powerful enough to actually contract it. It''s lived there longer than the US has existed." "And the other one?" "Flew in from somewhere about two centuries ago," Keith answered. "Though based on its size, it''s at least a thousand years old. Dragons don''t stop growing, they just grow slower and slower as time passes. And this one is positively massive, if the pictures were scaled right. It''s possible it''s going to get tired of the shinies, though, and decide to harass people for fun in the next few years, and it''s a legitimate fear in both the DSIS and the magical community as a whole. It''s easily one of the three most powerful dragons in the world, and there''s not much we can do about it. They actually tried nuking a weaker one sometime back, and all it did was get pissed." The other seniors took a few minutes to process that information. "Um," William said. "I think we can continue that particular discussion after we leave this thing." "Agreed," Nathan said. "Anything else we should know?" "No," Keith answered. "Actually, yes. I got interrupted when the Challenge started, and we never revisited it. Something I realized." "What?" Nathan asked. "Why you have Charisma." "Why?" "Something you''d mentioned," he said. "The System registered that I had colored contacts, not that they weren''t needed. What if the System registers everyone''s actual stats, in addition to the accessible? It would immediately register that you were, in fact, stronger and more powerful than any of us. It''s possible that''s all that was needed for it to determine you were the one most likely to survive, especially with your skillset when the game began." "Makes sense," Nathan responded. "You already figured that out, didn''t you?" Samantha asked. "Perhaps," Nathan said. "I counted nearly three thousand monsters here. If the cap was at three thousand, then that means the school and the grounds are fairly empty right now. Is there anything that can be done during this time, while we''re waiting for more to show up for us to farm?" "A few things," Samantha said. "We could get more food from the kitchens and culinary room." "We can?" "Yes," she nodded. "Though they don''t restock, they were still fully-stocked when the Challenge started. We can actually make some stuff, while we''re waiting for the monsters to respawn. We can''t exactly store things well here, but we can at least make some stuff that''ll last a few days. Michael, William, and I have done that a couple of times. Keith put a barrier up in there as well, so it''s probably still safe for us." "Alright," Nathan said. "Locker rooms, too?" "Yes," Keith responded. "Though I''ll have to check to see if they''re still up, after this." "Samantha and I will check it out," Nathan offered a hand to Samantha. "They''re probably fine, since the monsters were attempting to attack you guys up here." "I should still-" "Samantha and I will check it out," Nathan stated. "You, William, and Michael head to the culinary room. Make more of your barrier shit, too, just in case. We''ll meet back up on the other side of here, since this curtain''s ruined. We''ll use that side from now. And make the barrier on the other side." "But if we do that, they''ll see-" "Maybe," Nathan said. "But at least we''ll be able to move the curtain out of the way before it gets destroyed if they start attacking us en masse again." The other four seniors quickly averted their gazes. "I expected that kind of thought process from you," Nathan looked at Michael, then looked at Samantha and William. "And you two a little bit," then he looked at Keith. "But you are supposed to be the smartest. Your runes are only about three inches tall. The curtain rests two inches into the spaces here. You''d only have an inch of it sticking out into the path, and if I''m not mistaken, the barrier is barely-perceptible?" "Yeah," Keith nodded. "It''s faint to most eyes, though a magician using their magic sight can see it clearly." "Then what''s the problem?" Nathan asked. "They''d still see it," Keith said. "Maybe," Nathan said. "But they aren''t looking at a person. The monsters seem to ignore anything that isn''t a person. You''ve already blocked off other areas, have they tried getting in there?" "Well, no, but-" "Moron," Nathan said. "That''s what you four are. Morons. The monsters probably just see it as some sort of wall and think nothing of it. Only something like the stronger ones would probably think anything of it, and even then, it took them six days to do something. And that was probably because they could see you through the gaps of the curtain, along with you coming and going. We''ll still come and go, but they won''t see us. Morons. Samantha, let''s go check out the locker rooms." "If the barrier needs replacing down there-" Keith began. "We''ll let you know," Nathan said. 00025 "Why were you so insistent on us checking out the locker rooms by ourselves?" Samantha asked as they entered the boys'' locker rooms and looked around. The barriers had held in both of them, it looked like. "Keith would''ve been better to know if the runes needed-" "Shower," Nathan answered, beginning to undress, and Samantha stared at him. They were soaked in blood from the fight, though she thought it odd that he wanted to shower then. Of course, upon further reflection, she realized that it was exactly for the reason that the school was more peaceful that he wanted to take a shower. Fighting monsters in smaller groups, he got less bloody, but in that large group, he got pretty bloody. "Why did you insist on me coming with you?" She asked, and Nathan stared at her like she was an idiot. Then, his gaze softened. He supposed that with everything that had just happened, it hadn''t fully processed for her yet. The others had probably already figured it out. "I''d rather shower with you than one of the other guys?" He offered, and Samantha smacked her forehead, eliciting laughter from Nathan. "Moron." Samantha rolled her eyes and began stripping. As soon as Nathan finished, he sent his clothes into his Clothing Box and made his way into the shower rooms, turned on a shower and let the water heat up. As he stepped under the spray, Samantha joined him. He began working his fingers over her scalp and hair, scrubbing the blood out, and she did the same for him. Nathan tilted his head up a little and tilted hers down, pressing his lips to hers, rubbing his body against hers. Then, he stepped back and began scrubbing soap against her body, gently but firmly cleaning her body, and she did the same to him, noting when she reached his ass that he reacted somewhat negatively to her fingers touching around the hole. She hadn''t been trying to probe in, just clean, but still filed that away for the future, just in time to feel his fingers roughly touch her there, almost as if in retaliation. Instead of getting annoyed, though, Samantha let out a small moan and pushed her ass back, resulting in the poking finger pushing in, just a little. She gasped at the feeling, her hands sliding to Nathan''s back and pulled him against her again, his stiffness rubbing between her legs. Noticing that she enjoyed his accidental poke, Nathan pulled his finger out and slid one hand up her back, the other up her side, causing her body to shiver from the sensation, before rubbing her breast and nipple, pressing his lips to hers before turning her around and pulling her back against him, letting his tool rest between her legs once more as he worked his hands all over her her front as he breathed against her neck. As he drew moans and gasps from Samantha, Nathan felt a wetness coming from her vagina and knew it was time, stepping back and bending her over, pushing her towards the wall of the showers. Samantha caught herself, pushing a hand out, and looked at Nathan. "What are you-ooooh!" She moaned as she felt him penetrating deep. Pain and pleasure filled her as Nathan first slowly pushed back and forth, his hands continuing to work her front, then quickly. He alternated over the next few minutes, holding off as long as he could, hoping he would bring her to her climax before he reached his. Samantha let out a loud moan, pushing back against him as he felt her tighten, and he let out a few grunts, bending forward and wrapping his arms around her as he released his seed into her, holding her up as she began to fall forward, her knees weak. Once they had finished, Nathan pulled out of Samantha, kissing her neck and gently squeezing a nipple, then turned her back around to face him, pulling her against him and pressing his lips to hers once more. "I love you," he whispered to Samantha, and she felt something slick rubbing against her back, his fingers working it against her. "What''s that?" she whispered back. "What''s what?" "That you''re rubbing me with." "Soap," he answered. "We got hot and sweaty and need to scrub off again." Samantha laughed, then let Nathan clean them both off again. They rinsed off, dried, sent their towels into their Clothing Boxes and pulled out fresh clothes, then Samantha touched Nathan''s arm as he started to leave. "What changed?" She asked. "What do you mean?" "You were hesitant before," she said. "Didn''t want to, even after you knew I didn''t mind that you weren''t a virgin. Why''d you change your mind?" "It''s been hard to resist?" He offered. "And it just happened?" While she knew his words were probably honest, she also knew he had the mental strength to resist. He''d given in. And so, she stared at him. He stared back, his gaze unyielding. "Let''s go check on the others," Samantha gave in first, knowing she wouldn''t receive a response. Nathan nodded, then left, and Samantha followed him. He had spoken the truth. It had been hard for him to resist stripping her naked and taking her, but he''d continued doing so until then. While washing her, he''d found himself wanting to, seriously wanting to. And with his awakening taking him out for six days, he knew that death could come without warning, and by accident. And he wanted her before that happened. He never knew if he would be waking up when he went to sleep. What if he''d gotten knocked-out, and he didn''t have someone like Keith around to save him? As he thought about that as they washed, he found himself giving in. Part of it was probably because of his heightened sense of touch. He''d never finished that fast when trying not to, but his body had been firing on all fronts. The heightened sense of touch was probably a negative. At least, for the moment. If he got used to it, he was sure he could deal with it and return to how he was before. As they walked through the school, Nathan let Samantha kill the few monsters they did encounter.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The pair reached the culinary classroom, where the others were baking some bread in the various ovens, a few loaves already resting on cooling racks. "You two took a shower while checking out the locker rooms?" William asked. "Probably more than a shower," Michael snorted. "They were in there quite a while." "You guys go shower," Samantha told them. "The monsters are still pretty few. We only encountered five on the way here." "Alright," Michael stretched. "I probably won''t take as long as you two lovebirds." "You should," Nathan said, then looked at Keith and William, who suddenly looked uncomfortable, before quickly leaving. He shrugged, then looked back at Michael, "Take them both up the ass." Michael rolled his eyes, then left. Samantha sighed, shaking her head. "Why are you insistent on making them as uncomfortable as possible?" She asked. "Who says that''s my intention?" Nathan asked, then got to work in the kitchens, cleaning up dishes that the others had been cleaning and preparing some more food. Instead of baking the plain bread the others were baking, he made some raisin bread and banana bread. The bananas had been left alone, allowing them to ripen well, and that made them perfect for baking. He also made bacon and eggs, since there were some left. Enough for the five of them to have a nice breakfast, the others rejoining them just as he finished cooking it. After they ate, Nathan told Samantha to keep an eye on the bread and to make some cookies and brownies, then told William and Michael that nothing was going to happen to Samantha while he and Keith were out. "Where are we going?" Keith asked. "To make your rune-paint," Nathan told him. "You to make it, me to stand guard." "Oh," Keith said. "Okay." They left, and Keith went into several rooms, including two chemistry rooms, for supplies, then they went into the pottery room, where Nathan first killed two monsters, then closed the door and told Keith to barrier that room as well. Keith nodded, then pulled a jug out of his Item Box and began painting runes on around the room, sealing it off. Nathan hadn''t said why, but the mage knew it was in case they were there longer than three more days and needed to make more of the supply. As Keith mixed ingredients together, he noticed Nathan on the pottery wheel, making a teapot. "You know you can''t take that with you, right?" He asked. "It''s relaxing." Keith fell silent in response to that. Nathan was a curious person full of curious habits and things. He''d never have expected Nathan to find pottery relaxing. Then again, he never thought of Nathan as being someone to talk, either, and he''d been talking fairly often lately. Nor did he think of Nathan as someone who worked with others, yet he seemed just fine with them. "I''m done," Keith said after an hour of work. "Okay," Nathan tossed the teapot he''d been shaping into a slip bucket by the pottery wheels, then washed his hands off. "Let''s go protect our new home." Keith nodded, then the two of them made their way straight to the dome and began painting the runes. When he finished, he collapsed against a wall and let out a long breath, taking several minutes to collect himself. "That took a lot more power than my last set," he told Nathan, who was fiddling with some paper, nearly three dozen paper cranes surrounding him. "Uh¡­ you do origami?" "Yes." "Where did you get the paper?" "Pottery classroom," he answered. Keith looked at the papers, which were actual origami paper, not sheets of printer paper. Instead of questioning why the pottery teacher kept origami paper on-hand, he just moved over to Nathan and looked at the cranes, picking one up. It was well-done, and looked neat. The creases expertly-folded, each crane identical to the last, save for the coloration differences from the paper. "Can you show me how to make these?" Keith set the crane down and looked at Nathan as the warrior finished. "Maybe," Nathan picked up another paper, and Keith immediately knew he was making something different. After twenty seconds, he was met with a paper fortune teller, something he ¨C and all of his classmates ¨C were making in fourth and fifth grade. "Here." Keith hesitantly took the fortune teller and began playing with it, making it into a mouth and opening and closing it at Nathan, who rolled his eyes, then made another and pulled a pen out of his backpack and began writing on each segment. "Can you use something like this to make predictions?" Nathan asked. "Yeah," Keith answered. "Can I see the pen?" Nathan handed the pen to Keith, who begin writing on the one Nathan had handed him. "One of the ways to train and try to get psychic power," Keith explained. "Is to do stuff like these, tarot cards, dice, and actual viewing crystals. Since there''s a form of a channel, it makes it easier to try to view the future than simply using raw psychic sight. I have a crystal ball at home. Pick one, and focus on a thought, something you want to know." Nathan nodded, then picked the spot marked "Green". Keith''s eyes began to glow as he opened the fortune teller alternating directions, then revealing the inside four numbers. Nathan selected one, and Keith opened and closed it several times again, before stopping, and when Nathan picked a final time, Keith opened the flap, revealing a blanket spot beneath, his eyes still glowing. "Uh," Keith looked at Nathan, the glow fading from his eyes. "The answer is ''yes'', whatever the question was. It''s usually not so direct. I had someone a few years ago ask me if they were going to ever find wealth. The response was ''look for a ruby soon and you will''." "Looking for a ruby?" Nathan asked, and Keith shrugged. "The guy wanted his money back," Keith said. "I laughed at him, since we had a deal. I told him that the fortune teller''s advice has never been wrong once I gained the sight, and that if it says that he''ll find wealth, he will if he looks for a ruby." "Do you know what happened to him?" Nathan asked. "He found wealth in the form of a family," Keith nodded. "He was jobless at the time and had been suffering a string of bad luck trying to find a job ¨C or even any temporary work, like a one-time gig. "Deciding to heed my fortune on a whim, he looked for a ruby. Two of the nearest jewelry stores were out of ruby-touched items at the time, and he got determined to find one after that, since it seemed like the universe knew he was looking. Went to a third store, and while they were out of jewelry with rubies in them, they had a pretty lady working behind the counter ¨C his crush from high school. "They got talking," Keith continued. "And he mentioned that the only reason he was even looking for one was because of a fortune he''d gotten. She laughed and said that while she didn''t know about bringing him wealth, she''d be happy to just hang out and chat with him. Two months later, they were dating, a year after that, married. They currently have Baby Number Two on the way." "That''s¡­ more like directions from your fortune-teller," Nathan said. "That time," Keith shrugged. "My responses are almost always an ''if this, then that'' situation, though, and from what I know, they are for most when pulling with one of these. My crystal ball''s actually a lot better, though also only focuses on the current path, most of the time. I did a reading on that guy with it as well, though didn''t tell him the answer. I had foreseen him never finding any wealth of any form. After he left, I did another reading, and saw that he would." "Can you just watch people with it?" "Yeah," Keith admitted. "Have you ever watched me?" Nathan asked. "Yes," Keith blushed. "While I''m naked?" "Yes," Keith turned an even deeper shade of crimson. "While I''m jacking off?" Nathan''s expression and tone told the mage that he was annoyed. "Yes," Keith mumbled, looking straight down and fiddling with the fortune teller. Nathan thought for a few moments. "Do you ever bring it to school with you?" "Yeah," Keith responded. "But it''s not like-" He cut off as Nathan stared at him. "Backpacks," he said. "It''s in my actual backpack, which is still in Mrs. Guciardo''s class! Only other people didn''t travel into the game with us! Anything else that was in the school did!" "Let''s go get it," Nathan said. 00026 "Here we are," Nathan said when they reached Room 107, which bordered the front parking lot of the school, the staff''s main parking. "Here we are," Keith said, then entered the classroom, Nathan following behind. The mage killed the two monsters that were in the room. Keith immediately walked over to his backpack and opened it as Nathan went to another and did the same. "Here it is," Keith pulled a clear, crystal orb the size of a large grapefruit out of his backpack as he unwrapped the cloth from around it. "Uh¡­ Nathan?" "Michael''s bag," Nathan stated. "They look to be his size." In his hands were a box of condoms and a bottle of lube. Nathan dropped them back into the backpack, then went over to another desk and opened up the backpack beside it, pulling out several boxes of condoms. "Why are there several sizes?" Keith asked, walking over. "Probably to fit whoever Madeline seduced that time," Nathan shrugged. "None big enough for me. Or Michael. She doesn''t have the bigger size. The System at least stocks our size. Not that Michael used them with Madeline." Keith snorted, and Nathan returned the boxes to the backpack. They weren''t returning to that instance in the future and couldn''t bring the condoms with them back to the neutral instance. Since Keith''s reading told Nathan that Samantha was getting pregnant from their first time, it also meant he didn''t have to worry about keeping her from getting pregnant, like he did the others, who he had always used a condom with. He hadn''t thought about protection in the shower, and he knew it was probably because his heightened senses affected his rationality in the intimate situation. Too late to change the past. "Is time-travel possible?" Maybe he could? "No," Keith sighed. "Why?" That dashed those hopes. "Just curious." Keith snorted, then the pair made their way back to the dome and sat down. "Why did you want to learn magic?" Keith asked, holding the ball in both hands. "Barriers." "Barriers?" Keith asked. "Yes," Nathan nodded. "Samantha figured something like that." "Plus," Nathan added. "All of the magicians seemed to have high mana amounts. More mana means more Skill uses during a fight." Keith took a few moments to process that, then shook his head. That was probably the main reason Nathan wanted to learn magic ¨C he probably thought that using magic gave a boost to one''s mana pool, and while that was true, it was through the expenditure. "How many people were awakened here?" Nathan asked. "One," Keith answered. "The others were all magicians already, and their ''healing Skills'' didn''t come from the System." "They didn''t?" "No," Keith responded. "It gives no spells, just some boosts, and our healing magic doesn''t affect Health, either. At Level 40, I acquired access to a Skill that reduces how long it takes for me to cast spells. Or rather, it increases how fast I do it. What?" Nathan had suddenly sprouted a look of realization. "You put up barriers in the locker rooms under the other space, right?" Nathan asked, and Keith nodded. "But not this one?" "Ah," Keith stood. "Yeah, let''s go get that taken care of, so we don''t have to cross the whole gym if we want to use the restrooms or take a shower." Nathan nodded and Keith sent the orb into his Item Box before they went downstairs and took care of the monsters, then Keith put up the barriers. Then, they returned to the second level and relaxed a bit more. "So you want to make a barrier?" Keith asked. "Yes," Nathan asked. "It''s not dangerous, is it?" "No," Keith shook his head. "Though you might want to learn a basic force spell, first. It''s the first spell pretty much every magician learns. General rule of thumb is learn a spell, practice it for several months, until you have a firm grasp of it, then learn other spells. I''d estimate that with decent practicing, you''d have a firm grasp of the basic force push in a month. I wouldn''t feel comfortable teaching you the barrier you want to learn unless-" "That''s fine," Nathan said. "You teach me, I teach you." "Teach me¡­ what?" "Martial arts," Nathan answered. "Put some meat on that body. Muscle. You''re useless, you run out of mana. We can focus on that after leaving here." "Alright," Keith nodded. "For the force spell, imagine just a push of force bursting from your hand. Summon up your mana and will it into that. That''s¡­ pretty much how you explain it." Nathan nodded, then held up his hand, aiming it at the center of their space. He willed his mana to form into the force, and watched as the air in front of his hand rippled out in a small wave that traveled a few feet before fading away. "Decent," Keith told him. "Most only manage a few inches at first." "Let me see you do it." Keith held up a hand, and a moment later, a wave of force blasted out of his palm, crossing the space in just a few seconds, though it faded completely before striking the wall. "I could shoot across the dome, if I wanted," Keith said. "Do it," Nathan said. They pulled the curtain aside, and Keith walked to the bleachers and stood with his back against them before raising a hand. He blasted out another, larger push of force, and about twenty seconds later, Nathan watched as the bleachers opposite them on the other side of the second level caved inwards directly across from Keith, creating a dent more than two feet in diameter. Nathan had Keith show off his various techniques with force magics, most of which were simply variations of the force push. Sometimes, they were in the wave that rippled out when they were using them initially, other times, they were almost like a solid disk.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Keith wasn''t limited to just projecting his magic directly in front of him, demonstrating that by slicing a finger in the direction of the railings on the bleachers beneath him. Despite no magic pushing out of his hand or from directly in front of it, the railing he had aimed at formed a cut that went clean through the bar. "You could kill someone with that, couldn''t you?" Nathan asked. "I could," Keith nodded. "Other than the other three surviving magicians from around here, everyone is susceptible to a spell like that, and the System-granted spells won''t do shit against it. I can do that directly in you as long as you don''t have magical defenses. Any magician who knows what they''re doing with force magic can do that, as long as they don''t have to project directly out of them or in front of them anymore." That was a frightening concept to Nathan. He hadn''t considered the possibility of a magician being able to do that before, and he knew that Madeline would more than likely be able to do it. That meant that if they had to face her, she could easily kill any of them but Keith. "We''re awakening everyone when they get back." "What?" Keith asked. "Are you insane? Of course you are, you''re Nathan Hunter. Nathan ¨C think about what happened to you!" "You were out for eight hours?" He asked. "Well, yeah, but-" "But nothing," Nathan stated, walking towards the bleachers on the floor of the dome as a few monsters walked out of a pair of portals down below. "The other three are getting awakened. They won''t be out that long, and you I can handle things. Then, once they''ve all woken back up and are adjusting to their new senses, you''re teaching us how to create magical defenses." "Why?" Keith asks. "The monsters clearly can''t do that, or they would''ve! Not only that, but-" "If we duel," Nathan said. "And are paired up against another magician, and they can do that, how long would we last?" Keith swallowed, and Nathan jumped, landing beside one of the monsters that had just exited a portal as the swirling mass of black, purple, and red energy faded away, his fist slamming into the monster''s face. He followed up with a series of strikes, making sure to strike with his Burst Knuckle every second if he could. It only stunned for a single second, and he missed the mark a few times. One of those times, the monster attempted to burn him. When he finally killed the Five-Pointer, he quickly killed the three Two-Pointers down there, then returned to Keith. "Understand me?" Nathan asked. "Yes," Keith nodded. "Michael''s come into my trust while we''ve been here," Nathan told him. "And Samantha and William are both valuable allies and good people. I really don''t want to lose any of them. Or you." "What''s your Mana Regeneration?" "It would take me about seventeen days to regenerate from empty," Nathan told Keith. "You said that you think we have the same amount of Mana. What''s your regeneration?" "Okay, I''m a lot faster than that," Keith said. "My regeneration lets me recover in about a day and three-quarters from empty." Nathan stared at him. "Forty-nine seconds per point of Mana," Keith said. "And no, it didn''t change upon arriving here, so it''s just giving the actual values. I''ve managed to decrease it by a second, but the faster you''re able to recover your mana, the harder it is to increase your speed further." "Alright," Nathan said. "How to increase?" "Just using magic," Keith shrugged. "The more magic you use, especially in a shorter time, the easier it''ll be to increase your regeneration. It also helps increase how much mana you have, too. A common practice is expending all of your mana and using it up again as soon as you, keeping yourself as empty as possible. Of course, here, that''s not really plausible." "Alright," Nathan said. "You''ll teach me a barrier once I have a good grasp on this?" "Yes," Keith answered, then groaned. "But you''re going to put me through hell for martial arts, aren''t you?" "Yes." Nathan sat down and started playing with force magic, careful not to use too much of his mana. He had gone down to about half of it during their massive fight that night, though he was pleased to note that his force push only used about five points of it. As they waited for the others to return, Nathan continued attempting to hone his spell, and Keith explained much of what he''d already told the others about magic. Once again, he asked Nathan if he was feeling any of the symptoms of having too much mana without a familiar, and once again, Nathan denied it. He felt perfectly fine, causing him to wonder if Keith was worrying needlessly. "They''re sure taking awhile," Keith told Nathan after a couple of more hours passed. "They''re making a lot," Nathan shrugged. "Cookies, brownies, and bread to last us a few days, the latter just a few, the others¡­ probably as long as we''re in here for? And they''re waiting for them to cool down, too." "How long do you think we''ll be in here for?" Keith asked, and Nathan opened up his backpack to pull out food for lunch. "Twelve days." "Why do you think twelve?" "Based on my assumption that Survival Challenge 2 is twice as long as Survival Challenge 1, then adding in half that for our difficulty increase." Keith contemplated Nathan''s assessment of their time. They had been factoring in that their second Survival Challenge''s default would be half as long as the first one longer, not the full length longer. But when thinking on it, it made sense that it would double the time, not decrease it by half. The game challenged them, but also seemed designed to ensure deaths. That''s part of the reason they knew the ''strongest monster'' was going to be a G-1. Sighing, Keith sat down beside Nathan. "We''ll all five make it to the end." "It''s not that," Keith said. "I doubt even you would be able to do much to a G-1." "There are five of us." "Three of whom would be woefully inadequate against the harder, stronger, magic-wielding version we''ll be facing." Nathan shrugged. "Even their increased stats wouldn''t be of much use," Keith sighed again. "Chances of another prodigy among us is next-to-none." Nathan shrugged again. "What did you want me to get the crystal ball for?" "A theory," Nathan answered. "You can view others, right? Do you know Mitchell Jung?" Keith thought for a few moments, then gave a hesitant nod. "Dark brown hair with long bangs, dark blue eyes?" "Yeah," Nathan answered. "Try viewing him." "But we''re in different-" "Just do it." Keith sighed, then pulled out his orb and focused on it, holding it with both hands as his irises began to glow. A few seconds later, his eyes widened and his mouth opened, forming a small ''o''. "I can see him," Keith told Nathan. "I can see Mitchell and what he''s doing. He''s currently cutting down a few monsters. He''s pretty decent with a sword, though I''m betting he''s like Michael, and never used one before. How am I-" "We''re just in different instances of the same reality," Nathan said. "Different alternates." "How did you know I could do this?" Keith asked. "Theory," Nathan answered. "Check on Guciardo." "Time''s frozen," Keith shook his head. "And we''re in an alternate, so we can''t do that. I''ve tried projecting my psychic powers out there before, and it fails." "I know time''s frozen," Nathan said. "How else do all the students who die simply die instantly?" Keith frowned. He hadn''t shared that much information with Nathan, but Nathan had figured it out. That school year, three other schools suddenly had the majority of their seniors die, many with injuries, some by exploding. It was publicized as a biological attack that had hit other nations as well. The official statement was that no one knew who was doing it. It occurred in an instant, without warning, leaving only a few ''immune'' behind. It was reported that they were only targeting schools, and that it only affected those who were eighteen years of age, though without a reason known for that. The mage frowned, realizing that of course Nathan would have noticed that and drawn the conclusion that they were in frozen time as well as that those three attacks were really this, the students ''returning'' to where they were when the game began. "Check on Guciardo." Keith focused, pushing his powers, and after nearly two minutes of stretching them to their limits at Nathan''s urging, he finally glimpsed their teacher, frozen in time, in the real world, not their alternate. "I saw her," Keith released his spell. "Though that was taxing. Fuck, that was taxing. I barely had enough mana left to do it, especially after the extra imbuing I did with our barrier." "That''s fine," Nathan said. The attempt to scry on their teacher confirmed another theory of his, allowing him to draw more conclusions. He felt satisfied with what he''d learned so far. When the others returned with the food, they divided it up between the five of them, then Keith mentioned that Nathan wanted them to all awaken. After a few minutes of discussion on the pros and cons, and with Nathan and Keith assuring they were fine for now, especially with the monsters being so few, they agreed to it. Nathan insisted on Samantha going downstairs to the locker rooms with him for it, so that the others wouldn''t see her nude, and that Keith would use the walkies to let them know once the others had woken up and ready to dress again. 00027 "I don''t like the way that thing''s looking at us," Keith pulled the curtain closed, looking at Nathan, then to their sleeping comrades. "It hasn''t exactly gathered an army, but-" "I know," Nathan stepped over and pushed the curtain open enough for him to look across the dome, to the Seven-Pointer staring at them. Three days had passed since Nathan had woken up and the others had their magic awakened. None of them had a major boost ¨C Michael received a triple, while the other two received a doubling, and they were still adjusting to their greater senses. Nathan enjoyed watching them fidget because their clothes itched like hell to wear. His did, too, but he''d learned to ignore it already, since most of his adjustment had happened while he had been unconscious. Over the three days since the others had woken, the sleeping three had taken shifts going through the school and outside and clearing out monsters, retreating once they started getting tired and reporting where the stronger ones were. Nathan and Keith then dealt with the stronger ones. They wanted to avoid another attack like the one Nathan woke up on. "How many monsters are here?" Nathan asked. Keith pulled out his crystal orb and gripped it firmly with both hands, his irises glowing. "One thousand forty-seven," Keith answered after a few seconds, his eyes returning to normal. "Looks like they built back up after we took the ones out on the football field earlier. What do you think we should do about this one?" "Kill it," Nathan answered as Keith rejoined him. "Though it seems stronger than the rest of the Seven-Pointers so far." Keith returned the crystal orb to his Item Box, then glanced at their companions. They hadn''t revealed it to the others yet, mostly because Nathan didn''t want them to know. He only let Keith use it when the others weren''t around or were sleeping. They used it to confirm Nathan''s theory, and the others did, indeed, have their Seven-Pointers spawn on the eighth day, meaning that the tougher instance would be there for at least twelve days. "It has probably thirty monsters guarding it," Keith said. "This one''s intelligent." Nathan nodded, flicking his gaze to the thirty-two monsters standing to the sides and behind the Seven-Pointer. They were definitely guards, and all were either Three-Pointers or Five-Pointers ¨C not a Two-Pointer present. "And you can''t use force magic to just kill them?" "Right," Keith nodded. "These things are resilient to it. I''ve tried it before, and all of the monsters seem to have magical defenses, even if they didn''t have magic before." Nathan frowned at that comment, even though it wasn''t the first time Keith had told him about it. Magical defenses weren''t something someone could just have ¨C they required magic to create and sustain, even if the mana drain was very small. Keith stated that despite having a stronger defense up at all times, he still generated more mana than he used for it. Yet the monsters ¨C with their magic locked ¨C seemed to have one, regardless of rank. It was something likely done by whoever designed the System to prevent magicians like Keith and Madeline from just one-shotting every monster they came up against. If an exploit like that existed, those magicians like them would easily beat-out everyone else in the game. "By the way," Nathan said, and Keith looked at him. "You made it sound like magicians weren''t very common and that it wasn''t a well-known thing, even among the governments. Three hundred billion a year is pretty different from that." "Erm," Keith said. "Sorry? Wasn''t meant to sound that way. I meant in general. There are probably around two hundred magicians in our county, though across the river has probably three or four thousand. But there are also around a million people living in the city and its surrounding areas." Nathan shrugged. "Aim a wave of force directly at the Seven-Pointer," Nathan told him. "I''m going to bounce around. Draw its attention, get it to start heading this way. I''m going to throw it down." "Alright," Keith said, and Nathan stepped out from behind the curtain, immediately jumping to the side. As Nathan ran and jumped around the track and walls, Keith created several force pushes aimed at the Seven-Pointer, striking it in the face and torso. The monster snarled and grew out its wings, blood spraying out of its back onto the floor and monsters behind it, then it flew up into the air. While the monster was preoccupied with taking on the sudden assault from the magician, it sensed something moving towards it, then fell toward the ground with a sudden impact. "He¡­ meant literally throw it down!" Keith blurt out in shock. Nathan landed on the Seven-Pointer''s chest and began striking it repeatedly, hollering for Keith to deal with the others before they got to the bottom of the bleachers, and Keith began firing slashes of air at the monsters. The Seven-Pointer struggled under Nathan, eventually throwing him off, immune to the stunning effects of his Burst Knuckle''s mod. Nathan landed in a crouch, then launched himself at the Seven-Pointer. He wrestled with the Seven-Pointer, which was, indeed, a lot stronger than the others of its type. He guessed that it was at least half as much stronger. He''d come across others like it, but not for in its letter ranking. The Seven-Pointer threw Nathan off, who landed on a pair of Three-Pointers. The warrior quickly killed them, pausing when a message formed in his vision.
5,000 Points held at one time.
New Points Shop items are available; Stat Points and Skill Points are permanently 20% cheaper.
That interested Nathan greatly. He hadn''t opened his Points Shop even though he was able to again, as they wanted to save his purchases for if they got into another pinch. Having the most Points out of everyone there made it better for him to conserve. If they got to the point where they absolutely needed to access a Points Shop, then Nathan''s vast amount of Points would be beneficial to them.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Whether or not the bonus he received for doing it was a blessing in their current situation would be something to investigate later. For the moment, he needed to focus on the fight against the Seven-Pointer, which had begun to charge towards him. Nathan caught its fist in his hand, stepping to the side and throwing the humanoid beast, using its own momentum against it. The creature slammed into the bleachers, then stood up and flew towards Nathan, hurling fireballs as it drew closer. The warrior lifted up his hands, taking the brunt of the spell with his palms, allowing the flames to splash over his arms. The spell itself wasn''t powerful enough to power through his resistance the moment he triggered Stoneskin. The flames tried to ignite his sleeves, but were too weak by then to damage them, and Nathan surged forward, meeting the monster with a series of swift strikes. The creature attempted to burn him with more fireballs and claw at him, but Nathan met that challenge with an Impact-enhanced kick to the groin. The monster froze up, then let out a loud, piercing howl. Nathan swiftly kicked up, slamming its jaw shut, noting a satisfying leakage of blood indicating it had bitten its own tongue. From that point, Nathan easily overpowered the monster, successfully striking it in several locations. While the Health was useful, there were some things it just didn''t defend against. He''d learned that easily. The impact from a fall was neutralized by Health, if available, but biting one''s tongue wasn''t. And, it seemed, nor was having one''s balls crushed by a kick powered with hundreds of Strength, even with the beast''s Endurance protecting it. Even after Nathan stopped receiving damage notifications, indicating that he''d broken through its Health, the beast still resisted the attacks, showing off its massive resistance as it continued to struggle against him through the pain. Nathan didn''t let up his assault, striking every weak spot and critical point he could as quickly as he could, not letting the opportunity he''d created with the crotch-shot go to waste. At one point, he grabs the beast''s balls and rips them off, causing it to howl once more, and he shoved them into its mouth, before delivering an uppercut to its jaw. Before the thing could react, Nathan whipped out his knife and plunged it deep into its chest, now that its arms were no longer protecting it. He twisted for good measure and sliced the blade up and over, carving a deep, curved gash into the beast''s chest before pulling it out and flicking the blade a few times, letting the blood splatter onto the floor. He cleaned off the last of the blood with his sleeve, then inspected it and returned it to its sheath before looking at the audience. The monster''s howls had woken the others, and they came out to investigate the source of the fight. Most of the other monsters had already been slain by Keith, but a few were left. Fixing his gaze on a Five-Pointer, Nathan decided to test a theory and jumped up to the bleachers, striking it the moment he was close. It put up a fair fight, and took him two minutes to kill, but once he succeeded, he had the confirmation he was seeking.
5,000 Points earned in 1 Challenge.
All Points, Stat Points, and Skill Points rewards are doubled; you can purchase up to 50 Skill Points'' worth of Skills for free (1 use).
As soon as he closed that message, he pulled up his Skills Shop, where it displayed a 50 Skill Point Credit. There were two Skills from the Level 60 batch that he wanted ¨C the only ones he''d unlocked for Level 60 as he hadn''t unlocked all three for that or the prior batch ¨C but they cost 30 Skill Points each. One was more important than the other, so he purchased it with the credit. It didn''t confirm yet, as he had to either fully confirm or add more to the Credit Purchase. He couldn''t buy Skills with his Skill Points until he used the Credit, meaning he couldn''t save them up in case there was a bonus at 10,000 Points, too. The only Skill from the Level 50 batch looked interesting, but since it cost 25 Skill Points, he knew he''d have to save it up. That left him with just the Level 20''s, which he hadn''t touched other than Stoneskin, and his remaining Level 10, Scan. Deciding Scan could just be bought, he added Iron Grip and Meditation, to use up the full 50 Skill Points Credit he''d earned. As soon as he''d filled up his purchase, he confirmed it and promptly pulled up his Skills Menu, adding all 9 Skill Points he had to max out Piercing Strikes without even reading its description. Only then did he pull it up.
Piercing Strikes Level 10
Ignores 10% Endurance per Level
Level 10 Max
The bonus was better than he''d expected ¨C he thought it was only penetrate 5% Endurance per Level. Because of that, he had twice the bonus and had already maxed it out. It also meant that he would do full damage to everything on good hits. He checked out his other Skills. Iron Grip increased his grip strength by 5% per Level, and Meditation increased his regenerations by 5% per Level, as well as gave a slight boost to physical recovery. Both of them had a Level 20 Maximum. Unlike Meditation, which had no set duration nor a Mana Cost, Iron Grip cost 25 Mana to use and lasted for five seconds per Level of the Skill. Not a bad haul, in his opinion. "Why did you go after that other one?" Samantha asked when Nathan returned to them. "Theory." "And?" "I was right." "Remind me," Michael said to William. "Not to touch any girl he claims as his. Having my balls is preferable." "I''d already made a note to ask first," William told Michael. "Though now I''m having second thoughts about dating Samantha while he is." "No sex and you''re fine," Nathan grunted, then walked to where he normally slept. "Since you''re up instead of sleeping, I''m going back to sleep." Without letting anyone protest, Nathan sat down and wedged himself into the corner, promptly falling asleep. "How he does that amazes me," Samantha told the others as they all returned behind the curtain and closed it. "Just falls asleep without issue, on-thought. And he always wakes so easily, yet nothing really wakes him unless we''re trying." "It''s almost like magic," Keith shrugged. "I know some spells that can put me to sleep easily, though of course, he doesn''t have those. But they also tend to not let me just wake when someone says my name trying to wake me. That part amazes me, since we can have a loud conversation right beside him and not bother him." "Or we do bother him," William said. "And he just doesn''t let us know." "If he were a light sleeper," Michael snorted. "I''m pretty sure us handling monsters during our shifts would result in disturbing his sleep. And knowing Nathan, he wouldn''t like having his sleep disturbed, and so just go on a rampage, fighting every monster in the Dome until they were all dead." The four of them looked at Nathan, silently agreed that was true, then all took up watch. The howling of the monster had been unbearable to their ears and had shaken them awake. None of them would be sleeping soon, not even Keith, who had long-since adjusted to his heightened senses. Which brought them to the question of how Nathan managed to tolerate it from directly in front of the creature. A question they knew they would likely never hear the answer to. 00028 "Why didn''t you tell them?" Keith asked as he pulled out his crystal orb. He looked at Nathan, who was munching on some dried slices of apricot at the moment. "Better for them to not know unless it was absolutely confirmed." "They still think I can only see the present." "Keep it that way for now," Nathan told him, shoving the rest of his handful of dried fruit into his mouth. "Do the scry." Keith sighed, then focused on his crystal orb, his eyes starting to glow. "At least one or two more months," he answered after a few moments. "It''s¡­ hazy, probably because it depends on so much randomness and luck. The more variables involved, the harder it is to see." "Can you see what the final Challenge is?" "No," Keith shook his head. "Something''s blocking me from seeing even that." "Alright," Nathan said, then stretched as Keith put his orb away. "Where do you want to bet the Nine-Pointer is." "Are you sure it''ll be worth 9 Points?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "The first letter rankings were 1 Point, 2 Points, and 3 Points. That''s one higher than the previous Then the two monsters we''ve faced so far in the second were two more than the previous, which means the third one probably will be as well." "Alright," Keith sighed, then thought for a few moments. "Maybe the Dome? For the space? One of the gyms, for sure, but the Dome''s the largest." "Outside," Nathan said. "Possibly the football field." "Alright," Keith focused, his irises beginning to glow. "Dammit! You win! It''s out on the football field." "Told you," Nathan said. "It''d give it much more room to fly about. Also, we can bet that the final boss of this game is going to be at least two or three times as hard as this guy ¨C minimum. Possibly ten times." "Why do you think that?" Keith asked. "You said it''ll be at least one to two months out?" Nathan asked, and Keith nodded. "Then we''re going to be facing at least one more Survival, if the every-other is a pattern for it. Possibly two or three, depending on how long they are and how long the others are, as well as the rests between." Keith nodded, then pulled his walkie from his belt. "The G-1''s in the football field," he said. "Meet us in front of the Dome." "Copy that," Samantha responded a few seconds later. "And grab your bags, too," Keith told them. "We''ll leave them in the field''s locker rooms. I warded them yesterday, so there aren''t any monsters in there, so it should be safe." "Got it," Samantha said. "See you in ten." Keith returned his walkie to his belt, then he and Nathan grabbed their backpacks and made their way out front and waited for the rest of their team, who had been clearing out some monsters on the other side of the school. When they joined up, the five students rested for twenty minutes, watching the Nine-Pointer. Nathan noted that it was slightly-larger than the others, and that it already had its wings out. Its crimson skin was slightly-molted, and the pair of horns and the beast''s needle-like teeth looked especially dangerous. Its hands had been twisted into sets of claws, while its feet were barely more human-looking than those. Instead of having a single tail, like about half of all of the monsters, this one had two long, slender tails that ended in spades. "Do you think we can take it?" Samantha asked. "No," Nathan answered. "So we''ll be stuck farming inside for awhile?" She answered. "No," Nathan started walking, and the others followed. "I doubt Keith could manage any damage to it. I''ll be the damage-dealer. You four be distractions." "If Keith can''t damage it, how will you be the damage-dealer?" Michael asked. "Because I ignore Endurance." They reached the field''s locker rooms and made their way inside, dropping off their backpacks. Michael checked his sword as the others checked their weapons, Keith fiddling with his amulet. The sound of a sword drawing from a sheath gained their attention, and they looked to find Nathan sliding his katana back into the sheath, which had been fixed to his belt. "You have three weapons?" Samantha asked. "Don''t share about the sword," Nathan told them. He had determined that his best bet for this fight wouldn''t be using his fists, like he normally did, but the sword. It would grant him the extra reach, even if it was weaker. He still hadn''t used his Point Shop, just in case, but both Keith and William could access theirs at the moment, he was sure. "Keith, William," Nathan decided it was best to confirm it. "You two can access your Points Shops, right?" "Yeah," they answered in unison. "Alright," Nathan said. He then quickly pulled his up Points Shop and quickly spent the 450 Points on investing into his sword''s Level, bringing it up to Level 10 again. No new option for Upgrading it, which interested him. It looked like either it could only get the total upgrade once, or needed a higher Level for each subsequent one. Probably Level 20 for the next. Nathan spent a few moments considering checking out what his next Weapons set would be. He was better with a weapon he hadn''t access to, but he doubted the System granted it to anyone. The three next ones were probably more powerful weapons, but still the more medieval ones. Deciding against purchasing one just in case they weren''t, he closed his Points Shop. "How long have you had the sword?" Samantha asked. "Awhile," he answered. "Keith, William, I just used mine to further upgrade my sword, so I won''t be able to use it until we leave here. A good strike with my sword will take out, at minimum, 450 Health, though I can take out up to 600 or so if I use a certain Skill. The moment its Health is empty, Michael, you do your best to poke the thing with your own sword. The flame damage will help us take it out. William, Samantha, you two will probably do nothing against this thing, but try anyway. Keith, you only attack if you absolutely need to." "Alright," he nodded. "That means if we''re in a pinch." "I got that," Keith said. "So don''t use my grip?"Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Only in an emergency," Nathan told him. "If that''s failing, summon your familiar." Keith nodded, then the group made their way out of the locker rooms. As soon as they reached the fence leading to the track circling the field, Nathan jumped up, landing on the other side of the fence. The moment his feet touched the ground, he was gone, already halfway down the field and across, slicing at the Nine-Pointer, which raised its hand up, letting the blade slash across the palm. Nathan immediately followed the attack up with a swift series of strikes as the Nine-Pointer unleashed an ear-splitting howl that was even worse on his powerful senses. He grit his teeth and powered through it, kicking the beast in the chest, then blocking the spade-like tail that had lashed out at him. The other one whipped out immediately and slammed into his side, throwing him a few feet away, but Nathan quickly recovered, cutting through the flurry of stone spikes that had been launched at him. A few struck him with enough force to push him back, though the rest were deftly cut through with his sword. He quickly reassessed his opinion of the others, and hollered for them to stay back unless he said it was safe to come near. The thing''s Health was a six-digit figure, its Mana was high, and its spells packed a powerful punch. It took Nathan nearly twelve minutes to bring its Health to none, and he immediately began hacking at the thing''s tails every time they drew near. The beast grew smart, but not in time to avoid having one of the two weapons attached to its body sliced off. Even with ignoring the Endurance ¨C the value of physical resistance ¨C of the creature, there were still certain factors that contributed to one''s physical resistance. Nathan wasn''t sure what determined how hard it was to cut through something, since 0 Endurance should mean it was cut through easily, but he knew that he still struggled at times to cut through the creature. He decided that his Piercing Strikes likely only applied while there was Health to remove, and not after, despite not stating that as the case. The Nine-Pointer managed to remove Nathan''s own Health, bringing it completely down to empty. Nathan called for help, then again wounded him a few times, but he ignored it, pushing through the pain until he managed to remove the beast''s head.
+9 Points!
You will return to the neutral instance in 10 minutes.
"Told you it was 9 Points," Nathan looked at Keith, who shrugged. "Let''s grab our things." Nathan sheathed his katana, then returned it to his Weapons Box, and they made their way into the locker rooms to grab their bags, then began the walk inside. They''d likely need to be in the cafeteria after they arrived. Nathan was fuming the entire time they walked. The others had backed off when he warned them to, but didn''t join back in when he called for help. Yes, he managed to deal with it, but Michael''s flaming sword would have been a massive boost to the fight. When they reached the cafeteria, they found the MPR had been sealed off. Shrugging, they read their completion rewards notices and waited out the rest of their time, and when the timer reached zero, they found themselves in the cafeteria with nearly everyone else who had survived. Samantha, William, and Michael didn''t realize they were facing the survivors of the Challenge, who were currently staring at the remains of a student who had exploded the moment the quintet arrived. Keith and Nathan, however, already had a head-count for the others. The survival rate was one less than the multiple of eight the game required, and the unlucky student at the very bottom died immediately. "Damn," Michael said. "The System didn''t even wait to announce things." The other students looked over at the quintet, who were standing by the MPR doors. A notice appeared when they arrived informing them that the MPR was sealed off for another fifteen minutes. "It took you guys four days to kill the boss?" Madeline was the first to react beyond just looking. "No," Keith folded his arms across the chest. "It took Nathan about twenty minutes by himself. You got the notice that we had a harder Challenge ¨C one of the difficulty increases was waiting half as long longer for the boss to appear." "You," Nathan pointed a hand at one of the healers who had survived that far. "I need healing." The student nodded a little hesitantly, then approached Nathan, shooting Madeline nervous looks. Nathan noted that he was scared of her, but at least he still came to Nathan. As soon as he started mending the warrior''s left arm with a soothing magic, he frowned. "These look like burns." "Another difficulty increase was no longer blocking monsters from using magic." Madeline snorted in response to that. "G-rank beasts can," Samantha said. "Most of them were using fire magics, though the G-1 used a mix of fire magics and stone magics." "It created a few rudimentary barriers, too," Keith added. "You guys didn''t see them because you weren''t using magical sight, but they were there." Nathan frowned at that, and gave Keith a questioning glance. "Magical sight," Keith said. "It''s something any trained magician can do. You probably noticed it deflecting your attacks a few times. It basically lets you see magical signatures. The barriers weren''t designed to be invisible, so they registered with it. It lets us see who all is a magician, for instance. It takes the form of a sort of aura." Nathan looked around at their fellow classmates as Michael counted under his breath. His team all had magical auras, a faint glow around them, with Keith''s being purple while the others had a blue that was similar to the status messages. Madeline had the blue glow, and four other students each had an aura, all of them blue. "And you need training for it?" Nathan asked. "Yeah," Keith responded. "Oh," Nathan said. "I can see them just fine." Madeline let out a laugh heavy with amusement. "You''re not even a magician!" "No," Nathan looked at her. "I''m a warrior who''s been awakened." "As if you-" she began, then narrowed her gaze. "How? How did all four of you-" "Through the normal rush process," Nathan stated. "Now fuck off, bitch. How useful were you actually during the final fight?" "I-" "Don''t want to hear it." "You-" "Shut up." Madeline continued to try to talk, but Nathan interrupted her each time until she stormed off to the side section of the cafeteria and sat down. Once the timer for the MPR''s opening ticked down, the doors unsealed, and a message appeared in the students'' visions.
The MPR is now available again.
You may restock your supplies, standard rules apply. The screens in the cafeterias and MPR will reveal the rankings in 20 minutes. Reward will be distributed then.
Everyone made their way into the MPR as students swarmed the quintet, asking for details of how much harder it was, and Michael, William, and Samantha indulged them. When Madeline heard how much tougher the monsters were, she laughed. "How did none of you manage to place last?" She asked. "If the monsters were more than twice as tough?" "Because we''re at least tough enough to handle ourselves," Samantha retorted. "We didn''t stick around and hide, you know." "You''re probably still in the bottom bracket," Madeline snorted. "I bet none of you made it past 500 Points. I had over fifteen hundred by the time the game ended!" "Aw," Nathan gave her a sarcastically pity-filled voice. "You didn''t score higher than the sixth place. That''s so sad to hear." "What?" She asked. "You going to claim to have doubled that?" "No." He nearly quadrupled that. "But the lowest-earner among us was over 2,000 Points," Nathan added, then walked over to the trio of screens. It was nearly time. "Now shut the fuck up, bitch. Or do we need another private discussion?" Madeline paled, then pushed past stunned students as she stormed out of the MPR. "I rather enjoyed our last one," Nathan told Keith, who just snorted in response. The timer reached zero, and Nathan was met with a series of messages informing him of his rewards for his placement. His instance placed first, scoring above the next-best by 38 Points, so he received 10 Stat Points, 10 Skill Points, 5 Levels, and 200 Points from that. He placed first in his instance, and so received the same as that. Then, he received it again for earning first among all students, as well as the Level-Up to all applicable Skills and Weapons. The screens only showed the ''normal'' values, not his doubled values, for the Stat Points, Skill Points, and Points. It seemed that the first two remained at five each, like last time, but the Points reward was doubled from the previous Survival Challenge''s. That made him wonder if it simply doubled every Survival Challenge, or increased by 50 Points each one. For the first-place, that was, since it decreased each place under until fifth. He looked around at the other students. Since there were three other Instances, at least fifteen other students received some bonuses for scoring. Considering that they lost seventy-two students, putting them down to only fifty-six, their previous Survival Challenge claimed a lot of lives. It wasn''t unlikely that there were only one or two Challenges left before the final one. Nathan assumed that a huge part of the problem was having the same assumption his teammates did ¨C that the Challenge would only last for six days. Even working in groups, unless someone remembered the kitchens and culinary rooms and shared it, chances of people actually staying strong enough to the end were rare. Most students would''ve burned their Points as soon as they were able, even though that wasn''t the smart thing to do. As he looked around, Nathan wondered just how many of them were going to make it out alive, his gaze fixing on Mitchell. He was a strong warrior, and one who was likely to survive. Maybe it was a good idea to pull him into the fold. 00029
You have fifteen minutes before Challenge 6 begins.
Everyone must gather in the South Gym. Those who are not in there when fifteen minutes ends will die.
Nathan looked around at the other students. They were in the cafeteria at the moment, two weeks after the Survival Challenge. They were expecting the next Challenge to happen at any moment, due to the rather lengthy rest. Everyone assumed that the extended period was a result of Nathan''s group having a longer and tougher Challenge. It was true it took them a little longer to fully recover, but the rest period, Nathan felt, had been excessive. He suspected it was to make them nervous with anticipation what it would be. Instead of joining the others, he continued eating. Not much had happened other than Madeline officially pissing everyone off and Michael finding a new chick to fuck constantly. With five minutes left, Nathan took care of his trash, then grabbed his backpack and made his way down to the South Gym, Samantha following him in silence. Since there wasn''t much reason for him to talk, he''d returned to being silent, other than when training with a member of his group, either in martial arts, with swords, or with magic. There, he found the rest of the students waiting, and so took a seat and waited until the next notification, which occurred with a sealing of the South Gym.
You have 5 minutes to prepare for Challenge 6
You will be divided into eight instances of seven students based on the your strength, with the strongest being together and the weakest being together. You will be restrained to the South Gym during this challenge. One student in each instance must die. All rules are lifted during this Challenge. The surviving six members will be released from the Challenge once all instances have finished, and all rules will apply once more after one student has died. Any attempt to kill more than one student during this Challenge will result in your death. Succeeding in killing more than one student will result in your death. A kill is shared for all students within an instance.
Nathan looked around, his gaze fixing on Madeline, who looked a lot less sure of herself. She was one of the seven strongest students, and the other six at the top all disliked her. She was outnumbered. After a few moments, though, she smirked, and Nathan knew she had some sort of plan for victory. Especially with the way she was looking at Keith. It didn''t matter. Five of her opponents had magical defenses, and while Mitchell didn''t, he was definitely not going to fall to her magics. According to Keith, she wasn''t talented enough at force magic to kill someone by applying it directly to their brain or heart, the way Keith could. That made him curious how she planned on killing Keith. He knew she wouldn''t target Mitchell, even if she could. She wanted Keith dead, no matter what. The timer hit zero, and Nathan found himself in the room with his group and Madeline, as well as a new message in his vision.
Your Challenge will take place on the football field. No combat permitted until all members are on it. You have 15 minutes.
I guess even the System recognizes that the strongest seven could do some serious damage to the area and possibly need a bigger space in a fight to kill someone. The group of students made their way down to the football field as Nathan wondered how the System came to that conclusion. Was it simply because they were so powerful? Or had whoever was responsible for the game interfered to do that? Not the people behind Madeline ¨C the people behind the game in general. The actual force behind it. Did they interfere with this instance to give the group more space? Or was it really the System, which somehow determined that their particular instance needed more space? And why the football field? The dome was much much larger than the South Gym, so it should have worked, too. They reached the football field, and Madeline walked to the center, removing her school jacket and tossing it to the ground, rolling up her right sleeve. Keith frowned when he saw the light gray marks on her arm. "Hiding these was such a pain," she smiled at him. "I''m glad I finally get to show off a bit." Then, she held out her arm and the gray markings lifted off, swirling and expanding, taking on the form of a humanoid figure ten feet in height and built of stone, its eyes a pair of glowing red orbs. "A stone titan?" Keith frowned, walking towards her. "How in the fuck did you contract a stone titan without anyone noticing?" Stone titans, Nathan knew from his inquiries about the various familiars, were in the same classification as thunderbirds and griffins. Something that powerful being contracted should have been noticed, yet even Keith was unaware of it. "It''s still just a baby," she smirked. "But it''s more than enough to deal with you and whatever half-rate familiar you have. Kill." She immediately fired off several fireballs and whips of flames, slashing out with air as her familiar charged Keith. "Stay back!" Keith hollered as Samantha, Michael, Mitchell, and William went to aid him. "I can handle her!" The others stopped, then looked at Nathan, who was sitting on the bleachers, having moved to them the moment they were allowed to fight. They saw him holding a container of dried fruit, munching away as if it were popcorn.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Looking back at William, they saw the attacks slamming into his barrier, the stone titan attempting to break through as the mage calmly removed first his robe, then his jacket, then his tie, then his shirt, revealing a series of white and gold markings on his back. They stretched out, first as if like wings, and then took on the form of actual wings, white and gold in color. They were neither feathery nor leathery, more akin to blades of color attached to the wings'' edges. Madeline halted in her attacks as the majestic wings stretched out, then detached from Keith''s back, floating out on their own. "What in the world-" she began, only to find the ''wings'' shifting their form, rapidly turning into a swirling mass of light, wind, and clear water. "HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?" She summoned up a storm of fire and threw it at Keith, but his familiar transformed into a giant wall that shielded him, and he released his barrier, allowing the stone titan to attack. The flames sputtered out against Keith''s familiar, which enveloped the stone titan and squeezed, slicing through its limbs and core in moments as Madeline screamed in fury, then in pain as her contract was forcibly severed by her familiar''s death. The stone titan would normally be able to draw from the ground and heal itself, but three things stopped it. The first was the sheer speed of its death, with the second being its age, making it slower in its healing. The third was the fact that the football field was an artificial turf, having been changed to that a few years prior, due to the band receiving several sprained ankles after a football game on a wet field. Nothing there but synthetic materials and rubber. Keith watched as Madeline wailed, then as his familiar surged forward, transforming into a spear of wind, water, and light, piercing through the meager shields she''d managed to conjure and through her body. It rested there for a few moments, then pulled out, returning back to just a collection of wind, water, and light as it returned to its master. "Thanks," Keith touched a spot of the water and wind that were swirling around each other. "I''m sorry, but you''ll need to go back, I can''t have you out while we''re here too much. I''ll let you run loose as much as you want as soon as I''m able, though, okay?" The familiar''s golden light glowed a little bit, then returned to normal, and the creature shifted to behind its master, returning to the pair of wings it had been before attaching itself to Keith''s back and absorbing in, leaving behind just the white and gold markings on his skin. Keith sighed, then picked up his shirt and pulled it back on. They all received a notice to return to the South Gym within fifteen minutes. He buttoned up his shirt as his classmates returned to him. "What was that?" Samantha asked as Nathan picked up Keith''s tie and jacket and held them out. "My familiar." "Clearly," she said. "I meant what was it. The species, or whatever." "Something strong enough to take on the Grand Set," Michael said. "Was that an elemental?" "Elementals are based in fire, water, earth, wind, and energy," Samantha said. "That had light factored in as well. It was powerful, though. A very strong thing within the Grand Set?" "Keep it a secret," Keith hesitated for a moment. "If the magical community finds out I have that contracted, there would be a massive uproar. Right now, I''m seen largely as a rogue agent who doesn''t really do much, despite having a lot of power. They know I''m interested in enchanting, and leave me be. If they knew I had something like that contracted, they''d get into a huge uproar over it. It''s an incredibly rare being. The last magician to have one was Mordred." "You have something contracted by an evil guy?" Michael jumped back a few steps. "No," Keith shook his head. "History''s slightly wrong. In the first place, the original text simply said that he and Arthur fell, it never mentioned if they were fighting each other. According to actual historical text from the magical side of things, they actually fought together. Mordred was Arthur''s step-son. Guinevere had been raped before Arthur married her, and he was the bastard child born from that. He was never evil, despite what the stories say, and had given up his life attempting to save his step-father''s. He succeed, but Arthur died not much later in the same battle. "Anyway," Keith said as he finished pulling his things back on, then picked up his robe and pulled that back on. "Please, please, please don''t ever mention that to anyone. It''s extremely important no one knows I''ve contracted it. Seriously." "On the scale of familiars and magical creatures," Mitchell said, knowing a little from having spent a fair amount of time with them the last few weeks, and thus, hearing much of what Keith had explained. "Where does that thing lie?" "Above the elementals," Keith answered. "Beneath the Ultimate Trinity. It''s extremely powerful, and just as rare as any of those things. Please." "No one''s saying anything," Nathan assured him, then looked at the rest of the group, who quickly echoed their agreement. They returned to the South Gym, and nineteen minutes later, they found themselves in the neutral instance, the forty-eight survivors looking around at each other.
You have completed Challenge 6
+12 Stat Points, +12 Skill Points, +120 Points. You may restock your supplies in the MPR, standard rules. Challenge 7 will begin in three days. Rest up and decide. When it is time to begin, which Challenge you face will be by the choice of the majority. The two options are Points Battle and Survival. It will be the final Challenge before the Final Challenge.
They were being given a choice for their next Challenge. Nathan was curious how the Points Battle would work as they hadn''t faced that Challenge yet, but a Survival Challenge would last at least twelve days, he suspected. That one guaranteed they''d have time to farm monsters and get stronger. At the same time, though, the fact that the System called the other one "Points Battle" told him there was probably a reward set for whoever earned the most Points during that Challenge, just like the Survival Challenges. Well, that was his opinion, but he saw no other reason why it would be called "Points Battle" if it wasn''t a competition of some sort. Instead of dwelling on that further, he made his way to the MPR with the other students to stock up a bit more. There was a high chance that everyone else voted for the Survival Challenge, for the extra grinding. No one knew what the Final Challenge would entail, but they knew that they''d need to be strong for it. With how hellish their start had been, and the Challenges so far, they knew it would be tougher than anything they''d faced before. Nathan frowned. That was actually probably why they were being given the choice. What were the odds that the Points Battle had a higher chance of giving them better Points as a result than the Survival Challenge? The thing was ¨C no one knew. All they knew was that it was a Points Battle, while they knew a lot more about the Survival Challenges. They knew there would be a guarantee for them to get stronger with the Survival Challenge. Sighing, Nathan shook his head. The game was playing with them. They''d throw away what would potentially allow them even more Experience and Points because of uncertainty. He''d have to see if he could change their minds. 00030 "Nathan?" "Hm?" Samantha paused, looking down at his barely-awake form. At least, she thought he was barely awake, but she wasn''t too sure. "Everyone''s gathering for breakfast," she told him. "It''s suspected that the Challenge choice will be soon after." Nathan sighed, then sat up and started dressing, then grabbed his backpack and followed her to the cafeteria. He dropped his backpack on a table, then went to the food area and started filling a tray. Once he was satisfied with his haul, he returned to the table and sat down. The rest of his ''crew'' were there ¨C Samantha, William, Keith, Michael, Mitchell, Kendra, and the girl that Michael had been banging, a brunette named Elise who alternated between a sword and a whip for combat, depending on the situation. She wasn''t bad, and did make it into the Top 10 constantly, though Nathan had never had a class with her before then. She didn''t bother him much, and he did feel she was better than the rest of the students there. From what he knew, she was a magician, too, and had been before the game began. If eight students survived, this was the group he wanted to. He did prefer it for all of them to survive, but knew the game didn''t like that idea. The other instances of the game that had happened so far, only a rare few made it out alive. Keith did say they had the largest batch by several hundred, but it was still just a hope, Nathan knew. At precisely nine-o''clock, everyone received a notice.
Vote on your phones. App is on the homepage. You have 5 minutes to decide between Points Battle and Survival. Majority wins. In the event of a tie, the student who has earned the most Points throughout the game so far (Nathan Hunter) will have their vote count twice, and the Challenge will be what they voted on as a result. Voting is not required, and there will be no punishment for not doing so. However, failure to vote will halve all gains during Challenge 7.
"Everyone!" Nathan jumped to his feet, and the other forty-seven students suddenly snapped their gazes to him. "Points Battle!" "But Survival-" "No!" Nathan looked at the protesting senior. "Think about how the game works. We know about Survival Challenges. Why do you think it told us the next Challenge will be the last? Points Battle. We''ll have the opportunity for more Points from it." Nathan sat back down, and the other students started whispering among themselves. Nathan whipped out his phone and quickly voted, then looked at the rest of his table. "How sure of it are you?" Michael asked. "Completely," Samantha answered. "He has been trying to convince us of it," Keith reminded Michael. "And he did have strong arguments. I''m siding with him on this." Keith and Samantha voted, then others, and they waited for the voting to end. At the five-minute mark, a new message appeared in their visions.
Challenge 7 will be Points Battle
25 students voted for Points Battle; 23 students voted for Survival Challenge. You have 40 minutes to enter the Dome. Any students not within the dome when 40 minutes are up will die.
Nathan read the message, then nodded and resumed eating. Once he finished, he tossed his trash and set the tray on top of the can, then grabbed his backpack and made his way to the Dome. Many of the students weren''t happy, but the majority voted in favor with Nathan. Though the messages weren''t always consistent, Nathan had figured out how to read them well enough. A forty-minute wait before finding out the details of the Challenge meant it was ''easier'' than the Survival Challenge. They always had short waits for tough Challenges, in his opinion. At the forty-five minute mark, all forty-eight students were gathered in the dome, sitting on the bleachers and chatting, wondering what the Challenge would entail, and the message then appeared. Nathan heard students groan as they read it, but a few of those annoyed sounds changed as they continued reading, so he turned his focus to the rather lengthy message. He felt they probably should have broken it up like they did the beginning messages.
You have 15 minutes to prepare for Challenge 7
You will be separated into forty-eight instances of 1 student each. You will be restricted to the Dome. Monsters will regularly spawn through ten portals in the dome, two at each end of the basketball court and three on each side, with increasing ranking and frequency and counts as more are killed and time passes. All monsters, regardless of ranking, will reward 1 Point for killing. You will not face any new monster rankings. The Challenge will last for eight hours. You may call out two Rest Periods by saying "I wish to rest". Rest Periods will last for exactly 30 minutes each. During Rest Periods, you may access your Points Shop. When the Challenge ends, all students will be ranked and rewarded based upon how many Points they acquired. In the event of a tie, time to reach that Points amount will be used to determine who is higher in the ranking. You may earn a maximum of 15,000 Points by the end of the Challenge. In the event that you kill all monsters and earn all 15,000 possible points, you will be removed from the Challenge immediately and placed at the next-highest available spot. You may, at any time, exit from the Challenge by calling out "Trigger end". This will immediately remove you from the Challenge, though your ranking will not be affected, and once everyone has finished, you will be ranked according to how many Points you earned during the Challenge. The sixteen students who earned the least amount of Points (dead students will count as having earned 0 Points, and thus, be included in this count) will die. If sixteen students manage to die during the Challenge outside of the ranking''s punishment, all other students will be removed and ranked.
Nathan finished reading the message, then rubbed his temples before reading it again. Why didn''t it get split up into three or four separate messages? It was too damn long for that. It didn''t affect his comprehension, but he knew it''d trip up other students. He was right, though ¨C the Challenge offered an immense amount of Points. Not only that, but it offered stuff the Survival Challenge likely wouldn''t ¨C Rest Periods and the opportunity to use the Points Shop when it shouldn''t have been possible. It was also their first solo Challenge, but they were still competing against each other. "Sixteen of us have to die!" Someone called out. "You really think that''s a good trade-off for being able to earn Points?" "Moron," Nathan said, and Samantha put a hand on his arm. "What? He is." "What Nathan means," Samantha looked at him. "Is that you''re a moron for not having realized yet that the Challenge would''ve required that death count, even if we went with Survival. We lost seventy-two students in the last Survival Challenge, don''t forget. The game likely wants us at thirty-two students for the Final Challenge." Which told Nathan one very crucial piece of information if that was right.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. If his assessment that the Final Challenge was exactly the same for all of the tutorial games, then every game had thirty-two students at the final match. And six or less survived it. That wasn''t a difficulty measure based on the System killing them, that was a difficulty measure of the actual Challenge itself. Instead of dwelling on that, Nathan pulled up his Points Shop. He had nearly 6,000 Points and was going to be earning at least as much in the next Challenge. He could use them all up with comfort.
Points Shop 5,715
1 Stat Point: 8 Points
1 Skill Point: 20 Points
Food Restock: 25 Points
Drinks Restock: 25 Points
Toiletries Restock: 25 Points
Medical Restock (Basic): 25 Points
Food Restock (II): 30 Points*
Mana Potion (20 Mana): 40 Points
Health Potion (50 Health): 40 Points
Mana Regen Decrease (5): 50 Points*
Health Regen Decrease (5): 50 Points*
Weapon Level 6 Upgrade: 50 Points
Medical Restock (Adv.): 50 Points
Item Drop: 50 Points
Weapon Repair Kit: 50 Points
Weapon Mod Upgrade: 50 Points
Item Drop (II): 60 Points*
Weapon Modification: 100 Points
Weapon Level 12 Upgrade: 110 Points
Additional Weapon (II): 150 Points
The items that had asterisks beside their costs were the items that opened up with him holding 5,000 Points at once. He hadn''t bought them yet, though he felt it was probably a good idea to buy the two Decreases. The 5 after their names made him wonder what that was about, which he discovered as soon as he purchased one ¨C it was how many of it he could buy. After using it and determining that it decreased the delay between regenerations, he bought all five of each, and used them, his regens decreasing by two hundred fifty seconds each; fifty seconds per decrease. Then, he bought some Mana Potions and Health Potions, to bring himself back up to full. After that, he was pretty much done, and still had about 3,000 Points left. He had a couple of Skills he could still buy ¨C he didn''t unlock anything at Level 70, to his dismay ¨C but neither would help during the Challenge. Item Drop was useless at that point as it was simply a restock of a set list of items he could pick from, much like Food Restock and Medical Restock. He could always increase a few more of his Skills, or invest into more Stat Points, but he was confident he didn''t need them. There was always his sword. Deciding that he probably wouldn''t be able to keep it a secret any longer, he pulled it out of his Inventory and equipped it. "Not hiding it anymore?" Samantha asked. "I''ll probably need it during the Final Challenge," Nathan shrugged. "Keith will probably need his familiar, too." Keith frowned, but didn''t comment, knowing Nathan was right. Nathan returned his focus to the Points Shop, investing 1,350 Points into his Shadow Sword, confirming when it reached Level 20 that it would unlock the Weapon Upgrade for it again. That made him curious about the Return Knife, since it had the Level 28 Maximum. He swiftly began inputting Points into upgrading it, and as soon as he reached Level 10, he unlocked Weapon Upgrade. On a hunch, he purchased it, then viewed its status.
Return Knife II Level 1
Always returns to the owner''s sheath.
Return Cooldown: 20 seconds (minus 1 per Level of this Skill, minimum of 1 second)
Damage Bonus: 1 per Level of this weapon
Maximum Level: 18
The maximum Level decreased, but it retained its cooldown, as if it were at Level 11 of the weapon. Not only that, but it had a small bonus to damage as well. He decided to leave it as it was. Despite being confident that he''d manage to come out with a total completion on the Challenge, Nathan opened up his backpack and checked the medical kit. He''d only used a couple of things from it so far, so it didn''t need restocking, much to his relief. Deciding that he was done, and could save the last 1,265 Points for if he needed it during the Challenge, along with whatever else he earned there, Nathan sat back and relaxed. His classmates were probably investing into Stat Points and Skill Points, but he didn''t mind. Even if they ended up with higher stats than him ¨C which he knew several of them already had ¨C they still wouldn''t beat him. He was the best, in terms of Skill. Sighing, he wished he had his preferred weapon, the one he specialized with the most. He wasn''t sure how effective it would be against Health, but it would at least make him more comfortable. The timer ticked down to zero, and Nathan found himself alone save for the ten portals in the Dome, exactly how the notice said they would be. Standing, he jumped off the bleachers, drawing his sword and swiftly cutting through a nearby monster. Two hours passed before Nathan even began to feel tired, and another passed before he called for a rest. The monsters that had been summoned remained, but no new ones came through, so he killed them and took a seat by his backpack, resting and rehydrating. Thirty minutes after the called Rest Period, the portals began to spawn more monsters, and Nathan returned to fighting, calling for his second rest after another hour of fighting. He was nearly done, judging by the 13,986 Points he had earned from the fight so far. After the second Rest Period ended, Nathan returned to fighting. Using the sword made it a lot easier to kill monsters for him and dealt more damage than simply punching them. It also let him do a lot more and use a lot less stamina. At just-over five and a half hours, Nathan killed the last Nine-Pointer in the room and promptly found himself in the neutral instance.
You have completed Challenge 7!
+14 Stat Points, +14 Skill Points, +1,400 Points. You may not leave the Dome until everyone has finished.
Nathan dismissed the notification, then found something dropping onto him, sending him crashing to the ground from the surprise impact. "Ow," Keith muttered, then quickly scrambled to his feet. "Damn! You beat me!" "By a few seconds," Nathan snorted, then looked around. There were a few other students there, but he guessed that they had given up partway through. "You finished while in the air?" Nathan returned his gaze to the mage. "I''d gotten thrown by one of the monsters," Keith nodded. "Right before one of my attacks struck it. I was going to use my flight magics, but you kind of acted as a cushion before I could." Nathan rolled his eyes, then walked over to the bleachers. His backpack had returned with him. He flicked his sword a few times, the sheer speed causing the blood to leave it, then he sheathed the weapon and sat down, opening up his backpack to pull out some food. "So?" Nathan looked at the four resting students. "We definitely didn''t beat you," one of them said. "Here''s hoping we managed to go fast enough that we aren''t in the bottom." Nathan shrugged, then waited. A little less than two and a half hours later, the dozen students still in the Challenge were forcefully returned to the students who had either completed it or quit partway through. No deaths. He supposed it was only natural, after the System had made a point to mock anyone who died during it with the notice with the details of the Challenge. As soon as everyone had been returned, they all received a notice informing them to gather in the MPR within the next thirty minutes, and so they made their way down there. 00031 At precisely four-thirty, all of the students were waiting in the MPR, though also spaced out a bit, save for the top students, who had already gathered in front of the T.V.''s to see who ranked where. The reason the students had spaced out was to avoid getting sprayed with blood as much as possible. Once the sixteen ''losers'' were dead and burst, everyone made their way to the screens to view the rankings after checking out their own rewards. As the notice had said before the Challenge began, everyone received something, and the screens displayed it for everyone. No one was surprised by Nathan, Keith, Samantha, Michael, and William taking the top spots, though Mitchell, Kendra, Tameka, and Elise also managed to kill everything, along with three others, making the count for 15,000 Point-earners a full dozen. Nathan''s public earnings for reaching first were 32 Stat Points, 32 Skill Points, 320 Points, and 16 Levels, with the values decreasing as they went down the Rankings. Any student who performed a full complete ¨C that was, killing all fifteen thousand monsters ¨C earned an additional 100 Stat Points, 100 Skill Points, 10 Levels, decrease to their Regenerations, and an additional fifty to each stat. Not that we actually know our exact values, Nathan thought to himself. Just estimates. Seeing the rewards, Nathan suspected that there would have been massive bonuses for the Survival Challenge as well. Maybe not as powerful as the Points Battles'' rewards, but still high. The game wanted them to be able to at least stand a chance in the Final Challenge. And that massive rewards told him that they would need the high boosts. He dismissed all of the notifications, including the one letting him know his cooldown for the Points Shop access decreased by six hours again, save for two.
Level 100 Reached ¨C New Skills may be available in the Skills Shop.
New Skills are now only available every 50 Levels.
A quick check told him that he had no new Skills, meaning he hadn''t unlocked anything new in forty Levels. That gave him some hope that he''d get something decent at Level 150, since it was mostly based on what they''d done between unlocks. Then there was the second message.
Challenge 8, the Final Challenge, will begin at precisely 10 A.M. ten days from now. All Mana and Health will be restored upon its start. There will be no new Main Challenges or Secondary Challenges before then.
The game was telling them ten days in advance ¨C well, nine and a half ¨C when the Final Challenge would begin. Not only that, it promised them that their Mana and Health would be restored to full, meaning they could train their assess off without worry, especially the magicians. At least, as long as the System was being honest with them, but so far, it had been nothing but honest. The students talked for awhile, then went about their business as usual, most of them heading to train a bit after purchasing more Stat Points and Skill Points, then eating lunch. Nathan and his group moved to the cafeteria for dinner, and remained once everyone else had left. "Thoughts?" Samantha asked as Nathan shoved food into his mouth. "Other than Nathan, since he seems to be more interested in his food than our discussion." "The Final Challenge is going to be insanely tough," Keith said. "There''s no other explanation for why the game would just throw so many Points, Skill Points, and Stat Points at people. Those who reached the Top Twelve with the Points Battle, the strongest and best of everyone here, will probably be those most likely to survive. Whatever the Challenge is, we''ll need to protect everyone else." "You''ve said that six or less have survived all of the ones you know of?" Kendra asked. "Yeah," Keith nodded. "Not many at all, and several of them have died since, though it''s being kept hush-hush. We''ll probably have to return to the game after we leave here, though I know a couple of them were by suicide." "That''s another point," Michael said. "Once we leave this game, we''re probably done with the easiest mode." "Easiest mode?" Elise asked. "Yeah," Samantha explained. "We''re in the Tutorial. When the five of us missed being in the MPR due to Nathan going unconscious from his awakening, our difficulty went from Tutorial to Beginner." She explained the various difficulty increases to those who weren''t in the group that were forced into it, including some of the information they hadn''t shared before, such as the capacity and spawn rate increases, and the lowest ranking being increased to H-2. "Damn," Mitchell said. "So you think we''ll be facing tougher out there?" "Probably," Nathan spoke up. "It''s possible that if we''re forced back in over and over, any forced returns will be in Normal Difficulty." "If we''re forced?" Samantha looked at her boyfriend. "You think that we might have the option to return, outside of any forced returns ¨C assuming that we do return?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "Challenge 7 confirmed to me that there are choices involved. Its purpose was to give us the opportunity to train, to become stronger. A lot stronger. Our Experience gains stayed the same for this, even if the Points were dropped. "If we are in Normal Difficulty for all future Challenges," he continued. "Then it stands to reason that if we''re given the choice to train now, we''ll be allowed to train ¨C at the risk of our lives, of course ¨C in the future as well. The difficulties will be much, much more difficult from what we''re doing now. Whatever this Final Challenge is, it''ll probably be as hard as Normal Challenges that we face. As the more basic Normal Challenges." The other students processed that, and Nathan finished eating, then suggested they train up, before he made his way to the showers to clean up from the fight. Most of the other students were either finishing up washing the blood off, or had already finished and made their way to the training areas.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Once he was clean, Nathan went to the pottery room and started shaping clay, finding himself joined by Samantha after an hour. "I''m glad we''re finally leaving," she kissed him on the cheek. "Though I suppose I won''t get to see you making stuff like this. And we won''t get to take the stuff you made back." Nathan shrugged. He wasn''t doing it to acquire items, but because he liked fiddling with his hands. He found it soothing. Pottery, ceramics, sculpting, drawing, painting, origami, and other such things. He could even sew or knit, if he put his mind to it. Briefly, he wondered if Samantha still had the wolf cross-stitching he''d done when they were twelve. He dismissed the question immediately, though ¨C she probably did, since she liked him. Plus, it wasn''t a bad piece. He burned those. Nathan spent the next two hours creating his clay monster, then he smashed it, tossed it into a slip bucket by the pottery wheels, and cleaned off his hands. Once he''d removed the last traces of clay from his hands, Nathan walked over to Samantha and picked her up, using the princess carry on her as he walked to their room. Inside, he gently set her down on the air mattress and climbed on top of her, pressing his lips to hers. "You know," she break off the kiss after a few minutes. "I like the fact that you''re strong enough to just lift me up as if I weigh nothing." "You could probably do that to me," he said, beginning to unbutton her top. "I''d never," she said, then pressed her lips to his. Nathan finished unbuttoning her shirt and helped her out of it, then removed her bra, before taking care of the rest of her clothes, kissing and rubbing over her entire body. With her enhanced sense of touch, Nathan knew that she was likely struggling to hold back, and it took him only a few minutes to bring her to her first climax. As soon as he did, he moved his mouth back down and began pleasuring her with his tongue as he worked one of her breasts with a hand, rubbing her ass with the other, his fingers pressing against the hole. When she reached her second climax, Nathan slid his body against hers, kissing her breasts on his way to her mouth, and he slowly pushed inside of her, barely able to continue to holding back as he slowly moved back and forth, picking up speed as she thrust her hips up. He finished, then pulled out and moved her to her hands and knees and knelt behind her, working his way back in and bringing them both to another, final orgasm. Finished, Nathan pulled out of Samantha and laid down, pulling her against him. She rested her head against his shoulder as he rubbed her back and ass, closing his eyes. It only took her a few moments to notice that his breathing had slowed and become the soothing, rhythmic pattern that she had grown used to as they slept. Rubbing his chest, she thought about their relationship. He''d given in to their feelings because of uncertainty, and because of the game, but after, she wasn''t sure if he''d stay with her. He didn''t seem to have feelings for others, but he did sleep with some other chicks, and she knew a couple of them, too. Particularly the twins who babysat him when they were younger. Finding out that he''d been sleeping with them shocked her. She was sure that they were lesbians. Would he stay with her after they left? Or would he go back to sleeping with whoever he wanted? Sighing, Samantha decided that he''d probably not tie himself down, after the game ended. It was simply a part of who he was. When she next woke, she realized fumbled around for the phone the game gave her. Nathan was missing, and after checking the time, determined he was probably in the cafeteria, eating breakfast, so she got dressed and made her way down there, finding him slicing into biscuits coated heavily in gravy. "Morning, Nathan," she said. "Morning," he dipped his head to her. "Before I fell asleep," she sat down. "I was thinking about some stuff." "Okay." "You''re not tying yourself down after we leave here, are you?" He raised an eyebrow. "To me," she said. "You don''t want to stay exclusive, do you?" "No." Samantha sighed. "I figured," she said. "I''d rather you did, Nathan, but I''m not going to stop you. You had a thing going, and it worked for you, and we only got together because of this game. Outside, I do want to try to give us a real shot, but I won''t have an issue with you doing your thing¡­ as long as you do give me the shot." "And if I don''t?" He asked. "Well, I''ll have to deal with that, won''t I?" She asked. "You will," he stated. "As well as the baby." "The baby?" "We''ve had unprotected sex every time," he reminded her. "Pretty sure you''re pregnant." Samantha sighed, then shrugged. "We''ll find out once we''re out of here, won''t we?" She asked. "I''m sure whoever checks the ''survivors of the biological attack'' will run medical tests on us and let me know." "I think it''s a boy." "Have you been unprotected with the others?" "No," he stated. "I used a condom with everyone else, every time. And they were on the pill." "Both could fail," she said, and he shrugged. "What would you do if they got pregnant?" "Pay them to keep quiet about it," he told her. "But I doubt they are." "What makes my baby different, then?" She asked. "My hypothetical baby, Nathan. Stop giving me that look." Nathan kept the smirk on his face. "What makes my hypothetical baby different?" "I have feelings for you other than just wanting to get off," he told her. "So I''d be happy to have a kid with you. And to kill anyone who hurt him." Samantha knew he wasn''t joking about that comment, even if most people would have only been using that as an extreme example of how much they''d care for the baby. But with Nathan, who once killed several muggers just for hurting her back before high school, she knew he was probably serious. He''d done it with a cold fury on his face. And then, once they were done, he simply called his father and let him know that he needed a few bodies taken care of. Despite knowing that Nathan was a murderer ¨C and had probably killed others before ¨C she still loved him. Envied him, in some respect. He could kill and get away with it. Samantha gave Nathan a kiss, then went to pick out her lunch. The students spent the next several days training and relaxing, and when it drew near to the time that their Final Challenge began, the students prepared and met up in the cafeteria. "Are you-" Keith began. "No," Nathan answered the unfinished question. Keith had been asking him every day about the signs of having too much mana without a familiar. "I feel fine." "Alright," Keith said. "We''ll have to see if we can get you something strong once we leave here." Nathan shrugged, then checked his watch. 9:44:38. He had a feeling they''d receive a gathering notice either at quarter-till or ten-tell. Twenty-two seconds after he checked his watch, Nathan was met with a notice.
You have 15 minutes to gather in the MPR.
Any students not in there when the time is up will die. When the Challenge begins, you may leave your backpacks in there. They and their property will not leave with you, though any items that do leave with you that are not with you will automatically enter your Item Box, Weapons Box, and Clothing Box, with a Temporary Box forming if needed. Any items in your Item Box that cannot leave with you will be discarded automatically upon leaving. The Challenge will be performed together.
The students went to the MPR and shed their backpacks, wondering what the Challenge entailed. The message implied they''d be leaving shortly after the Challenge, possibly right after. When it reached ten, they received another message.
Challenge 8, the Final Challenge, has begun!
Your Health and Mana have been refilled. Kill the dragon.
00032 "Well, shit!" Keith exclaimed, and everyone looked at him. "Even a baby dragon, reduced to ten percent of its true strength and having all magic locked would be hard for us to beat, if even possible. No fucking wonder so few people survived the other times this thing happened!" Everyone stared at Keith. Those in Nathan''s group out of surprise that he''d revealed it ¨C though it had been an exclamation of shock, so they didn''t blame him ¨C and the rest because of the comment itself. That led to Keith explaining that this was the tenth time the incident had happened, the fourth in America. He then explained how he found out about it, and that while the other nine simply happened, theirs had been forced into happening. Samantha added in about Madeline and the group behind her and their part in the matter. After that, Keith muttered, and his eyes flashed violet. "It''s in the West Parking Lot," he told them. "I''m going to let out my familiar. I need everyone, and I mean everyone to swear to never mention what it looks like to anyone. Ever. To not write it down. To not even think about it around others. Otherwise, I''m not pulling it out, and we''re going to have a harder time fighting it. Do we have an agreement?" He made contact with everyone who hadn''t been in the dueling instance with him, and they all agreed. "Why aren''t you making them agree?" One of the other seniors asked. "We already did," Samantha said. "He used it against Madeline, and we swore then we wouldn''t." Keith nodded, then removed his robe, tie, and tops. Nathan took them, and they made their way outside, the other students first staring at the marks on Keith''s back, then quickly following. Once everyone was outside, staring across the parking lot to the one across the street at the back of the school, they got their first glimpse of the dragon. It stood roughly fifteen feet in height and twice that in length, a third of that length its spike-tipped tail. The dragon''s golden gaze locked onto the students, and it roared, stretching out its wings and taking flight. Keith''s familiar stretched out as wings, then detached from his back, twisting into its more natural form before turning into a spear and launching itself at the dragon. The familiar slammed into the dragon, and everyone watched as its Health took no noticeable decrease¡­ until a moment later, when the massive, crimson Health Bar hovering above its head to those who had Level 3 Scan shifted just a sliver. Then again as the dragon roared once more, twisted mid-flight, halfway across the back parking lot and snapping at something with its maw. Then the other students saw what had struck it ¨C Nathan, wielding his sword. He landed on the wing of the dragon as the familiar struck again, and the other students attacked. The three magicians fought from a distance while the others moved in close and jumped or struck when the dragon dropped near. Nathan continued his assault from all angles, with Keith providing a distraction to the dragon as Nathan moved to another angle. Anytime one of the weaker students got into danger, one of the stronger students shielded them or got them out of the way, and after twenty minutes, Nathan hollered that the Points Shops were available. Immediately, the six resting students accessed their Points Shops and purchased Health Potions and Mana Potions. The magicians purchased Mana Potions to restore their reserves, and Nathan continued his assault. If anyone questioned why he was checking for the Points Shop during the fight, no one mentioned it. The students who were doing no or little damage to the dragon accessed the Points Shop when they were able to safely to purchase more Stat Points with what they could spare. The dragon was far, far tougher than anything. Especially if Nathan hollering that it had a thousand Endurance was true. No one was sure how Nathan knew its actual amount, but they went with it. Nathan, meanwhile, was pretty pissed, and had gone berserker on the thing, though no one really noticed it. The thing ignored half of Piercing Strikes, so instead of taking out roughly 700 Health each full strike, he was only taking out¡­ 0 Health. It took him buying another 700 Stat Points to be able to do decent damage to it. It seemed to have around 1,000 Endurance, so even then, he was only taking out around 350 Health before Damage Dealer Doubled it, based on his sword''s extra 200 Damage Bonus. He didn''t want to spend several thousand more Stat Points, so he decided to make do. The part that really pissed him off was the fact that he was pretty sure the dragon regenerated somewhere between 50-100 Health per second. When he realized that after spending 7,000 Points on Stat Points, Nathan went into a rage, his vision turning red as he unleashed hell, hollering out his estimate on the dragon''s Endurance. Keith frowned as his familiar continued to attack. The dragon''s Health was steadily dropping, but also rising, just a little, every second. He knew Nathan was probably moving much faster than he could track with his eyes, and the dragon seemed intent on killing him. Keith himself provided a barrier for resting students to hide behind, as the dragon did sometimes go after them, but usually stopped when the familiar got into the way. One positive thing about his familiar was that it wasn''t like an elemental titan, like Madeline''s stone titan. It could rearrange its form at will, becoming as soft or hard as necessary, changing its shape, its size, its density. It drew moisture from the air at all times, and could even draw on the air itself to fuel its power.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. His familiar truly stood near the level of the Ultimate Trinity. It was virtually impossible to kill, yet could turn itself into an unstoppable barrier. Unfortunately, its powers didn''t extend to being able to kill a member of the Ultimate Trinity, even if it could damage it a bit. Had the dragon access to more magic than just its flight magic, Keith knew his familiar would be dead. Something tugged at his soul, and Keith frowned, before seeing Nathan launching himself off of his familiar, having somehow used it as a launching platform. The moment that happened, his familiar stopped moving, completely freezing where it was, then started shaking violently. Keith''s eyes widened. His familiar was laughing. He could sense it through their link. It was laughing at the fact that Nathan had used it as a-
You have completed Challenge 8!
+8 Stat Points, +8 Skill Points, +80 Points. Due to more than 8 students surviving, the eight students who did the most damage will survive, while the rest will die. You have 10 minutes to recover before you will exit the game and return to how you were before it began.
Immediately upon receiving the notice, twenty-four students exploded in a shower of blood and gore. When Keith recovered from the shock that survival didn''t ensure victory, he looked around for the source of their victory, finding Nathan pulling his sword out of the dragon''s left eye. Briefly, Keith wondered how Nathan had managed to take out the last of the dragon''s Health with that attack. It should''ve been just a little bit more than he could do at a maximum strike. At least Nathan had managed to get his sword into the beast''s brain, killing it instantly. A quick check with his familiar informed Keith that the warrior had used another Skill. The creature could bypass any rudimentary mental defenses, and had easily read Nathan''s completely-unprotected mind when he launched. And it was through thought that Nathan had triggered Impact, increasing his attack''s power. Keith didn''t get much more out of his familiar, though, as it went back to laughing. Sighing, the mage looked at his cloak and amulet. They''d gotten soaked in blood, just like him, since he had nine students behind his barrier and near him. As Nathan jumped off of the corpse of the dragon, Keith''s familiar flew over to the warrior and swirled around him, running itself over his body and cleaning him. It then repeated that process for the other seven, finishing with its master, before returning to its winged form and attaching itself to his back, returning to nothing more than white and gold markings on his pale skin. "Keith," Elise walked over to him as he stored his amulet into his Item box, then decided to ignore the cloak. If it was returned to him soaked in blood, then so be it, but he wasn''t picking it up. "That was a heavenly elemental, wasn''t it?" The mage sighed. "You''re a witch?" He asked. "Sort of," she answered. "I don''t really know much magic. I only awakened a few days before the game began, actually. But I grew up in a magical family. If I''m not mistaken, it was a mix of water and wind, right?" "Storm," Keith corrected. "So sort of, but not really. He likes to conceal his electricity with that light. Please don''t tell anyone." "What''s a heavenly elemental?" Samantha asked. "The most powerful type of elemental," Elise explained. "They rest between elementals and the Ultimate Trinity in power, and are actually touched with heavenly power. If it continues to grow stronger, it''ll eventually become an angel and ascend from this plane. How did you contract it?" "I''d rather not share," Keith said. "And please, please, please don''t reveal my familiar. The only people who even know about it thinks he''s just a wind elemental that started acquiring some water aspects. No one''s seen him before." "How old is he?" Elise asked. "To be that powerful, he''d be pretty insanely old, right?" "He''s roughly three thousand years old," Keith answered. "Probably has another four or five hundred years before he transforms into an angel. And please don''t push me on how I contracted him, okay? It''s rather personal." "But that''s-" "Personal," Nathan growled in a low voice, and Elise fell silent. "We only have a couple of minutes before we leave here," Samantha interrupted, before Nathan went full angry on her. "I kind of want to know what exactly happened at the end there." "Nathan used my familiar as a springboard while using the Impact Skill you martial artists have access to," Keith answered. "The dragon''s Health was low enough for that strike to remove the rest of it, and because of where Nathan hand launched at, once he did, his sword just went through the thing''s eyes. At least it wasn''t large enough that the sword didn''t just blind it and maybe do some damage to the brain." "Why did your familiar start shaking like that?" Michael asked. "I saw it freeze up, I''m guessing that''s when Nathan jumped off of it? Why did it start shaking after? It kept doing that, even as it returned to you. Did he damage it?" "I didn''t even know elementals of that nature could be touched in that way," Elise snorted. "It probably did something weird." "It was, uh, doing something," Keith answered. "What?" Nathan asked, seemingly concerned for the familiar. His concern had a clear effect on Keith, who flushed a deep crimson and looked away. "What was it doing?" Nathan asked, and Keith muttered something. "You do remember that we''re all awakened, right?" Keith flushed even deeper. "Did I hear him right?" William asked. "Did he say his familiar was laughing?" "Yes," Nathan nodded. "He very clearly said ''laughing''. Your familiar thought me doing that was funny?" "He wants to know if you''ll do it again sometime." That sent the other seven seniors into a fit of laughter, and Keith just sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. He didn''t even know something like that was possible with his familiar, and the thing wanted to do it again. "Nathan," Keith said once the other seven seniors collected themselves. "How did you even know you could do that?" "I took a gamble." "What would you have done if it didn''t work?" "Crashed into Michael." "Wouldn''t you knowing you''d be hurting me result in you dying?" Michael asked. "If you''d done that, then-" "Madeline wasn''t lying." The six who didn''t know stared at Nathan in shock. "He got a Skill at Level 40 that lets him hurt others," Keith said, and everyone turned their gazes to him. "It''s, uh, how he forced me to tell him what I knew." "Timer," Nathan said, cutting off any further discussion as everyone realized the timer was about to hit zero. The moment it did, they found themselves back to where they were the moment the game began, dressed as they were at that point, though still with the System and everything that came with it, notices letting them know of things added or removed from their Boxes. At the same moment, every senior who died during the game suffered the same injuries as they had in the game, their bodies filling with cuts, gouges, missing limbs, holes, or ¨C in most cases ¨C exploding in a shower of blood and gore.
Congratulations! You have beaten the Tutorial!
+10 Stat Points, +10 Skill Points, +10 Levels, +100 Points, +10 to each Stat.
All mandatory Challenges will be in Normal Difficulty from now on. Your System Phone has been added to your Item Box, and will contain further information on your future as a player of the game. System Phones can only be used by players, and only unlocked by the one to whom it''s assigned.
00033 Tock. Nathan watched as Eleanor Guciardo slowly turned around, her eyes widening when she took in the scene of the violently-killed seniors and blood-soaked room. Then, she she started clutching her chest, gasping for breath, and began to fall to the ground. He didn''t make a move to stop her, just watched as she had the heart attack. He could tell it was going to kill her, so there wasn''t really a use trying to save her. The four surviving seniors in that class looked at each other. They had been momentarily disoriented by their sudden shift in position, and Keith looked especially uncomfortable and had turned a sickly pale. "What''s wrong?" Michael asked him. "My familiar doesn''t like the sudden shift back into reality," Keith answered. "He really wants to be let out." "Hold out as long as you can," Nathan told him, and Keith nodded. The students then began to wait, knowing something would happen without their needing to provoke it. Everyone had agreed before the Final Challenge to simply wait for instructions once out of the game, so they knew the other four would be doing the same as them. Nine minutes later, one of the school''s vice-principals opened the door to their classroom, quickly recoiling. By the cloth held over his mouth, they could tell that he had already been to several rooms and knew the stench of so much blood was affecting him. "Four of you?" He asked. "Four of us," Nathan stated as the vice-principal looked around the room. "Do you mind if we get cleaned-up or something?" "How old are you?" "We''re all eighteen," Nathan answered. "Do you mind?" "We''ve been asked to gather you in the-" "Pardon the interruption, teachers," the PA went live. "This is Mr. Heckler, your principal. We have a Code Red in the 600 Hall. I repeat we have a Code Red in the 600 Hall. This is not a drill." "Let''s go," the vice-principal said. "That''ll keep things from being spread around at first, and others from gawking. We''re heading to the ACR room, since no one''s in there." The four seniors stood and followed him out, not bothering to grab their backpacks, though Nathan noticed Keith quickly slipping a hand into his own, likely sending something into his Item Box. The ACR classroom was empty, save for the principal and Elise. Around ten minutes later, all eight seniors who survived the Tutorial were present. "Alright," Mr. Heckler said to the survivors. "We''re not sure what''s going on, but when we called it in, we were told to lock down the school and gather the surviving seniors who were eighteen. Looks like it was just the eight of you. Some government agents should be here soon." As Mr. Heckler finished, the door opened, a man in a suit entered, followed by two men in full, black combat gear. The newcomer introduced himself as Adrian Samtol, an agent of DSIS, though he didn''t give the full name for the organization. He explained that their school had been made subject to a biological attack that targeted only eighteen-year-old students. After verifying they were each eighteen, the agent led the eight of them outside into an erected tent, where they were hosed down and given some fresh clothes while being briefed on their future. They were being moved into temporary custody of the government until it was determined that they were ''clean'' of the biological agent, then observed for awhile just in case. They would finish off their senior year at the facility. As soon as the students were alone with the agents, the principal having left them, Keith stepped forward. "You know what''s really going on," he said. "My familiar didn''t take the transition between there and here too well, and I really, really, really need to let him loose, but it needs to be private. I can''t have anyone seeing him. It''ll be just a few minutes." "You''re already a magician?" Agent Samtol asked. "Yeah," Keith nodded. "Elise was as well, though I''m the only one with a familiar. The others are all awakened, and they know about the situation." "How?" "I''m a genius hacker who cracked your systems?" Keith offered. "Anyway, I really, really need to let him out, but it really, really needs to be in private." "Are you okay?" Agent Samtol asked. "You actually look kind of-" "NOW!" Nathan roared, and the agent stumbled back a few steps. "Or do I need to kill every fucker in here so Keith can have some privacy? He doesn''t like others seeing his familiar, and only the seven of us are trusted enough for it! Now give us ten minutes, or I start killing!" The agent hesitated for a moment, then nodded, giving his men the signal. He knew the students were likely volatile, and they weren''t prepared to subdue them if they got violent. As soon as the eight seniors were alone, Keith thanked Nathan, then pulled off the shirt he''d been given. Immediately, the markings turned into the wings they manifested as, then into his familiar, whose usually-clear water was tinged with yellow and green, its elements moving slowly. A few moments later, a thick, brown sludge started dropping out of the swirling mass, which began to pick up speed, returning close to its normal state. "You okay?" Keith asked his familiar as the others watched, realizing it had just puked. "That explains why he looked so pale," Samantha told Nathan, who nodded. The seniors watched as Keith talked with his familiar for a few minutes, then it flew around for a bit, flying over to Nathan and ''nuzzling'' him, until Keith pulled him back in, promising to really let him loose the first chance he got.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! After ten minutes, Agent Samtol returned with a few more soldiers, and fixed his gaze on Nathan. "In the future, please refrain from-" "We aren''t like the other pussies who made it out," Nathan growled. "All thirty-two of us survived the Final Challenge. The fucking game didn''t tell us only eight were allowed to make it out. I''m not exactly in a pleasant mood right now, so watch your tone, because I will kill you." "Okay," Samantha put a hand on his arm. "Please calm down, Nathan." "What''s that?" One of the soldiers gestured to the thick sludge. "Looks like the puke of a-" Agent Samtol began, then swiftly turned his gaze to Keith. "You have a water elemental?" "That was there when we got here," Nathan growled. "Nathan," Samantha started, and he gave her a glare. "It. Was. Here. When. We. Got. Here," Nathan said, then looked at Keith. "Burn it away. Leave no trace." Keith sighed, muttered something about how he didn''t really work well with fire, then started burning away his familiar''s vomit. When he finished, he looked at the agent. "It''s probably best not to piss off Nathan," Keith told him. "He''s, ah, pretty protective of us and he doesn''t know you. And he''ll say ''fuck the government'' if it tries to stop him." Agent Samtol took a deep breath, then addressed the seniors. "We''ll be taking you to a facility," he told them. "It''s a school we bought specifically for the victims of this thing. We just got it up and running a couple of days ago, and we''ll run some tests on you there." "Oh, so it''s already open," Keith said. "And we''ll talk with you about your hacking," Agent Samtol said, then looked at the eight seniors. "Psychiatric help will be available, if you wish for it, and everything you say there will be confidential. We''re aware of the dueling session that happens in Challenge 6 ¨C you won''t be held accountable for anything that happened during the game. "Your families may visit," he continued. "But they cannot go past the school''s front lobby, nor past the front lawns and parking. We''re currently having a building erected off the parking for the visitation. Unless they already know about magic, they''re restricted there. This is to decrease issues." "Will we be living there permanently?" Mitchell asked. "At least for the rest of the year," the agent answered. "We want to keep you under watch as much as we can ¨C you''re forced back in over and over again, it seems, but for different things, and you can go back willingly as well. From the other three incidents in the US, there are only five total survivors still around." A soldier walked into the tent and approached the agent, whispering to him, though the students all understood him just fine. "Alright," the agent said. "I''ve just been informed-" "That our transportation is ready," Nathan said. "We know. Awakened, and you''re only a couple of feet from us. I''m hungry." "Why don''t we wait for them to feed us?" Samantha suggested to him. "We''re all hungry." "I''m hungry now," Nathan said, and Samantha sighed. "You know," Keith snorted. "I love the fact that Nathan isn''t the kind of guy to just get whipped by the girl he likes." "Is that what you look for in a guy?" Nathan looked at him curiously. "Is that why you don''t want to shove yourself all the way into Michael? Because he''d probably get whipped the moment he got serious with a girl?" Keith blushed as Nathan smirked, the other seniors groaning heavily. Agent Samtol managed to usher the students into a trio of waiting SUV''s, with Nathan refusing to let Samantha out of his sight, forcing the agents to let them ride together, with Keith in the other seat. It was as they were riding in silence that Samantha noticed that Keith had, at some point, put his contacts back in. "When did you put them back in?" Samantha whispered in his ear. "I was wearing them when we were put into the game," he whispered back. "So they were on when we returned. Kind of glad for it, to be honest ¨C you guys will probably keep it a secret, but I''d rather not be advertised as a full psychic just yet." "Got it," she whispered, then looked at Nathan¡­ who was eating dried fruit. "Uh, Nathan?" "What?" He asked. "Your food came out with you?" "He probably took it from his backpack before we left the classroom," Keith told her. "Nathan always had dried fruit and beef jerky in it." "You noticed?" Nathan asked. "Yeah," Keith answered. "Though I''m not sure how long you''d been doing it before I noticed, since I only started watching you-" He clamped his mouth shut, and Nathan snorted. "March 18th, two years ago," Nathan said, causing Keith to blush. "Yes, I noticed." "He notices everything," Samantha told Keith, then smirked and looked at Nathan. "So do you think he''d be able to satisfy Michael? I haven''t seen it." "What makes you think I have?" "You''ve had P.E. with him," she said. "I''m sure you can tell every guy who had a boner while changing in your area of perception, and how big they are." "He''s bigger than Michael." "Really?" She asked. "That''s impressive. Is he bigger than you?" "I wish," Keith muttered. "Is that longer, thicker, or both?" "Both," Keith muttered. "Wait, hold on," Samantha said. "Three of the five surviving guys have massive dicks? Do Mitchell and William, too?" "Yeah," Keith nodded. "I, uh, don''t think that''s relevant, Samantha. Plus, you, Kendra, and Elise have different-sized chests. You''ve the smallest, while Kendra''s are pretty, you know. And Elise just has average-sized." "Did you just say I have a flat chest?" Samantha asked, then yelped when she felt Nathan groping them. "Nathan! There are two agents in the front seat!" Two agents who were doing their best not to laugh, though she wasn''t going to comment that, even if the two guys probably knew. "They feel pretty fine to me," Nathan commented, pulling his hand back. "You aren''t flat-chested. And besides, smaller chests look better when naked. And they''re the perfect size to hold and-" "No!" She smacked his arm. "Stop that! We aren''t alone!" "I''d be undressing you if we were." Samantha groaned, putting her head into her hands. "So how many of the finals people had bigger dicks?" Keith asked curiously. "I only knew the sizes of three of them, other than us." "Four," Nathan answered. "Had above-average dicks, that is, dicks over five-and-three-quarters of an inch in length. And you''re only a quarter of an inch shorter and same for thicker. So nothing to be shy about, Keith." "¡­have you seen me naked?" "I''ve seen you sleeping, yes." "Have you undressed me?" "You were pretty naked when I saw you." "Naked and hard?" "Very," Nathan nodded. "So I decided to see who was bigger. Felt satisfied it was me." "When was that?" "In the game, two nights ago." "You''ve snuck out while we were sleeping?" Samantha asked. "How often did you wake with me still in the bed?" The other two seniors stared at him for a few long minutes before either of them spoke up. "How many of us did you measure?" Keith asked. "I am confident in that I had the biggest dick of the last hundred living guys. You had the second-biggest." "Michael?" "Fourth-biggest, fifth-thickest." "Who was third, and third and fourth?" "Mitchell, Brent Karp, Samuel Sparks." "You really went around measuring guys in their sleep?" "Not all of them were asleep," Nathan said. "If they weren''t hard, I woke them up so that they could get themselves hard. Most weren''t hard, and most were disappointed when they found out they were shorter." "So you weren''t naked?" Samantha asked. "Fuck no," Nathan growled. "I wasn''t going to whip it out and compare like that. I wrote up a list of everyone''s sizes. We used pictures of hot chicks to get them hard. Not you, though." Samantha and Keith stared at Nathan for a few moments, before both let out a sigh in unison. "Why am I not surprised?" Samantha said. "You really did that just to find out who had the biggest dick?" "I can write up the ranking list if you want," Nathan answered. "Did you go around measuring boob sizes, too?" "I don''t have boobs and yours are perfect, so there was no need to see how yours compared to another," Nathan said, then held up his hand. "Chocolate-covered blueberry?" 00034 "Did you know that Nathan measured your dick?" Samantha asked once the eight seniors had been gathered in the exam room at the new school and were waiting for the doctor. "Nathan didn''t measure him," Elise told Samantha. "Uh, yes, he did," Samantha said as Keith cracked up laughing. "No," Elise responded. "I think it was Michael who did." "Why would Michael do that?" Samantha asked as Keith continued laughing. "And Nathan said he did." "Well, he lied," Mitchell snorted. "And I measured myself, Elise. Michael was just there to make sure I was honest." Samantha gave everyone confused looks. "We caught a few of the guys," Elise said. "Ranking the girls. Mitchell and Michael were included that list, and part of it included our sizes and which ones they thought were best. We told them that, to make up for it, they had to measure every guy''s dick and sort them by size for us or we''d stop sleeping with the ones involved." "Not going to lie," Kendra said. "We were all surprised that Nathan was actually on that list. He was terrifying enough by himself that we were pretty sure he was just going to leave it be." "Nathan wanted to make sure he was the biggest," Keith said. "Of course he proudly showed himself off." "You''re also not going to measure the other victims''," Samantha told Nathan. "Just to make sure you''re the biggest. Just because we were unaffected by the traumatic experience in a negative way doesn''t mean they aren''t. They''re likely still recovering from that." "Actually not," the doctor said as he entered the room. "We believe there''s some sort of magical influence involved in the game that makes those who survive past the first Challenge or two more likely to accept what''s going on and less likely to be traumatized. Some are affected by it a little, but none in the way we''d expect. We also believe that it makes you more likely to act on sexual feelings, based on reports from past survivors here in the States and from our talks with other countries." Nathan frowned at that news. He did not like the idea that someone influenced him into certain mindsets, though after a quick mental review, he was pretty sure he hadn''t acted any differently than he would have. That calmed him a little bit, though he was still bothered by the idea that someone had influenced Samantha into having sex with him and into accepting things and not being traumatized. "We''re going to take some blood and urine samples," the doctor informed them. "As well as measure your vitals, height, and weight. We''ll interview each of you separately, and you don''t need to answer if you don''t need to, but we do want you to answer as much as you can or are able. It''ll help us help you, as well as hopefully help us get closer to whoever is doing this." "She''s pregnant," Nathan glared at he doctor. "So make sure nothing you do can hurt her or the baby." "Why are you so sure I''m pregnant?" Samantha asked him. "Keith taught me one of the training methods used to try and obtain psychic powers," Nathan answered. "Every attempt of mine said you were pregnant. I''m gonna be a dad." "You''ve attempted to learn psychic magics?" The doctor looked at Keith. "Yes." "Are you aware that we''ll perform an aura read?" The doctor asked. "Since you''re confirmed to be a magician? That''ll let us know if you''ve developed full or only fledgling psychic abilities." Keith sighed, then looked at Nathan, who nodded. He looked back to the doctor, then removed his contacts, revealing his violet irises. "I''m a full psychic," Keith informed him. "Though I have a hard time seeing more than a few days into the future unless it''s a fortune-telling, and you probably know how unreliable and shifting those are, when you do get an answer. She''s pregnant with a boy, which we found out while I was teaching Nathan the basics, though I didn''t know that''s what he was asking." Nathan shrugged. "Wait," Keith frowned, then looked at Nathan. "I, uh, didn''t tell you this, Nathan, but I did tell William, Michael, and Kendra while you were out. When I use my magic sight, your aura comes out different." "Different?" Nathan asked. "Yeah," Keith nodded, then looked at the doctor. "You''ll notice it, too, when you do the aura read. Instead of being the blue of a normal magician, gray of a necromancer, or purple of a psychic, his raw magic is pure-white." Nathan frowned. He wondered if something that happened with his magic was related to that. When he awakened it, he was pretty sure he''d temporarily ripped a hole in the alternates, which was the reason why he suspected that Keith could see between them. "Pure-white?" The doctor asked, and Keith nodded. "I''ve not heard of that before. I''d have to consult with others and see what they say, but-" "Also," Keith said. "Nathan needs a familiar pronto. He''s at about three times the required mana for needing one, and while he doesn''t show signs, he-" "Three times?" The doctor looked at Nathan in shock. "You awakened during the game at three times the amount needed for a familiar?" "That''s what Keith said." The doctor began rattling of symptoms, asking if Nathan had them, and the teen denied each symptom, saying he felt fine. "We''ll have to see if we can find you a familiar," the doctor told him. "It''ll need to be something strong, to help support all that mana. Something weak wouldn''t do." "How about a phoenix?" Nathan asked, and the doctor paused. "I want a phoenix." "I-" Agent Samtol began. "Be grateful he''s not still asking for a dragon," Samantha told him. "We managed to talk him out of potentially antagonizing them." "There''s one at the Yellowstone volcano," the agent said. "However, odds of it agreeing are slim, to say the least." "It''ll agree," Nathan said. "I''ll ask nicely." "We''ll see," the agent said. "For now, you all need to get examined. Doctor."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. The doctor began sending each of the youth through the tests, performing the physical part of their evaluation himself. None spoke much about what happened to them in the game, which interested Agent Samtol. The other youth were hesitant to talk, but they''d give answers when prompted, and their hesitation came from not wanting to talk about what they''d been traumatized by. This group, however, seemed stronger, sturdier. Especially Nathan, who was being led into the exam room. If the agents'' and doctors'' estimates were correct, that meant that the eight youth who survived had a higher natural inclination towards the actions that they took in the game than the rest of the survivors. In a school as large as theirs, it wasn''t as surprising to have found eight students who did. "Sit on the table," the doctor instructed Nathan once they were in the exam room. "Take off your shirts." Nathan removed his shirts, setting them beside him on the table. The doctor checked his temperature, ears, eyes, nose, and mouth, then his heart and his breathing. After that, he took a sample of Nathan''s blood, then had him enter the attached bathroom for the urine sample. With that finished, Nathan was sent to wait for the psychiatrist, who was speaking with Mitchell at the moment. Nearly twenty minutes passed before Mitchell was released and Nathan was called into the room. Rather than speaking, however, Nathan returned to his usual mode and just sits there until the psychologist dismisses him. Finished, Nathan left the room and was directed to the briefing room. The agent inside informed him that the phone will tell him most of the information he needs, but he could ask if he needed it. Mitchell, Keith, and Michael were already waiting. "By the way," Keith told Nathan as the other senior took a seat. "We''ve got additional rewards we can acquire, including a limited-edition Skill. Not sure what that means, though." "They''re rare Skills," the agent explained. "It''s possible multiple people can have them, we believe, but they''re obtained by performing certain actions between Milestone Events. According to the System, those are key events. Completing the Tutorial is the first, though we don''t know what others are." "The next game isn''t?" Michael asked. "It isn''t," the agent answered. "It''ll also occur for you in roughly one month. The one after that is roughly two months, then roughly three months. We''re not sure when the next is, though it''s probably four months." "And they''ll be harder, since they''re in Normal and not Tutorial," Keith said. "And Normal is three degrees higher." "Yes," the agent frowned. "How did you know?" "A few of us got stuck in Beginner for a Survival Challenge." "How many of you made it out?" The agent asked. "All of us," Keith answered. "It was Nathan, Michael, Samantha, William, and me." "And you survived?" The agent asked in shock. "Yes," Nathan responded. "We''re badasses. Expect survival." "The thirty-two of us in the Final Challenge survived," Michael told the agent. "It killed twenty-four of us because only eight can pass." "Have any of you told-" the agent began. "Samtol already knows," Michael interrupted, nodding. "Most of us were debriefed, though I heard that Nathan, Samantha, and Keith had an interesting conversation instead." "Keith wants to-" Nathan started. "No!" Keith exclaimed as Michael laughed. Nathan pulled out his new phone and powered it up, looking through the various messages. He could set the difficult for any game he participated in that wasn''t a mandatory game. The difficulties were Tutorial, which was only active for the Tutorial Game, then Beginner, Easy, Normal, Adept, Advanced, Elite, Master, Insane, Impossible. The higher the difficulty, the greater the rewards earned. Anything over Normal would also award extra things on top of just Points, Stat Points, and Skill Points, such as Levels and items. To complete any game at Impossible difficulty would be to earn an immense amount of rewards, the guide told him, though what it was depended on the game itself. However, it also said that it was better to not even consider playing an Impossible game until one had ''advanced enough''. It wasn''t specific on that, but Nathan suspected that there was a strong reason it was called Impossible and decided not to try one anytime soon. He''d rather live. The guidebook also listed the types of weapons that could be purchased in the game, and Nathan frowned. Whips, shields, cloaks, amulets, swords, knives, spears, knuckles, and staffs. No projectile weapons. "No guns or bows?" Nathan asked, looking at the agent. "Anything on you when you enter the game," the agent said. "So you can bring guns and bows into the game. However, once you run out of bullets or arrows, you''re out of them, and the game won''t supply more." And because of how much fighting was done in the Challenges, chances of having enough to last were slim. Nathan returned his attention to his phone, pulling up his rewards. For being the top student, he earned +5 Levels, +50 Stat Points, +50 Skill Points, +500 Points, +5 to each Stat, 5 Weapon Upgrade Vouchers, and 5 Weapon Mod Vouchers, +1 Limited Edition Skill. He had to manually accept the rewards, and as soon as he did, the notifications appeared, informing him they''d been added to his totals or his Inventory. Just like with the Tutorial Completion Reward, Nathan noticed that his doubling reward didn''t occur. Not unless the Points, Stat Points, and Skill Points were normally off of what the Levels, Weapon Upgrade Vouchers, and Weapon Mod Vouchers were, rather than being even in the number. To acquire the Limited Edition Skill, Nathan had to access a special shop, and he pulled it up.
Limited Edition: 326 Skill Points
Accompany: 100 Skill Points
Accompany? He wondered, before buying it and viewing its information.
Accompany: Level 1
Allows you to accompany others into any non-mandatory game. You will be given the option to join them if they go to enter while you''re around. All credit will go towards you for any kills you perform during an accompany, regardless of how many others participated.
Level 1 Max
He wasn''t sure how useful that would be, other than the Experience-steal aspect. According to the guide on his phone, they could enter alternates in groups of up to eight if they wanted to, for non-mandatory games. Dismissing the notification, Nathan went to pull up his Points Shop. "No!" Michael exclaimed, and the others looked over at him. "Skills now cost as many Skill Points as their Level." Nathan quickly pulled up his Skills and checked Meditation, which was Level 2 at the moment. Sure enough, it required 2 Skill Points in order to bring up to Level 3. An annoyance for sure, but he wasn''t too worried about that. He spent only what Skill Points he had, and so far, he had plenty leftover without having bought a single one. He cared more for his weapons, anyway. Closing that window, Nathan opened up his Stat Points. With 93 Stat Points to add, he quickly got to work, improving himself further. 50 Stat Points, he added into Endurance, before adding 25 to Speed and the remaining 18 into Strength. With all of that finished, Nathan skimmed the rest of the information given, which wasn''t much outside of what he knew, and nothing he deemed immediately relevant. By the time he''d finished, everyone had arrived, Samantha showing up last and taking the seat directly beside Nathan. "Now that you''re all here," the agent in the room said. "Do any of you have any questions?" "I do," Samantha said, and the agent gestured to her. "According to Keith, you guys didn''t know what was causing it, and neither do the various underground groups." "That is correct," the agent said. "So far, no one''s claimed responsibility, and the only pattern is that it targets only those eighteen years of age." "But it''s known that it''s possible to force?" She asked, and the agent hesitated. "This one was a forced instance, based on what we know." "It is," he nodded. "One black magic guild, the Black Orb, has been attempting to force them to occur. It requires exactly a power of eight students eighteen years or older at the school to occur. If you can manipulate things so that a school has exactly that many one day, you can theoretically trigger the game. It''s less forcing and more¡­ manipulating the circumstances to match the requirements. It also occurs roughly seven minutes before the school day ends as well." "Six minutes, forty-three seconds," Keith said, and the agent nodded. "Are they trying to be edgy?" Everyone turned to face Nathan. "What? They call themselves the ''Black Orb''." "Their symbol of power is an enchanted orb that''s completely black," Keith told Nathan. "It powers all of the defensive wards on their hideout and makes it impossible to crack." "Correct," the agent nodded. "Keith ¨C you''re to report to the director''s office once we finish here, to discuss your hacking. Nathan, you''re to meeting Agent Barts out front. The phoenix at Yellowstone has ¨C oddly ¨C agreed to meet you. Whether or not he''ll accept your request is another matter entirely." 00035 "We can''t actually go to the phoenix''s chamber," Agent Barts, a woman in her late thirties, informed Nathan as she drove along a path through the woods. "Due to both his barriers and our health, so he''s agreed to meet us." "Why did he agree?" Nathan asked. "From what I know, phoenixes don''t generally like people." "When making the request," she answered. "He asked several questions about you. They mentioned your white magic, and he seemed interested. Gave a chance to come clean, and said that if we said again that your aura was pure-white, then he wanted to meet you. If your aura wasn''t what we claimed, he''d set off the volcano and let the two dragons living on North America know to just raze the continent." Nathan snorted in response. It was a moody little phoenix, it seemed. That was an overreaction on the phoenix''s part, he felt, but it was in-line with what he''d been told. "I''ve never heard of a white aura before," Agent Barts admitted. "They''re looking into what it means and if anyone else knows. There''s a good chance the phoenix won''t tell us." Nathan nodded, then asked where the phoenix was meeting them. "There''s a clearing up ahead we use," she answered. "He conceals it with his magic specifically for us to contact him with." "Even though he doesn''t like people?" "He likes chocolate," she shrugged. "In exchange for giving it to him regularly, he''s agreed to leave people be in general. He''s one of the oldest phoenixes in the world, we think. He actually immigrated here from Europe a few centuries ago." Just like the dragons, Nathan thought, looking at the trees that passed them by. Is there a connection? "We sometimes ask him for help with things," the agent informed Nathan. "And pay him for it in chocolate. He''s also given us a supply of certain types of rare materials that are dangerous to attempt to acquire. If he does agree to be your familiar, for whatever reason, we''ll lose out on that. So it''s a win for you, a loss for the people who need those materials." The idea of a moody phoenix agreeing to work for chocolate amused Nathan, and he wondered if the phoenix had a way to preserve the payments, or if he just ate them all when he acquired them. A few minutes later, Agent Barts pulled into a clearing and parked the SUV, before telling Nathan to get out. They left it and walked towards the center of the clearing. Resting on the ground was a red-and-gray stone, which the agent knelt down and pressed, murmuring under her breath. "And now," she stood, taking a few steps back. "We wait." Several minutes passed in silence before, in a flash of fire, a bird with red, orange, and yellow feathers appeared, its eyes golden and watching them. The stone in the center had grown to four and a half feet, and the creature was perched on it. "Interesting," Nathan couldn''t help but wonder how it actually spoke with a beak. "You really do have a white aura. What is your name, demigod?" "Demigod?" Nathan raised an eyebrow. "I''m pretty sure that''s not your name," the phoenix chuckled. "Yes, demigod. You''re half-god. I''d say it''s your father who''s divine, and not your mother. You bear the scent of the bloodline of one particular god. I''ve only smelled a child of his once before. Based on how things went with that particular demigod, contracting as your familiar might be interesting. What''s your name?" "Nathan Huntes." "Pleasure to make your acquaintance," the phoenix gave him a small bow, touching the tip of his right wing to his chest. "You may call me Ichtvar. Do you know how to forge a familiar contract?" "No." The phoenix chuckled. "Come here," the phoenix told him, and Nathan approached. "Place your hand out, palm up. When I touch it with my wing, cycle your mana, flowing it to me. With who your father is, the rest will be instinctual." Nathan did as instructed, and felt the phoenix''s soft feathers against his palm. Cycling his mana, he found that he did, indeed, know what to do, and pushing his mana in the proper pattern to forge the contract with the phoenix. A few seconds passed, and he felt the contract complete, the phoenix, Ichtvar, accepting. "You may recall me as you please," Ichtvar told Nathan. "Though do know that if you abuse me, I reserve the right to sever the contract, kill you, and destroy the continent upon which we live." "Understood," Nathan said. Focusing himself, Nathan unbuttoned his shirt, and Ichtvar flew into it, merging into him. Nathan remained aware of the phoenix''s mind and power, though the only physical sign of his existence was the red-and-gold marks on his chest, which faded away. "I''ve never seen familiar marks vanish before," Agent Barts said. "What happened to your marks?" Nathan asked. "I am sufficiently old enough, powerful enough, and talented enough to hide them," the phoenix responded as the marks reappeared for a few moments, then faded away once more. His voice was directly in Nathan''s head "It''s not something just anyone can do, however. No matter how old they are, a creature who''s never been a familiar before can''t do that." Nathan began to ask who the phoenix had been contracted to, then stopped. The agent didn''t seem to have heard, and the voice was in his head. And unless there was a phoenix contracted that no one knew about, then that meant this phoenix was the very same one that had contracted with Merlin. The only other person Nathan knew about who had a huge power boost upon awakening, rather than anything in the normal range. Did that mean that Merlin was a demigod, too? Another question on Nathan''s mind was on whether or not his father knew that his mother had cheated on him. Coming to a quick decision, he figured his father would probably be fine with it if he knew it was a literal god. Assuming, of course, all of this was true. There was a chance the phoenix was just screwing with him.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Let''s go," Agent Barts pulled Nathan out of his musings. "We can get something to eat before we head back to the hotel, unless there was something else you wanted to do." Nathan nodded, and followed her back into the SUV. As they left the forest and pulled onto the main road, the agent received a call, during which she swore. "We''ll meet them at the hotel," she said. "How many? Understood." She hung up and looked at Nathan. "A local school was hit," she informed him. "Five survivors ¨C three boys, two girls. The agency''s booking rooms for them at the hotel now and has agents heading their way to meet them. Thankfully, there''s an office out here, so we''ve got agents close by. Two attacks in three days¡­ what are people going to think?" "That whoever''s doing it really has it out for the US," Nathan commented. "Probably," she snorted. "We still don''t know who it is." Nathan had a theory, but he didn''t want to mention it. There was no evidence for it whatsoever, so there was no reason to voice it. He would need to experiment and test things in the game a bit more to better develop that theory. They reached the hotel, and Nathan went straight to his room and powered up his laptop, opening a video chat with Keith. "We just heard the news," Keith said. "Are they there yet?" "No," Nathan answered. "Probably still at the school. We''ll be heading back to the new school with them tomorrow." "Dude," Keith grinned. "Your parents showed up after you left yesterday. They''re pretty pissed that you aren''t here." "Figured," Nathan said. "Lesson. Now." "Right," Keith said. "Can you show me the ones you already did?" Nathan held up several sheets of paper so that the magician could check them, and Keith nodded. "The runes look good," Keith told him. "But without inspecting them in-person, I can''t know for sure. I did manage to locate the runes you were looking for. Why did you want them?" "Personal project," Nathan grunted. "My parents still there?" He wasn''t interested in bringing Keith into the project until he hit an actual roadblock on it, though he knew he''d eventually need the young wizard''s assistance. "Yeah," Keith answered. "They want to make sure you''re okay before leaving. Did the phoenix agree?" "He did," Nathan answered. "Back to the lesson." Keith sighed, then pulled up an image on the screen showing another magic rune. Nathan marked it down on a paper, then the next one Keith showed, repeating until he''d finished all five of the runes, which he practiced several times and showed Keith through the camera after each completion. "So what''s this project?" Keith asked. "Personal." Keith rolled his eyes, and Nathan ended the video call, just in time for Agent Barts to knock on his door. "We''re gathered in a conference room for dinner," she said when he opened the door. "I ordered pizza." Nathan nodded, then followed her to the conference room. It was a small room with a ''bar'' in front of one wall and a group of tables put together. An agent waited outside the door, another inside, the five survivors of the most recent Tutorial game giving Nathan a curious look. Rather than greeting them, however, he walked over to the bar and grabbed a plate, pulling out some slices of pepperoni pizza and setting them on his place. After filling a plastic cup with Sprite, Nathan sat at the table and began eating. The other students continued to give him curious looks, and he sensed that they hadn''t been informed of who he was or why he was there. Based on his subtle observations, one of the girls was with one of the other guys, while all three guys and that girl seemed to be in disbelief that they were out. The second girl, however, caught his attention. She seemed like she had accepted they were out already, and couldn''t wait to¡­ something. His ability to read magic told him she wasn''t a witch, so he doubted she was part of the Black Orb. Perhaps her desire to leave was to meet the other survivors? She had long, brown hair tied back into a braid with a black band, with emerald-green eyes, her skin lightly tanned. She also looked a bit hesitant, even if impatient. There was a good chance that she wasn''t someone with a high natural inclination for what happened. It was possible, he realized, that she''d likely suffer from some level of trauma past what would be normal for a survivor, due to the mental influence the System had on them. "So¡­" One of the boys eventually looked at Agent Barts. "I know we were told you were handling our case, before you arrived, but we weren''t told about him. Who''s he?" "Nathan Hunter," Agent Barts answered. "You heard about the attack two days ago? He''s one of its survivors." "You brought one of the survivors out here?" He asked. "For what? To meet us?" "We were already out here when you were launched into the game," she shook her head. "We drove out here yesterday from the school, and were already planning on returning tomorrow." "Why were you guys out here?" The girl coupled with one of the guys, who had his hand on her lap, asked. She had a contained aura, informing Nathan that she was a witch already, probably before the game. "Familiar-seeking," Nathan grunted, cramming another piece of pizza into his mouth. "You came out here to find a familiar?" She asked, then frowned. "Your aura''s white. You''re a wizard? What kind?" "Fighter," Nathan said as he pulled his magic in, concealing it. "And look it up." His gaze returned to the other girl, who he decided to help a little. After dinner, Agent Barts interviewed each of the students individually, then let them head up to their rooms. The agency had reserved the entire floor, with agents stationed at every entrance, to ensure privacy for the survivors. "Name?" Nathan asked the brunette he''d found himself interested in. "Katie." "There''s no rule against co-ed," Nathan pointed at the couple, who were heading into the same room. "Want to do the same?" "Are you asking me if I''m going to have sex with a guy I just met?" She sounded offended. "No sex required," Nathan said. He was, admittedly, a bit too tired to bother trying to get it up. It seemed contracting a familiar took a lot of energy. "But waking up alone after what you went through¡­ might not be fun. Sex would be a bonus, and only if you wanted to. It''s purely to have someone there when the nightmares come." If he was right about his assumption, she''d want to be with someone during the night. If he was wrong, he''d probably look like an ass, but that didn''t bother him so much. He had Samantha. "I don''t see you offering this to the guys." "I''d rather share a bed with a beautiful girl than a studly guy." She snorted. "I think I''ll be fine, thanks." Nathan nodded, then entered his room and stripped out of his clothes, practicing runes a bit more before heading to bed. A few hours later, he woke to someone knocking on his door, and he snorted. Exactly as I thought. Pulling on a pair of shorts, Nathan went to the door, where Katie was standing, looking a little pale and shaking slightly. She was dressed in a set of dark blue pajamas, slippers on her feet. "Okay," she says. "I see why you thought it''d be best to not be alone." "Yeah," he grunted, stepping to the side. "Come on." She entered his room, and he closed the door, bathing them in the darkness of the room. "Bed or talk?" He asked. "Both," she answered, and he flipped on the light. "Thanks. How can you sleep with that off? I couldn''t even close my eyes." "I''m cold enough it doesn''t bother me." "You''re heartless." "Anyone touches my girl," Nathan said. "They die. I''ve a heart." "So you''re dating someone?" She asked as he walked over to his bed. "And you''d have sex with someone else?" "We aren''t dating," he told her. "Not in the normal sense, anyway. Come on." Hesitantly, Katie walked over to his bed, stepping out of her slippers and climbing onto it. "What do you want to talk about?" She asked him. "Just talk," he said. "Or sleep." She stared at him for a few moments, then curled up beside him, watching him as he lay there with his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, even though she was pretty sure he wasn''t asleep. Instead of talking about the game, and what she went through in it, she talked about camping trips she went on with her family, before everything, stopping only when she fell asleep. Unaware that her words had fallen on sleeping ears. 00036 Samantha frowned when she saw Nathan entering the school, another girl accompanying him. She knew he wasn''t a one-girl kind of guy, but he did promise he''d go for more than just sex when she agreed to dating him with him having a harem. Yet he went to find a familiar and found another lover? That bothered her. Nathan walked straight towards her, giving her a small hug. "Katie," he said. "This is Samantha." "The girlfriend?" Katie asked cautiously. "Yes," Samantha stated. "The girlfriend." "You can share," Nathan told her. "Agreement, remember? Did William take the chance?" "What chance?" Samantha was confused by the sudden question. "To have sex with you while I wasn''t around." Nathan was being serious with the question, as he had fully expected William to do so while he was gone. Her reaction, however, told him that his expectation did not match up to reality. "No," she snorted. "Pretty sure he''s scared of what you''d do if he touched me while you weren''t around. Or while I was pregnant, considering you stopped with me after finding that out." "Don''t want to risk any harm," Nathan stated. "It''s perfectly safe to have sex while pregnant if I''m not having health issues," Samantha rolled her eyes. "I''d rather not risk," Nathan told her. "Also, superfetation." "The hell is that?" She asked. "When the automatic shit that prevents you from being able to get pregnant while pregnant fail," Agent Samtol said. "And you get pregnant again as a result of having sex during pregnancy." "That," Nathan said, then kissed her on the cheek. "Don''t worry, condoms-only until he''s born." Samantha snorted, and Nathan looked at Katie. "Orientation." "Right," she said, then walked off, joining the other survivors from her batch. "She was having a hard time sleeping," Nathan told Samantha. "And?" "And I let her sleep with me," Nathan said, and she raised a hand. "I didn''t have any condoms. Didn''t happen." Samantha let out a sigh of relief, and Agent Samtol cleared his throat. Nathan looked at him, raising an eye. "Your parents wanted to see you," the agent said. "They''re very insistent on it." "Are they in the tent outside?" "Uh, no," he said. "Unfortunately, we had to break protocol and let them into the building. I can see where you get your youness from. They''re this way." Nathan nodded and followed the agent, kissing Samantha on the cheek on his way past. A few minutes later, Nathan was in one of the unused classrooms, where his parents were sitting at a table. As soon as he entered, they stood, his father glaring at the agent, who quickly retreated. "Nathan," his father walked forward, putting his hands on his son''s shoulders. "Are you doing alright?" "Yes." "Good," his father said. "We''ve heard about what''s really going on. How are you doing?" "I need some supplies," Nathan stated, and his father snorted as his mother rolled her eyes. "What do you need?" His father asked. Nathan looked around, then walked over to a cabinet and opened it, opening several until he found a stack of paper and some pens. Grabbing a sheet and one of the pens, he returned to the table, then began writing the list. "What do you need all of this for?" His father asked as he read the list. "The game," Nathan stated, continuing writing down the items he wanted. "I''m learning enchanting, and this is going to help me." "They demonstrated a bit of magic as a form of proof," his father frowned. "That Keith boy, particularly." "The one teaching me," Nathan nodded. "He specializes in enchanting." "What do you need blank playing cards for?" "Project," Nathan grunted. "Make sure they''re finished, but blank. Rounded corners." His father nodded, and Nathan finished his list in silence, then handed it to his father. "Three days?" He asked. "I''ll see what I can do." "Thanks," Nathan said. "Can you tell me about what you went through?" Nathan nodded, then sat down, his father returning to the seat beside his wife, and Nathan began explaining everything he''d been through. His parents listened intently, and when they finished, asked him what his plans were. "To figure out what''s behind the game," he answered. "And then destroy it." "Alright," his father said. "Let us know when you do." Nathan smiled, then wished them well and left, hunting down Keith, who was sitting in another classroom, muttering as he worked his fingers over a piece of metal. Clearing his throat, the warrior sat down, and the wizard looked at him. "Welcome back," Keith said. "Did you see your parents yet?" "Yes." "Good, good," Keith muttered, returning his gaze to the piece of metal, muttering a bit more under his breath. The metal broke away into nine smaller pieces, each two inches on each side and a quarter of an inch thick. "There we go," he muttered, sliding one of the pieces across the table to Nathan. "Do a strengthen rune on it, and this time, use your magic. Do you want to use an inscribing pen, or just your finger?" "Pen." Keith pulled a sleek black pen with a blue tip out and slide it across the table. Nathan grabbed it, then pushed his mana into it, much like when he used force magic, and began to draw the strengthen rune onto the metal, pure-white lines forming where the pen touched. It took him twenty seconds, and when he finished, he slide the square to Keith.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The wizard picked up the piece of metal an examined it, turning the metal over in his hands a few times, muttering under his breath. "It''s good," Keith nodded. "I''m a bit jealous, actually. Your first try, and it''s functional. Won''t even break, no matter how much air pressure I apply to it. That''s a testament to just how much magic you have. With practice, you''ll be able to make them much faster." Nathan grunted in response, and Keith slide the other eight squares across. "Try eight of the other runes," Keith told him. "Keep in mind that they might not do anything, since they''re just on a coin and not, well, you know." Nathan immediately got to work, sliding each square back to the wizard when he finished. Keith inspected each square, then sighed, leaning back in his seat, sighing. "Dammit, Nathan," he said. "Why do you have to be better than me? It''s like you''re born to be an enchanter." Nathan flashed him a grin, and the wizard looked at him, then rolled his eyes. "I can still draw a rune in a second and have it functional," Keith told Nathan. "So I''ve got you beat there." Nathan laughed, then Keith hid the rune-inscribed squares. With those put away, the pair made their way down to the cafeteria, where they ate dinner with the other survivors. That night was spaghetti with garlic bread, and Nathan was pleased it wasn''t the usual cafeteria-quality food, but actual food. He rated it at a two, making Samantha and the rest of his team laugh. After dinner, Nathan was shown to his new room, which had a twin bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and two bookshelves with the textbooks for the classes he''ll be taking there for the rest of the school year. A minifridge sat underneath his desk, and a set of cubbies beside the shelving revealed a few items, such as packs of paper and writing utensils. Walking to his desk, where a laptop rested, Nathan ignored the device and picked up the book instead. He had asked Keith for enchanting help, but hadn''t expected an actual book on it. Enchantment Guide. Grunting, he kicked off his shoes, then climbed onto his bed and started reading. "Nathan?" "Yes?" "Okay, wasn''t going to say this, but are you aware that you can just think your comments to me?" Ichtvar asked. "So long as you''re directing them at me, I can hear your mental comments." "Okay," Nathan stated. "What did you want?" "I lack the ability to observe the world while contained like this," Ichtvar said. "I''m not asking to be released but¡­ I was wondering what you were doing." "Reading up on enchantment runes." "Release me if you wish for me to look over them. I know a bit about them. I''ve helped more than a few enchanters in my time, though it has been¡­ at least a thousand years. It''s been a long while. But my memory is as sharp as always, so my aid may be of use." Nathan nodded, then stripped his torso bare, allowing Ichtvar to pull out of him. The ancient phoenix hovered in the air beside Nathan, despite his wings being tucked in. Looking at the bird, Nathan attempted to read the magic. He couldn''t understand any of it, so he gave up trying for then and went back to reading the book. Maybe one day, he could read magic like Keith. "Why are they recommending such an outdated endurance rune?" Ichtvar asked, and Nathan looked at him. The bird looked around. "Do you have any paper?" Ichtvar asked. Curious to know what the ancient bird thought was a proper rune and not an outdated one was, Nathan set the book down and walked over to the cubbies. He pulled out one of its boxes, then a few sheets of paper, which he set on his desk. The ancient phoenix floated over to the desk, and lightly dragged a claw over the paper, forming a rune similar to the one in the book, though different in several ways. "Costs the same amount of mana to make," the phoenix told Nathan. "But it''s far more powerful and far more resilient. Are you sure that''s an up-to-date tome?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "At least, they''ve assured me it is." "Hmm¡­" The phoenix flicked a wing, and the tome flew up into the air and onto the desk. The bird began looking through the pages, leaving Nathan to wonder what it was doing. The teen climbed back onto his bed, folding his legs together in front of him, and watched. "This is so horrible," the phoenix muttered after a few minutes. A shimmer of magic surrounded the book, which grew in size, both in width and length, as well as in thickness. "There we go," Ichtvar muttered as Nathan raised an eyebrow, a gesture that went unnoticed by the bird, who was completely into what looked to be adding in more runes to the book. "And if I do this enchantment to it, then the changes will only be visible to Nathan." He continued to work, and after nearly three hours, finished adding in new runes and their explanations. Satisfied, the bird looked at Nathan, then flew back into his chest, merging back in, his red-and-gold marks fading away immediately. "There," Ichtvar told Nathan. "I made some changes. The tome will look as it always did to others, though you''ll be able to see the changes. Once you''ve learn the runes I put in, they''ll fade away, the tome eventually reverting to normal. You can share the knowledge if you wish, but only you can read it directly from the book." Nathan pulled the book off his desk and started flipping through it, impressed by the changes and new runes. Ichtvar left plenty of notes on all of the runes, including the ones that the book already showed, removing what he considered ''pointless information''. When he reached the back of the book, where the entirely-new rune types were given, Nathan found himself smiling, just a little. Some of those runes would certainly help with his personal projects. "And these runes will do as you say?" Nathan asked. "Of course!" Ichtvar sounded offended, and Nathan felt a prickling sensation that supported that thought. "I''ve been doing runes since long before your people''s primitive states and have put in all of my runic knowledge." "How old are you?" "Roughly two hundred million years old," Ichtvar responded, though Nathan wasn''t sure if he was being completely honest. "So consider yourself lucky. By the way, how do you feel?" "I''ve a bit of a headache, why?" "Because I''m technically much too powerful for you," Ichtvar responded. "Or rather, for your rate of regenerating mana. Normally, when someone binds with a familiar, their rates increase immediately to help compensate, especially if the familiar is much more powerful. Then again¡­ it''s probably a demigod thing to not." "So this headache is from the contract, and not from keeping you in me?" Nathan asked. "Correct," Ichtvar responded. "Based on the previous time something so powerful contracted with a magician, when the last demigod existed, I''d say that you''ll adapt over the next several days." "The last demigod?" Nathan asked. "Merlin?" "He didn''t exactly advertise what he was," Ichtvar said. "How did you know?" "Similarities." "Ah." A knock at the door interrupted the conversation, and Nathan answered it to find both Katie and Samantha there. Based on how they were standing, he assumed that they''d come to some sort of agreement. There was no tension there, and no hostility from Samantha or hesitation in Katie, unlike when his girlfriend had first seen Katie. "What?" "May we come in?" Samantha asked, and Nathan gestured for them to, walking over to his bed. "Thanks." The two girls entered his room and closed the door. "You know," Samantha said. "If we were minors, they''d probably not allow us in the boys'' rooms. Good thing we''re legally adults?" "I mean, they know most of us probably had sex at some point," Katie said. "So they probably figure it''s fine, especially since apparently, most girls leave pregnant." "I''m still amazed that you didn''t," Samantha told her. "Most guys just ignored the condoms, and the girls let it go, too. No one thought they''d be making it out, so why bother?" "I didn''t care," Katie shrugged. "None of them actually caught my interest." Nathan picked up an odd tone in Katie''s voice. He was pretty sure there was a story behind her not having sex in the game, especially since, as the agents suspected, there was a mind influence to push the players into having sex. "And you just happened to fall for Nathan?" Samantha asked. "He''s not like other guys I''ve met," Katie shrugged. "Something about him just resonates, I guess?" "Girls," Nathan said, and they looked over to find him under his blanket, his pants and underwear very obviously on the floor. "I was getting ready for bed. Either leave, get to the point of why you''re here, or get in my bed with me." "Are you naked under there?" Katie blushed a little. "Very," came the response. "They want us to wait a week," Samantha said. "Before reentering at all. They do recommend entering, though, even though our lives are at risk, and doing easy, Beginner-Rank games until those become easy, then to do Easy-Rank games a few times. They want us to do at least five of each before we reach the twenty-five day mark, and we can go in groups. Otherwise, we won''t be strong enough to even think about challenging the next game we''re forced into. "From what the others have said," she continued. "Most of the Beginning-Rank games are doable in groups of only three or four. There''s also something called the Tower, which grows increasingly difficult the higher you go, which makes for great training. A few of us were planning on challenging some stuff as soon as they tell us that we''re clear to go, and we wanted to know if you were going to join us." "No," Nathan stated. "And the Tower is solo, according to our guides. I''ve got plans. Maybe on another trip." "Alright," Samantha said. "So," Nathan glared at them. "Bed? Or leave." "Leave for tonight," Samantha answered. "Though don''t expect to be alone every night." "I won''t." The girls left his room, and Nathan quickly fell asleep. 00037 Nathan continued to pace around in the gym, causing some of the other survivors to look at him in annoyance. He''d been doing that for nearly an hour, and they were starting to get annoyed. No one dared to say something to him, however. Eventually, he turned and left, making his way to the classrooms of the school and locating their culinary room. Inside, he went to work preparing a meal. An hour passed as he worked, then set one of the tables for three spots. Just as he set the last of the food down, Samantha and Katie entered the room, Samantha''s hair still wet from her shower. "So?" He looked at her. "It wasn''t anything we couldn''t handle," she told him. "We picked a Beginning Survival Challenge, which lasted for only four days. Wasn''t anything we couldn''t handle." He let out a sigh in relief, before pulling her into a hug. Katie shifted uncomfortably for a moment, only to find Nathan grabbing her arm and pulling her into the hug as well, before showing them to their seats. "Just one?" He asked Samantha as he took a seat. "We went through two Challenges," she said. "They kind of ripped into us for that, even though we all made it out alive ¨C and stronger." "Level?" "I''m at Level 135, now," she answered, and he frowned. "What?" "Nothing," he answered. He was only Level 121, and he didn''t like the idea of her a being higher Level than him. However, the increasing difficulties to gaining Levels suggested something a bit more than just two Beginner Challenges. He might not have been the strongest among them ¨C apart from his level of magic ¨C but he was certainly the highest-Leveled of them all. "Second Challenge?" "Eight-day Beginner Survival." "Third Challenge?" "We only went on two Challenges," she told him. "Tower Floor?" Samantha let out a sigh, knowing she''d been found out. The agents hadn''t been so obvious with knowing ¨C if they''d even realized it. The Tower''s Floors worked off the Ranks of the monsters. Rank H-3''s were on the first and second Floor, H-2''s were on the second and third, H-1''s on the third and fourth, and so on. The Tower was Normal Difficulty as well, putting everything at full strength. Knowing just how strong things were ¨C and that strengths had an additional reduction to them for the Tutorial beyond the difficulties'' reductions ¨C meant that they couldn''t have gotten very high. "Floor 2," she answered. "Those things hit hard, Nathan." "And my baby?" "He''s perfectly fine," she promised. "I was never that far in trouble, and kept close enough I could escape." Nathan grunted, then cut into his food and started eating. Katie and Samantha talked the rest of the meal about what Samantha had gone through, since Katie''s team was being given the clear two days from then. After dinner, Nathan kissed his two lovers, then made his way to his personal project room. It was off-limits to the other students unless he gave them permission, and out of respect for his privacy, they left it alone. Some of them had their own personal project rooms, after all. Inside the room, Nathan checked on the curtains, making sure they were still pulled with the blinds down behind them, then he walked over to one of the tables as he unbuttoned his shirt. He pulled it off and hung it off a chair, and Ichtvar shortly pulled out of his chest, hovering in the air. With his familiar out, Nathan then walked to the cabinet, where he''d stored the prepared cards his father had arranged for him to acquire. Exactly one hundred fifty-four-card decks were sent, each with their own box. Over the last few days, he''d been preparing the cards, ignoring his classes. They were promised graduation even if they didn''t attend, and he cared for this project more than he did for the classes. The cards in this cabinet were the ones he''d already finished preparing, organizing them into smaller stacks and labeling each stack with a sticky note. Selecting several stacks, Nathan set them on the table, then opened up another cabinet, from which he took out a set of magical pens. Not inscribing pens, like the one Keith let him keep, but pens that could write on nearly any surface. With more than five hundred colors to choose from, Nathan wasn''t at a loss for which colors to use. Sitting, Nathan got to work drawing on the face of each card. The first set of cards was labeled ''storage'', and he was drawing a box on each of them. Once he finished each box, he wrote the name above it in black, then set it aside to dry. Being magic pens only meant they could write on most surfaces, and not immediate drying. Were he to write on paper, probably, but the finished surfaces of the playing cards meant they''d take around five minutes to dry and set. Once they did, however, only an enchanted pen could erase the ink. There were one hundred cards in that stack, and after finishing, he selected the next stack of cards he''d pulled out, the note claiming them as ''ninja star''. There were only twenty in that stack, much like each of the other stacks he''d grabbed. On those, he drew four-pointed ninja stars with a hole in the center, then wrote the name at the top of the cards, setting them to the side to dry. All of the Storage cards were dry, so he stacked them into two piles and wrapped a rubber band around each, before setting them to the side. For nearly three hours, he worked, creating eight different types of cards as his phoenix watched.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. When he finished, he put his finished cards into an empty cabinet, then cleaned up his supplies and made his way to his room, where Samantha and Katie were both waiting, talking. Both were dressed in their pajamas ¨C Samantha in a tee and shorts, Katie in actual pajamas, both wearing slippers. Rather than asking why they were lurking outside his room, Nathan stared at them until they finished discussing their plans for the next day and looked at him. "Hey, Nathan," Samantha said, and he stared at them. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Alright, so I''m heading to bed. Good night, Katie." "Sleep well," Katie told Samantha, who echoed the statement before starting to walk away. "Don''t be rough, she won''t take it well," Samantha whispered to Nathan, who raised an eyebrow as she left. He turned his gaze to Katie, who shifted uncomfortably for a few moments. "I''m still having a hard time sleeping," she told him, her claim evident by the tired look in her eyes and the dark circles beneath them. "I know I''ve been turning down your offers to sleep together again since I got back, but I don''t think I can continue. Samantha and I shared a room the last couple of nights, and it helped, but-" "Sure," Nathan said, unlocking his door and entering. Katie let out a sigh of relief, then followed him into his room. As soon as the door was closed, Nathan was stripping down to his underwear, then looked at Katie, whose face was flushed as she tried to look away, clearly bothered by something. "Either underwear or nude," he told her. "I''ll do either, but not more." "I know," she said. "You''re just pretty well-built, and, uh, pretty obviously aroused." "Even without Charisma, you''re very beautiful," he told her. "Deal." His piece said, Nathan climbed into bed. Katie shifted around uncomfortably, before turning off the light and climbing in with him. He pulled her against him, spooning her from behind, and noticed that she was tense. It couldn''t just be from his boner, he knew, but decide not to press it. When she overcame whatever it was and was ready for him, he''d be happy to pleasure her. "Samantha," Katie whispered. "Mentioned to me that you tend to fondle her breasts if you two sleep together, especially first thing in the morning. Would you mind not doing that?" "I''d mind," he whispered back. "But you clearly aren''t ready for that, so why would I?" Katie let out a sigh of relief, though remained tense. Nathan listened as she tried to calm down, taking more than two hours to fall asleep. Once she had, however, he allowed himself to drift off. In the morning, he woke to Katie climbing out of bed, though pretended to still be asleep as she did, watching through half-closed eyes as she left. Hard to fondle something that isn''t there, Katie. Shaking his head, he sat up and checked his system notification, as he''d grown used to ever since contracting Ichtvar. Or at least, since two days after.
Due to contracting a powerful familiar beyond your normal ability, your mana regeneration has had to adjust, which occurred as you slept. Mana Regeneration has increased from 1 Mana every 37 seconds to 1 Mana every 18 seconds.
Only a nineteen-second decrease, he noted. A contrast to the thirty-second decrease he had initially. According to Ichtvar, the reason it didn''t adjust the first night was due to his body not yet acknowledging it needed to adjust. From every night until he was within the ''safe'' amount, however, his body would continue to adjust itself. The headache that came from having such a powerful familiar without a proper amount of mana regeneration was worse every morning as well, and Nathan had a prickly feeling all over his body. A prickly, icky feeling. Keith said that it took him nearly a month to finish adjusting to having his own familiar, having apparently undergone the same adjustment period. Strangely, it didn''t affect their actual mana amount or magical strength, but they dismissed it as being a quirk of magic. Grabbing some clothes, Nathan made his way to the showers, where Keith and William were already washing up for the morning. "Morning, Nathan," Keith said. "Still feeling prickly?" "Yes." "Has Ichtvar given an estimate on how long it''d take?" "Awhile." Keith snorted, then returned to washing himself. Nathan finished his own shower, then dried and dressed before returning to working on his cards, stopping for the period between lunch and dinner to practice both his training with his weapons and with his magic. While Ichtvar couldn''t see what Nathan was doing, the ancient phoenix could sense what Nathan was doing with his magic, and provided additional guidance in shaping his basic force spell. As a result, Nathan had already nearly completely grasped the basics of it. Something that frustrated Keith, due to how quickly it was. Even the magic instructor brought in by the government was astonished at his speed. The ancient phoenix claimed that it was partly due to his status as a demigod, though Nathan didn''t care. He was only practicing it so that he could use a barrier in a pinch. He was also sure that having the phoenix guiding him from within was part of why he was mastering it so quickly ¨C the phoenix''s aid was giving him a feel for the spell, which made it easier to visualize. That night, Nathan went to bed, and Katie showed up again, still nervous to sleep alone and wanting something there to comfort her, even though Nathan didn''t notice her waking from any nightmares. Morning came, and once again, he woke to her leaving his room. Sitting up after she''d gone, he read the notification in his vision.
Due to contracting a powerful familiar beyond your normal ability, you rmana regeneration has had to adjust, which occurred as you slept. Mana Regeneration has increased from 1 Mana every 18 seconds to 4 Mana every 5 seconds.
In other words, he recovered 0.8 Mana every second, but it looked like the System registered only whole numbers. Based on his math, he could recover to full from empty for his mana in around eleven hours. Clicking his tongue, he wondered if there was a way to increase his Health Regeneration. Since Health was purely a System-based thing, he didn''t know if it was possible outside of the System''s own things. "Ichtvar," he said, allowing the phoenix out. Once the bird was facing him, he spoke again. "You can sense my mana, yes?" "Correct," came the response. "Can you sense another energy there?" "No," the phoenix answered, then paused. "Other than some sort of shield that stems from an interesting piece of magic." "Interesting piece of magic?" "Yes," Ichtvar said, and Nathan sensed the bird was frowning. "It''s difficult to describe. It has its own recovery and everything, and something¡­ artificial is responsible for it." Nathan nodded. He figured as much. His Health Regen was part of whatever this artificial force of magic called ''Health'' by the System was. Hopefully, he could find some way to boost it other than needing to use it or those packs he could buy from the System. Thinking about the packs, Nathan wondered how they''d affect him, with his powerful regeneration rate. Would using one increase his Mana Regen by fifty per second? Or increase it tofive everysix seconds? If he used one while he was recovering at a rate equal to 1 Mana per second, would it increase how much he recovered each second by a full point? Rather than thinking on it too much past that, Nathan got dressed, then headed down for breakfast, doing his usual day routine, switching his shower to the evening. When Nathan entered the changing room for the showers, he checked to make sure no one was there, then set his change of clothes down on a bench, though he didn''t take off the backpack he was in a habit of carrying around with him. He felt weird without it nearby, after the Tutorial. Game Access.
Would you like to reenter the Game?
Yes No
Warning: You will be entered into a neutral zone upon arrival if confirmed. You will not be able to leave until you''ve completed at least 1 Challenge or at least one Floor in the Tower.
Yes. 00038 Nathan looked around. He was warned about the neutral zone, but hadn''t fully believed it. Rather than being an alternate of his school, it was a field that stretched pretty far. To the north was the tower, which stretched high into the sky, and though it only looked to be a mile across, he knew from the others that the inside didn''t match the outside. Its inside was of varying sizes per Floor, some of which were far larger than the outside of the tower''s diameter. To the east, south, and west, he could also see small stone archways, each of which would lead him into a Dungeon. All Dungeons were classified as Dungeon Challenges, and how many were available was based on his Level. Much like with the mandatory Challenges and the Tower, their Difficulties weren''t adjustable, but they also weren''t set at Normal for all. Some could be Beginner, some could be Impossible. Taking his gaze off the endless fields, Nathan read the message in his vision.
Welcome back to the Game, Nathan!
This is a one-time message. Death is permanent and final. Points Shop is available unrestricted outside of Challenges. Pull up your interface to choose which Challenge you''d like to take on and its difficulty. You may also access the Tower and any Dungeons you choose. You must perform at least one Challenge or Dungeon or clear at least one Boss of the Tower at your highest-reached Floor to leave. Any information given here that is not revealed in the guide on your phone regarding the game cannot be shared outside of here. Failure to abide by this rule will result in the deaths of you and anyone who it is shared with who were unaware before. You may only be in the Neutral Instance for up to 24 hours at once without playing a game. If you are in it for 24 hours at once without playing a game, you will be entered into a random game.
Nathan dismissed that window. Looked like there was information regarding the game that they could only learn within the game, something that could likely affect things outside of the game. He pulled up the interface for Challenges, and the one at the top of the list immediately caught his attention.
Challenges Available:
Mandatory Survival
Slaughter Points
Scavenger Journey
Dungeon Tower
He could perform the mandatory Challenge right then. Since he knew he could adjust the difficulties of anything but the Mandatory, he assumed there would be some sort of confirmation, especially for that. Mandatory.
Challenge: Mandatory 1
Difficulty: Normal
Recommended Level: 200
Reward: +1 Skill Point, +1 Stat Point, +10 Points, +1 Level
Time Limit: ~21 Days left
If you do not perform this challenge by the deadline, you will automatically be forced into it.
Enter Return
In other words, he really could perform it at any point, and it even gave a Recommended Level. He guessed that if he was too far above the Recommended Level, it would change the Challenge to be harder, to needing a higher Level for its recommended. He''d have to check, though. It was something that would take him several months and Mandatory Challenges to determine. He found it interesting that the Mandatory Challenge gave him a reward, though. That wasn''t in the guidebook, so he supposed it was restricted only to the players for those allowed to know about it. Return. Back in the original menu, he pulled up Survival.
Challenge: Survival
Difficulty: Choose
Length: Choose
Recommended Level: Depends
Reward: Depends
Accepting without selecting will randomize the Difficulty and Length.
Enter Return
It looked like even regular Challenges could have rewards, though he''d have to check after setting it up. It could just be that the Reward said ''Depends'' until it was completed, or it could just require that he select a Difficulty. Difficulty. Nathan selected the Normal Difficulty from the list, and it brought him back to the Challenge''s menu, where he noted that it still said ''Depends'' for the Reward. Assuming that meant he had to finish setting up the Challenge before knowing if it had a reward, he then pulled up the option for Length. That menu allowed him to pick in increments of four up to one hundred days. He selected eight, then returned to the Challenge''s menu.
Challenge: Survival
Difficulty: Normal
Length: 8 Days
Recommended Level: 200
Reward: +100 Points
Enter Return
In other words, if he took on his mandatory Challenge and it were a Survival Challenge, then it might be an eight-day Survival Challenge. It also confirmed to him that Normal Challenges could give rewards as well. He returned to the Challenges Menu and played around with the various Challenges until he settled on a 4-Day Survival in Easy Difficulty.
Challenge: Survival
Difficulty: Easy
Length: 4 Days
Recommended Level: 100
Reward: +50 Points
Enter Return
Enter. Immediately, Nathan found himself in a cave, the only source of light coming from some green moss growing on the floor and in crevices on the walls. The air was humid, and the walls possessed a light sheen.
Challenge Survival Begun!
Survive for four days. If you succeed, you''ll be awarded with 50 Points.
Nathan nodded, then looked around. The cave he''d appeared in was around ten feet on one side and eight on the other. There was a hole in one wall that looked like an exit, but rather than going through it, he shrugged off his backpack and went through it. Food, a few supplies, and several spare magazines for the pair of guns inside. He pulled the guns out, inserted their magazines, then sheathed them on his hips. Accessing his Weapon Box, he pulled out his sword, knife, and knuckles, equipping those as well. He wasn''t sure how well the bullets would work there, but they were worth a shot to try.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. After arming himself, Nathan made sure all of his weapons would clear, then watched the entryway. There was a chance the monsters would be the same, demonic ones he''d faced in the Tutorial, but also a chance they''d be different. If they were different, it was information unable to be shared with non-players not in the know. It only took a few minutes for the first monster to appear. The creature resembled a type of mole around three feet in height, and Nathan immediately fired several shots into the thing from each gun, noting with satisfaction that he received damage notifications from them. The part that bothered him was the fact that the bullets didn''t do much to its Health. He assumed that it had a large amount of Health, too, due to the difficulty and Recommended Level. After emptying both guns into the annoyed creature, Nathan quickly returned them to his holsters and drew his sword, swiftly running forward, jumping. As he flew over the creature, he kept his body coiled up, to ensure he fit through the doorway as he cut through the creature''s Health. Halfway through the cut, he stopped receiving damage notifications and his blade pieced the beast''s hide. He landed nimbly on his feet and cut into the creature again, killing it.
+3 Points!
Nathan grunted in response to the message, then began walking through the moss-lit tunnel. He faced several more of the mole-creatures, most weaker than the one he''d killed. After an hour of hunting, he found himself in a decent-sized cavern with just the entrance he walked through, plus the one the water rushed in and the one it rushed out of. A waterfall cascaded out of a hole in one wall, splashing down into a small lake. A large amount of the glowing moss covered the walls, though it had been growing steadily dimmer until it was only half as bright as it had been when he''d arrived, suggesting to him that it was probably night there. Is that just part of the Challenge, or is it because it was nearly night when I entered the game again, and this is what I did shortly after arriving? Rather than thinking on that, Nathan made his way to a patch of the moss and set down his backpack, removing his weapons and leaving them beside him as he laid down, using his bag as a pillow. Closing his eyes, Nathan quickly fell asleep. When he woke, the moss had grown to four times its brightness, staying steady at twice what it was when he''d arrived. His regeneration for Mana had increased to nine points every ten seconds, which made him curious how much higher it''d go before simply hitting a point per second. Pulling out some food, he ate a quick breakfast, before walking over to the lake. It was clear, and he estimated it to be around ten feet deep. The bottom of the miniature lake was covered in sand, gravel, and more of the luminescent moss. Not seeing any monsters within the water, Nathan quickly stripped off his clothes and dove into the water. It was cold, but not frigid, and he swam around in it for a few minutes before making his way back to the shore. As he did, he felt the water shift, then looked at the shore, which was twenty feet away. Swimming as hard as he could, Nathan quickly reached the shore and pulled himself out, rolling away just in time to avoid the pair of jaws that had slammed into the ground beside him. Scrambling to his feet and taking a few steps back, he watched as the monster retreated back into the water. It had translucent skin, bits of gravel and sand sliding off of it. Some of the luminescent moss seemed to be growing out of its top, and the creature had no fins. It was slender, with a serpant-like body only around ten feet in length. With Nathan out of its reach, the creature rose back to the surface, floating at the top and staring at him. He looked at his clothes, which were by the shore, and sighed, then walked over to his backpack and grabbed his guns, turning and aiming, firing off several shots. It took him four full magazines to kill the creature. With joy, he noted that the creature itself died with only two bullets, its hide not tough enough to resist them.
+15 Points!
Fifteen? He wondered. The creature wasn''t that tough in the face of his bullets. Sure, it had a ton of Health, based on the fact that it took sixty bullets doing a hundred damage each, but it hadn''t been all that hard to kill, overall. He also gained another Level from that kill, making it three he''d earned since arriving. Grabbing his clothes, he brushed dirt off himself and his clothes, then dressed before returning to his bag and taking stock of his inventory. All six of his magazines were empty. Opening up the boxes of ammo, he restocked. He had four boxes total, and used two of them. I''ll save the guns for an emergency, he thought to himself, before packing up and heading out, hunting a bit more. It wasn''t until his second full day that he found something other than the moles, when a golem charged at him when he turned a corner in the tunnels. The golem was vaguely humanoid, with a blank ''head'' atop a chunky body with thick arms and legs. Nathan''s sword glanced off of it, and his attempts at martial arts failed to damage its Health as well. As he evaded the fast stone creature''s attacks once he knew he couldn''t hurt it, Nathan unbuttoned his shirt. As soon as his chest was bared, the crimson-and-gold tribal mark of a phoenix on it lifted out, Ichtvar soaring forward. Flames trailed behind him as he slammed into the golem, Nathan dodging back. The ancient phoenix''s tackle forced the golem back several yards, and the bird burst into flames, batting its wings at the monster, the fire flowing forward as it did. Within seconds of the monster turning into magma, Nathan received a pair of notifications.
+22 Points!
Level Up!
Points Shop Cooldown reduced by 6 hours. Points Shop may now be accessed in-Challenge every 42 hours.
"Thanks, Ichtvar," Nathan said as the bird returned to his chest. "You''re welcome," the phoenix''s voice echoed in Nathan''s mind. "Feel free to use me in any fight you can''t win." "Will do," Nathan looked around. Hearing more of the mole monsters, Nathan continued fighting, never fighting any that were above H-Rank. Not for lack of trying ¨C he simply couldn''t find any. When nightfall came, he found an underground pond, finding another one of those strange water creatures in it. Rather than wasting his bullets, he let Ichtvar out, and the bird flew at the thing, dodging gusts of water. So that''s why it''s considered a G-Rank Monster, Nathan determined as the glowing water pierced the ground. Using his flames, the ancient phoenix was able to vaporize all of the attacks that drew too near and kill the pond''s beast. After verifying there was nothing else in the clear pond, Nathan took another dip in it, then got some rest. When he woke, he found that his mana regeneration had gone from nine every ten seconds to ten every nine seconds. What''ll it do once it reaches back down? Will it be two every second after that? Rather than dwelling on it too much, Nathan got to work hunting again. By the time his fourth day in the Challenge had ended, Nathan had found himself bored. The few things he couldn''t fight ¨C the golems, all of which were E-Rank ¨C Ichtvar killed in just a few seconds. He''d managed to reach Level 127 as well, which disappointed him. That''s only natural, though, he admitted. Ichtvar''s taken care of everything that I couldn''t, and that which I could wasn''t really a struggle, and I''m already a good Level compared to H-Rank Monsters. Pulling up his interface, Nathan watched as the timer he''d discovered ticked down, and just as it reached zero, he found himself in the field again.
Survival Challenge Completed!
+50 Points!
1 out of 4 Challenges completed.
One out of four Challenges? Nathan wondered as he dismissed the message. Frowning, he tried several things until another message appeared after determining there was nothing in the phone''s guide about it.
You have 3 Challenge Slots to start with, allowing you to perform up to that many Challenges in a 24-hour timespan. This number increases by 1 every 100 Levels you possess, and is not affected by Mandatory Challenges. Completing a Mandatory Challenge will reset your used slots back to unused. This is not information that can be shared with non-players.
Considering how easy he''d found the first Challenge he did on his own, he immediately understood why his fellow survivors from his old school had done three Challenges. They''d probably done the same thing, and decided to use another one of their slots to do something harder, then another to try the Tower. The only part he couldn''t figure out was why they''d only done three Challenges. Why not four? They were all Level 100 or higher, weren''t they? Deciding he''d ask about it once he was out, he laid down on the grass and got some sleep. 00039
Dungeon Entered: Sandcastle Kingdom
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Adept
Locate a Seed of Life within the Sandcastle Kingdom. You may take as long as needed.
Nathan looked around the Dungeon he''d entered. He was standing on a beach, with the ocean at his back. Nothing in the horizon save for more water and the rising sun. Before him was a city made of what appeared to be buildings of sand. Most of them were at least three or four stories tall, though some stretched to even ten stories. Bridges of sand were formed between the taller structures, though he could see some between lower ones as well. No sand sprinkled down, however, and everything looked stable to Nathan. In fact, it looked almost as if someone had simply turned the sand into stone, and when he approached the nearest building, he confirmed that. The sand was stone, and yet he could tell it was originally sand. There were no clues as to where the Seed of Life he was seeking would be, just that it would be within the Sandcastle Kingdom, and so Nathan entered the nearest tall building. Inside, he looked around, wary of any monsters that might appear. A creature made of sand would be a tough foe, especially at Adept. He wouldn''t have taken on an Adept-Difficulty Dungeon if he''d known that''s what it was. One crucial piece of information he hadn''t been given was that Dungeons didn''t actually say what their Difficulty was until entrance. The reason he''d entered, however, was because of the information he did have access to. Dungeons available were based on the abilities of the person or persons who had entered. That suggested to him that all Dungeons were able to be completed by the party that had entered the game that session. Before he realized it, Nathan was standing on the roof of a ten-story building. Blinking a few times, he looked back at his trip, realizing he''d thought his way through it, rather than observed. Grateful for his memory, he determined that the trip itself was uneventful due to the lack of monsters. There were a few rooms he passed up, complete with furniture. The furniture was made of the same odd stone, but the beds he saw had actual blankets and pillows on them, suggesting he could sleep there. Sleeping on the floor wouldn''t bother him, though. He''d done it enough in the Tutorial and the last Challenge he did. It would also be easier for him to react, should a monster appear. The blankets would get in his way, if they were on him instead of under him. Returning his focus to the view, Nathan looked around. The city stretched on for a couple of miles, it looked like, and encircling the land portion of it were tall stone cliffs that stretched past the edge of the shore and into the water. He couldn''t see past the cliffs, and immediately decided he didn''t want to try traveling past them, even through the ocean. He wasn''t sure what would rest beyond them, the Challenge wanted him in the Sandcastle Kingdom itself, and one more important, more powerful thing factored into that decision. There was no telling what sort of monsters were in the ocean, and he doubted he''d be able to make it past the cliffs by swimming. He could only put so much into his Item Box, which meant he''d be losing his backpack. Continuing his scan of the Sandcastle Kingdom, Nathan determined what he felt would be the most likely spots for the Seed of Life. Most were on the other side of the ''city'', though a few were near him. After all, he didn''t want to rule out the Seed of Life being close to him, just because it was a Challenge. Perhaps it was nearby, just to make him waste his time assuming it was on the other side? Descending the tower, Nathan searched every room, just in case. There really was no telling how or where it would be. When he reached the first floor and went to leave, Nathan saw his first monster. It was a tortoise, and was walking slowly along the sand. Its dome-shaped shell was a similar color to the sand, with slight bumps covering it. The tortoise itself stood nearly to Nathan''s chest. According to the System, it was an F-2 Monster. No doubt that shell was incredibly tough, and he wasn''t sure how Endurance worked for the thing. Would it be greater for the shell, or the same for the whole body? He knew the actual defenses of the thing would be different. Deciding it would likely be the same, Nathan contemplated on whether or not he would be able to pierce through its Endurance. He was unable to get through the golems'', despite ignoring 50% of the Endurance factor. A few moments of thought later, and a deep breath, and Nathan was charging forward. The golems were E-Rank monsters, two individual Ranks above the tortoise. The beast turned its head just in time for Nathan''s fist to slam into it, Impact fueling extra power. With delight, Nathan noted a damage message, though he was a bit peeved he''d only managed to take out 19 Health. The tortoise immediately snapped at Nathan, who jumped back, dancing around it to strike at its shell. Same amount of damage as before, which told Nathan all he needed to know about how its Endurance affected it. Same all the way across the Health. Nathan continued to strike with his fists, noting that the sand tortoise wasn''t affected by his Level 6 Stun Strike modification. He''d used the five vouchers on upgrading it, so it should stun most enemies for six seconds. Slipping his knuckles back into his pocket, Nathan quickly drew his sword, slashing at the monster as it continued to attack. It never retreated into its shell, which confused Nathan. No attempt at just sealing itself up?Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "I can sense that you''re in a fight," Ichtvar told Nathan as he struck again. "Why not let me deal with it? It seems to be taking you awhile?" "I''ve got this," Nathan mentally responded. "I think I get less Experience if you kill, because of how easy it is for you." "Okay." As Nathan slowly wore down the monster''s defense, taking out anywhere from 20 to 170 Health with each strike of his sword, with the use of Impact, Nathan felt himself growing tired. This was definitely the toughest monster he''d fought so far just from its sheer amount of Endurance. He was probably doing something like 1700 Health''s worth of damage, if his calculations were correct. The only advantage to fighting the beast was that it was slow, and seemed to only be able to attack with its mouth. That continued to confuse Nathan, however, as it should just retreat into its shell. Or maybe it knew that he''d continue to whittle down its Health, and decided to fight until it was depleted, then retreat? For another twenty minutes, Nathan continued to strike at the creature, realizing his math on his Strength and its Endurance was off, the creature having a lot more Endurance than he''d estimated. Eventually, however, he managed to whittle off all of its Health, no longer receiving damage notifications against it. At the same time, the creature bit his hand, moving with a sudden burst of speed to snap at him.
-387 Health!
The thing had a lot of Strength, and based on how fast it continued to move, nearly as much Speed as Nathan did. But why did it move so slow before I removed its Health? Maybe it was toying with me? Or was it unable to until its Health was down? Nathan''s sword glanced against its shell as the creature retreated inside, and just as he went to jam his blade in, a seal of sand formed over the hole, preventing his sword from entering. Fuck. Nathan jumped back and the tortoise poked its head again, sticking its tongue out at him. Nathan grunted at the thing in response. It was playing with him, knowing he couldn''t hurt it. Not like that. Taking a few steps back, he watched it continue to watch him, seeming interested in what he was doing. "Did you win?" "No, the thing got faster when I took out its Health." "Want me to-" "Give me a minute." Nathan slowly walked over to his backpack, facing the monster the entire time, and stepped behind it. Crouching down, he reached inside, never taking his gaze off the creature, which continued to watch him. With a pulse of magic, Nathan threw the two playing cards he''d retrieved from a pocket, and they spun through the air, their flight augmented by his strength. A short wall of sand formed in front of the tortoise, the two cards sticking into it. Nathan clicked his tongue. A waste of his ninja star cards, if that thing could just summon up barriers. It was definitely playing with him. It wanted to see how long it would take him to take out its Health, and that was all. It wanted to see what he would do to try to kill it, once he''d taken out the tangible defense. With a sinking feeling, Nathan realized that the shell''s own durability was probably a lot higher than the Endurance stat of the creature suggested. No doubt that value was based on the fleshy part. Letting out a grunt, Nathan pulled out another card, activating it. A magazine for his guns appeared in his hand as the card vanished, and he swapped it into one of his guns as the wall of sand fell back down. A special kind of storage card that Ichtvar had helped him create, though unlike the general ones he''d been making, it had a single use and required the stored item during creation. The tortoise stuck its tongue out at him again, and Nathan aimed his gun, then shot, a trail of flames streaking out behind the bullet. The projectile impacted into the turtle''s shell, not even chipping it. The next three shots slammed into the wall of sand the creature had conjured up, small craters of glass forming where they struck. Running forward, Nathan jumped up, flipping over the tortoise and firing off four more shots, aiming the third at the monster''s tail when he noticed it still out while the head had retreated. When it impacted, the tortoise screeched, its head shooting back out. Running the tortoise as it continued to screech, a sound that nearly made him cover his ears, Nathan fired off the last seven shots, the bullets slamming into the monster''s head.
Demiboss Sand Tortoise Slain!
Level Up! (x8)
Nathan stared at the message in shock. He''d gained 8 Levels from killing that thing, and it was classed as a Demiboss. The System probably took him taking more than twenty minutes just to break through its Health as being difficult, but that was just impressive, he felt. Perhaps it was a mixture of the place being Adept-Difficulty? Dismissing the notification, Nathan read the other one.
For killing a Sand Tortoise Demiboss, the following rewards have been granted to you.
+50 Points
Health Regen Decrease of 5 Seconds
Sand Tortoise Shell
Sand Tortoise Meat x3
Nathan gaped at the reward. Not just from what was in it, but the simple fact that he''d earned a reward for killing the Demiboss beyond just the 15 Points he''d noted appearing. Dismissing the message, he pulled up his guide through the System, and found a new section: Boss Rewards. According to it, any tangible rewards from Bosses and Demibosses were not limited to just the game, but would return with him if he had any left. As stated previously, he was forbidden from revealing this information, which meant he wouldn''t be allowed to just show the shell to anyone, if he used it. Not without having a good excuse for how he obtained it. Dismissing the window, he allocated the 4 Stat Points from his Levels to his Endurance as he released the magazine, replacing it with the one he''d swapped out for it. Returning to his bag, Nathan wiped sweat from his brow. It was a bit hot there, and the fight had caused him to work up a sweat. Removing his shirt, Nathan sent it into his Item Box, looking at his unmarked chest. A thought hit him, and he groaned, realizing he should have realized it before. "Ichtvar, can you come out?" The phoenix''s marks appeared on his chest, then detached, the ancient phoenix revealing itself, floating in front of Nathan. "Do you know what a Seed of Life is?" "No," Ichtvar responded. "This Challenge requires me to look for one," Nathan told him. "Do you think you could scout above for places it could be? There''s a chance monsters will be gathered around or near it." The phoenix nodded, then looked around, before turning its gaze back to its partner. "Where''s the monster?" "They fade after they''re killed," Nathan stated, zipping his backpack up and pulling it onto his back. "Let''s get moving." 00040 "Good job," Ichtvar told Nathan, who grunted in response. "What? You did a good job." Two days had passed since Nathan killed the Demiboss, and while he hadn''t fought another one yet, he had managed to claim victories against other monsters. The most annoying ones there were the Dungeon''s version of pillbugs. They were around six feet in length, and the only way to defeat them was to strike at their underside. At least, the only way to do so in a reasonable amount of time. The issue with striking the undersides was the fact that the sand bugs, as he called them, would curl up the moment something struck their fleshy underside, a lesson he learned when he was nearly crushed from being too close when that happened. Other monsters he''d encountered were the gulls, which would dive-bomb him or fling feathers at him, and the sand mice, which used swarming tactics. They were barely larger than a brown rat and usually traveled in packs of fifty or more. All three were annoying to fight, for one reason or another. But at least he could just squish half the mice, which was the reason he was still wearing his sneakers, even if they''d been ruined by the attacks. And the gulls'' attacks were avoidable, and they''d eventually lose interest in him if he hid himself. Yeah, the sand bugs were definitely the most annoying. Searching had begun to grow boring for Nathan, and so he''d asked Ichtvar to teach him how to generate a magical barrier out of force magic, and so for the last hour, they''d been practicing that. Much like with the force push, Nathan acquired a decent grasp of the spell easily with the phoenix''s help, though he knew he had a long way to go before he could actually match Keith''s abilities. "Come on," Nathan took a drink of water, then pulled his backpack on. "Let''s get searching. We''re nearly done, I think." The phoenix snorted, then flew out the window, and Nathan exited via the door, watching as his familiar flew up into the sky to act as a lookout. Walking through the streets of the Dungeon, Nathan found himself interested in why the place was created. Why did they design it on a beach? With all that sand? Out of sand? What was their inspiration? A suspicion rose up in him, but he didn''t voice it to Ichtvar, deciding it was best to keep it to himself. For then. But if he was right, then it meant his long-term plans might have a hitch in them. A hitch he was preparing to deal with already. "Hey, Nathan?" Ichtvar said, and Nathan looked in the direction he could sense his familiar in. Several buildings were blocking them, and the ancient phoenix was lower to the ground. "What?" Nathan responded. "I think I found the Seed of Life." "Give me a bit to get over there," Nathan said, curious at the phoenix''s casual, yet hesitant, tone. He had a feeling there was more than thinking to have found it than the phoenix''s words suggested. "I''m about to be attacked by more gulls." Nathan walked over to a building and shrugged off his backpack, sitting with his back against a wall, out of view of any of the windows. A few seconds later, feathers shot through the door and windows, slicing into the stone that formed the floor. The volleys came every thirty seconds, and as he waited it out, Nathan ate a small snack. The flock spent almost half an hour before giving up, and Nathan waited another five minutes before leaving, making his way in the direction he could sense his familiar. It took him nearly twenty minutes to navigate through the maze of buildings, until he reached the courtyard of a four-story mansion, where his familiar was hovering in spot. "It''s right there," Ichtvar pointed down with his claw. The courtyard was covered in sand, rather than sand stone, and Nathan only saw the sand. He walked over and crouched down, locating a small seed vaguely resembling an apple seed, though pure-white in color. Not a dead white, like snow, but more of a living white, like milk. "It certainly looks like a seed," he commented. "It possesses an immense amount of life energy," Ichtvar agreed. "I was¡­ expecting it to be much larger." Nathan didn''t sense any power in the seed, though when he read it with magic sight, the magic itself was of the purest white, just as his own magic was said to be. Unlike his magic, however, it didn''t just exist in a semi-fluid state, moving through his body. No, the seed''s magic flowed through its very existence. Nathan wasn''t sure how he knew that, but he did. "Same here," Nathan said, reaching down to grab the seed. The moment he picked it up, a notification appeared.
Seed of Life located!
Plant the Seed of Life in the Garden of the Sandcastle. It will require some of your blood.
Nathan narrowed his gaze at the message. It was telling him to bleed himself, which meant completely neutralizing his Health. "What''s that look for?" Ichtvar asked as Nathan dismissed the message. "We need to plant this," Nathan said. "In a garden of some sort." "I know where that is," Ichtvar nodded. "Odd thing for a scavenger hunt." "It also wants me to bleed myself." "What?" Ichtvar recoiled. "It wants you to do what?" "Bleed myself," Nathan said. "I''ll need to use my blood when I plant it. It''ll require me to completely remove my Health." "Think there will be a boss fight?" "Possibly," Nathan answered. "This is an odd Scavenger hunt, that''s for sure." The phoenix nodded, and Nathan asked to be led to the garden as he sent the seed into his Item Box. It took them nearly an hour to reach the garden, as it was nearly to the cliff face furthest from the ocean, and they had only been halfway through the Sandcastle Kingdom when they located the seed. No monsters attacked them, though Nathan did see a few in the distance from time to time.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The garden itself wasn''t what he''d expected. He was thinking they would be things made of sand or something, not a grassy plot with flowers growing here and there. Not a trace of sand seemed to rest within it, and he kept his eyes on his feet as he entered. The sand fell off his shoes and pants. Some sort of protective spell, to ensure the garden was unaffected. At the heart of the garden was a circle of dirt only a few inches across. Knowing it was the place to plant the seed, he pulled out his knife and dug a small hole, then withdrew the seed from his Item Box and dropped it in. Wiping off his knife, Nathan then stabbed at his arm several times, until he''d broken through his Health. He pricked his finger, then allowed his blood to drip into the hole until the seed was coated in it. Next, Nathan pushed the dirt back into the hole, which confirmed he''d correctly planted the Seed of Life with a notification.
Seed of Life planted!
Protect the Seed of Life from the incoming monsters. Kill them all.
Standing up, Nathan listened. Monsters were coming from all around. Dozens of them, excluding the several flocks of birds that were flying towards them. A storm of feathers flew at Nathan, who generated a barrier.
Garden of the Sandcastle Kingdom''s Barrier is at 9,999,031 of 10,000,000 Durability!
The message flashed in his vision as the feathers slammed into a barrier not his own, a shimmering field that only appeared around the impact points. "Thank the gods," Nathan breathed, letting his barrier drop. Sustaining it wasn''t something he was sure he could do. Sure, he had enough mana, but he doubted he''d be able to retain his focus that long, especially with other monsters around and his lack of experience with magic. "Ichtvar, I''m going to rest and recover, I don''t want to waste the Health Potions I have remaining." "When did you buy those?" "Between Challenges," Nathan answered. "I wanted to make sure I was prepared, just in case. Had to restore some of my Health as well, anyway, so just bought a few extra." "Alright," Ichtvar said. "I will handle this." The phoenix erupted into flames, then flew through the barrier, and Nathan frowned a little. The barrier didn''t yield to the monsters, yet it let the ancient phoenix in. If his theory about the Dungeon was correct, then the reason the phoenix was able to pass through probably stemmed from being Nathan''s familiar. Sitting down, Nathan watched his familiar sear through the enemies, either by flying through them or flapping its wings, generating flames that burst forward. There were hundreds of monsters there, and Nathan watched as the notifications rolled in, eventually telling it to hide. He''d total it up after. Folding his legs together, Nathan opened up his Skills and added 8 Levels to Meditation, so that it was at Level 10, increasing his regeneration by fifty percent while in use. That finished, he began to meditate to quickly restore his lost Mana from the barrier and to start restoring his lost Health. "I still hear something slamming into the barrier," Nathan said without opening his eyes when he sensed and heard Ichtvar floating in front of him, rather than fighting. "It''s another one of those tortoises," Ichtvar told him. "A bit bigger than the last, though not by much. Thought you might want to fight it alone for the Experience." Nathan nodded, unmuting his notifications and totaling everything up. He''d only gained a single Level from letting Ichtvar kill everything, even though he''d gained nearly a thousand Points. Opening his eyes, Nathan stood as he assessed the sand tortoise. It was maybe only half a foot taller than the other one, and the same Rank, F-2. Unzipping his backpack, Nathan pulled out two more cards and activated them, crushing them. Two more magazines appeared, and he swapped them into his guns, before returning those to his holsters. Nathan drew his sword, then lunged forward, cutting at the tortoise. This one didn''t play around with him, and instead used its full speed against him rather than letting him wear it down over time. This sent them into a delicate dance as Nathan realized he should''ve taken a Health Potion or ten. At least I''m fast enough to evade it. The sand tortoise continued to summon its walls of sand, which his sword cut through, and retreat its entire body when he came close to striking at its fleshy parts, even while its Health was still active. It took him nearly an hour to take out the tortoise''s Health, and as soon as he did, it retreated and sealed itself in and he swapped his sword for his guns. His right-hand gun fired bullets that whistled through the air, while the one in his left hand fired bullets moving much, much faster than they should. The first gun''s bullets were enchanted with the element of wind, which he hoped would do extra damage against the tortoise, while the second gun''s bullets were enchanted to move faster, with more force. The wind bullets chipped at the monster, while the boosted bullets did more than just chip, and only a few shots in one spot were enough for him to break through its shell. As he expected, the tortoise''s head shot out as it screeched in pain. Nathan fired off a shot from his left-hand gun, the bullet blasting through the monster''s head, spraying blood everywhere.
Demiboss Sand Tortoise Slain!
Level Up! (x8)
Another 8 Levels? He thought, then quickly realized it made sense he''d gain a fair few Levels. That fight was harder, after all, even if he was several Levels stronger.
Seed of Life Protected!
You will be returned to the Fields of Choice in fifteen minutes.
Nathan dropped his empty magazines, then walked back into the garden, where he collected his things and allocated his Stat Points to Endurance, then pulled Ichtvar back into him. The phoenix didn''t seem to be affected by the transfers like Keith''s elemental was, but he didn''t want to risk a negative response by not having the creature recalled during them. When the timer reached zero, Nathan found himself back in the fields.
You have completed the Sandcastle Kingdoms Dungeon!
For your valiant efforts and decision to complete the Adept-Difficulty Dungeon alone, you have been awarded 5 Levels and all supplies brought into the Dungeon that were used have been restocked!
New Skills available!
"Finally," Nathan breathed, and felt Ichtvar shift in curiosity. "I unlocked more Skills." "Ah." Nathan quickly added his new Stat Points to his Endurance, then did a check to verify that it had, in fact, restocked his items. With annoyance, he noted his cards weren''t there. They hadn''t been restocked. "Fuck," he muttered. "What?" Ichtvar asked. "The System didn''t seem to be able to recreate the cards," he said. "That, or they were intentionally not restored." "You weren''t expecting something like that to happen," Ichtvar said. "It''s an interesting reward, to be sure. Your enchantments were a new concept to me as well, so I''m not surprised that it might not have registered the unusual enchantments. It''s possible it''ll just need time and reading of your cards to figure out how they function so that it can recreate them." "Yeah," Nathan said, then rummaged through his pack some more. All of the food he''d brought with him into the Dungeon that he''d used had been restored, which was really all that he''d used up in the Dungeon outside of his cards. He hadn''t used his guns at all, other than the enchanted bullets, but all of those had been in the storage cards. After finishing his check, Nathan began to open up his Skills Shop, only to be interrupted by a message.
Notice: Unidentified magic detected within the game. Unable to replicate said magics when attempting to restock items. Error occurred. For not being able to fulfill the reward granted, an assessment has been attempted and completed. Based on estimated values of the unreplacable items, you have been awarded 100 Stat Points, 100 Skill Points, 1,000 Points, and +10 to All Stats.
The game was admitting to being unable to replicate his cards, and from what he could tell, it didn''t value them very high. Not when factoring in that it probably included the bullets in that reward. The enchanted bullets ¨C all forty-five of them. Mentally cursing the game, Nathan added the 100 Stat Points to his Endurance, then pulled up his Skills Shop to check out what new Skill or Skills he unlocked. 00041 There was only one new Skill available for Nathan to buy, sitting at 75 Skill Points to purchase. Based on its name, however, he could guess what it did. Card Box was too obvious when compared to Item Box, Weapons Box, and Clothing Box. It would allow him to store the cards he had. The fact that it had come so early after he first used the cards combined with him having not used very many suggested something to him. Provided that Skills were earned based on actions taken and something else that Nathan simply suspected, it told Nathan that all games were watched. The Skill was either created for him, or it already existed, but was usually given for people just playing cards or something all the time. Possibly someone constantly moving cards in and out of Item Box. If it were the latter case, then it had been intentionally enabled for him at Level 150, which would mean that he shouldn''t have unlocked any new Skills. Nathan spent the 75 Skill Points, then pulled up the Skill''s information.
Card Box: Level 1
Storage: 3 card types per Level of this Skill
Same-type Stack: 5 items per Level of this Skill
That was useful to him, especially since, much like Item Box, it listed no Max Level. He promptly spent 45 Skill Points to raise it up to Level 10, allowing him to store 30 different types of cards and up to 50 of each of those. That was more than enough for all of the cards he had brought with him into the game. Ichtvar had designed most of the enchantments based off of Nathan''s explanations, leaving the fighter to create the cards himself. However, even the ancient phoenix had his limits and had not been able to come up with too many in a short frame of time. They would need more time to craft more card types. Hoping the game would eventually give him a Bullet Box, Nathan decided to sign out of it, but not before testing something else, something that he noticed and began to suspect on the first day of the game, back when they were all brand-new to it and recovering from that first Challenge. "Not sure how it is in your language," Nathan said. "But ''Mana'' and ''Mana'' is a bit confusing. One''s an energy, the other''s simply a stat that we only know the value of due to the energy. A bit of clarification would probably be best, since they''re written and said the same way." After saying that, Nathan sat on the ground and began eating, then rested for a few minutes before signing out of the game. He found himself back in the locker rooms at the school, slightly disoriented from the shift in his position. Nathan set down his backpack and stripped off his clothes, then stepped into the showers and began scrubbing himself. He felt dirty after the round in the game, even though he knew that his ''body'' there and his ''body'' here, while technically the same, only suffered the same if he died. After his shower, Nathan dried off, dressed, then went to his room, where he stripped to his underwear and sat on his bed, reading Ichtvar''s edited book. After a few minutes, he sent Keith a text, asking him to come. Keith responded after only a few seconds, saying he''d be there in a minute. Not even a minute later, there was a knock at Nathan''s door. Nathan answered it, finding Keith quickly blushing on the other side. "Get in here," Nathan grabbed the magician''s shirt and pulled him into the room, closing the door. "Secret project, swear you won''t tell?" "Sure?" Keith gave him a confused look. "In your room? While you''re almost naked?" "I can put some pants on if you''re too uncomfortable," Nathan said. "But I was doing some reading before going to bed. Ichtvar''s helpful with enchanting, but there are limits to what he knows due to not actually being around for advancements." "Sure," Keith said. "I won''t tell, and not just because you''d probably break my neck. What''s the project?" Nathan opened up his backpack and pulled out one of the guns. "Nathan?" Keith said. "Do the feds know you have all those weapons?" "Yes," Nathan answered, and Keith gave him a questioning look. "Do you really think I could have gotten all these in here without them noticing? I told them I was having my parents send me guns and bullets. Samtol protested, and I reminded him that we wielded deadly weapons for the game. I convinced him to build a firing range as well." "A firing range?" Keith asked. "They''ve mentioned that bullets don''t do much against some of the stronger monsters. That is, anything past the weak ones." "And that is exactly what I need help with," Nathan returned the gun to his pack and pulled out the three decks of cards he''d brought with him into the game. He pulled out one of the cards, then handed it to Keith. "Push your mana into it, then crush it." "Why?" Keith examined it. "Why does it say ''fire bullets''?" "Just do it," Nathan growled. "Alright, alright," Keith did as Nathan ordered, finding himself holding not the card, but the magazine. "It''s a gun magazine." "Check the bullets." Keith pulled out the top bullet and examined it, noticing the enchantments magically etched into it. "These are-" he began, eyes widening. "How did you learn those so fast?" "Ichtvar helped me," Nathan told him. "Unfortunately, while they work, they need more power on the magical side of them." "I don''t even recognize some of these enchantments," Keith said. "But-they work? How well did they work? Attempts at enchanting bullets have failed drastically in the past. I mean, they work, but it''s pathetically weak." "I used them to kill monsters in an Adept-difficulty Dungeon."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "Then they''re-wait," Keith groaned. "Nathan, we aren''t supposed to enter without permission." "Does DSIS make up the rules for this game?" Nathan asked. "Well, no, but-" "It''s run by a foreign force," Nathan said. "Who has shown they can force anyone in at any time. The government wants to make sure we''re okay, which is why they want us to get entries approved. I''m interested in getting stronger, and before you say ''but you could die'', I''d like to remind you that we could anyway. How many Amercians survived against how many are still here?" Keith sighed, knowing Nathan had a point. Before he could ask for more information on the enchanted bullets, a message appeared in their visions.
For clarity purposes, Mana is now called Mana Energy, and Mana is now called Mana Stat.
"What the heck?" Keith asked. "That seems¡­ random." "It''s not," Nathan said, and Keith realized the other senior looked pleased, even if he wasn''t smiling. "I tested a hunch, and it turned out true." "A hunch?" Keith asked. "That¡­ resulted in them changing what things are called? That seems a bit off." "It was a hunch," Nathan said. "Tear and tear. Two words with the same spelling, but different pronunciation. In the former''s case, a tear drips from your eyes as your cry. In the latter''s case, it is when you rip something. Rip and tear. They mean the same thing, but also different things." "Ah," Keith said. "They were using ''Mana'' for two different things. Rip and tear. But it was coming off as two tears because the pronunciation was the same." "Exactly," Nathan responded. "The fact that they stated it was for clarity purposes confirmed it to me. They don''t speak English as their native tongue." "Which led to that confusing error," Keith realized. "What made you think of that?" "It was one of many suspicions regarding the reason for it," Nathan answered. "Most of which were eliminated when they proved repeatedly through messages and tutorials that in most repeat things, clarity was intended. That only left for the stat and the energy form being called the same thing as a translation issue if they wanted clarity." "So them not speaking English as their native tongue is confirmed," Keith nodded. "Any other suspicions regarding the forces behind the game?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "However, there''s little in way of proving them. If I could find out some stuff, I might be able to narrow down said suspicions. Or it might not change them." "What''s the one you think is most probable?" "That depends," Nathan said. "Do you know if there are worlds other than ours?" "Yeah," Keith answered. "Opening a gate to them is incredibly difficult and costs a lot of mana and resources. There are only two others we''ve been able to access, as far as I-other worlds. You think the game is run by someone from another world?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "Possibly another dimension, since they seem able to make dimensions and have no qualm making many temporary ones. Since there are other worlds, then the suspicion they''re from another world is my best guess." Keith thought over that, then nodded. "I had a theory," he told Nathan. "That whoever was running it was trying to build up an army. The entire thing seems based on around making powerhouses and only the strong surviving. So far, no one''s found a Challenge after the Tutorial where there was a limit to how many survived or a necessary amount of deaths." "I was considering that as well," Nathan frowned. "But something in my run a few minutes ago made me wonder something." "What?" Keith asked. "What''s the reason behind needing powerhouses?" Nathan asked. "I''ve considered that as well," Keith answered. "We''re just being created, left for whatever our governments do or don''t do." "The Dungeons." Keith''s eyes widened. "I think I saw something about that," Keith said. "Something from one of the other players. A report on their Dungeon having a lot more space than they were able to actually access for the Dungeon, some sort of barrier preventing them from traveling too far away. In addition to that, Dungeons aren''t set to a specific session ¨C several different players from around the world have found themselves able to perform the same Dungeon, but most of them disappear after they''re completed, only able to be completed by one. What if¡­ what if the Dungeons aren''t created by the game?" "They already exist in reality," Nathan stated. "If that statement is true, then we are being used to clear out monsters and fix situations. My Dungeon had an ocean. With a horizon. Yet the Challenge itself only required me to be in the region-" "Sandcastle Kingdom?" Keith asked, and Nathan nodded. "It was a Scavenger, right?" "More like a series," Nathan shrugged. "A Quest, more like, though that''s not a Challenge-type. Only the initial portion of it was a Scavenger, where I had to locate something. I then had to put it somewhere, then protect it from monsters until there were none left. I let Ichtvar do that, there were too many for me alone to handle. "That said," Nathan told Keith. "These are all just theories. It''s also possible none of that is true, and all of this is just for amusement. If what you said about the Dungeons is true, it''s possible that Dungeons are a ''sponsored'' event from a viewer or something." "Yeah, that''s what I''d been thinking as an alternative," Keith admitted. "Most people have, too." "Back to the bullets," Nathan shifted Keith''s attention back to the items in the magician''s hands. "Can you help me with the enchanting?" "You, uh, already have them more powerful than others," Keith said. "And you want them even stronger?" "Yes." Keith sighed, then examined the bullet again. "You just used the inscribing pen, right?" He asked, and Nathan confirmed it. "Magic crystals might work, too. The pen is a type of enchantment, but it contains a chamber within it. Where you''d usually find ink, it''s empty. This creates the basic enchantment lines. You can power them up, making stronger enchantments, but using a rod formed from magic crystals. It''s how they''ve been trying it. The medium with which you''re writing and what you''re inscribing on also affects things. Let me see what I can dig up on the enchanted bullets they''ve made in the past." "Thanks," Nathan said. "Mind if I keep these?" Keith asked, and Nathan glared. "Not to share with others, Nathan, I promise. It''s so I can check a few things and make some comparisons before passing on information. It should help me know if something''s relevant to you or not." "Alright," Nathan yawned. "Thanks." Keith slipped the bullet and the magazine into a pocket, then wished Nathan a good night and left, opening the door just as Samantha went to knock on it. "Oh, hey, Keith," Samantha looked at Nathan, then back at Keith, giving a knowing smile. "Oh?" "Nothing like that," Nathan snorted as Keith hurried past her, Nathan''s girlfriend entering the room and closing the door. "No Katie?" "She''s probably coming over in a few minutes," Samantha told him. "So when are you going to stop making those poor boys uncomfortable on purpose?" "Never?" Nathan answered. "Though I might let up if they finally start dating. Are you okay?" "Yeah," she touched her stomach. "It''s not that far in yet, so-" "I meant with Katie sharing my bed pretty much every night." "Yes," Samantha snorted. "I''m perfectly fine with it¡­ though I do wish you had a bigger bed so we could share your warmth. What was Keith doing in here, if he wasn''t?" "Secret project," Nathan answered, moving the decks back into his backpack. "Wanted him to play cards, but he ran away." Samantha snorted, then climbed onto Nathan''s bed, noting his glare as he climbed into it, pulling her against him. "How long before Katie comes?" He asked. "She''s talking with her parents," Samantha answered. "So probably around twenty minutes or so, why?" "There are ways to pleasure you without working you too much," Nathan''s hands were already at work pulling her shirt off. 00042 "What are you doing?" Ichtvar looked over at Nathan, who was giving the phoenix an incredulous look. The phoenix had gotten bored watching Nathan repeat the enchantments for the fireball card that Ichtvar had taught him, and was, when Nathan finally realized the phoenix wasn''t hovering in front of him, watching, floating in a corner of the room. "Examining this corner." "With your talons?" "Yes." "You know I can tell when someone''s lying, right?" "I''m aware," Ichtvar responded, flying back to Nathan and landing on the table. "Last night, why did you not perform intercourse with Samantha? You had plenty of time, yet you stuck to other things rather than simply inserting and fucking." "While the risk is minimal," Nathan said. "I want to avoid any possible damage to my baby. That''s why I want to get these cards finished." Ichtvar debated telling Nathan that there was no risk as long as Nathan had the phoenix within him during sex. In the end, he decided to let the demigod do his own thing for the time being and ask something else. "How are fireballs going to help?" Ichtvar asked as he noticed Nathan had already begun weighing down the fifty cards he had created. "Will you need more cards soon?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "I already asked my father to send more." "So how are fireballs going to help?" As Nathan opened his mouth to answer, someone knocked on the door. He growled in frustration, then walked over to the door, which had a large partition resting next to it and in front of it, blocking off the view of the room. "What?" He asked, finding Samantha on the other side. "Oh. Samantha. Hi." "You seem frustrated?" "No one''s supposed to bother me when I''m in here," he said. "There''s a man named Gabriel Torzin here," she said, noting Nathan''s amused look at the name. "Who says he''s your martial arts instructor, and that expression says you knew he was coming." "I invited him," Nathan told her. "They have some good teachers, but Master Torzin is pretty good. Give me a minute to grab my stuff. Have you met him yet?" "No," she answered. "He''s currently in the gym, he apparently has clearance to be here. I came to fetch you." "Wait here," Nathan told her, then returned to the table. Icthvar flew back into Nathan, and the senior pulled on his shirt, buttoned it up, then pulled on his tie and fixed it. After pulling on his blazer, Nathan grabbed his backpack and left the room, making sure to lock it behind them as they left. On their way to the gym, the duo were joined by Keith, who was on his way to practice some martial arts, having missed training with Nathan that morning. The trio entered the gym, finding a man who appeared around their age standing on the mats, sparring with Michael, who was soaked in sweat and breathing heavily. The man was unfamiliar to Keith and Samantha, though Nathan recognized the black-haired, green-eyed ''teen'' as the person who he hired to train him after quitting at the dojo. Nathan wasn''t sure how old Master Torzin was, just that he was much older than he appeared and knew a wide variety of martial arts. He was the only person Nathan had ever lost against in a duel, too, his mentor always that much faster or stronger. With his magic sight always active, Nathan was able to immediately notice the pure-white magic of his mentor. A demigod, just like him. That might explain why he hasn''t seemed to age these last four years. Master Torzin swept Michael''s feet out from under him, pinning him to the mats with his gaze fixed on the trio, who were impressed by his ability to keep up with Michael, despite the latter''s System-enhanced speed and strength. The instructors so far had them practicing moves on each other, not on the instructors. "What''s that interested look for," Nathan asked as he approached the mats. "I wasn''t aware there were three of you," Master Torzin stood, walking over to them. "Three of me?" "No," Master Torzin shook his head. "I meant¡­ on the phone, you said you wanted an instructor who could actually push your skills and teach you new things." "Correct." "Well, let''s not get into that," Master Torzin said. "At least, not right now. One crafted soul is interesting enough, but before me are three." The three of them and Michael gave Master Torzin befuddled looks, and he gestured for them to sit on the mats. They removed their shoes and sat on the mats, Master Torzin sitting across from them. "Before we start," he looked at Nathan. "I assume, considering your magic is awakened, that you know what I am?" "A demigod," Nathan nodded. "Just like you," Master Torzin said. "However, we are not brothers, as my mother and your father are not relatives. We aren''t related in any way, actually. Not unless you really want to look through the human genealogy. There might be me somewhere far, far back in your bloodline. A little bit of me is probably in everyone." "How old are you?" Keith asked. "Ancient," Master Torzin answered. "I may look like a normal human, but my genetics predate Earth''s homo sapiens. I was around more than three hundred thousand years ago. However, due to my demigod status, I was taller and different from the rest. It''s possible that demigods like me are the reason that some of the human evolutions occurred. "But that''s not the point," Master Torzin said. "I noticed you when you were fourteen, Nathan, and you happened to be looking for a martial arts instructor. I could tell you were a demigod, and I have trained every demigod that has come after me, many of whom have had their names forgotten to history. "Before that, however," Master Torzin continued. "I noticed something odd about your soul." "So they actually exist?" Michael asked. "Yes," came the response. "And the same oddity in Nathan''s soul is in the soul of these other two young adults." "Samantha and Keith," Nathan said. "What oddities? Is it bad? Will it affect the baby?" "No," Master Torzin answered. "You mentioned crafted souls," Keith said. "Does that mean we''re artificial people?" "You are just as genuine as all of us," Master Torzin responded. "In fact, you are even more genuine." "How so?" Nathan asked. "And how does that affect our souls?" "There is a thing called the Well of Souls," Master Torzin began. "And it predates our very universe." The four seniors listened as the ancient demigod began his explanation. No one knew how the Well of Souls came to be, as even the gods themselves took a long time to notice its existence. It was outside of the universe and was the sole source of all souls that existed, even theirs.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. From what they could tell, the soul had three compartments within it. One for the souls that were being sent into the universe anytime a new life was born, one where the souls of the deceased would enter, and one that was empty, as far as they could tell. When the Well of Souls ran out of souls in the one sending them into the universe, something Master Torzin informed them only happened less than a decade prior, it began to produce new souls. It was an automatic generation, and all souls were identical. "So it didn''t start recycling the old souls?" Keith asked. "The ones that had already been used?" "Correct," Master Torzin answered. "As far as we can tell, those are stored. It''s possible that they won''t be used again until the next universe after ours, if such a thing exists. No one really knows much about it." He then explained that all souls that came from the Well of Souls, both from the compartment and generated, were identical. They only changed once they entered a creature of some sort, shifting to match that creature''s way. When they returned to the Well of Souls, they were completely stripped of all memories and knowledge and power, returning them to a blank slate. "So in the end," Michael said. "We''ll all be the same? It doesn''t matter?" "As far as can be determined," Master Torzin nodded. "What about necromancers?" Keith asked. "They''ve communed with spirits and ghosts of people. Are those souls? Or are they something else?" "They''re souls," Master Torzin responded. "There are several realms to the universe, with ours made up of many dimensions. We exist in the mortal realm. The souls of the dead either go straight to the Well of Souls or to the realm of the deceased, where they linger for awhile until they move on to the Well of Souls. We''re in a dimension where the souls to go the realm of the deceased." "Purgatory," Nathan said. "So the gods have a realm?" "Correct," Master Torzin answered. "And they''re also the only beings who can move between the realms. However, that''s a limited thing because of the amount of power involved and the chaos it can cause. Only a rare few gods have that honor." "Like my father and your mother," Nathan said. "Correct," Master Torzin nodded. "But even a god can die, and when they do, even their souls return to the Well of Souls, stripped of all things that make it different from other souls." "So what''s a crafted soul?" Nathan asked. "You said it makes us more genuine than the ones the Well of Souls generates." "Because," Master Torzin nodded again. "A crafted soul is one the Well of Souls intentionally created and put into someone, rather than letting a standard soul out. There are several interesting things with crafted souls. I''ve met a few, and they essentially confirm a few things that are still suspicions." A crafted soul was a soul designed for a purpose. With the Well of Soul''s shaping, they had tendencies towards certain things. Keith''s soul had an affinity for technology and magic, making him beyond a genius with them, especially where enchanting was concerned. Samantha''s soul was crafted to have an affinity for combat. Nathan''s soul was a mix of those two, with an affinity for both magic and might, though lacking in the programming affinity. It had a leaning towards force magic and enchanting on the magical side of things, but all types of weapons seemed to be the soul''s type. In addition to that, Nathan''s soul had several other things woven into its crafting. He had an easy time adjusting to killing things, making it so that he would never feel guilty or bad about killing someone. A side-effect of that made him a bit colder and more ruthless in some respects, especially as he also had a lack of issue with hurting others, another part of his crafting. Then there was a strong protectiveness woven into him. The moment Nathan claimed someone or something as his, it was woe unto those who dared to harm them or steal it. "That explains why he has more care for the baby than me," Samantha said. "I''m his girlfriend, but our baby was conceived by his own seed." "Correct," Master Torzin nodded. "There are some other things, but those are the strongest ones. The three of you were crafted by the Well of Souls for a purpose, and the timing of it¡­" "What do you mean?" Samantha asked. "The game," Nathan frowned. "We were born in time for us to be initiated into the game." "But why?" Michael asked. "The Well of Souls wanted you to be in the game? Why? That suggests it knew it was going to happen and that you three were put into it. Are the gods doing this?" "No," Master Torzin shook his head, noticing Nathan entering deep into thought. "Though I think Nathan''s formulating an idea. Anyway, the gods can''t do such a thing, they are, well, let''s just say they can''t do such a thing. It''s a complicated mess that you''ll only have to worry about if you ever ascend to godhood. Nathan?" "What?" Nathan looked at his instructor. "What were you thinking?" "The Well of Souls," Nathan said. "It wasn''t sure if I''d enter the game or not. That''s why it added in the protectiveness." "I don''t see what that has to do with anything," Michael told him. "Because," Nathan''s expression darkened. "As soon as I found out I was going to be a father, I decided to figure out how to kill the fuckers who made this game and destroy whatever power was behind it before my son was ever old enough to enter it. I don''t like that I''m being guided because mysoul was forged, but it''s clear the Well of Souls doesn''t want the game to exist. And I am going to make sure my son doesn''t enter the game, no matter what it takes to put an end to the horror that it is." The other seniors stared at Nathan, though Keith had already figured that part out. The Well of Souls designed Nathan specifically to destroy the game. A warrior who could fight in an almost inhuman way with an affinity for magic? If the Well of Souls could decide to do that, then could it not decide who the parents were? It chose Nathan specifically because of the godly father he would have. That would make him stronger and faster naturally, and grant him immense mana reserves and healing speed. "But why us?" Samantha asked. "Backup," Keith answered, and Samantha and Michael looked at him. "We were crafted as supporters for Nathan. The three of us were born within a month of each other, in the same city, and we both bear some of the soul traits that he does. The two of us were meant to be his partners in the quest." "But how would the Well of Souls have known that Nathan would not want his kid to be in the game?" Michael asked. "I mean, that''s a given, but this is operating under the assumption that Nathan would have found out about the game, had a kid, and decided to destroy it on the chance that his son might be forced into it." "Because," Master Torzin cleared his throat. "When the game reaches a world, at least based on how it''s acted in other dimensions, within fifteen of the world''s years of the first incident, nearly the entire population is forced to undergo it at adulthood for their world. For Earth, that''s eighteen. It is a guarantee that in fifteen years, every single person who reaches eighteen will be forced to go through the game. It starts off with groupings, but later, a ''standard'' facility for the Tutorial appears, and it doesn''t matter how far apart people are, several instances of it happening a day to suck in everyone on their adulthood birthdays." Which meant that three years before Nathan''s son was an adult, it would be obvious he''d be forced to go through it. And with the protectiveness woven into his very soul, that would guarantee that Nathan, magical and combat prodigy by soul, would seek to destroy the game to prevent his son from entering it, even knowing he was being manipulated by the Well of Souls to do his bidding. "Several questions," Nathan said. "First one: how would the Well of Soul have known it was going to happen in time for me to figure out how to destroy this?" "I don''t know that," Master Torzin answered. "I assume it has some way. It''s the first time I''ve ever heard of an account of the Well of Souls taking an interest in things, so something must have happened for it to notice and want the destruction of the game." "Second," Nathan said. "You mentioned other dimensions have been through this. You are able to travel into other dimensions?" "If you live long enough," Master Torzin said. "You may one day possess enough power to use the pathways of the universe as well. Opening a gateway into them takes roughly six times as much mana as you currently possess, if my assessment is correct. Traveling between worlds in a dimension is much easier, regardless of the distance. You actually possess enough mana to pass through the entire dimension, to the furthest planet from us. The only thing you''re lacking is magical power and training. And the knowledge of how." "Is this the first instance of the game in our dimension?" "That I''m aware of," Master Torzin nodded. "Are there clues in other dimensions?" "None I have found," Master Torzin responded. "The worlds where the game arrives become focused on training people to survive it. Projectile weapons are pointless as they run out of ammo quickly, so everyone focuses on learning magic and more melee combat. While enchanted weapons are useful, the game''s weapons, upgraded several times over, seem to always outweigh weapons from outside of the game. Life becomes about being able to survive the game. They tend to become dark worlds, as it often results in the deaths of even those who produce goods ¨C including food. "People have searched for thousands, possibly millions of years, and found no clues. I''m not sure how you''re supposed to, but the Well of Souls is confident that you''ll destroy it, I''m sure. It''s possible it''s even counting on your protectiveness to drive a righteous fury into you if your son entered the game or was killed by it." "What kind of magic do you know?" "My mother," Master Torzin stood, the four seniors standing as well. "Is a goddess of combat. I specialize in combat magics on that side, so I cannot help you with enchanting, though I can help you with force magics." "I already have a teacher for that," Nathan said. "A phoenix named Ichtvar, my familiar." Master Torzin gave him an amused look. "I take it you know him," Nathan said. "Do you know how old he is?" "Thirty thousand or so," Master Torzin answered. "Definitely younger than the two hundred millions he told me," Nathan muttered, and Master Torzin exploded into laughter. "He still does that?" Master Torzin said after calming down. "No, he''s only around thirty thousand years old. I''d know, considering I was there when he hatched." "What kind of familiar do you have?" Nathan asked. "Or familiars, if you''re that powerful." "Demigods don''t actually need familiars," Master Torzin responded. "As our bodies are descended of gods, we don''t have the mortal limitations on what we can handle unaided. I had one when I was younger, though, but currently do not. Speaking of him, be forewarned that you''ll likely find yourself approached by a unicorn in the next few years. There''s one that goes around and temporarily contracts itself to every demigod." "The same one who contracted with Merlin?" Nathan asked. "The one and the same," Master Torzin snorted, then looked as if he was going to say something before deciding against it. "So do expect that. He''s¡­ an odd one. Most ancient magical creatures are." "Alright," Nathan said. "What are your thoughts on taming a dragon?" 00043 "Nathan!" Samantha exclaimed. "We told you, no attempting to contract with that dragon! If it gets pissed because-" "You mean the one in the Appalachians?" Master Torzin asked, and the seniors looked back to him. "Yeah," Nathan responded. "Though I wasn''t considering making him my familiar. Not yet, anyway. I''m still getting over the headache from contracted Ichtvar. But a being as old and powerful as you, you might have some idea of something that can be used to lessen how much he demands." "Not really," Master Torzin shrugged. "I''m the one who worked out the current arrangement. Twenty magical items are crafted for him each month, with a delivery every few days. It takes a hundred enchanters, a lot of resources, a permanent gate to a ''dead'' world to harvest a few resources before the protective magics are too weak to resist the toxins in the air, and a lot of mana." "At least we know how he got clearance," Keith whispered to Nathan. "Whispering isn''t that effective," Master Torzin said. "Considering all five of us are awakened. On the topic of Endariv, the dragon over there, I''d say that Ichtvar might be able to negotiate him down a little on the resources front. It''s costing the U.S. quite a lot of money, and the only reason it''s worked as long as it has is because a few other nations are interested in not wanting a fifteen-century-old dragon going on a rampage." "Ichtvar?" Nathan asked. "What does he have to do with the dragon?" "Ichtvar is a sort of father to him," Master Torzin explained. "His flames were the ones that warmed the dragon''s egg. He was there at Endariv''s birth. So Ichtvar might be able to lower the demand. Endariv is mostly interested in magical items." Nathan thought for a few minutes, feeling Keith nudging him and giving him a knowing look. The senior was pretty sure that his martial arts instructor had more in mind than just the negotiation, but there was a possibility that Nathan and Ichtvar might be able to. If the System couldn''t register and replicate his cards yet, then it was likely the dragon hadn''t seen an enchantment like that. If the dragon was doing it out of curiosity to see what the ''mortals'' would make, then Nathan''s cards might prove useful, but only the ones that could be used multiple times unless it was something special. "Alright," Nathan removed his blazer. "Though I''ll need to approach with something decent as well, in case Ichtvar fails. Let''s spar, sir." "Done with all the talking?" Master Torzin asked. "Yes," Nathan handed his blazer to Samantha, then removed his tie and shirt, handing those to her as well. The other seniors stepped off the mats to watch as Master Torzin and Nathan bowed to each other. Then, the two began sparring, and Nathan quickly noticed that the other demigod was matching his speed and strength, taking every blow, so he began easing up on holding back. Eventually, the pair were moving at Nathan''s quickest speed. To the agents that had entered the gym, the pair were only visible from time to time, their strikes against each other resounding out with loud cracks and echoes from the force and speed. The sound was the source of the agents, who came to investigate the sudden thundercracks sounding out from the gym. After nearly an hour of sparring, Nathan collapsed onto the mats, having been thrown there by his master, who extended a hand and helped the senior to his feet. "How did you keep up with me?" Nathan asked. "I went past what Michael was doing and stopped holding back." "I can match or overcome my opponents," Master Torzin explained. "In strength and speed, and I can resist any attack thrown at me. It''s a combination of power from my mother and self-enhancement magics. If I wanted to, I could throw down with most any mortal foe, including ones with twice your strength and speed." "Dragons?" "No," Master Torzin shook his head. "Unfortunately, Endariv is much too powerful for me. If he were a thousand years younger, I could likely take him. As it is, even my quickest speed would probably be slow to him and my strongest punch unnoticeable against his scales or hide." "Damn," Keith whistled as Nathan pulled the rest of his outfit back on. "Can we spar magically? My mana''s about the same as Nathan, though I have more magical power than him, and it''s not every day I can actually spar." "Sure," Master Torzin said. "Let me perform an enchantment real fast." "I thought you said you couldn''t help Nathan with enchanting because you weren''t too good at it?" Samantha asked. "To be clear," Master Torzin said. "I learned this enchantment specifically as a barrier enchantment. It''s a different type of enchantment that protects the environment from magical damage. I learned it so that I could train others without worry. I already have a similar one running in this room, which is why Nathan and I sparring didn''t affect the room." "I''m going to go shower," Nathan told Master Torzin. "Thank you for coming." "You''re welcome," Master Torzin said. "I still expect you to be training with me twice a week. No matter how much you know, I''m three hundred thousand years old, have been in seven dimensions, and on more than two hundred worlds. I know more combat things than you will probably learn in the next century." Nathan nodded, then started to leave. "And once they get the forge installed, you''re doing more metalworking with me." Nathan groaned, then grabbed Samantha''s hand pulled her along. "Metalworking?" She asked after they had left the room. "Master Torzin wants me to work jewelry and stuff," Nathan sighed. "Doing fine crafting. Now that I know about this crafted portion of my soul, I think it''s because of that. From my understanding, most artifacts are some form of jewelry or other metal item." They reached Nathan''s room, and he grabbed a change of clothes, then Samantha grabbed a change from hers, and they made their way to the showers, sharing a showerhead.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Oooh," Samantha moaned as Nathan washed her. "How are you even resisting? I know you''ve got to be as sensitive to touch as I am, since you''re awakened." "With great difficulty," he answered, causing her to laugh. "I have a gift arriving for you in the next few days, by the way." "What kind of gift?" "Keith told me," he responded. "About a company that creates magic dildos. It was apparently started by a pregnant woman who wasn''t able to exert herself very much during the pregnancy due to health issues." "And these dildos do all the work for me?" She asked. "Yes," Nathan nodded. "No exertion on your part, just insert and let it do the work and bring you to orgasm." "And¡­ you ordered one?" "They''re custom-made," Nathan informed her. "Molded to the desired dick, as long as the owner approved." "Approved?" She asked. "Wait, you molded your dick for a dildo for me?" "I had William do it, too, so you had a smaller option." "That''s not-never mind!" Samantha laughed. "What happens after it''s made? To the mold, I mean?" "It''s destroyed unless permission is given to keep it." "And any copies of it?" "The government apparently regulates this," Nathan told her, and she gave him an incredulous look. "Yeah, surprised me, too. Something about a wizard getting pissed when he found out that an employee was selling dildos made using his mold. I didn''t pay attention when Keith was telling it to me. Now shut up and let me finish washing you, you keep moving around." Samantha turned back around so Nathan could finish washing her legs and ass, and after he finished, he began cleaning himself. They rinsed off and dried, then dressed, took care of their dirty clothes, and rejoined the others in the gym. The sparring match between Keith and Master Torzin was over, and Master Torzin was teaching Michael, William, and Keith a few martial arts moves. When he finished, three teens left for the showers, and Nathan gave Samantha a kiss on her check. "Can you give us some privacy?" He asked. "Do I need to be jealous?" "Only of Katie," he told her, gently pushing her off the bleachers. "I just want to talk to him about some stuff." She nodded and left, and Nathan waited for Master Torzin to sit beside him. "I''ve erected a privacy barrier," he informed Nathan, who raised an eyebrow. "It''s a form of wind spell, so unless your psychic friend utilizes his power, no one will overhear us. What did you wish to discuss?" "The things crafted souls in the past have essentially confirmed." "That," Master Torzin said. "You remember the theory that the souls are stored for the next iteration of the universe?" Nathan nodded. "The crafted souls is the reason behind that theory," Master Torzin explained. "Seeing the three of you is what pretty much confirmed it to me. Those of us who know about crafted souls noticed that there were two types of ''shaping'' in the souls. The first was the kind I described about the three of you: where it''s something the Well of Souls shaped during the crafting of your souls." "And the second?" Nathan asked. "Tendency towards certain things," Master Torzin answered. "Or rather, some affinity for certain types. You, Samantha, and Keith don''t have those markers, but every other crafted soul we''ve seen have. A sort of imprint, if you will, one that wasn''t purged from the soul." "An imprint?" Nathan asked. "What kind of imprint?" "For a certain sex or type of being," Master Torzin responded. "Rather than simply having the person or creature with the soul having an affinity for certain things, the imprints meant their souls were more compatible with certain types of beings. Being a male or female, sapient or monstrous, affinities for certain types of magics beyond just what the soul''s shaping made ¨C stuff like that." "And you believe those come from the past?" Nathan asked. "Yes," Master Torzin nodded. "From their past lives, in past universes. It could be that souls crafted by the Well of Souls take on some of the traits of the first incarnation they live, or that they''re imprinted over many incarnations, taking on the repeated traits as their affinities. Unfortunately, without any concrete knowledge, this is all but a theory." "But a decent one," Nathan nodded. "If the Well of Souls ran out of souls to send into our universe and needed to generate new ones, does that mean our universe has had more beings with souls born than any past universe, if past ones did exist?" "That''s the theory," Master Torzin told him. "So, Nathan ¨C was there anything else you wished to discuss?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "Could you write down everything you know about enchanting? Without looking stuff up or getting answers from others?" "I already told you-" "I''m aware," Nathan said. "I just want to see what you have. You mentioned you knew some, just that it''s not something you paid attention to." "I will," Master Torzin said. "And I expect you to train with me tomorrow." "I''ll be here at five," Nathan told him. "As usual. If you aren''t here, then my training with you won''t occur." Nathan stood and left the gym, making his way to Keith''s room, where he waited until the magician arrived. "Hey," Keith said. "Lurking?" "Can you write down everything you know regarding enchanting?" Nathan asked. "I already gave you-" "The book," Nathan nodded. "But I want to know what you know. The runes, the formations, the theories ¨C all of it. But only what you know, not what others do. And can you have your lady friend do the same?" "Sure?" Keith responded. "But why?" "Sometimes," Nathan said. "Things can be missed when you only have one or two viewpoints." "And you think," Keith said. "You might discover something new if you have several peoples'' knowledge and wordings combined." "Correct," Nathan said. "Now, you said in the game that you were attempting to create a gate to another world, but from the sounds of things, some have been made before." Keith sighed at Nathan''s comment, aware his classmate wouldn''t let up until he found out the full extent of the project. "My friend and I," he told Nathan. "Were trying to make a gate to another world ¨C one that was less-costly to create. However, that wasn''t the main project we were collaborating on. We were working on two projects, and the other one was more important." "What was it?" Nathan asked. "A bomb," Keith answered, and Nathan raised an eyebrow. "To kill the dragon in the Appalachians. I told you a nuke wouldn''t even bother it, right?" "Yeah." "We were trying to create the magical equivalent of a nuke," Keith told Nathan. "Something powerful enough to overcome a dragon''s power, shields, and natural resistances. We''d leave a massive crater in the mountains, but we''d also no longer have to deal with the dragon." "Can I have those notes, too?" Nathan asked. "Sure," Keith said, then frowned. "You''re not planning on tricking the dragon into thinking the large, fancy enchanted rock is a bomb, are you?" "No," Nathan snorted. "But seeing it might help me with more cards." If he could enchant a card to act as a bomb, either triggered remotely, after a set amount of time, or under pressure, then it might help in some Survival Challenges or in a scenario where he''s under attack from a lot of monsters at once. Keith''s notes would give him some idea of what was needed for it. Bombs were a new concept to Ichtvar, who was apparently very out-of-touch with certain aspects of humanity. He thought they were just fireballs with a boom. "Alright," Keith said. "I''ll see if I can get them here without issue. Probably won''t be, since they-" "And speaking of your buddy-buddy relationship with Samtol-" "We''re not buddy-buddy," Keith snorted. "He just wants me to help with a few things, and they''ll overlook me hacking them." "See if he can get me the research and notes of enchanters," Nathan said. "From the enchanters themselves. And if I can''t get that restricted knowledge, including the stuff that started an Ice Age." "You''re not planning on starting an Ice Age, are you?" Keith asked. "No," Nathan answered. "But it might help me with other projects." "I''ll see if he will," Keith sighed. "Good," Nathan said. "See to it that you do." 00044 "Nathan," Agent Samtol said as the senior approached him. "I know you want that research information, but pestering me for it isn''t going to make my superiors think you should have it." "That''s not why I''m here," Nathan snorted. "Nice assumption, though." It had only been two days since Nathan had asked Keith to make the arrangements, so he wasn''t expecting it to have happened already. "Well, then what are you wanting?" The agent asked. "We''re pretty busy right now." There had been two more games in the U.S., one in Canada, three in China, one in Japan, one in Russia, one in Britain, one in Scottland, and one in Spain in the past two days, and people were starting to panic. "You do realize it''s because summer vacation''s about to be here, don''t you?" Nathan asked. "We assumed," the agent told him. "As there wouldn''t be that many schools with enough eighteen-year-olds around. What were you wanting?" "I intend on taking my group into a pair of Survival Challenges," Nathan informed him. "Each lasting around a hundred days." "No," the agent immediately rejected it. "Absolutely not, especially with Samantha being pregnant." "Offense intended, you aren''t my boss, and you don''t control what I do in the game," Nathan stated. "And it''s precisely because Samantha''s pregnant. She''s what, twenty or so days pregnant? And a pregnancy lasts around two hundred and seventy, two hundred and eighty days? Two one hundred and ten-day Survival Challenges will put her at around two hundred and forty or two hundred and fifty days. Eight months. "We will go on Beginner," Nathan stated. "Based on what I have found from your records from the students here and in other nations, Survival Challenges longer than ten days are in a school and any longer than thirty can have optional Challenges within them, but that''s by choice, and players aren''t required to participate even if we choose the option to have optional Challenges. "What I want," Nathan glared as the agent attempted to speak. "Is to know what items we will need to bring for Samantha. According to the records, extended Survival Challenges supply enough food for us to last, so her hunger shouldn''t be an issue." "I''m still rejecting it," Agent Samtol told Nathan. "It''s too dangerous, and-" "And what?" Nathan asked. "Can you stop us from entering? Can you stop us from choosing whatever we wish? You said it yourself ¨C you aren''t here to control us, you''re here to help us. The important people have already agreed to this." "Nathan-" "Do you have the ability to control me?" Nathan asked. "You can appoint yourself authority all you want, Agent, but in the end, that means nothing against someone with more power than you. That''s why you appease the greater creatures of the world rather than try to control them. And Master Torzin''s only interest right now is in training me, due to my existence as a demigod. The only person here who could control me won''t stop me from doing this, and he couldn''t, anyway, unless he wanted to risk me dying. So we''re doing it. Now, I need to know what I need that I haven''t already got." Agent Samtol sighed, then led Nathan to the medical wing and talked with the doctor about it. The doctor was resistant, but Nathan stated that they would do it whether or not permission was given. After that, the doctor listed off the things he could think of, and Nathan nodded. He had already performed research and found most of that, he just wanted to speak to an actual person about it. "Who all is going?" Agent Samtol asked as Nathan made his way to one of the classrooms after speaking with the doctor. "Myself, Keith, William, Michael, Mitchell, Elise, and Samantha." "No Kendra?" "The slut can keep to herself," Nathan grunted. "From what I heard, Michael and you-" "Michael is now exclusive to Elise," Nathan said. "And I actually cared about the person and their wants." "What about Katie?" "I thought you didn''t want us to go?" "As you said," the agent sighed. "We can''t actually stop you, it would be too costly for us to even try, and since you can enter with just a thought, we''d have to put you in a coma or stasis, which would result in you ending up in the required Challenge without much additional training. When are you leaving?" "In a minute," Nathan entered the classroom they had been walking to, where the other six were waiting, backpacks on the table. "And agent? Give me a week, maybe two. Three at the most." "For what?" The agent asked. "To be ready to negotiate with Endariv to lower his demands." "That''s not going to happen." "Speak with Master Torzin on that," Nathan said. "He''s the one who suggested it. My familiar apparently warmed Endariv''s egg and has some leverage." "And you''d rather go in a few weeks than now?" The agent asked. "Well," Samantha said as Nathan began equipping his guns from the table where they were resting. "It''ll give him more time to get stronger, even if that won''t help him much beyond possibly running away. Supposedly, he has a secret project that will help." "I see," Agent Samtol said. "Does this have anything to do with the enchanting notes you want?" "Yes," Nathan responded. "Keith has already supplied me on the research and notes for his failed attempt at making a magical bomb. I believe that if the two of us work together with Ichtvar, we may actually succeed in it."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Nathan pulled up the Team Entry menu while ignoring the agent''s horrified stare, and he sent the invites to the rest of his crew. They all accepted, then Nathan saluted to the agent before he initiated the entry, the seven teens appearing in the fields. "So can we see Ichtvar?" Keith asked as they began removing their packs. Nathan bared his torso and allowed Ichtvar out, the rest of his group looking at the creature with awe. As they did that, Nathan began opening up their packs and pulling out the decks of cards he slipped into them. The team was aware he had done that, though only Keith knew what the cards were for. "Are you going to tell them?" Keith asked as Nathan sat on the grass and began going through the cards. "Yeah," Nathan answered. "Guys, get over here." They gathered around him and sat, and Nathan showed them the cards. "Wait," Samantha said. "This is your secret project?" "Part of it," Nathan answered. "Having Ichtvar as a mentor helped me advance fast, though we''re still improving these. This," he tapped a fireball card. "Will create a fireball around a second after you send enough mana into it. Do that and throw the card, and you''re throwing a fireball without casting the spell." "It''s based on some ancient magical traps," Ichtvar informed the group, landing beside Nathan. "It wasn''t uncommon for enchanters to line walls with enchanted formations. If certain tiles were stepped on, it would connect mana crystals to the formation from behind the wall, triggering the spell. There''s more to it than that, but that''s the basics of it. I altered the formation to work a little differently. The medium is new to me, but the effect is almost the same." "Each of you," Nathan set a deck in front of each of the other six. "Will take one deck. After some testing, I determined that the System''s rule about containers with objects cannot enter unless they''re all the same works slightly different for these. It counts them as a deck of enchanted cards, as long as the box is closed." "However," Keith added. "It also takes up an entire slot by itself, which means that if you want to have two of them, you lose out on two slots, as they don''t stack." "In addition," Nathan added. "This is a new thing. It was added in today." "What?" Elise asked. "What do you mean, it was added in today?" "A theory Nathan and I had," Keith responded. "Decks of regular playing cards functioned just fine. However, a deck of enchanted cards didn''t. We thought that odd, since a deck of playing cards with fifty-two cards had fifty-two different cards. The System registered them as something separate." "So Keith and I thought," Nathan continued. "That maybe it was manually added into the game for decks of playing cards to work ¨C or any form of deck of cards. However, because these were enchanted cards, that read didn''t work, as they''re new to the System." "Something that Nathan discovered," Keith said. "Last time he was in here. Apparently, there''s a bonus for completing an Adept-Rank Dungeon by yourself, and that includes recreating anything you used that you brought into the Dungeon." "It didn''t recreate my cards," Nathan told the others. "And compensated me for not being able to with Points, Stat Points, and Skill Points with a message letting me know that they were unfamiliar." "But why," Michael said. "Would that make you think something could be added in? Just having regular cards being able to wouldn''t be a sign of it." "Because it wasn''t possible until today," Nathan gave him a look that called him an idiot. "And since you''ll be seeing it, there''s a Skill called Card Box. Three different types of cards with up to five per stack per Level of the Skill. I suspect it''s new as well, added in for the enchanted cards. And since the decks of enchanted cards were only added in today, that means they did something to allow it to happen, since it wasn''t possible before. That is obvious, even without the other information supporting it. "Now," he glared at Michael, who had begun to open his mouth. "If you don''t mind, let''s get on with this. Review the cards in your decks. There are fifty-four of them, with several repeats. Use them only in an emergency, should you actually leave the safe zones and need it. When we finish here, any unused ones are returned to me. These are only a temporary granting to you." As the others checked their cards, Nathan ran through his inventory of cards and ammo. Most of his ammo were stored in the cards, and he also had much of what he would probably need for Samantha in them as well. "Why do you have so many storage cards?" Samantha asked, and the other seniors looked over. "Yours look different than ours." "They show what''s in them," Nathan answered. "Sort of. A runic symbol represents it. This one''s a stethoscope." "Why do you have a stethoscope?" She asked. "So I can hear my baby once he''s a bit further along," Nathan asked as Keith laughed. "You actually did get one!" "Yeah," Nathan glared at the enchanter. "I told you I would. I also have towels and gallons of water." "And food?" "Some," he nodded. "Nothing fresh, as those don''t preserve. However, according to past reports and some of the other survivors at the school, extended Survival Challenges often have ''food drops'' that happen on their own. The game, while cruel, does also want to help us at times. Since you''re pregnant, it''s possible we''ll end up with fresh food." "And if we don''t?" "We can buy certain fresh items from the Points Shop," he responded. "Any questions on the cards." "Throwing stars?" Elise asked, holding up one of those cards. "The card is one," Nathan nodded. "But only if you push mana into it." "And how do the storage cards work?" Michael asked. "Put some mana into it," Nathan answered. "Then push the item into it. When you want to retrieve it, push mana into it again. See the one, two, and three? Ichtvar and I spent a few hours coming up with that enchantment. The cards currently have three uses. Bigger items can use up two or three full uses. That notes how many times you can put an item in. It can also only store a single item at a time." "And your ammo ones?" Michael touched one of Nathan''s cards. "These function differently," Nathan said. "And the ammo is a container. Unlike the System''s Item Box, the cards aren''t that picky." "Stun?" Elise asked. "A simplified version of the stun spell," Keith rubbed the back of his neck. "It works, though we don''t know how many monsters it''ll work on, since Nathan''s knuckles have a modification for stun that fails on some monsters, even though it should work on all. Just trigger the card and hit a monster with it, and if it works, it works." "He tested it on you, didn''t he?" Samantha asked. "He asked first," Keith nodded. "Anything else?" Nathan asked, and the team shook their heads. "Very well, then. Let''s pack things up. Make any last-minute purchases. Once everyone''s ready, I''m triggering the Challenge." As they packed their things up, Nathan set up the Challenge.
Challenge: Survival
Difficulty: Beginner
Length: 110 days
Recommended Level: 125
Reward: 500 Points, +50 Stat Points, +5 to all stats
Optional Challenges are enabled. Completing them may award additional Points, Stat Points and Skill Points. They will be performed in the same instance as the regular Challenge, and only those who chose to participate at the start may participate.
Enter Return
"Are you ready?" Nathan asked once everyone was packed up, Ichtvar back within him, and his torso covered once more. The others confirmed it, so Nathan began the Challenge, then waited for the rest of his team to receive the notice and accept entry. As soon as they did, the seven of them found themselves in a new, yet slightly-familiar environment. 00045 Nathan assessed his surroundings. They were in a cafeteria with the kitchen open to it, separated only by the food bars. The space itself was not that large, with only twenty tables, each with three chairs on either side of each half and one on each end. There were several trashcans resting beside pillars, with tray-holders on their tops. Napkin dispensers were set up as well, located at both the food bars and on each trashcan. From the reports, that was a standard appearance for the school they appeared in for extended Survival Challenges. The showers, restrooms, and laundry room were all separated, though much like the cafeteria they were in, no monsters would appear or enter them. "Things will be relatively easy here at the start," Nathan said before reading the messages. "It will only be later that things grow tougher. Keith, you and I will keep our familiars out, everyone here has already seen them." Keith nodded, and the two let their familiars out, then pulled their shirts back on, Nathan fixing his tie and blazer back on as well. "Okay, I have to ask," Michael looked at Nathan. "Even though we don''t have a uniform anymore, you still wear a dress shirt, tie, slacks, and blazer?" "That''s just his style," Samantha nodded as the familiars moved off to another area, their masters noticing that they seemed to be communicating. "He''s worn clothes like that since before we were at the school. He looks pretty handsome in a sweater vest, too. Damn adorable when we were younger." "Right," Nathan cleared his throat. "According to the messages, we''ll receive a ''food drop'' every fifth day, and it will alert us when the food drop appears, and where. Keith, Ichtvar isn''t responding, but does your familiar know him?" "Apparently," Keith snorted. "Though he''s refusing to answer me on that, too. You were saying?" "Keith and I will seek those out," Nathan said. "Elise and Michael, you two are the weakest ones here, so you''ll stay behind with William to protect Samantha." "I can still fight," Samantha told Nathan. "For now," he said. "But what about in two or three weeks? Or months? You can come back and get Levels after you give birth to our boy. So don''t worry about fighting. Take it easy and rest. As for the rest of you, same thing goes. William, Keith, and I will go out regularly to hunt monsters. Anyone else leaves, they leave with one of us." "I," Keith pulled out a card and activated it, removing a five-gallon bucket. "Am going to rune up this space. Some of the runes will apply a passive healing bonus to everyone as long as you''re inside, so it should help us recover if, for some reason, our Health is nullified and we''re hurt." Nathan nodded as Keith got to work. "How long have you two been planning this?" Michael asked. "A week," Nathan answered. "You and William fold up half of the tables and move them to the walls. This is our sleeping space as well. The T.V. over there acts as the shop for thing like sleeping bags and clothes, all of which are locked to here in the game." "Let me guess," Samantha snorted. "You have several changes of your own outfits in your cards?" "Of course," Nathan responded. "I''m not going to wear bloody clothes all the time." "No," Michael said, frowning. "Elise and I won''t have an issue since we''re together, but are you sure you can handle not sleeping with her for eight months?" "I have a hand," Nathan responded. "William, you and Michael go scout out and explore the school once you finish folding up the tables. Let us know if the dimensions are the same as everyone else has given and if there are any starting bonuses we have. Mitchell and Elise, you stay here and watch Samantha. Samantha, I''m serious, stay here. We can come back after you give birth to him so that you can gain the Levels you missed here." "Are you leaving?" Samantha asked. "No," Nathan answered. "I''m just claiming some space to do a few things. Ichtvar, please stop flirting with Keith''s familiar and come here so we can work on something." "I wasn''t flirting," Ichvar told Nathan. "I just haven''t seen him since we parted ways fifteen centuries ago, so we were catching up. Did you know that Keith-" "I''d rather not," Nathan grunted as he pulled out several cards. He sat at a table and triggered one of the cards, releasing the items contained within. As soon as they were out, he began working with them, drawing curious looks from everyone remaining other than Keith, who was absorbed into his painting of the runes. "Nathan?" Samantha cautiously asked. "What?" "What are you doing?" "What does it look like I am doing?" "Playing with Legos." Nathan opened up another one of the plastic bags from the box he had just opened, dumping their pieces into a small pile of their own.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Nathan has a tendency to fiddle with things," Ichtvar told Samantha as Nathan continued to open up the packages and create more small piles. "He reminds me much of other demigods. They''ve always needed to fiddle around with their hands. I''ve yet to meet a demigod who wasn''t a craftsman in some way." "Including Master Torzin?" Elise asked. "Torzin enjoys creating jewelry," Ichtvar told them as Nathan began looking through the instructions, building quickly, his hands almost never idle as soon as he began. "Which may be part of why he forced Nathan into learning how. If he recognized Nathan as a demigod, then he would have known that getting handsy would be something Nathan would be happy to do." Samantha looked at the other cards Nathan had pulled out and frowned. She picked one up. "Can I use this?" Nathan didn''t respond, so she looked at Ichtvar. "He normally responds when he starts fiddling around." "He''s normally paying attention to his surroundings," Ichtvar responded. "But has tasked me with doing that for him. I''ve just asked. He said you can." Samantha pushed mana into the card, then crushed it in her hand as she reached out with her other, catching the twenty-four pack of fruit punch Gatorade with both arms, carefully setting it onto the table. "He has snacks and refreshments in his cards." "He never said he didn''t," Ichtvar said. "He had an agent take him shopping at a bulk store yesterday and has requested permission to have a large supply of bulk goods be delivered to the facility. I believe he intends on storing them in cards. They follow the standard expiration path, so as long as he keeps a note of things, nothing will expire on him in the games, only out of these alternate dimensions." "So we are in alternate dimensions?" Mitchell asked. "Yes," Ichtvar looked around. "A very well-crafted, temporary one. The amount of magic that would have gone into this is mind-boggling. I am curious as to how they power it, especially if time is frozen outside and these are merely copies of everything and everyone outside." Samantha frowned at that comment, turning over another card in her hands. "Nathan said," she said. "That the System couldn''t recreate his cards as part of the reward, yet they work just fine, despite being copies of the real things." Ichtvar shrugged at them. He and Nathan had already discussed the oddity of it, and Nathan finally stated that until he had more information, he would not draw any conclusions. When the phoenix pushed, stating that Nathan must have had some idea, the demigod said he didn''t. The game had told him several minutes after the reward that it was unable to do them and had assessed their worth. He guessed that it had scanned the items frozen in the actual dimension to perform that assessment. The phoenix then pointed out that it could have just copied them then. In response to that, Nathan shook his head, saying he didn''t think the System could actually bring anything into the game after it had begun ¨C that it could only copy things into it from reality only at the start of it, and that it had created the replicated rewards. The ancient being decided not to point out to the demigod that he had just given some form of theory. He had to admit that it was the only plausible explanation he could think of as well, unless it was simply a case of the administrators not wanting to restore to Nathan something so powerful. Something Nathan had already dismissed, saying he could not conclude that with any confidence based on a single instance, even if he had been given what he felt was a very lacking reward in response. "Not even a theory from Nathan?" Samantha asked. "That''s unusual." "Not if he doesn''t have the necessary information to form one," Ichtvar stated. "I''ve only known him a couple of weeks, and I already know this. Have you not known him for fifteen years?" "Until the game," Samantha told the phoenix. "Nathan never shared his theory-crafting with me. And we hadn''t talked in almost four." Ichtvar shrugged, then looked at Nathan, who was building a boat from a kit. It had more than a thousand pieces to it, and would probably take him a couple of hours. Playing with Legos was something the phoenix had quickly learned was the demigod''s biggest stress-relief. What had him so stressed? Was it the idea that he would be a father shortly after they left the game? That his pregnant girlfriend was in the game again? That they were in the game for an extended period of time, one even longer than their initial game? That he would be away from Katie for so long, even if no time passed for her? In the end, the phoenix decided not to ask his master and just watch, the other students doing so at first, then moving away so that they could work on their force magic under Elise''s supervision and guidance. A sudden blast of force magic sent the phoenix tumbling, before it quickly righted itself and looked at Nathan, who looked rather disappointed. "Was that really necessary?" Ichtvar asked. "I didn''t get a damage notification." "That''s because I don''t have Health, Nathan," Ichtvar told him. "I told you that last time you randomly blasted me with force magic and said the same thing. You know you could join them if you wanted to practice, right?" "I''d rather practice hitting Keith''s shields," Nathan said as he resumed working on the project. "As long as he''s consistent, it gives me a better idea of how much I''m progressing in controlling my mana and the amount of power in the blasts. Your shields as well." Nathan then muttered something about how he needed to be able to send his force blasts out more than five feet, and Ichtvar suppressed a snort. The demigod was talented in force magic, but he was still new to magic. It would likely take him another month or two of training to triple the distance, and the phoenix knew that he wanted to be able to shoot as far and with as much force as Keith. At least he acknowledges it will take him time, the phoenix thought to himself. "Why did you just pull out an inscribing pen?" "To perform an animation enchantment on the ship''s crew." "Are you sure that will work?" "I practiced it a bit when I got tired of making cards." "That doesn''t answer the question." "Can you help me enchant the ship so it will sail through the air as if in water, once I''m done?" "Sure." Nathan opened up the case of juice and pulled one of the bottles out, before activating two more storage cards, removing the boxes of snacks from them. The first contained individual serving packages of gummy bears, while the second contained individual serving packages of cookie sandwiches with cream filling between them. He pulled out a package of each and began snacking as he worked. When Nathan finished enchanting the boat and the figures that went with it, he set it to the side, then triggered another storage card, pulling out an identical boat, but with green flagging instead of red. That piqued the phoenix''s interest, as he knew Nathan would likely enchant that one as well and had poured a lot of mana into the first one''s enchantments so that it could generate cannonballs of mana. There were mana crystals involved in that, though the phoenix wasn''t sure why Nathan was doing that. Other than to see the two ships destroy each other, but the phoenix didn''t understand why Nathan would waste the precious mana crystals that were there. It wasn''t like he could obtain more in the game, he had to bring them all in with him. 00046 Samantha woke to find herself alone on the air mattress she and Nathan were sleeping on. Keith had bought those and the blankets for everyone on their first day, after finishing up the runes. Looking around, she found that almost everyone was still asleep ¨C Nathan and Keith were the only others awake, and they were sitting at a table at the other end of the cafeteria. "Morning," she greeted them when she sat down, noting that they were carefully enchanting every last Lego brick from two new boxes of ships and crews. "What are you dong?" "Enchanting," Nathan answered, then paused as a message appeared in his vision, a message that woke the others.
A Food Supply Drop has appeared in Room Red Eagle Seven. The room has become protected against invasion for the next 24 hours.
"That''s our cue," Nathan told Keith, then looked at Samantha. "Stay. Here." "There''s absolutely no risk to the baby-" "Stay. Here." Nathan''s tone was firm and definite, and Samantha sighed, slumping into the chair beside him as he stood. Nathan and Keith left the cafeteria, watching as Ichtvar and Keith''s familiar chased each other down the halls. Rather than clearing out the halls themselves, the seven players decided to let the familiars do it, especially since the monsters were weak enough that Nathan and Keith received practically no Experience. It was their fifth day, and neither senior had gained a Level yet. They had utilized those five days to train body and magic. They knew that over time, the monsters would grow more difficult, but none of them would even struggle against the early monsters, which meant little Experience gains for them. So instead, they trained to enhance their abilities. "Nathan?" Keith said as they reached the Red Eagle Hall. "What?" "I have a theory I want to test." "About?" Nathan asked. "The System." "Regarding it being a construct of magic all the way through?" Keith had shared the theory and statement with Nathan that he had given to the others in the harder difficulty during the Tutorial, while Nathan was unconscious from his awakening. "Yes," Keith opened Room 7 and entered, Nathan following him in. "Damn." There were four wooden crates sitting in the classroom, each a perfect square four feet on each side, a rope handle on the two sides of it and a hinged lid on top. "How full are these?" Nathan asked as he walked over to one of the crates and lifted up the hinged lid. "Pretty full." Keith looked inside, swearing. "How much do they think eight people will eat in a day?" Keith asked. Nathan muttered something under his breath, then checked the crate he''d removed. It had several runes on it. He noticed two more crates with the same runes, while the third one had different runes. He checked the two with identical runes, finding them filled with food, then he opened up the fourth crate. Supplies. As soon as he looked within it, a message appeared in his vision, and he assumed that it formed in others'' as well, based on its contents.
The amount of items in a drop and the fact that not all of the food supply drop is food is not information that can be shared outside of the game. The fact that you receive a food supply drop every five days is allowed to be shared.
Nathan frowned as he remembered something that Master Torvin had told him. "We know there''s at least one person actively watching us," Nathan stated, and Keith gave him a confused look. "Even though nearly everything ¨C including this ¨C is automated. We know someone who has traveled to other dimensions, and he''s stated that entire worlds are under the System ¨C everyone ends up in it on their eighteenth birthday, and it slowly takes over the worlds. "How do these restricted pieces of information work?" Nathan asked as Keith realized what Nathan was doing. "Do people have to discover these on their own? Can they only share it with others who enter the game with them do-"
The information will not be restricted once most of your world has been initiated into the System.
"You cut off," Keith said. "Why?" "They responded," Nathan stated. "If the Mana and Mana changes hadn''t already confirmed it, that would''ve confirmed they''re watching us." "What did they say?" Keith asked. Nathan debated on whether or not he could actually share that information. It wasn''t likely they would receive answers often, and he was, if honest with himself, completely surprised that they actually responded. "Never mind," Keith said. "They just told me." A new message appeared in their visions.
You may not share that information, nor that we have responded, with anyone except your familiars. Inform them that sharing this information will result in their immediate deaths, as well as the immediate deaths of anyone it shared with.
That answers that question, Nathan thought to himself. "I wonder why they responded," Keith said. "I doubt it''s likely to happen again." "Likely because of the translation fix," Nathan said, and Keith''s eyes widened in realization. "Now, you mentioned before we entered that you wanted to test something?" "Right," Keith nodded. "Can you open up your Status menu?" "Why?" Nathan asked. "I want to try reading it," Keith told him. "That''s not possible, and even if it were, I wouldn''t want you to.," "No," Keith said. "I mean the magic behind it. There are two possibilities behind it: the first is that it''s either an illusion in your mind, or an actual thing that appears, keyed so that only you can see it. I''m in favor of the latter, and I want to see if it''s possible for me to see the magics behind them."You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "No." "I''ve tried with my own," Keith said. "But it''s possible it''s a lot harder to check your own, especially in the latter scenario. If it is possible, however, we may be able to find a way to reveal someone''s stats." Nathan contemplated on it for a few moments, then nodded. He wasn''t sure how it was possible to read someone''s full stats considering the agency had confirmed that reading someone''s mind while they read it did not reveal the Status, but Keith seemed confident. He pulled up his Status.
Name: Nathan Sex: Male Age: 18
Level: 150 Health: 5,930 (1/120s) Mana: 32,250 (6/5s)
Stat Points: 0 Skill Points: 35 Points: 2,669
"Can you trace where it''s located?" Keith asked Nathan, who traced with his fingers where it appeared in his vision, a little more than a foot in front of him. "Thanks, keep your gaze focused there." Several minutes passed as Keith and Nathan stared at the same spot, then Keith''s sudden happy expression told Nathan it happened. "It''s definitely the latter," Keith said. "Keep it open and focused there. I can''t actually read your stuff, but I can definitely tell there''s magic there." Several more minutes passed before Keith told Nathan he could stop. As if I needed permission, Nathan closed his Status. "I''ll try it with the others," Keith told him. "And the various menus, too. It might take me a couple of weeks, though." Nathan nodded, then looked around. "So how are we supposed to get these out of here?" Keith asked as Nathan called for Ichtvar through their familiar bond. "The door isn''t four feet wide." "Wait for the phoenix to return," Nathan grunted. "He flew off at some point." Ichtvar only took a few seconds to reenter the room. "Widen the entrance, please," Nathan said, and Ichtvar nodded, then flew up and landed on the metal doorframe. A few seconds passed before the doorway widened, quickly becoming five feet. "Damn," Keith said in awe. "My familiar can''t do that. He can do some other stuff, but not bend space like that." "Let''s get these out of here," Nathan said, and the pair go to work picking up the crates and moving them into the hall. The crates were heavy, but nothing they couldn''t handle with their System-augmented strength. However, due to the size, the pair worked together, each grabbing a handle of each crate to move them. Once they had all four out in the hall, Ichtvar released his spell and landed on one of the crates. "How do you intend on moving these back to the cafeteria?" He asked as Nathan pulled out a card with a rope image on it. "A rope?" Nathan triggered the card, which disappeared as a rope appeared. He then used the rope to link together the four crates, and after making sure they were snugly and tightly secured together, he tied the top ends of the rope together over them and looked at Ichtvar expectantly. "I''m not carrying those." Nathan pulled out another card and activated it, revealing a bar of chocolate. "I guess I''ll just eat this, then." Ichtvar took the rope and lifted the crates up into the air, flying through the halls. He utilized his spatial magic to widen the halls when turning down another, something the seniors helped by pushing the crates. They reached the cafeteria after a few minutes, meeting the shocked expressions of the other seniors. "Holy fuck," Michael said. "I didn''t realize that they''d given us that much. I mean, I figured they''d given a fair amount, but-" "Only one is supplies," Keith told him as Ichtvar landed, then looked at Nathan expectantly. The senior tossed him the wrapper of the chocolate. "Nathan, that''s mean." "I got hungry," Nathan said as the phoenix incinerated the wrapper with a glare. "Oh, stop that." Nathan pulled out another card and triggered it, revealing an even larger chocolate bar, which he then tossed to the phoenix, who took it and flew back to the halls. "What was that about?" Samantha asked. "Ichtvar likes chocolate," Keith told her. "It''s part of how the government placated him before he decided to contract with Nathan just because of what happened the last time a phoenix contracted with a child of Nathan''s father." "Merlin?" Samantha asked. "Ichtvar hasn''t said," Nathan shrugged. "But we''ve already confirmed through Master Torzin that the Ultimate Trinity has contracted to more than just him. Let''s check the crates." The seniors gathered around the crates, Nathan pointed out the one that was different, and they went through the food. Fresh fruit and vegetables, containers of flour, sugar, and other baking ingredients, and one of the crates was chilly on the inside, filled with meat and drinks, including milk. They found some cheese, butter, and cream cheese as well, and at the very bottom of it- "Ice cream?" Samantha asked. "Looks like it," William commented. "Let''s get the cold stuff moved into the fridges and freezers." He and Michael got to work on that while Mitchell and Elise started putting the other ingredients away. "I''m going to make breakfast for everyone," Samantha declared, and Nathan opened his mouth to say something. "Don''t you dare protest, Nathan. You can handle my cooking, you''ve eaten it a few times. You and Keith can have fun sorting out the stuff in the supply crate." "Fine," Nathan grumbled. "Do you want a recipe to make pancakes? Or just going to make bacon and eggs?" Samantha thought for a moment, then accepted his offer. He pulled out some paper and a pen and jotted down the recipe, then Samantha joined the others in the kitchen to get to work. "I wanted to make breakfast," Nathan grumbled, and Keith snorted. "She''s doing that because you won''t let her leave," Keith told Nathan. "She always said she wasn''t going to be a woman in the kitchen," Nathan muttered. "Nathan," Keith said. "She''s doing it because not letting you cook will annoy you. Let''s look through the supplies. I''m curious what all they gave us ¨C and why they sent us so much. There''s enough to last a full team of eight more than five days." As soon as he said that, he saw Nathan''s eyes take on a distant look, and sighed. Nathan was thinking on what caused such a huge abundance of food and supplies. As Nathan did that, Keith opened up the final crate and began unloading it. Medical supplies, lube, pads, tampons, condoms, paper, craft paper in both rectangles and squares, a few other art supplies, magic pens of the variety he had purchased for Nathan, five boxes of blank playing cards, two boxes of actual playing cards, rope, twine, blankets, even some of the laundry things they could buy in the laundry room. There were a few other items, which only deepened Keith''s curiosity over the situation. Why would they have supplied us with so much stuff? Keith wondered. Some of these are definitely tailored to us ¨C like the blank playing cards. But this also contradicts the theory that they can''t just create things in-game off of what''s in it. The food does, too ¨C none of that was in here with us already. "Because the monsters are killed within an hour of spawning." Keith looked at Nathan with a confused look. "The reason we received so much," Nathan told him. "It''s because Ichtvar and Splashy kill the monsters so fast, leaving it almost completely safe in the halls. The more monsters killed, and the faster, the better the supplies we receive. It''s an automatic thing based on that." Keith nodded, agreeing with Nathan on that theory. "But," Keith said. "There''s also the side where someone could just do a bunch of long Survivals for that reward at the end. If they just stay in here-" "But they wouldn''t," Nathan said. "Unless they wanted to put up with months'' worth of fecal matter and urine. Unless they didn''t want to bathe or wash their clothes. Unless they stockpiled far more Points than they''d earn. To keep themselves fed, they''d be spending more Points than they earned from the run. There''s only so much we can bring in with us. My cards circumvent this, but even they have their limits, especially since I can''t bring in fresh food." Yet, he added, though not aloud. And the reward seems kind of cheap, too ¨C the real reward, to them, is likely the Levels we gain and all the Points from the kills we could do, which is just another incentive to leave the safe zone of the cafeteria. He was still a bit uneasy about it, though. There were, no doubt, others with something similar to his cards. A determined enough person would make it through just hiding in there. It would be a massive waste of time for them to earn the Points, though. Would something come that would force them out of the safe room? 00047 "Dammit, Nathan!" Samantha exclaimed as she entered the kitchen. "Can you at least let me do this?" "No," Nathan answered as he flipped the bacon. The morning before, he let her cook breakfast. Then he got in her way for lunch and dinner, much to the amusement of their fellow players. "Fine," she groaned, hugging him from behind and giving him a kiss before a quick sniff. "Did you shower?" "I was training earlier." Samantha sighed, giving him another peck on the cheek. She wished he''d at least train with the rest of them, rather than right after he woke up. She knew he wanted to maximize the time spent working on his enchanting, which was why he trained when he first woke up rather than with the rest of them after breakfast. The other seniors slowly woke up to the smell of the frying bacon, and they ate breakfast before getting to work on their activities, Nathan joining them to practice the force push spell, making little progress in advancing it. After he decided to stop trying to break Keith''s shield for the day, Nathan returned to the table with his enchanting projects. He and Keith managed to finish enchanting all of the Lego bricks after sorting through the supply drop the day before, all that was left was to assemble them and place the small mana crystals. Praying to his father in the hopes that the prayer would be answered by some god, Nathan began assembling the two ships. He only had one more box of the small mana crystals, and they were expensive. As long as he didn''t use the boxes in real life, he could keep bringing them into the game, but there was still a limited supply. "Why are you doing that?" Michael sat across from Nathan, watching as the other teen carefully pushed a small mana crystal into the back of a cannon, watching with satisfaction as it linked into the runes. As long as the ship didn''t tilt too much, the mana crystal would remain there. "To power the enchantments," Nathan answered as he pushed in the small plastic cannonball. Those weren''t hard to obtain, they were just small plastic balls he''d bought that would fit into the Lego canons. "Help keep things running while the ships fight." That wasn''t an unknown way of using mana crystals ¨C they often powered enchantments when fitted into a form of generator or anchoring enchantment. The real purpose was something only he, Keith, and Ichtvar knew, however. "In the cannons?" Michael asked. "Are you the enchanter or am I?" Michael muttered under his breath and walked away, and Nathan returned to work, placing a few more mana crystals in the ship, other than just the cannons'' ones. The ones in the cannons were part of a test for the improved guns Nathan and Keith were working on. After nearly three hours of making sure each piece was exactly the right one, its runes and enchantments matching up with all those around it perfectly, Nathan had the first ship constructed, only to find Samantha already preparing lunch, William helping her. Grumbling under his breath, Nathan began working on the second, stopping only to eat. He rated the homemade macaroni-and-cheese a one as he ate, and as soon as he finished, returned to working on the project. When the second ship was finished, Nathan sat back in satisfaction, then triggered both, watching as they began warring. The little Lego figures scrambled across their decks and the levels of the ships, and he noted with satisfaction that they would pull the cannons in to replace the used cannonballs. The cannonballs were what he focused on the most. They were enchanted, and the mana crystals in the cannons were there to empower them further. If it succeeded, it would be the first step in creating not just enchanted bullets, but a fully-enchanted gun that added extra power by mana crystals, something that no one had succeeded in yet ¨C at least, in their universe. But Nathan was confident they would succeed. He was also confident that something on that scale had not been developed ¨C at least, nowhere the game was. The reason for that assumption was that the System lacked it completely. If they were looking for powerhouses, then why did they not include something as simple as a gun? Regular bullets failed to work against the monsters, at least, in a large way, but magic bullets? Bullets that were- Nathan''s eyes widened as he realized something. What if the bullets weren''t enchanted, but magic? Scrambling to pull out more resources, he hollered for Keith to join him as he started sketching out his idea. "So instead of using mana crystal ink," Keith said as he watched Nathan''s sketching and note-taking. "To enchant the bullets, the bullets will be formed fully of magic? How do you plan on that? It would be insanely intensive for mana crystals, even if we did figure out a design for that." "The mana crystals would only help at the start," Nathan shook his head. "They''d be the basis for it. But what is something that we have an abundance of? A renewable resource?" "I don''t-" Keith cut off. "Mana! You mean to power it through mana?" "Like the cards," Nathan nodded. "We simply enchant it so that it creates the bullets, but it draws on our mana to do so. Instead of a bullet magazine, we''d use a crystal magazine, and that would determine the type of bullet fired." "That way," Keith said. "We wouldn''t have to create a different type of gun for different types of bullets, we could have one enchanted gun and several enchanted magazines. Fire bullets? Fire mana crystal magazine. Wind bullets? Wind mana crystal magazine. Ice bullets? Water mana crystal magazine. We''d need to enchant the magazines, too, so that they''d also craft the bullets, and do it properly."This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "Yeah," Nathan said as Keith sat down and started some sketching and notes for their new project. "I have one more box of regular mana crystals ¨C those small ones you got me, so we can try and test it with that, but only if we''re absolutely sure while here." "If you''ll actually go with me," Keith told Nathan. "We could probably get you more crystals. I did not feel comfortable using that card you gave me for any of the purchases, especially with how expensive they are." Nathan began tapping his pen against his wrist as he thought over it. Keith was right, they were expensive. A crystal the size of a pea ¨C the ones he was using in the cannons on the Lego ships ¨C cost ten dollars each. They also held very little power ¨C the ships had run out of those crystals'' powers after only a few minutes, and were currently floating around on the power of the enchantments. Nathan''s magic was potent enough they would last around half an hour, but that was it. A single box of the crystals contained roughly one hundred crystals, and Keith had bought five of them. That was five thousand dollars. A crystal the size of a marble would cost somewhere around twenty-five to thirty dollars. To create a magazine with just one to three crystals would likely cost him around four hundred or so dollars. It wasn''t like the money would be a problem, considering his family was worth millions and his father was more than happy to supply the funds, but Nathan still didn''t like spending too much when things were uncertain. That was part of why he wanted to use the game for his research. According to Keith, how mana crystals formed were a mystery, they were simply found. Elemental-aligned ones were generally in areas dealing with those elements, but he still wasn''t sure. It was known that high levels of magical activity was needed for it ¨C magical creatures were often living there. Nathan called Ichtvar to him through their bond. He, Keith''s familiar, and Master Torzin likely had some idea of what caused the formation of mana crystals. Ichtvar had to ¨C according to what Keith knew, there was an abundance of them around Yellowstone National Park, and even more of them near where Ichtvar lived and where he met with the agents. The clearing where the two of them had met. It wasn''t an enormous amount, as they were still rare enough, but enough to suggest the resident phoenix knew the source of their formation. "I''m busy," came the quick response. Nathan snorted. Ichtvar wasn''t killing very many monsters, which he knew because he was receiving almost no Points that day. Keith''s familiar was performing most of the kills. He summoned Ichtvar again, and the phoenix grumbled before saying he was on the way. Almost ten minutes later, the phoenix arrived as Nathan and Keith continued to sketch and plan for the new version of their guns. "You two got an idea," the phoenix stated. "Yes," Nathan looked at the phoenix. "What causes mana crystals to form?" "Which kind are you talking about?" Ichtvar asked. "All kinds." "It varies." "Fire mana crystals." "Various methods," Ichtvar responded. "A regular mana crystal forms in a place with high levels of ambient mana, which typically occurs around places with magical creatures living there, or magical plants growing in abundance. The reason they form is when the ambient mana is shifted around enough that it starts crystallizing. This is a process that can take a few minutes to a few years, depending on the movements of the mana and the size of the crystal." "And fire mana crystals, as I asked?" "I''m getting there," the phoenix huffed. "Affinity mana crystals generally form the same way, only when there''s a high level of its affinity there or imbued into the ambient mana. This is more likely in an area with creatures tuned to that affinity, which is why Yellowstone tended to have fire mana crystals. My presence and level of power caused the area to be saturated with mana tuned to fire. My cave actually had a magma mana crystal that I enjoyed nesting on. It was about four feet in height and three around, with the perfect dip in it for me to nest in. Well, I made the dip in the crystal, but that''s irrelevant." "Is there a way to artificially create mana crystals?" Nathan asked. "Yes," the phoenix responded. "Though it was only figured out by Merlin. At least, for this world, not sure if others have figured it out. If Master Torzin knows, he''s never mentioned it. It''s how I made the magma mana crystal." "How?" Nathan asked. "Two methods," the phoenix responded. "The first is using a mana crystal seed, the second is to manually shift it around." "Manually shift it around?" Keith asked. "Yes," the phoenix nodded. "A powerful enough magician is able to draw on the ambient mana around them ¨C not to cast spells, but for enchantments. Your passive recovery enchantments do it. You utilize a similar principle, only without putting it into an enchantment. Depending on the level of ambient mana, it would take Merlin anywhere from fifteen to eighty minutes to manually make one the size of the tiny ones you''re using here. It requires constant concentration, or you might break it. Or drop it." "Mana crystals continue to draw in mana, right?" Nathan asked. "Even after they form? That''s how they grow larger?" "No," the phoenix shook its head, finally landing and looking at the gun''s design. "Interesting item," it looked back at Nathan. "Once the crystal itself forms, it''s complete. How big of one and its dimensions is based on the ''core'' of the shifting ambient mana ¨C that''s what turns into the crystal. The bigger the crystal, the rarer it is to form, as it requires more space and ambient mana." Nathan thought over that. It sounded tedious just to get something to work. "And the mana crystal seeds?" He asked. "Ah, those," the phoenix chuckled. "Merlin hated having to do the work himself while he was busy helping Arthur and Mordred deal with some nasties. So he devised a way to not need to shift mana around. It was truly revolutionary. "He took a few years," the phoenix continued. "But figured out how to create a ''seed''. You know how, when you plant a seed, if it''s not a dud and has the right resources, it grows into a tree?" "Yes," the two seniors responded. "The mana crystal seeds are something similar," he told them. "It acts as the core itself, drawing mana into it. Once it builds up enough, it turns into the crystal. And it starts off with nothing more than a stone that''s been enchanted. "There are, however, some catches," the phoenix said. "At least, that''s what I think the term is. The enchantment is easier to perform on a larger stone. However, the larger the stone, the more ambient mana you need around if you want it to succeed. Then there is time. It can''t take too long, or it fails to complete, and the ambient mana is dispersed back around as the enchantments fade. That''s part of why the larger ones need more ambient mana in the area ¨C to ensure it happens quickly enough." "What causes ambient mana?" Nathan asked. "Is there any here?" "Ambient mana," the phoenix said. "Is dependent on many factors. Some of it comes from magic usage, some of it comes simply from the presence of magical creatures. A dragon''s shit, fertilizing the ground, can cause an immense amount of ambient mana to form, until it''s drawn away into enchantments or fades away. Unlike most things, mana does, in fact, disappear, turning into nothing. Ambient mana is the most guilty of this. "And before you cite that whole ''you can''t turn something into absolutely nothing, it has to go somewhere'', we''re talking about magic. It can become nothing. That''s why void magic is as dangerous as it is. There''s no other end, it simply erases the very presence and existence of something. Luckily, I doubt there are many capable of wielding it. Even Master Torzin can''t." "And the other question?" Nathan asked. "How much ambient mana is here? Could we potentially create a decent supply of-" "No," the phoenix destroyed that chain of thought. "There is absolutely no ambient mana here at all, which is odd, considering this place is one big magical construct. The Survival Challenge you were in and the Dungeon you entered both contained it. Oddly, neither of those were magical constructs. Those were some well-crafted passages into other worlds and dimensions." 00048 Nathan and Keith stared at Ichtvar as the phoenix looked at them in confusion. "What?" The phoenix broke the silence of their shock first. "Can you repeat that?" Nathan requested. "Repeat what?" "What you said." "About those being well-crafted gates?" The phoenix asked. "They are. They both went to another dimension, the same one. Unlike this temporary dimension, those were in an actual dimension of our realm. The gates into the dimensions are unlike any I''ve encountered before. The time bubble the sand place was in was curious as well. The creatures in those were real, though the demon-like entities here are crafted entirely by magic. The amount of mana being poured into these is unlike any I could dream of being drawn upon. There must be a dimension out there that''s abundant with mana in a way no other is, to power such a feat." "Time bubble?" The two teens asked simultaneously. "Yes," Ichtvar shrugged. "That entire world was cloaked in one, sealing it in time, except for while we were there. There was an interesting, and powerful, barrier surrounding the portion we were in, preventing both entrance and exit. I doubt even Master Torzin would have been able to breach it. I''d like to see how it is they''re able to supply all of this power." The teens looked at each other. That confirmed Nathan''s theory: they were being used for certain things, and the Challenges and Dungeons were a part of it. Both came to the immediate conclusion that some Challenges that they pick may match up with Dungeons as well. Nathan''s Survival Challenge could have been them using him to clean out some of the monsters. As he thought on it, both of his previous Challenges, the monsters didn''t fade away. Mentally cursing at not paying attention to that detail, Nathan pointed his pen at the phoenix. "Every time we enter a Challenge," Nathan told him. "Inform me if we pass into a real or temporary dimension." "Okay," the phoenix shrugged. "I can teach you how to tell the difference, though it will take a long while for you to get the sense down." "Keith," Nathan pointed his pen at the magician. "Already asked my familiar," Keith said. "He mentioned that the Dungeon we entered was a real dimension, and he''ll let me know the same as Ichtvar." "Good," Nathan tapped his pen against the table. "Let''s get back to designing this thing." Nathan and Keith continued working on their project, Ichtvar giving some input every few minutes before flying off to do whatever it was he was doing as Keith''s familiar dealt with the monsters. The next several days passed without incident, other than Samantha insisting on being able to use the restrooms or showers without Nathan or Keith escorting her ¨C something she failed to succeed in convincing them of each time. Nathan used up the last of his mana crystals on the prototype version of the magazines, equipped to the cannons, then sighed, knowing they''d have to wait until they left the game entirely to receive more. The tenth day they were there, they received another Food Supply Drop, as expected, and just as expected, it was as full of food and supplies as the first. They sorted through it, then went about their day, training body and magic, wondering when their first Optional Challenge would appear. A question that was answered after they finished eating breakfast the next day, their eleventh day in the Survival Challenge.
Optional Challenge 1 will begin soon!
Optional Challenge 1 will be a Slaughter Challenge. Completing it will award +10 Stat Points, +10 Skill Points, and +100 Points. It is not mandatory. There is a time limit of 6 hours. There is no penalty for failing to participate or complete it. All players must be within the cafeteria in 15 minutes. Please recall any familiars not in there.
"A Slaughter Challenge," Michael grinned, resting his hand on the hilt of the sword at his hip. "Finally, something for us to do that isn''t just training." "No," Nathan looked at Samantha. "But-" "Elise, come here," Nathan said, and Elise approached. Nathan slammed his fist into her gut while using Impact, sending her flying into Michael. "Even if I have Health, that fucking hurts!" She exclaimed. "Health doesn''t protect against everything! If the force is great enough-" Elise cut off in realization of his point as Nathan stared at Samantha, hoping he didn''t need to use words to convey the meaning. When he used Impact and all of his Strength in a punch, he could actually damage someone, even with Health protecting them. Elise would likely have bruising from that strike. "These monsters probably aren''t that strong," Samantha said. "We''re only in Beginning, and according to you and Keith and the few monsters we''ve seen while out, they''re only in the H''s still. Even if they were in the G''s for this Challenge-" "If Elise were pregnant," Nathan said. "What would be the odds of her still being pregnant after that punch?" Samantha''s eyes widened, then looked over to the witch, who was using a healing spell on her stomach. "You didn''t need to do a physical demonstration," Keith sighed. "It drives the point home," Nathan said. "I''ve let Ichtvar know, is Splashy returning?" "Yes," Keith responded. "You could have just brought that up, and she does have a point, Nathan." "I am not letting the risk to my baby exist," Nathan stated. "She stays. Samantha, we will return for more after you give birth. From what we know, it doesn''t affect your real body for the milk to spend a lot of time in here, even if it does advance your pregnancy. The only way anyone else here is gaining Experience is through these Challenges. Only Keith and I are from the monsters outside of them, and we''re barely gaining any. We are not here for the Experience."The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "But you''re still gaining from the Optional-" "No is no, Samantha," Nathan stated. "End of argument. You will get to do Optional Challenges later. If it bothers you that much, you, me, William, Keith, and Katie can come do a Survival Challenge with Optional Challenges enabled." "You, William, and Keith will then double up and-" "We don''t have to stay with each other," Nathan said. "And while I am the most dangerous, tied with Keith, I am the weakest." "But your magical power-" "Is lower than Keith''s," Nathan growled, though he knew it wasn''t in a straight comparison. "Even if our Mana is around the same. He''s a prodigy who''s been training in magic for years. My Strength is lower than yours, William''s, Michael''s, and Mitchell''s." "You''re comparably stronger than Elise." "Elise is only part of this because she''s Michael''s girlfriend," Nathan said. "She doesn''t count." "Ouch," Elise said. "Way to hit me in the gut again, Nathan." "Deal with it," he glared at her. "I was opposed to you being here. You''re talented with that sword, and you were decent enough to work as part of the group and make it into the Top Eight in the Final Challenge of the Tutorial, but I don''t like you." "Let''s not get into an argument here," Keith held up his hands, trying to diffuse the situation. "We all know Nathan can be difficult-don''t glare at me like that, you know you can be-and doesn''t like people. "Samantha," Keith continued. "I''m going to agree with Nathan on you staying behind, and not because I''m scared he''ll break my arm if I don''t. He''s concerned about the baby, and if you set foot out there and there''s actual danger to you, he''s going to throw himself at it. It''s best to not let that become a habit before there''s actual danger. We all know that by the end of this, we''ll likely be facing F-Ranks and possibly E-Ranks regularly, since the monsters are tougher the more time that passes. "And don''t," he said. "Try to protest saying we''ll get an unfair advantage in power over you. It''s not a competition between us. I barely get any Experience from weaker monsters in the first place, that''s why we were only able to do three Challenges, remember?" Nathan''s gaze turned to the wizard as he realized why they hadn''t done a fourth Challenge. Keith wasn''t Level 100 yet, which meant he could only do three Challenges in one run. "What Level are you?" Nathan asked. "Eighty-four," Keith answered. "I was Level 83 when we entered, though. Something my familiar killed during breakfast brought me up to Level 84." Nathan nodded, curious about why they had that restriction. Why could they only do so many Challenges at a time? Was there some external restriction he wasn''t aware of? Why would the game restrict them on how many Challenges they could do per entry? "Samantha," Nathan looked at her. "Stay. Here. You can fight to your heart''s content once he''s born. And not a day sooner. We''re here to get you through the pregnancy faster in real time, not for Leveling." "Then why did you accept the Optional Challenges?" She countered. "I think the pregnancy hormones are already affecting you," Nathan said. "Calm down, or I''ll strap you down." "As if you have something that would work," she snorted. "I have Ichtvar." "Leave me out of this," the phoenix said from the table he had landed on. "If she tries to leave here during the Challenge," Nathan told Ichtvar. "Stop her. Do not let her leave. And do not let my baby get injured." "Or else what?" "Or I''ll not feed you chocolate for six months." "I could always sever our contract," Ichtvar snorted. "The government would go right back to giving it to me every few days, even if they''d grumble about the expense." "See?" Samantha asked. "Even Ichtvar-" "Do you care more about gaining Levels or my baby?" Nathan asked, and she opened her mouth to speak. "No, Samantha. Absolutely not. We can come in a do a two-hundred-day Survival Challenge if you want after he''s born. But you are not getting into danger with him. That is why we''re doing these two streaks! To prevent you from being in danger while you''re pregnant! You can do all the Challenges you want after!" Samantha sighed, then sat down. Nathan would not give up on it, something everyone there knew. She just did not like being idle, and would rather work on Levels than just sit there and do nothing. A few minutes passed, and the timer in their visions reached zero. Immediately, a message appeared.
Optional Challenge 1 will be starting soon!
For Optional Challenge 1, you must kill 20 G-2 monsters and 50 G-3 monsters. You will have six hours to complete this Optional Challenge. Succeeding in it will award +10 Stat Points, +10 Skill Points, and +100 Points. There is no penalty to failure to participate or complete it. It will begin in 60 minutes, and until then, it will not be possible to leave the cafeteria.
Nathan let out a long, slow breath. "Samantha," he rubbed his temples as he decided to try another tactic to convince Samantha to stop trying to put herself at risk. "Later on, when you''re even more pregnant, you will be slow, you will get sick at times, and your movements and senses will be dulled. It is better to get into the habit of sitting back now instead of them, when a dulled sense or movement could cost you your life or the baby''s. As soon as you''re ready to enter again after you give birth to him, we can return and you can fight to your heart''s content, building up the Levels you missed out on." "When he''s born," she said. "How do you know we won''t want to spend every moment with him? How do you-" "We probably will," Nathan admitted. "But we will also need to enter the game again and again. Though it will be days or months away from him for us, it would be only an instant for him. But we will have to return, whether we like it or not. The Mandatory Challenges ensure that. I don''t like the idea of not being around my son for so long, but it is something we will need to deal with if we want to survive the Mandatory Challenges." The others were staring at Nathan in shock as Keith fiddled with the amulet around his neck. Nathan was showing what was probably a form of weakness for him. They knew he was protective of his son, but they hadn''t the slightest clue that he could actually care for his son in that way as well. To actually miss his son, even knowing that the son would feel no time at all while they were in the game. "And that is why," Nathan said. "Keith and I are working on an enchanted orb to let us view out of the game. We plan on changing out supplies after the seven of us leave and perform an extended Survival Challenge again to work on and test the orb. If it works, we''ll be able to check on the baby, frozen in time, whenever we want during the game, as long as the orb is intact. That should help us a bit." He didn''t add that the news that they actually were entering into other worlds sometimes changed some of the stuff they needed for the enchantment. They might need to do two orbs ¨C one for created dimensions, such as the one they were in, and for when they entered an actual place. But he and Keith were determined to do it and make it work. "Wait," Samantha said. "You and Keith are returning? Without us?" "You''ll be about to pop," he pointed at her. "And we want it done before the baby is born. The focus while in the Challenge that time will be creating the orb." "Do you two even have the supplies to do that?" She asked. "To just keep experimenting?" "Yes and no," Keith answered. "We''ll probably have to leave and reenter several times to restock. Our main issue is mana crystals, most everything else is fine." "Regarding that," Mitchell spoke up. "I overheard some others talking. We can only enter the game once in a twenty-four-hour period. So once you leave here, you''ll need to wait a bit before you can come back in to do the other test." Well, that explains why we have a limitation, Nathan thought to himself. It''s probably to force a rest period for us beyond just what we''d get in the plains. Possibly to restock on things, too? "Let''s get ready for the Challenge," Nathan said. 00049 "Not using your guns?" Michael asked as Nathan rolled his shoulders. The other senior had put his guns away for the Optional Challenge, which had surprised most of the others, since they were his preferred weapons. "No." "Why not?" He asked. "Didn''t you bring them because-" "Then I''d gain less Experience," Nathan stated. "Same as with using Ichtvar." "Uh," William said. "Wouldn''t you gain less anyway? Even though we''re in Beginning, you''d probably take the things out in one or two hits." Nathan chose to ignore that comment. "Speaking of Experience," William looked at Keith. "You gain it pretty easily, and I''ve heard you mention a few times that you have more magical power than Nathan. Isn''t that a blatant lie?" "Yes and no," Keith scratched the back of his head. "That doesn''t answer the question," Michael said. "It''s confused me, too." Confusing you isn''t hard, Nathan thought to himself. "It has to do with familiars," Elise informed them. "When contracted to a familiar, a magician can draw up on some of the familiar''s power and traits, if their bond is strong enough. From what I''ve observed while we''ve been here, Keith has a strong bond with his familiar." "Which allows me to draw upon his full power," Keith nodded. "And he''s three thousand years old and nearly an angel, which makes him pretty powerful. When I tap into his full power, I''m twice as powerful as Nathan in terms of magical power. I do need to have my familiar concealed within me, though." Further discussion was interrupted by the message informing them of the Challenge''s start.
Optional Challenge 1 has begun!
You have 6 hours to slay 20 G-2 monsters and 50 G-3 monsters. Participation is not mandatory, and you will not be penalized for failing to participate or complete this Optional Challenge.
The timer refreshed in everyone''s vision, setting to six hours and beginning to count down. William chose to stay behind as everyone else took off, and Nathan made his way out of the cafeteria with slow, casual steps. He wasn''t racing to complete it or to be the first. Here, it was only optional, and he knew he would complete it. Nathan walked past Michael, who was battling against a pair of G-3''s, and jumped forward, slamming his fist into the gut of another. When his right foot hit the ground, he pivoted, kicking another G-3 with his left foot. With his current stats, G-Ranked monsters in Beginner Difficulty were easy to take down. Nathan slowly walked around the school, killing any monster he saw. The G-2 monsters were rarer than the G-3 monsters, but he still managed to kill all twenty he needed before he succeeded in the amount required of the G-3 monsters, finishing the latter a little more than five hours from the Challenge''s start. When he finished, Nathan returned to the cafeteria, where he was greeted with the sight of Keith''s familiar swirling around Samantha, binding her and holding her to the ground. "Uh¡­ what''s going on?" Nathan asked. "She tried leaving a few minutes ago, and he did that," William answered. "I have to pee!" Samantha exclaimed. "I told you that! You were going to go with me!" "Yeah," William said. "But I don''t think he believed you." "Splashy, can you let her go?" Nathan asked. "She really does need to pee." The elemental released Samantha, and Nathan escorted her to the restrooms. They returned to the cafeteria and waited for everyone else to finish, then received their rewards. Samantha complained to Keith about his familiar''s actions, and Keith stared at the elemental. "Seriously?" He asked, and the familiar did what everyone could only assume was a shrug. "Okay, that''s just¡­ whatever." "What?" Samantha asked. "Why did he do that?" "He said that Ichtvar dared him to, knowing Nathan was almost back." "Samantha is supposed to leave only with two others," Nathan said. "Or me or Keith. I guess Ichtvar was thinking of that?" He knew that it was really just Ichtvar wanting to amuse himself, but chose not to say, instead opting to enter the kitchen and prepare lunch for everyone. The players returned to their daily routine, interrupted only by the next two supply drops, and the Optional Challenge on the day after their fourth total Food Supply Drop. For that Challenge, they had to earn 500 Points in three hours. When Nathan returned from completing it, he found Ichtvar sitting on Samantha''s head. Rather than questioning it that time, he made lunch, then returned to the usual routine. A few more days passed before he glared at Keith.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "Why are you able to shoot your force push hundreds of feet and I can''t?" He asked after another force push that only managed a few feet. "Several reasons could contribute to it," Keith shrugged. "Part of it comes from experience. I''ve done the spell enough that it and altering it is much easier. Part of it comes from you putting more power into the push than your creation of the spell is designed for. "You need to focus on it being able to hold together in addition to having power," Keith told him. "All that power means nothing if the spell won''t hold itself together very long." "I''ve tried making it hold together longer." "Try thinking of it like an enchantment," Keith told him. "There are several parts to it to make up the single spell. You have the power, the form, the energy put into it, and the making of it. Right now, your spell favors power over the actual making. Switch to focusing on that instead, and you should be able to make it last longer without unraveling." Nathan muttered an insult to Keith''s heritage under his breath, then returned working on casting the spell as Keith worked with the others. They hadn''t been needing to use Mana yet in the Challenges, and the monsters were still G-Ranked., though some G-1''s had been spotted. F-Ranks were coming soon, they knew, and they wanted to get their magic training in after a Challenge ended, since it seemed, based on the first two, the Challenges would occur after every second Food Supply Drop. If they practiced with magic until the first Food Supply Drop, then waited until the second, they knew they would have a decent amount of Mana, thanks in part to the regeneration decrease potions they were able to buy, something all of them had done as soon as they had the free points to do so. The fact that extra items became available after reaching 5,000 Points held at once made them wonder if there were more items that could become available at another Points threshold. As all seven of them had each reached 15,000 Points during the Points Battle Challenge, they knew it had to be at least 20,000 Points. Something both Keith and Nathan were nearing, due to their familiars slaying most of the monsters. Neither had accessed their Points Shops yet, either. Due to the Food Supply Drops and the crates of supplies that came with each, no one had needed anything ¨C they had all already bought Mana and Health Potions before starting. While Nathan and Keith knew they would probably need more towards the end of the Survival Challenge, if they went through with their plan of actually fighting against the harder monsters towards the end, they knew they could also wait until then. Nathan was a bit impatient for that to happen, as he wanted to return to acquiring Levels and had run out of stuff to practice enchanting with, other than the decks of cards that showed up with the supply runs. He didn''t have glue for those, however, so he couldn''t properly create the enchantments. It was something that told him they weren''t watching at all times outside of the game. His enchanted cards required him separating the front and the back, discarding the layer of glue from between them, then inscribing in the enchantment. Once the enchantment was inscribed onto it, he would then glue the two halves back together and weigh them down to dry flat. The art on the cards was mostly so that they weren''t just labeled what they were. Nathan looked at Keith, who was helping Samantha create a push of force, and listened in for a few minutes before returning to practicing as Keith switched over to William. "Ow!" Keith jumped, spinning and glaring at Nathan. "Don''t do that!" After his exclamation, Keith quickly realized two things. The first was that Nathan was standing twenty feet away. The second was that the player looked stunned. "Did you just cast a force push from there?" Keith asked. "Finally," Nathan responded, then shot another at Keith, who ducked, the push slamming into the wall behind them. Keith''s barrier flared up, dissipating the spell, and Nathan shrugged, then returned to casting the spell, beginning to acquire a feel for the version that flew further. It wasn''t as strong as his other version, but it did fly farther. Deciding he was done practicing the force push for the day, Nathan began practicing generating a barrier, something that elicited laughs from everyone else. It was the first time they had seen him creating a barrier, and he glared at them. "Sorry, Nathan," Samantha covered her mouth. "What is that?" "It''s a barrier," he grunted, quickly dispelling it. "A barrier?" Keith snorted. "Nathan, that looked like a thin blob. Or a splat. I''ve never seen a barrier made that wasn''t at least roundish, even by an amateur. You have the control to create enchantments, yet not to-" He cut off at Nathan''s glare. "Hey," Keith said. "It''s at least comparable in size to am amateur''s." Nathan glared at Ichtvar, who was chuckling. The phoenix had told him the barrier was just fine how it was, and that he could focus on reshaping it properly later. That it was normal to have them shaped weirdly when first starting out. "I will start plucking your feathers and feeding them to Splashy." Ichtvar quickly stopped laughing and gave Nathan a serious look. "Don''t do that," Ichtvar said. "He likes to play with any feathers of mine that get loose. Ever seen a storm elemental flying around, flapping the feathers it''s holding as if they''re wings? It is a sight both ridiculous and frightening." "When did he do that?" "When we last met," Ichtvar answered. "That was probably in the fifth or sixth century, I think? Around fifteen hundred years ago." "You two knew each other in Merlin''s time?" Keith asked, then his eyes widened. "Wait, you didn''t go by Ichtvar then, did you? You''re-" "Ichtvar is my name," Ichtvar stated. "Your familiar just has a tendency to call me Nairusa, or Fire Breath, because he was there when Endariv was born and saw me teaching him how to breathe fire. Normally, it''s the papa dragon that does that, but, well, there wasn''t one around." The phoenix flew up a few feet to avoid being hit by a push of force, before glaring at Nathan, who was ''innocently'' checking his cards. "What was that for?" He asked. Nathan pretended not to notice. "We''re starting to get the basics of the spell down," Samantha decided to change the subject. "For the force push. Will you start teaching us how to create a barrier, like Nathan can?" "Next run," Keith shook his head. "Let you guys develop a better grasp of using force magic first. Nathan''s only able to because Ichtvar worked with him, according to my familiar." Ichtvar yelped as a ball of water slammed into him. "What the hell, Nathan?" "Stop gossiping with Splashy," Nathan held up another card. "Or do you wanna get soaked again?" "I can both dodge that and incinerate it," Ichtvar snorted. "You only caught me off-guard because Sparky was interfering with my magical senses." Everyone looked at Keith''s familiar, who was floating a few feet away. The elemental formed a hand and waved at them before returning to its normal state. "You call him ''Sparky''?" Keith asked. "Sparky and Splashy. Jeez. Hey!" He glared at Nathan, who had hit him with another force push. "I''m going back to training," Nathan said. "Make fun of my barrier again, and I''m using a stun card on you." "That will probably slide off my shields," Keith told him. "Want to try?" Nathan held up another card. 00050 "Are you Level 100 yet?" Nathan asked Keith. "Not yet," Keith answered. "Why?" "What Level are you?" "Level 96, why?" "Make sure to hit Level 100 before this ends," Nathan told him. "Stop having Splashy merge into you, you keep drawing on his power too much for it to count as a challenge for you to kill things." "Jealous?" Keith asked. "You''ve gained 22 Levels," Nathan said. "I''ve gained more than that. No, I''m not jealous." Though he was, if he were fully honest with himself, jealous of the others. Since they weren''t as skilled as him, they earned more Experience. All of them, save for Samantha, were higher Levels than him. Keith was the first to discover the secondary Points Earned and Points Held threshold ¨C 25,000 in 1 Challenge and at one time. Nathan discovered the third, which was 100,000. Both added in more of the regeneration decreasing potions, as well as an additional Food Restock and Item Drop into their shops. Nathan purchased all ten of the new regeneration decreases he could have for each and used them, boosting him tremendously, in his opinion. Now, he recovered nine Health every ten seconds and eight Mana every second. It meant he would be able to take on some tougher Challenges than the Recommended Level. All of them could, except for Samantha, who was fuming over it, even with Nathan''s promises that he''d take her in for a 200-day Survival Challenge once she gave birth, Optional Challenges turned on. He knew it was the pregnancy hormones taking effect, as she was much more reasonable about it before getting too far into the pregnancy. At the moment, she was sleeping on the air mattress they shared, courtesy of a sleep spell from Ichtvar. She''d probably rage when she woke up over having it used on her, but Nathan was tired of hearing her complain about not having the Levels they all had. He was going to take her in just so she could binge a lot of Levels. A 200-day trip would definitely work for that. As long as she kept up the daily fights and completed each Challenge, she would acquire the Levels needed to handle the harder waves. Nathan looked over at Samantha, then back to Keith. "Go hunting with William once Michael, Mitchell, and Elise return," Nathan told him. "We only have three more days, and I''m not turning on Optional Challenges next run. We''re leaving the deaths to our familiars, and leaving only for the facilities and supply runs." "Why?" Keith asked. "Because I''m not asking Ichtvar to knock her out five minutes after she wakes up through the entire thing," Nathan answered. "That''s just cruel, and she does need some exercise, so sleeping all day with the baby isn''t the best idea. If we aren''t going out killing shit, she''s not going to complain as much. So get those last four Levels, you need to be able to do four Challenges before we return." "Alright, alright," Keith stretched. "I''ll do it. "What are you doing?" "Cuddling Samantha," Nathan stripped down to his boxers and walked over to the air mattress. He climbed onto it, slid one arm under the pillow, the other across Samantha, and Keith began to wonder if he''d fallen asleep or was just resting like that. The two of them lay there for a few more hours before Samantha woke, and she was pissed, though having Nathan cuddling her calmed her ¨C only a little. It took her a few minutes to realize that his right hand, the one draped over her, was resting against her baby bump, rather than on the mattress or one of her boobs. He was breathing slowly and evenly, and it took her only a few more minutes to realize that at the end of each exhale of Nathan''s, their son kicked. Listening to Nathan''s breathing and feeling their baby''s kick at the end of each exhale calmed Samantha down, and she admitted to herself that she may have been a little unreasonable before Ichtvar cast the spell on her. Almost an hour passed as Samantha listened and felt father and son acting in tandem, and she knew that Nathan was probably asleep. At least, until his hand began to slide upwards. To her surprise, it didn''t stop at her breasts, sliding past them and up to her face. Before she could ask what he was doing, she felt him pushing something into her mouth. A piece of chocolate. "Really, Nathan?" She asked, only to find him shoving the rest of the piece into her mouth. "Yes," he responded. "The baby was kicking in tune with your breathing." "He''s a smart baby," Nathan whispered. "Now shh, and eat the chocolate." "Why are you feeding my chocolate?" She asked. "I forgot to put strawberries into my Item Box when I put the chocolate in." Samantha laughed, turning over and looking into Nathan''s rich, blue eyes. He reached up and put a piece of chocolate into his own mouth, chewing slowly as his hand returned to her stomach. The baby kicked again. "I think he likes it when you''re touching there," she told Nathan. "Ichtvar told me," Nathan said. "That children of demigods are able to sense the auras of demigods, and even identify their demigod parents'' instinctively." "That''s¡­ interesting," Samantha said.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Indeed." "Where are Keith and William?" She looked at the other players, and Nathan rolled his eyes. "What?" "You go from our baby to those two lovebirds," he scoffed, then climbed off the air mattress and quickly changed. "Lovebirds?" She asked. "Nathan, they aren''t in love." "That''s what they want you to believe," he muttered, and she smacked him on the back before pulling on a top and joining him in the kitchen. "What are you doing? Go sit down." "I''m helping you cook." "I''ve got it," he shoved another piece of chocolate in her mouth as she attempted to protest. "Go sit down and relax. Stressing yourself isn''t good for the baby." "You want me to stop exercising, too?" She asked. "No," he answered. "A healthy body makes for a healthy baby. Now go sit and relax while I make dinner." "Fiiiiiiine." "What are you making?" Michael asked as Samantha left the kitchen. "Something edible." "We make edible food!" Elise protested. "Mostly because I''ve been helping," he glared at her. "Didn''t you burn the pasta?" "The first time I tried making it!" She protested. "That''s why you make sure to stir the bottom of the pan," he said. "So you don''t burn the pasta. You also overcooked it." "The first time!" "The first four times." "No, I didn''t!" "You did," Samantha told her. "Nathan, the baby wants something fruity." He threw an orange at her, which she caught. They both knew that had he thrown it at what he could, and not with his pre-System strength, she wouldn''t have caught it. She barely managed to catch it then. Being pregnant with his son did affect her reflexes, a lot more than she''d expected. "Seriously?" She asked. "Yes." "You had that in your Item Box just in case?" She asked. "Yes," he answered. "Now shut up and let me cook." An hour later, everyone was seated at a table, eating the chicken and rice that Nathan had made, smelling the apple pie he''d put into the oven. After dinner, William and Elise washed the dishes as Nathan played with Legos, enchanting the pieces as he constructed the dragon. "What''s the dragon going to do?" Samantha sat next to him, only to find a container of blueberries being set in front of her. "Nathan, he''s not craving them right now." "Sure he isn''t," Nathan finished enchanting the brick, then fixed it into place. "So what are you enchanting the dragon to do this time?" She asked. "Fly," he answered. The last three dragons all flew just fine, and the last one even floated in place, the first of his flying creations to not need to be in a state of constant motion until the enchantment ran out. "And breathe fire?" She asked. "You haven''t made any of them breathe fire yet." "It''s not like with the cards," Nathan told her. "I don''t have any fire mana crystals, which I would need in order to make it breathe fire." "What''s the difference between it breathing fire and it flying?" She asked. "The type of magic involved," Nathan answered. "There''s no magic being emitted out of the item while flying, nor in the defensive magics worked into it. For it to breathe fire, it projects magic out." "But when you were doing the ships," she said. "You had the figures moving around and the ship shooting cannonballs." "The enchantments also didn''t last long," he shook his head. "And the cannonballs were pieces of plastic I already had. They were shot with magic, but they themselves were not. And for someone not craving something fruity, you sure went through those blueberries fast." "What?" Samantha asked, then looked at the container of berries. The empty container. "Oh-" she found herself cut off as another piece of chocolate was pushed into her mouth. She chewed it and swallowed before speaking again. "Will you stop doing that?" "Doesn''t chocolate make women less moody?" Samantha almost snapped at Nathan before realizing he was completely serious in that thought. Nathan genuinely thought that giving her a lot of chocolate would keep her calmer during her pregnancy. "Nathan," she sighed. "You can''t just keep shoving it in my mouth. Especially not randomly." "I think the baby likes it." "He likes the chocolate, not you shoving it into my mouth," she told him. "And he likes fruity stuff even more. Jeez, I''m craving it right now." "He''s hungry," Nathan shrugged, setting another container of blueberries in front of her. "Here. Eat up." Nathan then pulled a card out of his Card Box and activated it, removing a bundle of chocolate bars. He set that in front of Samantha, then returned to his enchanting. "Can I have a piece?" Samantha looked up to find Ichtvar floating in front of her, looking at her expectantly. "Not going to ask Nathan?" "He ignores me when he''s focused on his enchanting," Ichtvar said. "I could probably set his hair on fire. Or nip at his ears. By the way ¨C don''t do that, he''d probably smack you." "I know," Samantha told him, offering up a chocolate bar, which the phoenix took into one of its talons. "I''ve never seen you actually eat chocolate unless Nathan is feeding it to you. How do you eat with your talons?" Ichtvar tilted his head in thought, then shrugged, bending his legs forward and up while moving the tips of his wings in front of him. Swiftly, using the tips of his wings and moving the chocolate bar with his talons, Ichtvar unwrapped it, then tilted his head forward and took a bite. "Like that," he said after swallowing. "Any other weird questions?" "No," she answered. "But I do have another question ¨C do you go through the whole, bursting-into-flames-reborn-from-the-ashes thing?" "Yes," he answered. "But only when I die or choose to die. I''m unable to do the latter while contracted without my contractor''s permission. Doesn''t mean I can''t just kill myself, but that''s a different story and will probably result in me losing chocolate privileges with Nathan for awhile." "Do you gain any benefits for being reborn?" She asked. "Several," he answered. "I retain all of my previous power while still gaining the growth spurts during adolescence that all magical creatures and people acquire. Even you all gained some boosts to your magic while going through puberty, despite not having awakened your magic." "Doesn''t that mean you could just keep dying over and over to increase your magical power?" She asked. "Well, yeah," Ichtvar said. "But it''s not beneficial to do that. It takes a few years to return to adulthood, for instance. If we die before then, we lose all of the power we gained during that birth. In addition, the less time that''s passed between births, the longer it takes for us to recover. We also acquire a bigger growing time boost the more power we gained in our last birth." Ichtvar puffed up his chest. "I have proudly lived for fifteen centuries without dying," he boasted. "That''s my longest streak, and is unusual for a phoenix. Most only go a thousand years before dying to collect a new boost." While that was true, the real reason Ichtvar hadn''t let himself die so he could collect on another growing-time boost was because it wouldn''t be easy to collect and eat chocolate as a hatchling, not until he''d grown a bit. "What happens if someone scatters your ashes?" She asked. "Before you''re reborn." "Ha!" Ichtvar laughed. "As if that would stop us from being reborn. I once had my ashes scattered and submerged in water. Still here, as you can see." "What happened?" Samantha asked. "The ashes of a phoenix are special," he told her. "They always return to each other, and always form up into an egg. The longer we''ve lived in the previous birth, the faster that happens and the faster we hatch out of it. If I were to die right now, I''d likely be born again in a few minutes. "Now if you don''t mind, I''m going to go share this chocolate with Sparky," Ichtvar flew off. Nathan gave Samantha an incredulous look. "How does a storm elemental eat chocolate?" 00051 Everyone shielded their eyes against the sun as they took in the fields of the neutral instance. Nearly four months had passed since they entered the Survival Challenge, and there wasn''t a single window or external door in the school it took place in, leaving them with just the artificial lighting. Seeing the sun for the first time in months was a slight shock to their systems, and they took a few minutes to adjust. Once they did, Nathan collected his decks of cards, telling them that they weren''t going to be doing Optional Challenges in the next run, and that the two familiars would keep everything clean. "But then you two would just earn a bunch of Points," Michael protested. "And they haven''t already?" William asked. "Exactly!" Michael said. "They''re the ones who need it the least!" "Keep in mind these runs aren''t for that," Keith said. "We can return after Samantha gives birth for you guys to clear out the monsters and earn Points and Levels better. Ichtvar and my familiar will just deal with the early monsters and anything the rest of us can''t handle. The Points distribution would be a lot better then, since the later monsters give more and there are more of them." "You guys aren''t reading the notices, are you?" Nathan asked, and the others looked at him. He was sitting on the ground, sorting through the cards to see what had been used and to remake the decks. "It''s just our rewards notices," Michael told him. "You know, the-" "It only gives one notice," Nathan said as he let Ichtvar back out for the rest period. "There are two." Everyone checked the second message, realizing that in addition to receiving what amounted to pretty much nothing compared to what they earned during the Challenge, they had an additional reward.
For completing a Survival Challenge lasting 100 days or more for the first time, a limited-edition Skill has become available for you.
Nathan had already purchased his using the 100 Skill Point Voucher from earning 100,000 Points in a single Challenge. He didn''t give it a second thought based on its name, and when he pulled up the information, he found himself pleasantly surprised, even though he had expected it.
Enchanter''s Shop: Level 1
Allows you to access a shop with enchanting materials. Stock may vary.
Level 1 Max
He was sure that surviving such a long Challenge was something that normally granted a limited-edition Skill, but also that whoever ran the game had swapped out what he originally would have earned for that. Judging by that, he guessed that they wanted him to succeed in his enchanting exploits. He suspected it had to do with his guns ¨C without needing his stats at all, the guns were able to damage things, as long as they were enchanted well enough. If that were the case, then the theory of them needing strong combatants became a stronger possibility. "Hey, Nathan," Keith looked at him. "I''m going to take a wild guess and say that you and I possibly have the same Skill available from this?" "What Skill?" "A shop," Keith answered. "For enchanters." "With varying stock," Nathan nodded. "That part is interesting." "Agreed," Keith said. "I just bought it, it might help us." "Same," Nathan nodded, then dismissed the message. "Everyone, rest up. We''ll enter the next session closer to the end of our time in this safe zone." He then promptly opened up the Enchanters'' Shop, which had five sizes of mana crystal ranging from small at 10 Points to massive at 250 Points and an inscribing pen. Nathan purchased a Small Mana Crystal and examined it. It was roughly the same as any other small mana crystal he''d had so far. "That''s interesting," Ichtvar floated closer, inspecting the mana crystal. "What?" Nathan asked. "It''s not artificially-produced," the phoenix told him. "I was curious to know if they could generate mana crystals through this system of theirs, but that''s a genuine crystal. It''s not artificial, like most of the items from their shops." Nathan inspected the crystal again. Odds were, he''d lose it when he left the game, if he hadn''t used it up by then. If they were sending real mana crystals, whether or not they could generate them through the game''s system probably had a negative answer. It would explain why ''Stock may vary''. It would depend on what they were able to have for sale at the time. That did, however, bring them back to the question of what the limits of the System''s ability to generate were. It could recreate mana crystals on someone when they entered the game, yet possibly couldn''t generate them on its own. Why? What created these restrictions for it? Just what was the System? Nathan sent the mana crystal into his Inventory, then laid on the grass, using his hands as a pillow. He closed his eyes, and the others stared at him. "He''s asleep, isn''t he?" Samantha asked. "Yes," Ichtvar responded. "Nathan is quite adept at falling asleep whenever he wants. It''s a demigod thing." "Since you two are buddies, now," Samantha looked at Keith, who was focused on the shop as he thought over stuff. "Has he told you any plans regarding the next Survival Challenge?" "Beyond what he already said?" Keith asked. "It''s basically going to be nearly four months of boringness. I think Nathan has some children''s books to read to his baby, as well as a stethoscope and a few other ''necessary'' things, but that''s about it for the plans. He used up pretty much everything we had for the enchanting in the last Challenge, and he''ll probably want to hold off on using the shop further until we''re out of the game."The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Why?" Michael asked. "Because," Samantha said. "If they lose the items when they leave, like most stuff bought in-game, then it would be a waste. If he bought it outside of the game, then he could create a large supply, then enter the game several times and use it over and over." "Oh," Michael said. "That makes sense. What do we do now?" "Rest and relax," Samantha answered as she laid next to Nathan. "And wait until Nathan initiates the next Challenge." "Hey, Ichtvar," Keith said. "I don''t like that curious tone you just used," the phoenix said. "Can I use your flames to-" "No." "But-" "I''m not a stove," Ichtvar said. "And I can hear your stomach rumbling. You''re asking if you can use me to cook something." "Start a fire," Keith said. "I was asking to start a fire. Not use your flames to cook." "You can make fire with your magic," Ichtvar rolled his eyes, then flew into Nathan''s chest, his markings fading a few moments later. Keith shrugged, then pulled out several playing cards from his backpack. "You kept some?" William asked. "How do you plan on starting a fire?" Michael asked. "We don''t have wood." "Nathan gave these to me before we entered the game," Keith answered. "For a situation like this." He then triggered them, revealing a bundle of firewood, a bundle of sticks, and a bundle of twigs. Keith untied them, then got to work building a fire, before working his magic to start it. "I hate making fire with magic," Keith grumbled. Once he had enough coals and low flames, Keith set up a pot, which he filled with water, and a saucepan, which he used to simmer the sauce. When he finished cooking, they had spaghetti with marinara sauce, which they ate off of paper plates with plastic silverware. After their meal, Keith used his magic to create more water to wash the dishes with, then sent those into some cards once dry, then relaxed. Michael, William, Mitchell, and Elise walked off to spar, and Keith let his familiar out so it could stretch again. Samantha woke sometime later, and after seeing that four of their companions were off in the distance, training, and Keith was meditating a few hundred yards away, she gave Nathan a small smirk, checking to make sure he was still asleep. She was confident she''d figured out what woke him up and what didn''t, and it had to do with the intent of waking him during the act of going to wake him. As gently as carefully as possible, Samantha undid the button and fly of his slacks, before reaching into his underwear and receiving a flick to the back of the head. "No." "Are you seriously turning down a blowjob?" She looked at Nathan, who was glaring at her. "Nathan, everyone else is occupied, and it''s not going to hurt the-" "I don''t like your position," he sat up. "What if-" "It''s not like we''re fucking," Samantha said. "And the baby''s fine, Nathan. Will-" "No," Nathan stated. "You''re in an awkward position for it." "It''s not-" she cut off at Nathan''s glare, knowing she wouldn''t win. He''d made up his mind, and that was that. "What guy refuses a blowjob from his girlfriend?" Nathan opened his mouth to respond. "When they''ve already been sexually active." "The kind who cares about his baby." "There''s no risk to the baby," she said. "I''m pretty sure lots of pregnant women still do this and have absolutely no issues." "The answer is ''no''." "Fine," Samantha said. "If you and I don''t do anything before I give birth to him, then I get to name him and-" "No," Nathan said. "I already have a name picked out." "We haven''t discussed this!" "Keith." "We''re not naming him after your buddy." "William." "We''re not naming him after someone crushing on me." "Mitchell." "We''re not naming him after our friend." "Michael." "Now you''re being ridiculous." "Cyrus." "Cyrus?" Samantha gave Nathan a bewildered look. "Where did you get that name from?" "My brother." Nathan stood and walked away, leaving Samantha even more confused. Nathan didn''t have a brother. She''d known him for fifteen years ¨C nearly their entire lives ¨C and had been at his house many times. There had never been a sign of another brother. Ever. "Why did Nathan walk off looking all moody?" Keith asked, startling Samantha from behind. "Well, more depressed than moody. That''s not like him." "I don''t know," Samantha frowned. "We were discussing names for our son. He said he''d already picked one. After going through him just messing around, he said ''Cyrus''-" Samantha noted Keith freezing up at that mention. "-and when I asked where he got that name from," she stared at Keith intently. "He said ''my brother'', then walked off. I''ve known him for fifteen years, Keith, and I''ve never heard of this ''Cyrus''. Based on your reaction, you know who Cyrus is." "You know ¨C or knew ¨C Cyrus," Keith told her. "If you never saw a sign of him, then he probably pretended to be Nathan. They were identical twins. I only ever found a few photos of the two of them together. Some of those pictures you''ve seen of Nathan were probably Cyrus, too." "What are you talking about?" Samantha asked. "I''d eaten dinner with them several times, Keith. There was only ever one child there." "I don''t know the full details," Keith shrugged. "Just that Nathan was an identical twin, and that his brother, Cyrus, died four years ago. We''re actually near the anniversary." "How near?" Samantha asked as a feeling started to form in her gut. "The accident happened on June 13th, the funeral was June 20th." Just a few days from then, out of the game. It might explain why he wanted to do several long runs before then, if Keith were being honest. Then there was the date of the funeral¡­ "You aren''t screwing with me, are you?" Samantha asked. "Because if you are, so help me, Keith-" "I solemnly swear it," Keith told her. "I don''t know why you didn''t know about Cyrus, but what I said was true. Why did you react so negatively to the funeral''s date?" "That''s when Nathan asked me out," she told him. "If you''re being serious, then Nathan asked me out the day this mysterious twin of his died. How did you find out about Nathan? Hacking into his personal life?" "Nathan''s known I knew," Keith told her. "I saw him at the cemetery last summer. Before you ask, I wasn''t stalking him, I was talking to a necromancer." "In the cemetery?" "He doesn''t raise the dead," Keith shook his head. "Just commune with spirits. It happened while my helper and I were working on the magic bomb that failed. A pretty decent enchanter was rumored to have been buried there. Turned out, their new enchanted items were actually old ones from a stash they''d found, so that was a dead-end. Before you ask, I didn''t ask the necromancer to summon Cyrus''s ghost. "Enough talk of the dead," he shook his head. "Are you hungry? We have quite awhile before the next game begins, and Nathan may not return until it''s time to start it." "A day of boring nothingness," Samantha sighed. "Followed by almost four months of boring nothingness. And yes, I''m hungry, Keith. The baby''s asking for food." Keith got to work cooking, and the others joined the two of them for the meal. As Keith had predicted, Nathan only returned an hour before their twenty-four-hour rest period was up. "Where did you go?" Michael asked. "As far as possible," Nathan answered. "It''s just fields as far as you can go, it seems. Returning here was easy, though. All I had to do was wish to return, and distance itself seemed to warp to allow me back." Something he assumed was put into that dimension so that a team that split up for any reason could easily meet back up in the central zone. Nathan began the next Challenge for them, then waited for them to agree to it. "Time for another four months of boring training," Michael said. "I have playing cards, some board games, and a chess set," Nathan told him. "Just accept it so we can get on with the boringness. And just accept the start already, everyone else has." Michael snorted, then accepted the Challenge, and the seven teens found themselves back in the school, the two magicians sending their familiars to start clearing things as they prepared for an even more boring run than the last. 00052 "A magical bomb?" Agent Samtol asked. "What?" Nathan gave him a confused look. "I do not like the idea of a bomb powerful enough to destroy an ancient dragon even being worked on," the agent said. "And you don''t even-you just went into the game, didn''t you?" Agent Samtol realized as he spoke that Nathan''s sudden confusion likely came from having spent several months in the game, putting a lot of time between the two parts of their conversation. To the teen, it had been almost eight months since he told the agent about the bomb, not a few seconds. "In reality?" Nathan asked. "Yes. Though for us, we just returned from it. Isn''t that obvious by how pregnant Samantha is?" The agent looked at Samantha, who looked close to the end of her pregnancy. Another one of the many mysteries of the game, where the students don''t age, yet cycles continue, such as periods and pregnancies, and they affected even the players'' real bodies. "Now if you don''t mind," Nathan said. "I feel disgusting after being in the game, so I''m going to take a shower." Nathan shed his backpack and guns, then left, and the agent looked at Keith. "He''s not actually making a bomb," Keith told Agent Samtol. "I promise. I think he wants to form a contract with the dragon once he''s got more power and strength under his belt, and killing it would complicate that just a tad." The agent sighed, then looked at Samantha. "Let''s get you to the medical wing so we can check your progress," he told her, then led her away, leaving the other five students alone. "Nathan has a weird choice in books," Michael commented. "And I can say that with confidence knowing he''s not nearby to hear it, since I''m pretty sure he did actually run off to take a shower." They all thought back to Nathan reading to his unborn baby, then agreed that Nathan''s choice of books weren''t the typical ones for reading to the belly. "Did you see Samantha''s face when he pulled out the first book?" Keith snorted. "I think she about fainted just seeing that." "It''s Nathan, let''s just assume he thought it was a normal thing," William shook his head. "I''m hitting the showers, too." "Same," Keith and Mitchell said. "Elise and I," Michael said. "Are going to go have some fun before a shower." The other boys rolled their eyes, then made their way to the showers, where Nathan was finishing up. Nathan dried off and dressed as the other boys began their showers, then he made his way to the medical wing, where an ultrasound was being performed on Samantha. "He''s pretty healthy," the doctor commented as he looked at the ultrasound. "Everything checks for him, and he''s early in some areas. I''d expect him to be born in the next week or two, just a little ahead of schedule." The doctor wrapped up the appointment, then Samantha and Nathan left, the agent following. "Agent Samtol," Samantha looked at the agent. "Requesting permission for Nathan and I to take a trip back home?" "You''re eight months pregnant," Nathan told her. "You''re not going on a four-hour drive nor a flight on a plane." "I''ll be fine," she said. "Let''s just go back home for a few days, okay?" "That''s not a good idea," the agent told them. "If-" "We''ll be fine," Nathan said, then sighed as he realized why she wanted to return home and decided to allow her. "If we''re going for a few days, Keith''s coming, too." "To work on your project?" The agent asked. "I think your girlfriend might be wanting-" "We''ll be fine," Nathan told him. "We''re heading home for a few days. I was going to ask permission, anyway. Go pack your stuff, Samantha. I''ll tell Keith so he can pack." "I didn''t give permission," the agent said. "Are you denying us permission?" Nathan stared at him. "You don''t have any legal grounds for stopping us, Samtol. Don''t forget that. We''re here by choice. You''re helping us, not owning us. The agreement we signed was that we''d allow you to help us train so we could have a better chance at surviving these Challenges. You''d provide us a facility to live and train in, resources, and combat and magic instructors. In exchange, we''d allow you to run non-invasive tests to try to learn what you can about the System and the games. With our permission, you would also perform invasive tests. However, nothing that could put us in danger. It''s a simple, basic deal that gives no attached strings. A good idea, when even the weakest of those who exit the game are on the level of creatures just below the Grand Set and likely not fully stable in the sense that pissing them off could be disastrous. We''ll be back." Nathan turned and hunted down Keith, who was in the cafeteria, eating. "Keith," Nathan said. "Samantha and I are heading back home. Be packed in an hour to come with us. We''ll be there a few days." "Why?" Keith asked. "I know you told her." "Alright," Keith said. "Is Katie coming, too?" Nathan thought about that for a few moments. He and Samantha came to a deal that she, Elise, and Katie would go into an extended Survival Challenge without him after their son was born. He wasn''t comfortable with that idea, but she promised to take several cards of resources and use the Beginner Difficulty for it. For them. The three of them were going to max out their Challenge slots in that run into the game. In exchange, Samantha would deal with not being able to do anything with Nathan until after she gave birth and a month had passed, which was the timeframe Nathan gave her to be ''safe'' due to what''s common for a woman''s body after pregnancy.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. He knew Samantha wanted him to just go and do it with Katie already, but he didn''t know if he was comfortable with that yet. Everyone else he had slept with, he had known for years, then there was that other matter. Shaking his head, Nathan told Keith that they were going for a few days at Samantha''s request and weren''t bringing Katie along. That idea changed, however, when Keith and Nathan met with Samantha at the front of the school with their bags. Katie was with her, along with a bag. "Katie''s coming, too," Samantha told Nathan, who glared at her. "Nathan, you just spent eight months away from a girl you''re supposed to be dating, and I know you plan on going back into the game while we''re gone ¨C that''s why Keith''s coming with us. Especially since we''ll be gone about a week." "If you want me to bring Katie into the game," Nathan said. "Then it''d only be fair to bring William into the game, too. Keith and I are going into it to research-" "How to make an orb so you can view our baby," Samantha said. "I know. But see, Nathan, we have electricity in there. You could just bring a video and some pictures, you know." "It''s not the same," Nathan told her. "And we''ll be researching other stuff." "What''s does William have to do with Katie coming into the game?" Keith answered. "It''s you Samantha wants Katie in there for, and I know you aren''t into William." "Nathan''s comments about you two fucking Michael," Samantha told Keith. "Are because he''s trying to get you two to hook up in his own way. He thinks the two of you would work well together." "Me and William?" Keith asked, and Samantha nodded. He looked at Nathan. "You want William and me to hook up?" "Samantha said that, not me." "Uh-huh," Keith said. "You do, don''t you?" "I disagree to Katie coming," Nathan looked at Samantha. "We''ll be gone for a week," Samantha said. "And you''re going into the game for what is probably a few years. It''ll give you two time to get to know each other. It''ll also give Katie and me time to bond." "She''s not coming in the first trip," Nathan muttered. "Just Keith and me, so we can focus on our research." "Excellent," Samantha said. "Katie and I will ride in my car-" "No, no, and no," Nathan protested. "You are in my car. You come, you come we with me. Let''s go." Nathan exited the building and walked to his car, loading his bags into the trunk. He then loaded the others'' bags into the trunk as well, everything fitting in snugly, before he slammed it shut and helped Samantha into the front passenger seat while Keith and Katie took the back seats. Nathan took his spot in the driver''s seat, then pulled out. Most of the ride was silent, apart from when Samantha asked for a restroom break. Other than the stops for those, they made the trip unhindered, arriving at the house where Nathan lived. "This is a damn big house," Katie commented. "It''s yours?" "Yes," Nathan pressed his hand against the reader by the gate. A moment later, the gates opened and he pulled through. "We have guest rooms, don''t worry." "I wasn''t worried about that," Katie told him. When they pulled up to the garage, Nathan noted a couple of extra cars in the driveway. He parked in the garage as Katie asked if all the cars were theirs. "No," Samantha answered. "Just the four here in the garage. One of the two outside belong to his aunt and uncle, and I don''t recognize the other." "Blake''s." "He got a new car?" Samantha asked. "In March," Nathan nodded. "Who''s Blake?" Katie asked. "One of Nathan''s cousins," Samantha answered. "He''s in college. Is he still a prick?" "Not since I put him in the hospital," Nathan climbed out of the car, helped Samantha out, then pulled Keith to help him with their bags and Samantha''s. When they entered the house, Nathan''s family was chatting in the living room, and his parents looked at him in surprise. "Nathan?" His father said. "Aaaaaaand Samantha was not that pregnant when I saw her a couple of weeks ago." "Pregnancies advance in the game," Nathan said. "Even if we don''t. We''re taking guest rooms. You''ve met Keith. This is Katie." "In the game?" Blake, a twenty-year-old with the same brown hair and green eyes as Nathan''s aunt and father, asked. He was relaxing on a chair, dressed in slacks and a polo. "What game?" "They aren''t actually authorized to know this," Samantha told Nathan. "My parents know," Nathan said. "And the world''s finding out soon enough, anyway. Come on." Nathan led his guests upstairs and got them situated in three separate guest rooms. "How many rooms does this house have?" Katie asked. "Ten," Nathan answered. "Mine''s directly across the hall." "I hear someone up here," Samantha commented. "Little Luke?" "He hates being called ''little''," Nathan said. "And yeah, it''s probably him, since he wasn''t downstairs." "Who''s Luke?" "Nathan''s ten-year-old cousin," Samantha answered as Nathan left the room. "The twin babysitters who he slept with watch him from time to time. His aunt and uncle live not too far from here. If Nathan''s still the same way with Luke as he was when we were younger, they''re probably going to be awhile." "Doing what?" Keith asked. "I mean, I can hear them chatting, but have tuned them out because it kind of feels like eavesdropping. I didn''t realize how potent the wards they had at the school were until now." Samantha agreed, though they couldn''t fully understand Nathan and Luke anyway ¨C the pair might have only been two rooms over, but that was enough that their enhanced senses weren''t enough to make out their words. The only reason they could be heard was because Nathan''s volume had risen to match Luke''s excited volume. "Video games, probably," Samantha answered. "The only time I ever saw Nathan playing them was when he was with Luke. Come on, I''ll introduce you to his family." Samantha led the other two downstairs and introduced them to Nathan''s parents, aunt and uncle, and cousin. Nathan''s father and aunt both had brown hair and green eyes and similar, tall builds. Nathan''s mother was tall and possessed brown eyes, and his uncle was a little on the short side, with brown hair and brown eyes. Just like Blake, the four of them were dressed in a formal-casual manner, and the lack of suits surprised Katie. "Wealthy doesn''t mean suit-wearing all the time," Samantha snorted when Katie said that. "You can call me Alan," Nathan''s father introduced himself. "I prefer Judy," Nathan''s mother added. "Carmen," his aunt introduced herself. "And my husband, Franklin." "What''s this game?" Blake asked Samantha. "And Nathan''s parents were trying to convince us magic is real and has something to do with the ''attacks''." "Show them Splashy," Samantha told Keith, who sighed. "Or just a spell." Keith debated on which spell to demonstrate, as most of his spells were offensive or simple manipulations of air. Then he remembered that he had some of Nathan''s enchanted cards in his pocket, and Nathan had mentioned to him that it was okay to show his parents the products of the research so far. He pulled one of the cards out of his pocket and held it up. "Simple playing card, right?" Keith handed it to Blake. "Magic tricks?" Blake examined the card. "And while this is a card, it''s got artwork and ''stun'' on it." "Yeah," Keith took the card, pushed some mana into it, then threw it at Blake, whose body slacked as he lost control over it. "That''s a stun card, an invention of your cousin''s. The effect will wear off in probably half an hour, since you aren''t a magician. The stun card causes you to lose control of your body, while the shock card locks you up. Most of his enchanted cards are offensive, but¡­ I do have this one." Keith pulled out another card and pushed mana into it, then crushed the card in his hand. A bundle of rope formed in the air, but before he could catch it, Samantha had grabbed it. "Do you have one with duct tape?" She asked as she began tying Blake up. "I have to protest to you tying my son up," Franklin told Samantha. "But only out of parental obligation. I know how he was to you last time you two met." "Plus," Judy said. "You''re pregnant. No one''s going to get in your way." "Nathan does," Keith told her. "All the time," Katie added. "He''s paranoid about risk to the baby," Samantha informed them. "If he knew I was tying Blake up, he''d probably make me sit down, then finish the job himself." 00053 "I have to admit," Carmen said once Samantha, Katie, and Keith finished explaining what they could of the game. "All of this sounds¡­ hard to believe." "We had to take a little while to adjust," Judy told her. "When we found out. With the evidence in front of us, we were able to accept magic existing a lot easier." "And the part about the game?" Franklin asked. "The idea of your son being in such a horrid thing doesn''t bother us?" "It does," Alan answered. "A lot. But Nathan''s a tough kid, and he made it through the initial round. I''d be more concerned about the possibility of Luke entering it once he''s eighteen. He doesn''t have any form of combat training, unlike Nathan, who''s learned since he was three, and who ¨C as you know well ¨C has not had issue killing problems in the past." "What are the odds of entering the game?" Carmen asked, paling at the thought of her younger son finding himself in it. "Are those known? There''s been an increase in-" "According to Master Torzin," Samantha said, noting the interested look from Nathan''s parents. They probably didn''t know about his truer nature. "A martial arts instructor and demigod who is helping teach us more combat at the facility, this isn''t the first world it''s occurred on. He said that in other worlds, it increases how many are initiated each year until everyone who turns eighteen finds themselves in it on their birthday. That takes fifteen years. So there''s a higher chance that Luke will find himself in it than that we would." The four parents gave each other uneasy looks. "In other news," Keith cleared his throat. "Nathan and I are magical prodigies when it comes to enchanting. We''re putting our heads together and trying to find a way to stop the game. Nathan intends on fully destroying it." "Mom! Mom! Mom!" Luke came running into the room, rushing over to his mom, planting his hands on her legs, and shaking them in his excitement. "Nathan has a phoenix!" Luke possessed the same brown hair as his parents, his bright green eyes filled with excitement. At the moment, he was dressed in a pair of blue swim trunks, swim goggles hanging around his neck. "Are you going swimming?" Carmen asked. "Nathan''s taking me out back!" Luke nodded as Nathan came down the stairs. "Come on, Nathan!" Nathan was dressed in a pair of dark green board shorts, a pair of dark blue towels slung over his right shoulder, and held a piece of paper in his left hand. "Father," Nathan handed him the paper. "I need these items, if you can get them." Alan skimmed the paper as Nathan began walking with Luke towards the patio doors in the dining room. "Does this have to do with you wanting to destroy the game?" Alan asked. "Keith and I are working on making a special kind of magic gun," Nathan answered. "Come on, Luke. Let''s leave the boring people behind." "Yeah!" Luke rushed out back, and Nathan followed him, draping the towels over the back of a pool chair as Luke ran over to the diving board. "Nathan, watch this!" Luke ran to the edge of the board and jumped off of it, performing a flip before hitting the water in a dive with minimal splash. He resurfaced, then grinned at Nathan, who nodded, then ran to the edge of the pool and jumped, tucking his knees up to his chest and landing beside his cousin before the boy could escape the splash zone. "Hey!" Luke spluttered when Nathan surfaced. "That was cheating!" Luke splashed water at Nathan, who pushed his hand out, using force magic to push the water to his cousin. "That''s even more cheating!" Luke exclaimed. "I can''t do that!" The two of them began to horse around in the pool as everyone else came out back, Samantha untying Blake so he could join them. "If I weren''t ready to pop any day now," Samantha commented as she sat on a pool chair. "I''d probably join them in there." "I can''t even begin to wrap my head about how that works," Alan shook his head as he took a seat beside her. "You don''t age, yet a pregnancy can advance and you still hit periods? It just doesn''t make sense." "It''s magic," Keith commented. "There''s a lot about it that doesn''t make sense. Even Master Torzin, who is hundreds of thousands of years old, doesn''t know many of its mysteries." "Speaking of this Master Torzin," Judy looked at the magician. "Nathan-" "Yes," Samantha said. "It''s the same Master Torzin that Nathan found to train him after I turned him down and Cyrus passed away." The Hunters gave each other uneasy looks. "I found out¡­ technically today," Samantha told them. "We were in the game earlier and he was mentioned. Why did I never know Nathan had a twin? How many times did I interact with Cyrus and think he was Nathan? How many photos of Nathan are actually Cyrus? Sorry if this seems a rush, especially with¡­ that date coming up, but¡­ Nathan isn''t exactly the talkative type for most things. To him, talking is business in nearly all cases, and I don''t think Cyrus is something he wants to discuss." "The first time you visited the house," Judy said. "You greeted Cyrus thinking he was Nathan. Cyrus decided to play along and pretend to be his brother. Nathan caught that and was pretty upset, but agreed to let Cyrus hang out with you at the house, pretending to be him, since Nathan got to hang out with you at school and the dojo." "Nathan and Cyrus attended different days at the dojo," Alan added. "You went on the days that Nathan did. Cyrus was also a bit of an academic prodigy, so we had private tutors for him, while Nathan went to school. I think part of the reason they''d come to that agreement was because Cyrus only got to socialize with Nathan most of the time." "But even when we were older," Samantha continued as Keith walked to the edge of the pool and talked with Nathan. "I still never saw a sign, and I was even in Nathan''s room ¨C I saw his stuff."Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "Cyrus pretended Nathan''s room was his," Carmen shook her head. "I think they both developed crushes on you at the same time, too. I know they had an agreement that the first person you made a move on would be the one who got to date you." "Weren''t they worried," Samantha asked as Keith made his way inside. "About me finding out I was dating Cyrus and not Nathan if I asked him?" "They''d planned on telling you when the move was made," Judy explained. "The only real difference in Cyrus was that he went by ''Nathan'' and used Nathan''s room instead of his. None of the rest was actually acting." "And if I didn''t make a move?" Samantha asked as Nathan started floating on his back, eyes closed. "What would they have done then?" "They were pretty sure you would," Alan snorted. "You''re a pretty independent woman, Samantha, and neither of them had a doubt you''d take initiative sooner or later if you had interest in them." Samantha closed her eyes and thought over all of her interactions with Nathan at the house. It had been a few years since the last one, so she couldn''t be sure, but she''d never seen a difference in the two Nathans. She had crushed on Nathan, and she didn''t even realize that she wasn''t actually dealing with Nathan all the time, nor that the second ''Nathan'' wasn''t really acting beyond just going by a different name and using a different room. Did that mean she crushed on both Nathan and Cyrus? The sound of someone using the diving board caught her attention, and Samantha opened her eyes in time to see Keith''s scrawny body hitting the water in front of it. He was dressed in a pair of white and gray swim trunks, and when he came up for air, Nathan and Luke got to work dunking him. His white-and-gold familiar''s marks stood out on his pale back, and Samantha noticed the other adults giving those curious looks. To them, they would look like a strange form of tattoo. "Master Torzin," Alan said. "You said he''s a demigod who''s hundreds of thousands of years old?" "If what he says it to be believed," Samantha nodded. "We know he''s a demigod for sure ¨C anyone with white mana, like him and Nathan, is a demigod. It''s the one guaranteed sign of it, and I just realized what I just said." "That I''m not Nathan''s biological father?" Alan asked. "It''s not something I didn''t know. We''d tried to conceive for years, but it just wasn''t happening. At the same time, my business was suffering, hard. We were losing a major case after my business partner went under for some illegal stuff. A vital piece of evidence simply didn''t exist ¨C we didn''t have something we need to get a verdict. I practice honestly, and that was the first time I ever considered not doing so. "Then a man came to us," he continued. "With an offer. He said that he could provide us with a guaranteed win for our case. The only exchange was that he slept with Judy one time, the night of our success. I didn''t want to take the deal, but Judy knew how badly it was affecting us." "So I agreed to it," Judy told Samantha. "My relationship with Alan was originally as a prostitute, sleeping with him for money so I could pay for my chef''s training and to start my own restaurant. It was the one time since marriage I ever did it with someone other than Alan, and he understood why I did it, even if he didn''t like it." "It involved no birth control," Alan said. "But that wasn''t too much of an issue, since Judy wasn''t able to bear children, which was part of the problem with us trying to have one. Our concern was with STD''s, which he proved clean of. After things continued to go downhill for us, Judy pushed me to accept. The day before the trial, I did. "He provided us with the piece of evidence we needed," Alan continued. "It was like handing us the key to a goldmine. The one thing he gave us, just a small piece of information that was able to be verified quickly, allowed us to win the case and then some. It''s what launched my career as a high-end lawyer." "A couple of weeks later," Judy said. "I missed my period. We though it odd, but didn''t connect it with, you know, the ''payment'', since I simply couldn''t have children. But then I missed the next one, and then had morning sickness and an intense craving for buttermilk pancakes and gummy bears. "So we went to the doctor," she continued. "Where they confirmed I was pregnant. A few weeks later, we discovered it was with twins. We were sure they were this mysterious man''s children, and that was confirmed when we did a DNA comparison after they were born." "When we tried to contact him," Alan told Samantha. "We found it impossible ¨C the man had simply disappeared after impregnating Judy. We decided that since he didn''t want to be a part of our sons'' lives, we weren''t going to let them know. As far as we were concerned, I was their father. I suppose being a god would explain such a thing." They considered how Nathan would have reacted to finding out, but outside of Katie, everyone there knew that the fact that Nathan didn''t even mention it to his parents probably meant he didn''t care that Alan wasn''t his biological father. Another thought that crossed their minds was that Nathan probably wondered what it would be like to sleep with a god ¨C or in his case, a goddess. "So," Alan decided to change the subject. "I take it you came with him after finding out what was coming up in a few days?" "Yes," Samantha said. "He wants to name our son after Cyrus, which is how the whole thing came up. I still can''t believe I didn''t realize I was talking to two different people." "This is how similar those two were," Judy laughed. "Even we couldn''t tell them apart unless they intentionally acted differently or we got them doing martial arts or something academic. Nathan''s an average student, Cyrus was an excellent one. Cyrus was an average martial artist while Nathan was an exceptional one. Other than that, their personalities were quite similar. And they always dressed identically, even without planning, which only made it more difficult." Alan laughed. "I remember the time," he said. "When they were ten, and we split up at the store, I with Cyrus, Judy with Nathan. The idea was to have them pick out outfits separately. Cyrus and I went to one store, Judy and Nathan went to the other, and we swapped stores after finishing. Neither boy knew what the other had gotten." "I got to the checkout," Judy continued the story. "At the second store, and the cashier said, ''Not trying to be intrusive, ma''am, but his father was just in here with him, and they bought the same clothes you''re getting now''. Alan received a similar response at the other store." "Without even knowing what the other got," Alan chuckled. "They still picked out the same clothes ¨C and it was a surprise trip to stores we hadn''t been to before. If his children are twins, I wouldn''t be surprised if something like that happened to you." "Just one," Samantha smiled. "He likes the sound of his daddy''s voice, too, and knows when his daddy''s near. If Nathan''s spooning me, his hand on my stomach, the little guy kicks in beat with Nathan''s breathing." "Blake!" Nathan hollered, and everyone looked at him. "Get your butt changed and get in here! Stop ignoring your brother! And stop ogling my girlfriend!" "I was looking at Katie, not Samantha!" "They''re both my girlfriends!" Blake froze for a moment, then went inside as Samantha chuckled. "Samantha," Judy look at the young woman''s stomach. "Have you been through the classes and such?" "No," Samantha responded. "But during our latest run in the game, Nathan revealed that he''d brought along a bunch of books that covered it. In addition to reading to our baby, he read those to me. I''d forgotten how odd Nathan could be over the last few years." "Well," Alan smiled. "I''m glad you two started talking again, he seems a lot happier." "Oh, that''s because he''s going to be a dad," Samantha told him. "He''s ecstatic for that more than anything. He''s actually planning on doing some research with Keith before our baby is born so that we can use a special viewing orb to look at the baby while we''re in the game. I''m all for pictures and videos, but Nathan doesn''t consider that the same. Maybe I''ll see it the same way once he''s born? But it''s technically the same as a picture, since time is frozen while we''re in the game." "How does that work?" Carmen asked. "They just freeze time somehow?" "No one knows for sure," Nathan said, having approached with Keith without notice. "That''s one of the things I might discover as I work to destroy the game. Now that Blake''s playing with Luke, Keith and I are going out for a bit. We''re picking up some stuff. Stay here and relax. We''ll be back in a few hours." "But-" she began to protest. "Father," Nathan looked at his father. "We''ll eat dinner while we''re out. Please make sure Samantha gets something to eat soon, she''s trying to not be rude by mentioning how hungry she is. Also, give her chocolate. Lots of it. Our baby likes it. Bye." 00054 "Do you really think this will work?" Nathan asked as he frowned at the plate with a burger and pile of fries in front of him. "And did we have to come here?" "Yes," Keith picked up a fry. "And yes." They were at a restaurant that Nathan would have preferred to avoid. He wasn''t a fan of their food, which Keith knew. But the magician wanted to eat there, so that was where they went. "You''re paying," Nathan told Keith. "I know," Keith responded. "And it looks like it worked." "Already?" Nathan asked. "Yeah," Keith told him. "Unless it''s coincidental that we were followed from your place to here ¨C which you admitted was happening ¨C and that the head of the local branch of the Black Orb walked into this restaurant, even though he normally wouldn''t be caught dead in it, just like you." Nathan didn''t see why they needed to go to a ''crap'' restaurant to force the agent to approach them, but Keith insisted on it. Nathan felt confident the agent would have approached them at an expensive, quality restaurant, too. "Hello, boys," a man sat in the seat at the end of their table. He looked to be in his fifties, with black and gray hair and dark brown eyes, dressed in a black suit. A small, black crystal orb hung from a golden chain around his neck. As he sat down, a privacy barrier formed around their table to prevent eavesdropping. Keith identified it easily, while Nathan only noticed the magics in the air, unable to determine what, specifically, they did, even though he was sure he knew. "Darren," Keith greeted the man. "How are you?" "You know who I am?" Darren asked. "Of course," Keith answered. "I''m the rogue element, remember? The one that allies with no faction or government? I make it a habit to know who all the major players are in the area around me." "I heard you''re helping the government now," Darren told him. "In non-magic things," Keith stated. "And only temporarily. They''re overlooking some past actions of mine in exchange for certain things. My one allegiance is to Nathan, and that''s because he''s both my partner and ally in enchanting, which is why we drew out the local faction." "You drew me out?" Darren asked. "We knew," Keith gave Nathan a look that told the other man to keep quiet. They had an agreement that Keith would do most of the talking, as Nathan had a habit of being blunt and forceful with his words. "That you would likely keep an eye on any survivors'' movements. When we came back to town, we knew you would watch for an opportunity to approach us, so we decided to create one. "If you want to know what happened to Madeline," Keith told him. "She turned everyone against me to draw any suspicions away from her. At the same time, she built up a force to assist herself, tricking the other students so that she could grow stronger. "When this came to light," he continued. "And that she was a part of the organization that had forced that round of the game, it made her into an enemy of everyone present. Then there came a Challenge where we were put into groups based on our ranking, and she was put into the group that Nathan and I were in. "To finish that Challenge," Keith popped a fry into his mouth. "One person from each group had to die. Naturally, as she was the enemy of everyone there, she became the target. That said, she challenged me to a duel directly, intending to put me down for good. "That was her mistake," Keith told Darren. "As she underestimated my power. Even her familiar wasn''t able to do more than amuse me. I killed her easily and without even a moment''s doubt I would succeed. Your attempt at gaining a powerful resource failed because of her own hatred and darkness. "That said," Keith continued. "There''s a good chance you''ll manage to force another one in the next year, of course. And then there''s the chance that a random member gets ''lucky''. So the Black Orb will get someone sooner or later. Several someones, no doubt." Darren digested that as Nathan poked at his burger, then frowned and pushed his plate to Keith. "We''re going to my mom''s restaurant after this." "Nathan Hunter," Darren looked at Nathan. "From what we were able to hear, you''re one of the most powerful players to come out of the game." "Most dangerous," Nathan corrected. "Unless you get into the terms of raw magical power," Darren said. "Our reports put you as a very powerful young man." "I''m a warrior with enchanting, not a magician," Nathan stated. "Who contracted a phoenix as a familiar," Darren said. "I can see you''re surprised by me knowing that," Nathan suppressed an eye-roll, he hadn''t been surprised at all, so it wouldn''t have shown. The Black Orb isn''t the only organization that''s aware of this, even if it''s meant to be a secret, Mr. Hunter. Contracting a phoenix has only occurred once in history." "Once in known history," Keith gave Nathan a look that told him to stop before even starting. "We know of someone who''s mentioned at least three other cases of it, besides Nathan and Merlin." "And how trustworthy is this person?" "My martial arts instructor," Nathan said. "And a demigod who''s lived for hundreds of thousands of years. I''d say he''s pretty trustworthy on this matter. Keith, the reason we''re here?" "Before you get into that," Darren said. "We at the Black Orb would like to recruit you two." "No, thanks," Keith interrupted before the magician could begin his spiel in an attempt to convince them. "Nathan and I have our own plans. That said, if you''d like to help us-" "We only help those in the Black Orb." "Maybe," Keith smiled as Nathan did his best to not snap at Darren. "But you see, in two weeks, Nathan and I are visiting Endariv. You know who he is, yes?" "Yes," Darren frowned. "The government is letting you?"Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "We''re negotiating a lower monthly tribute," Keith explained. "As part of our attempt, we''re creating an enchanted item we believe Endariv will like." "The Black Orb doesn''t deal in creating enchantments," Darren said. "So our aid would not be useful to you." "Actually," Keith said. "We weren''t looking for your assistance in the item. We already know what we''re making, and we''re going to have it made before then. We are also completely confident in that we''ll succeed in the negotiations, for reasons we aren''t inclined to share." "I wouldn''t count on it," Darren said. "Endariv was Merlin''s dragon, and from what I know, he refuses to believe the ancient magician is dead. His tribute demand is partly an attempt to draw Merlin out." Keith and Nathan weren''t aware that Endariv had contracted to Merlin, but they didn''t show it to Darren. Nathan wondered how long before Merlin contracted him that the dragon was born, as the dragon would have been young around the time of Merlin, if the timeline they''d been given was correct. "We''ll manage," Keith told the magician. "Do you know about Nathan''s projects?" "I''ve heard rumors that he''s made some sort of interesting enchantment," Darren said. "But the ''what'' is pretty tightly-sealed." "We''ll share it with you," Keith said, and Nathan placed a card on the table. This card was similar to the other cards, though the back of it, which was facing up, was entirely black, save for a circle with a pair of A''s on it with one flipped upside-down, the bottoms of their legs touching so they formed a diamond that stretched from one edge of the circle to the opposite. It could also be seen as a pair of triangles with a squashed hexagon between their bases, though Nathan wasn''t too happy when Keith made that comparison. Darren picked up the card and looked at the front, onto which Nathan had drawn the image of ice cubes in a glass of water set onto a black background, the word "Chill Drink" written at the top and five short, vertical lines directly beneath that, a horizontal line separating the two. "Touch it to your cup," Nathan said. "And put a little mana into it while saying the card''s name." "My cup?" The magician asked just before a waitress showed up with a glass of tea, no ice. "Thank you." The waitress smiled and asked if they needed anything else, and Nathan told her that was all. She walked away, and Darren raised an eyebrow. "We told her," Keith said. "To bring a tea a few minutes after our guest arrived. No ice. Do as Nathan instructed, and you''ll see what''s going on." Darren touched the card to the cup and pushed mana into it. "Chill Drink," he said. Immediately, a frosty vapor flowed from the card and into the cup as one of the vertical marks disappeared. The outside of the glass became frosty, and Darren gave the two teens an incredulous look. "Magic cards?" He asked as Nathan snatched the card back. "Correct," Keith said. "This is Nathan''s secret project. While the idea behind them isn''t new, it''s the first successful version of such a thing. Even if you know it''s possible, it''s not something that can be easily broken down and figured out, and even if you got hold of one of Nathan''s cards, they''re protected against discernment." Keith let that sink in. He knew the magician had probably attempted to read the magic in the card as he used it, but Ichtvar knew the lost art of anti-reading for enchantments. A safeguard to protect an enchanter''s secrets. The chill card was the one they had decided to focus on making as it would draw the least attention out of everything Nathan had come up with, from what they could tell. They spent two months alone on working on the card in their second run of the extended Survival Challenge for the sole purpose of this meeting. The research and effort they put into that one helped them with several other cards, and they knew that further research into a select few cards would result in major advancements in their card-based enchanting. "So as I said," Keith told Darren. "We''re confident we''ll manage in the next two weeks to make something that can help us negotiate with Endariv. No, what we want is your help with something else. If you help us with this, you can boast that you helped the people who negotiated with Endariv to decrease the resource and magical strain his demands require. No need to say it wasn''t on the actual thing that got him to lower it. We won''t acknowledge it, as the Black Orb is an illegal, criminal mage organization, but I''m sure you''d manage to find some way to have ''proof'' of your assistance." Darren thought over that, though the teens were confident he would accept the request. If he refused, or asked them to delay until after, they had other cards to play, though not literal cards like the Chill Drink card, which could lower the temperature of two cups of liquid by twenty-eight degrees. The more liquid present, the weaker the drop, the less liquid, the higher the drop. There was more to it than that, but that was the explanation Nathan and Keith had given the other players in the Challenge when asked about it. "Theoretically," Darren slowly began. "What is it we would be helping you with, should we accept?" "Granting us access to the namesake of your organization," Keith answered. "As well as the full details you have on its creation, enchantments, and how it works." "Absolutely not," Darren rejected the request. "The orb is-" "The secret to how your main headquarters is protected," Keith nodded. "And having its secrets out there could potentially grant someone the knowledge they need to find a way through it. Now, Nathan''s idea was to have his familiar attack your barrier and steal the orb. I talked him into negotiating with you. "While this might be considered extortion," he continued. "There''s a good chance Nathan will do that anyway if you don''t comply with our request. There are several separate projects Nathan and I are working on that would require knowledge that can only be obtained through something such as your orb. One of the parts we need is how it fuels the barrier itself, where it gets the mana from." "It''s fed the mana," Darren decided to tell them the most basic part, something that wasn''t as much of a secret. "We have magicians filling it with mana regularly to continue to power the barrier. As long as it has enough, the barrier remains at the same strength. It''s connected to an enchantment matrix that defines the barrier." "So it''s essentially a mana crystal," Keith said. "Attached to an enchantment network, but instead of being set in how much mana it starts with, it can be refilled. It''s commonly assumed that the orb generates mana on its own and that the enchantment is part of it, not a matrix it''s put into. Shame it doesn''t generate mana on its own." "If only it did," Darren smiled. "It''s quite mana-intensive, but we manage just fine." Nathan cleared his throat and held up his phone. Keith checked his own, then nodded. "One aspect of our projects," Keith told Darren. "Is to create our own version of your orb. It would be shielded by the same anti-reading enchantment that all of Nathan''s projects are shielded with. Even if someone else acquired it, they would not be able to read it unless they found a way to crack that enchantment without unraveling the entire enchantment. "One of the things we will use said orb for," he continued. "Would be to power a gate to another world. Such a device would also lessen the cost the government spends sustaining the gate by quite a lot. There''s a possibility that if we mentioned to them we''d based the orb off of yours, they''d overlook certain things. Maybe bump hunting you to a lower priority." "No," Darren said. "We are not allowing anyone outside of the trusted ones to view the orb or obtain any information regarding it. That would grant the possibility of someone figuring out a way to get through our barrier." "The two are separate," Keith said. "You''ve already revealed that, even if accidentally. What you''re worried about is someone else being able to create such an orb and protect themselves with it. Nathan and I have no intention of allowing anyone to see our research notes, and as you noticed when you attempted to read the magics in the card, there''s a block." "The answer is still no," Darren said, then looked at Nathan. "And we aren''t afraid of your attempt, even if you have a phoenix. They aren''t major offensive creatures. They''re no dragons." Nathan wanted to comment that he had full intentions of asking Endariv for an additional favor if this didn''t pan out, but Keith''s glare stopped him. The enchanter had figured out the warrior''s thoughts almost immediately. "In the end," Keith told Darren. "We will have an orb. All allowing us this request will do is speed up the process of creating it. In addition to that, it would make us¡­ well, not allies, not friends, but not enemies, either. Refusing this request would make us your enemies." "We''ll give you a week to decide," Nathan set a business card on the center of the table, then placed a bullet on top of it. "Keith, if you''re done eating, let''s go. I''m hungry. Thank you for covering our bill, Darren." Nathan stood and left, and Keith smiled at Darren. "If you want to try to crack the anti-read," he told the older magician. "Check out the bullet." Keith stood and followed after Nathan. 00055 "Nathan," his father entered the kitchen, then looked around. "You do realize your mother and I are on vacation, right? She was planning on making breakfast for everyone." Nathan looked at everything he had set out and the blueberry scones he was in the process of cooking, then at his father. "We had a delivery?" "Yes," his father responded. "Most of the stuff you''d requested came in, though the rest might not be in for another day or two. When are you returning to the game to begin more experiments?" "After lunch," Nathan answered. "That''s when we can again. Keith, if you overwhisk, you''ll ruin it." "Sorry," Keith stopped mixing. "Hello, Alan. We can take a look at everything after breakfast." "I can finish breakfast," Alan told him. "You two can sort through the delivery. The boxes are by the front door." Nathan and Keith set their things down, washed their hands, then went to the front and began carrying the six large boxes up to Nathan''s room. As they began opening the boxes, Samantha walked in, already dressed for the day. "What are those?" She asked. "First part of the delivery," Nathan answered. "These are more cards." "These are the crystal orbs," Keith told him, closing up that box and moving it to the side. "There are twenty-seven of them." Nathan nodded and opened up another box. Several packages were inside it, packed tightly, and when he pulled them out, he found more of what he needed for the cards ¨C knives, glue, magic pens, and such. They also received more bullets and magic crystals, though not much of the latter. "I thought you two could buy those from the shop?" Samantha asked. "We can," Nathan said. "That doesn''t mean we can buy a lot of them. There''s a limit, and not many available." "It''s expensive to do in real life," Samantha shook her head. "That''s probably thousands of dollars worth, isn''t it? Do you really think your father''s okay with that?" "He''s already putting together a trust fund for my son," Nathan snorted. "And it''s not going to be a ''cheap'' thing. Samantha, we''re well-off, and you know Father likes spoiling me. He wants to support my research. If he can be considered a backer for someone who becomes a big-name in the magical world, it would help him when we make everything public. Not that he knows I''m doing that, but maybe it might bring him some more business from that side of things. He''s already looking into the laws regarding the supernatural side of the world." "Back it up," Samantha said. "Make everything public? You intend on doing that?" "Considering the game will force it in the next decade?" Nathan asked. "Yes. Keith and I discussed it, and our goal is to make the public aware of the truth the summer after next." "Why?" Samantha asked. "Because," Keith answered. "It isn''t quite fair to keep our research to a select community. Not enough people know about magic for our tastes. It''s kept secret because that''s simply how it is. Nathan wants to raise his son in a world knowing of magic, and I want to not have to hide myself just to avoid being pestered by various organizations. "Both of us," Keith continued. "Desire to share magic with the world. The US government alone spends three hundred billion or more a year to keep it a secret while placating creatures and dealing with magical criminals. They''d probably still need to spend money to placate things, but they''d be able to vastly decrease how much they spend on keeping it a secret." "Putting magic into the hands of mundane people," Samantha said. "Can cause problems. The government already has its hands full trying to enforce supernatural law. Just imagine if they had to enforce it on even more people. It''d be disastrous." "Maybe," Nathan said. "While there might be some issues initially with settling things, the magical tech that Keith and I are inventing should help with that. And damn the consequences of people finding out the big, bad, scary creatures exist. If Endariv wants to stretch his wings out and fly rather than keeping cramped in a small area, then he should be allowed to." Samantha stared at the two guys as she realized the main reason for it. Promising Endariv that he wouldn''t have to hide himself anymore within the next few years would likely help in negotiations. She was sure Nathan had some other idea in mind, too. No doubt something that benefited their son. However, asking him would likely be akin to asking a brick wall what color the sky was. Then, Samantha thought about who she was talking to, and what all they had said. They were hiding something. "Nathan, what is your real goal with this?" She asked, and he gave Keith a glance. "Nathan, you two were giving several reasons for it, but the way you said it made it obvious to someone who knows you there''s more to it than that." "I want to create a home where my son is free," Nathan told her. "To do that, I need knowledge of enchanting techniques not necessarily in our world. While we''re in the game with today''s session, we''re working on two different orbs: the first is the scrying orb we told you about. The second is a power orb, like the Black Orb''s. If we create several permanent gates to other worlds, it would be far too costly. According to Master Torzin, this isn''t something he''s known about having been done before as a result.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "However," Nathan continued. "The orbs would allow us to maintain those gates at a much cheaper cost. We would be able to create a hub of inter-world trade and communication. That would allow us to obtain enchanting methods of not just our world, but others." "The problem with that," Keith added. "Is that allowing beings from other worlds onto Earth wouldn''t be something that can just be kept secret. It''d come out sooner or later. As a result, we need the public to know beforehand, so that any weirdness can be explained properly." "I can''t imagine DSIS would like that," Samantha said. "Which is why," Keith said. "I hacked the system and acquired the contact information for the Director of the Department of Magical Affairs. DSIS deals with investigations and cover-ups, though the cover-ups is technically a second agency under DMA. They''re just lumped together. Anyway, the Department of Magical Affairs deals with all magical affairs." "I''ve only heard about DSIS," Samantha said. "DMA is kept pretty secret, even in the magical communities," Keith shook his head. "We wouldn''t have told you about it ourselves without the current circumstances. I only found out about it because of my work for DSIS. Under them, there''s the Department of Supernatural Investigative Services, the Department of Supernatural Secrecy, and the Department of Supernatural Relations. The latter is technically the ''lowest'' of the three, while the first two are lumped together as just DSIS in most cases, since they work together a lot, and the last two are often working together as well. It''s DSS that deals with what''s needed to keep things placated, but DSR that actually deals with the negotiations and such. It''s complicated, but then, it''s government." "Okay," Samantha said. "And you hacked the people you''re supposed to be helping for¡­ what? To email the boss of the bosses?" "Yep," Nathan answered. "And we gave him the beneficial points to it and said ''damn the negative''." "We sent it before I caught that," Keith scratched the back of his head. "We also said that we would not make the effort to lower the tribute required for Endariv unless our terms were agreed to. He''s aware of our plan to recreate the Black Orb''s namesake and what it could do for the department. We also mentioned plans for other things, with the hope of a contract being made soon." "That''s why you''re waiting two weeks," Samantha said. "Even though you two could probably whip something up in the next day or two. You''re waiting to hear back from the top boss of the department." "Exactly," Nathan said. "Now, unless you''re going to help ¨C which I don''t recommend ¨C could you please let us finish checking things out?" With that stated, Nathan went back to checking the boxes. Another held one hundred smaller crystal orbs, along with several boxes of clear marbles. The fourth opened box contained decks of blank playing cards, and before they could check the last two, Nathan''s father called everyone down for breakfast. "I thought your parents," Samantha said as they made their way downstairs. "Worked all the time, Nathan? It seems like they''re taking a break." "They take a two-week vacation every summer around this time," came the explanation. Everyone ate breakfast, then Nathan, Samantha, Keith, and Katie returned to Nathan''s room, where the last two boxes were opened, revealing stuffed animals, baby toys, bottles, and more. "You had your dad get us supplies for the baby?" Samantha asked as Nathan pulled out one of the stuffed bears and set it on his bed. "Yes," he said as he set a stuffed lion beside the bear. "The crib and car seat will hopefully arrive later." "And the stuffed animals?" She asked as he set a stuffed hippo on the other side of the bear. "We can start teaching him early," Nathan nodded. "Why wait until preschool?" "Nathan," Samantha snorted as he placed a stuff tiger beside the lion. "I don''t think a newborn can really learn to differentiate between animals." "They don''t know that," he set a stuffed cow beside the hippo. As Nathan moved the stuffed wolf beside the tiger, the other three teens came to the conclusion that Nathan may have used the opportunity to obtain stuffed animals for himself. "Is he putting the carnivores on one side of the bear and the herbivores on the other?" Katie asked Samantha. "Looks like it," Samantha answered as Nathan put a horse beside the cow. "I always wanted to learn how to ride a horse." "After you recover from the baby," Nathan looked at her. "I can take you riding." "You know how to ride a horse?" She asked. "Never sat on a horse in my life," he answered. "But we can always learn." "Thanks," she said. "Nathan, why didn''t you let me pick stuff out? You just gave your father a list and let him pick-" "No," Nathan snorted. "I picked everything out, just gave him the specifics. And you picked stuff out, too." "Uh, no, I didn''t." "Yes, you did," he reached into one of the boxes and pulled out several bibs. "I saw you looking at these. It was obvious you couldn''t decide which one, so I got all of them." "That''s¡­ not the same thing," she snorted as Keith and Katie laughed. "But okay, Nathan. We''ll go with that." A knock at the door drew their attention, and Keith opened it to find Luke on the other side, his face full of energy, eyes wide, Nathan''s cousin already stripped to just his swim trunks. "Nathan!" He exclaimed. "Can we go swimming? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?" "Sure," Nathan said. "But first, come sit by Samantha." Luke looked between Samantha and Katie, who were both sitting. Samantha was sitting on Nathan''s bed, while Katie was seated on the floor. "Me," Samantha said, and Luke walked over and sat beside her. "Hi, Luke. I''m one of Nathan''s girlfriends." "One of?" Luke gave her a confused look. "He''s dating Katie and me," Samantha told him as Nathan walked over and lifted up her shirt. "Nathan!" "What?" He asked. "It''s just your belly. Luke, here." Nathan grabbed one of Luke''s hands and placed it on Samantha''s stomach, keeping his hand over his cousin''s. A moment later, Luke''s eyes widened, then he giggled. "He''s kicking!" Luke exclaimed. "Does he do this a lot?" "Yes," Samantha answered. "He likes to kick, especially when his daddy''s touching me." "He just kicked again!" Luke giggled. "This is so cool!" "Glad you like it," Nathan pulled his hand off of his cousin''s. "Now run downstairs so I can get changed into my shorts, okay? And tell your brother to join us. He came, right?" "Yeah!" Luke nodded, then pulled his hand away from Samantha''s stomach. "Be down soon!" Luke ran out of the room, and Nathan closed the door, then started stripping. "With all of us in here?" Katie asked in surprise. "I''m dating you and Samantha," Nathan said. "And Keith and I have seen each other in the showers." Nathan finished changing into his board shorts, then pulled out his stethoscope and knelt in front of Samantha as he fixed it to his ears before he placed the round part against her stomach. "That''s cold!" She jerked at the touch a little. "Sh," he said. "I want to hear him. And we''re doing this again before Keith and I go in later." 00056 "Would you please take Katie with you?" Samantha asked. "Next time," Nathan said without looking up from the dozens of cards he had on the table. "Why not this time?" "So Keith and I can focus on our enchanting." "And you can''t if she''s there?" "Why do you want her to come with me every time?" Nathan asked. "So that you can get to know her better," Samantha answered. "I know you want to have sex with her and are only holding back because of how little you know her. This will solve that problem." "Why else?" He asked. "So that someone makes sure you two eat," she told him. "You two will forget about it if you get too absorbed in your work." "That''s what our familiars are for," Nathan said. "Suggestion rejected. She can come on tomorrow''s run. Keith and I should be done with the scrying orb by then." "You''re not going to win this one," Keith told Samantha. "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure he eats if he gets too absorbed into this project." "And if you do?" She asked. "That''s what familiars are for." Samantha rolled her eyes, then returned to watching her boyfriend sort through the cards. He was making sure that they were bringing everything in. The pair of magicians had gone to the store after swimming with Luke for awhile to buy bulk packs of goods. The one they went to after dinner the day before was for bulk packs of things like drinks and snacks, pasta and rice, and the one that morning for ''survival'' cans. She wasn''t sure where that store was, but they filled metal cans with things that could last for years if sealed. Hot cocoa, flour, sugar, stuff like that. She wasn''t sure how long the boys were planning on going in for, but knew it was at least four or five months in each round, which meant likely around a year to a year almost two years. Something that confused her was why Nathan had also bought twenty boxes of paper reams. Why did he need thousands of sheets of paper? In addition to the craft paper and origami paper? "Nathan?" Katie asked as he sorted his cards into stacks and put them into his backpack. "What?" He looked at her. "Is the reason that you won''t have sex with me really because you don''t know me that well?" He thought over his answer. Part of it did stem from that, but if it weren''t for something else, he''d be more willing to do it with her. "That," he said. "And the fact that I find myself enjoying sex without condoms far more than sex with, and don''t want to go back." "Didn''t Master Torzin and Ichtvar both say that it''s almost impossible for a demigod to impregnate someone, even another demigod?" Samantha asked, and Nathan gave her a droll stare. "Right. That''s¡­ I''m living proof there are exceptions to everything." "Indeed," Nathan answered, then looked at Katie. "So until we can sort out a way to ensure you don''t get pregnant, too, no sex." "Blowjobs?" She asked, and Nathan sighed. "That can''t get me pregnant, and birth control helps, too." "Birth control isn''t perfect," Nathan said. "I''ll try to figure something out in the game this round. Ichtvar''s a phoenix, so his magics specialize in life and healing. He might know something to stop life from happening." Nathan stood and reached for his backpack, only to be stopped by Katie taking his hands into hers and stepping up to him, pressing her lips against his. "Why do you want to avoid getting me pregnant?" She asked. "One, so you don''t have to deal with it," he answered. "Two, so there''s no risk to you or the baby in the game. Three, because dealing with a pregnant Samantha who couldn''t really fight was bad enough. Four, because I''d rather not have to deal with not having sex with you-" "You don''t have to avoid having sex with a pregnant woman," Samantha sighed. "How rough were we?" Nathan asked her. "And you''ll be a lot more gentle with Katie," Samantha told him. "She''s not tough like me. She''s gentle, so you''ll go gentle with her." "No more pregnancies for my women until after I destroy the game," Nathan pulled his backpack on, then made sure his weapons were equipped. "Keith, let''s go into the game. It''s better that way all-around." Katie gave him another kiss, then he gave Samantha one, before sending Keith the invite as he grabbed a banana off the table. A moment later, the two of them were in the Fields of Choice, and Nathan set the banana down. Between the two runs with the group to progress Samantha''s pregnancy, Nathan had left a marble in the Fields of choice. When they returned after the second round, the marble was still there. It was an experiment that Nathan told only Keith about. Now, he was going to test if the fruit would still be fresh when they returned. If it was, then that meant time froze in the Fields of Choice. This would allow them further options when doing longer runs. Letting out a breath, Nathan contemplated something. The game was there to make people stronger and to get work done that the people running it didn''t seem inclined to do. If they abused Survival runs for research, it might result in some sort of penalty to them. "Keith," Nathan began walking towards the Dungeon archways. "Let''s do a Dungeon." "Why?" Keith hurried to follow him. "We''re here for-" "Because we just ran two long Survival runs," Nathan answered. "And I''d like to do something different for a change. The people running this game do seem to want more than us being in the same thing over and over."This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Good point," Keith said. "To be honest, I didn''t much like doing a Dungeon with the others." "Why?" Nathan asked. "It''s based on the abilities of the party," Keith answered. "Which meant that my power, when combined with my familiar''s was factored in." Which meant that it was a lot more difficult for the others than it was for him. When planning on doing Dungeon runs, it was best to only go with someone of the same or similar level of power and ability as you, that was something widely agreed upon by the players. Nathan nodded, then approached a Dungeon entrance "Islands of Darkness," he looked at Keith. "This wasn''t here when I was alone." "Which means it''s tougher than something you or I could handle alone," Keith looked at the information. "And possibly needs skills from both of us. Advanced Difficulty. Do you think the difficulty actually means anything for Dungeons?" "Probably meant to let us know how we should gauge them," Nathan answered. "If Ichtvar and Splashy are correct regarding the other dimension we''re entering, then the monsters aren''t artificially-generated, either. At least, in theory. I haven''t asked Ichtvar." "And if that''s the case," Keith said. "Then they aren''t adjusting the power of the monsters, either. They''re added into the System, though. Why would they do that if they want us to kill them?" "Probably a requirement," Nathan said as Keith came to the same conclusion. "To allow those with the System into that dimension and for it to function properly within the System and the game as a whole." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "Want to try this one, or look for another?" "Let''s do this one," Keith answered. "As long as we don''t do anything stupid, this should be within our abilities." Nathan pulled up the information for the Dungeon, then launched it. Immediately, they found themselves on a beach, waves crashing against the shore. The sky was dark, as if night, though there was no moon to see, only the stars, which barely gave any light. As Keith appraised what little of the surroundings they could see, Nathan fiddled with his deck of cards, then swore under his breath and unbuttoned his shirt, moving his tie to the side so that Ichtvar could come out. Keith removed his shirt so that his own familiar could exit, and when the heavenly storm elemental exited him, its natural light illuminated their surroundings. Despite how bright the familiar normally was, the darkness around them pressed into the light, only allowing it to stretch around seven or eight feet in all directions. "Damn," Keith said as Nathan buttoned up his shirt and fixed his tie. "The darkness is so oppressing that my familiar''s light fades out quickly. What are you looking for?" "Here," Nathan triggered the pair of cards he was searching for, and a lantern formed along with a pack of batteries. "Always be prepared when possible." Nathan opened the pack of batteries and pulled two out, then placed them into the lantern as Keith put the pack into Nathan''s bag. Ichtvar burst into flames and soared straight up, and the two teens looked around, determining that even the phoenix''s bright, golden flames were affected by the islands'' darkness. As the phoenix did its thing, the pair read the entry notice they''d received upon entering the Dungeon.
Dungeon Entered: Isles of Darkness
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Advanced
Locate the talisman fragment on the island you''re on. You make take as long as needed.
"Not what you were hoping for?" Keith asked when he saw Nathan''s face. "Was expecting another Seed of Life," Nathan answered. "Ichtvar can identify it quickly because of the overwhelming life energies within, now that he knows what to look for. The talisman fragment, though? We won''t know if what we found is it unless we actually find it." Nathan tugged on the link to his familiar, and felt a tug back a moment later. "Is this the same dimension as before?" He asked. "Yes," Ichtvar responded. "The same as the one you''d gone into for the other Dungeon and your first Survival Challenge. This is an interesting world. By the way, there are eight islands. You''re one one of the outer four. They form a ring. Then there''s a second ring of three on the inside, with another island in the very center. If you need a Seed of Life, it''ll take me a few days to be able to find it." "We''re looking for something else," Nathan told the phoenix. "Talisman fragments." "Good luck," the phoenix responded. "There are creatures of the night abound. Also, you''re on an island with a sort of maze covering most of it. That, or just the ruins of a stone village with lots of shrubs and trees. One of the two. Hard to make out in this darkness." Nathan rolled his eyes, then looked at Keith. "Ichtvar mentioned ''creatures of the night''," he turned on the lantern, whose light managed to stretch around ten feet in all directions before the darkness overtook it. "I''m not sure what that means. I do know this lantern can normally go twice that distance, though." "Probably monsters of darkness." "Or just animals that normally stalk the night," Nathan said. "This is Ichtvar we''re talking about." "Oh, I meant both," Ichtvar swooped down and floated between the two teens. "I saw some shades. Nasty buggers." "So you''ll handle those," Nathan told Keith. "Uh," Keith said. "I don''t actually know how to handle a shade. I''ve looked up information on them before, but it seems that the supernatural community doesn''t actually know what to do to take them out. Apparently, none have been seen on Earth in¡­ known memory." "Splashy can handle them," Ichtvar informed him. "Since his light is holy light, it''ll rip through them. Normally, holy light can only be used by demigods or devout believers who''ve been blessed by a god, but hey, heavenly creatures work, too." "So Nathan can learn to use holy light?" Keith asked. Ichtvar appraised Nathan. The demigod wasn''t magically inclined in that way, so it would probably take him several years after learning light magics to be able to add in the holy aspect. The forged part of his soul made it so that he could learn enchanting and force magics easily, not other types. Since he was a demigod, there were magics relating to his father''s power and domain that Nathan would learn easily ¨C even more so than enchanting and force magics ¨C but they were few and quite specific. "It would probably be more beneficial," Ichtvar decided to tell them. "For him to learn how to do holy enchantments rather than holy magic. Demigods can use holy magic, but that doesn''t mean they have an affinity for it. So for things that require holy magic, your familiar''s best." "What about you?" Nathan asked. "Can members of the Ultimate Trinity use holy magic?" "Yes and no," Ichtvar responded. "Other than ''middle species'', such as humans, dwarfs, elves, beastkin, and so on, almost every species can become powerful enough that the ascend to the heavenly planes. Elementals are the ones everyone knows about because they have the most obvious change with the holy light becoming a part of their elements. It''s a rare occasion for something else to manage it, though. "As for the ''higher species''," he continued. "That is, the Ultimate Trinity, it''s¡­ different. Phoenixes are the only species truly incapable of becoming ''heavenly'' and ascending into the divine realm. Dragons can, but since they''re already so powerful naturally and don''t really have a way to grow more powerful through training in the way most species can, it takes quite a lot, and they tend to die of old age without ascending. As for unicorns¡­ they have ''blessed power'', which is a type of holy power. In order for them to acquire the holy aspect, they have to give up their blessed aspect, which most won''t do. They usually die before it happens naturally. "For all other species," he continued. "It takes meditation and growth in magic. Once you reach a certain threshold of power, you can ascend to the divine realm. For middle species, it''s as gods. For all others, it''s as magical creatures. Of course, this would require said species being magical first, but that''s not relevant to this conversation." "And phoenixes can''t?" Nathan asked. "We are the only species truly incapable of it." "Why?" He asked. "Maybe one day, I''ll tell you," Ichtvar answered. "But it''s not important, so maybe I won''t." "Alright," Nathan said. "Let''s get to work locating this piece. Ichtvar, stay close by. We''ll rely on you and Splashy to know what Splashy''s needed for, and for what is probably the talisman fragment. It''s likely a piece of an enchanted item, so it would have a broken enchantment on it." Ichtvar inclined his head, then the quartet began walking towards where the sand turned to dirt. 00057 The two teens and their powerful familiars slowly walked along the dirt path, which soon turned to stone. There wasn''t a trace of life that they could see, and still their only light came from Ichtvar''s flames, the elemental''s light, and Nathan''s lantern. Beyond the borders of their light, only darkness lay, though the teens could hear something moving around, following them. After nearly ten minutes, the elemental flew off, disappearing out of sight of his master for a few moments before returning. "I take it that was a shade?" Keith asked, and Ichtvar nodded. "It''s an F-1, Nathan." Nathan nodded. They''d expected tough monsters, so having one at a higher rank made sense, especially if a shade needed holy power to kill. The game likely only allowed them access to that Dungeon because of Keith''s familiar. The warrior swept his gaze across the darkness. Whatever was following them was still there. It was moving just as slowly as they were, and in almost complete silence. Only the occasional snuffle and step alerted them to its presence. As they walked, Keith began to wonder just how close the creature was to them. If the darkness suppressed a powerful lantern and a heavenly elemental''s light, then it likely muted sound as well. Thinking back, he confirmed that ¨C though they were right at the water''s edge, only a few steps past where they could see it were they unable to hear the waves. If that was true, then whatever was following them was neither very far behind their range of sight nor as silent as they thought. With a mental command, Keith ordered his familiar to shoot five feet back as Nathan tossed the lantern up to Ichtvar, who caught it. The elemental obeyed immediately, revealing the head of a boar ten feet in height, its dark brown fur nearly black, its eyes crimson, its tusks black. The elemental soared up a couple of feet as Nathan charged forward, his fist slamming into the boar''s snout. The great beast barely moved from the impact, and he threw another swift punch, using Impact as he did. The boar moved back a foot. Nathan wasn''t deterred, however, and immediately spun around, kicking the boar with the back of his foot and causing it to look in the other direction, just in time for one of Keith''s air slices to slam into its snout. The spell cut open a slender, shallow wound as Nathan jumped back a few times, reaching Keith. "This thing is tough," Keith said. "And it''s probably not among the most dangerous things here," Nathan commented. "Familiars?" "No," Keith said as the boar took a few steps back into the darkness. "When it charges, you hit it so it''s shifted to the side. I''ll strike it with several more slices." Nathan nodded, his gaze traveling along the edges of their vision. Then, he braced himself, before launching forward. As he did, the boar broke through the darkness he was looking at. The warrior stepped to the side as the last moment, striking the side of the boar''s face several times, changing the direction of its charge in time for it to meet with Keith''s air slices. The boar squealed as it disappeared back into the darkness, and Ichtvar rose above the teens, the phoenix''s flames brightening as the elemental disappeared from their sight, the edges of its light no longer encompassing their range of sight. "My familiar''s going after several shades," Keith told Nathan, who was scanning the edges of the darkness to prepare for the next charge. "According to him, around twenty just showed up. He''s not sure why, since they''re just lurking in the distance, watching." "Ichtvar, why would a bunch of shades show up to this?" "Feeding on the souls of the dying empower them." "Ichtvar said that feeding on the souls of the dying empower them," Nathan relayed the information as he wondered how Ichtvar knew that if the phoenix had never encountered them before. Shifting, he prepared for another charge, then bolted forward, using Impact as he struck the boar and changed its course. Keith''s slashes struck it in the hindquarters, and it squealed as it vanished back into the darkness. "Are you sure you two don''t want some help?" Ichtvar asked. "You help us, we''ll get less Experience," Nathan told him. "If we need it, we''ll ask." "I can incinerate that thing in a few seconds, you know. Maybe a minute." Nathan ignored the comment as he skimmed the surroundings, then ran forward as the boar charged out of the darkness. This time, it had angled itself so that when Nathan struck it, it would be on-target for attacking Keith. The beast had realized that Nathan was attacking its left side and was forcing it to the right, so it aimed at the left of Keith. Noticing the angle of the boar, Nathan jumped into the air, using Spatial Mobility to allow him to flip over to the other side of the beast. He dashed forward as quickly as he could and struck the boar with all his might. It took three hits to knock it off-angle, though Keith had already moved, casting his air slices, which struck at the boar''s legs, cutting shallow wounds into them. He began scanning the shadows again. "How much more Health do you think it has?" Keith asked. "I''m barely damaging it." "Same," Nathan responded. "Did you notice, though?" "That we''re actually injuring it?" Keith nodded. "Wait. We''re barely injuring it¡­ and I''m not getting damage notifications." "Exactly," Nathan said as the boar charged out again. He jumped to the side and watched as it disappeared into the darkness once more. "So either this boar isn''t real, or not everything has Health." "The boar has information through Scan," Keith said as Nathan continued to watch the darkness. "It''s an E-2. Thoughts?" The boar charged out of the darkness once more, and Nathan waited until the last moment to dodge to the side as Keith jumped straight up, throwing several air slices down and into the boar''s back. "A Skill of some sort," Nathan said as the boar disappeared back into the darkness. "It''s possible it either negates its Health during use, or drains it constantly. It might be how it sees in the darkness, or might be augmenting its strength and speed. I''m leaning towards the latter." "Some sort of berserk?" Keith asked. "One where it keeps a more rational mode of thought, rather than mindlessly attacking," Nathan rotated. "Can you see it?" "Yes," the phoenix responded. "I''m looking at it through magic sight. Wait. You aren''t, are you?" Nathan activated his magic sight, which allowed him to see the boar clearly through the darkness, even if his normal vision was limited. "I am." "You just turned it on, didn''t you?" "What else is around us?" Nathan kept his gaze fixed on the boar. He couldn''t see the boar itself, but he could see the magic it was using at the moment, which gave him a more accurate idea of where it was and what it was doing.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The warrior was in the habit of using it only when enchanting, or he''d have remembered sooner. He could see every enchantment glowing due to his training with it, which meant that Keith''s wards in the school and the department''s wards at the facility were always visible to him if he had it on. Using it for enchanting had some benefits, however, as it let him discern certain types of spells and enchantments, which helped with the boar. On it, he noticed several enhancement spells around it, including one for strength and speed in its legs and one for increased durability on its snout. Just as he suspected. He wasn''t able to see the artificial Health barrier yet, but he was sure that if he could, he''d see it being drained or shut off for that. This meant the boar was enhanced, and it was possible that they''d have an even more difficult time if it wasn''t using its Health for the enhancements. "Fuck," Keith said. "What?" Nathan asked. "My familiar just reminded me to use magic sight," Keith said. "And¡­ let''s get this thing killed. When it charges again, I''m going to hold it in place. Do what you can. And whatever happens, stay within thirty feet of the spot of ground directly beneath Ichtvar." Nathan kept his gaze on the boar, taking a few steps back as it prepared to charge, the magics in its legs bending with the legs. He was tempted to look around and see what it was that Keith was concerned about, but opted not to, lest he make a mistake that cost them both. The boar charged forward again, and Keith generated his hand of wind, using it to stop the boar, whose momentum pushed forward several more feet before the spell won against it. As Keith moved the hand to hold the boar''s head so it couldn''t back up and escape into the shadows, Nathan charged forward, delivering several strikes to its sides, legs, and snout. It had a light magical barrier up, which was the reason Keith hadn''t simply applied force magic internally to kill it. Just like most of the monsters in the System. As Nathan punched with Impact again, he also released a burst of force magic. His pushes of it were still lacking in power when he did it over a distance, but up-close, he could utilize a fair portion of his magical might. The boar, still gripped by Keith''s hand of wind, was pushed several feet to the side. Nathan performed several more of those strikes before it ceased struggling and a notification appeared in his vision.
+1 Level
+26 Points
"What was that ''fuck'' about?" Nathan asked as the boar collapsed onto the ground and his ally released the spell, bending over and gasping, hands on his knees. "You okay?" "Yeah," Keith said. "That spell takes a lot out of me. It''s not one I use often, so it''s both Mana-intensive and mentally-draining." "And the ''fuck''?" Nathan looked around. His magic sight only extended around twenty feet in each direction if he couldn''t actually see the target, and the boar had been within that range. "You sounded pretty panicked." The magician''s own magic sight extended further than that, he knew, as Keith''s psychic power bolstered it in some way that Nathan didn''t understand. "Uh," Keith said. "Well, we''re apparently walking on a path between some canals. I can tell that much because of the enchantments lining them to protect them from erosion. My familiar would''ve commented if they had water in them, and they''re twenty feet deep, if I''m not mistaken." His eyes glowed briefly. "Twenty-three." "Spatial Mobility and quick reflexes," Nathan commented. "Maybe," Keith said. "But I''d rather not lose you during a fight, even for a moment." Nathan thought that over. "Same for you," he said. "So what else caused the ''fuck'' comment?" "Come here." Keith led Nathan close to one of the canals. The paths themselves were around seventy feet in width, which was why Keith had told Nathan to stay within thirty feet of the center, where Ichtavar was hovering above. Resting two feet from the canals and situated every ten feet along the side of the path were rectangular pillars. Measuring eighteen inches on each side and three feet in height, they seemed like an odd decoration. When examined with magic sight, however, they yielded a series of enchantments and magics that Nathan couldn''t discern. "There are too many for me to tell what''s going on," Nathan told Keith. "What are these?" "I''m not sure," Keith answered. "They have anti-read enchantments on it, but considering this is a Dungeon in the game, I''d rather not risk touching them." Nathan nodded, then examined the pillar they were looking at for a few more moments before kneeling at the edge of the canal, peering into it. "Ichtvar," he said, and the phoenix floated down. Nathan took the lantern and held it over the canal, lowering it down a little. Nothing but emptiness until the bottom. He frowned, then look at Keith. "Can''t you use your sight to see where the talisman fragment is?" He asked. "No," Keith shook his head. "Unfortunately, I''m blocked from doing so. If I knew what the talisman actually was, it might have been possible to look past that, but for now, it''s not." "Alright," Nathan said, then lurched back as something shot out of the bottom of the canal, a shadowy humanoid figure with silvery eyes and a faint silver aura at the edges of its shadows, though not the sort of aura that came from magic. "The fuck?" "Careful!" Keith shot several blasts of wind at it. "That''s a phantom!" Nathan let out another curse as he swung his lantern at the phantom, which was attempting to attack Keith. The lantern passed through, causing the phantom to howl as light entered it.
Target -5 Health
"Fuck! Right!" Keith exclaimed as Nathan growled at the message. "Nathan, distract it while I try to do something!" "Better make it fast!" Nathan responded. "Where''s Splashy?" "He got swarmed by phantoms and shades and is doing his best to keep them from reaching us," Keith responded as Nathan swung the lantern at the phantom again, causing the creature to float back to avoid being struck. "We can get this with light and fire, Nathan. Just keep it distracted for a few seconds, and I''ll take care of it! We won''t need our familiars!" Nathan swore and swung the lantern again as he wondered what Keith was doing. He was too distracted keeping the phantom from attacking the magician to figure it out. Just as he prepared to order Ichtvar to attack, a slice of light flashed by him, cutting into the phantom, which let out an ear-piercing howl. A few seconds passed before another slice cut into the phantom, which howled once more. The creature went after Keith again, who was forming another slice of light, and Nathan leaped forward, swinging the lantern and causing the phantom to move back again. Keith finished the spell and launched it, the horizontal wave cutting through the phantom. Nathan thought the creature was stupid. It remained upright, rather than jumping up or ducking down to avoid the attacks, and it only took another slice from Keith''s magic to kill it, the pair of them earning 22 Points for the kill. "Jeez," Keith gasped, collapsing to the ground. "That was not fun!" "Light slices?" "A modified version of my air slices," Keith nodded. "Never tried that before, but only light can hurt a phantom. The only reason you can tell a difference between them and a shade is the silver ''aura'' and silvery eyes. That one was particularly stupid, it didn''t bother trying to duck under it or jump into the air. A more intelligent one would''ve, and that fight would''ve been a whole lot worse. Can we take a breather? I''m beat." "Yeah," Nathan look at Ichtvar. "Make sure nothing gets too close to us." "Will do," the phoenix responded. "Though I should warn you that I''m sensing a particularly powerful creature at the center of the island. It''s probably beyond my abilities to deal with quickly." "You''re in the Ultimate Trinity." "I''m a phoenix," Ichtvar said. That comment reminded Nathan of what Darren from the Black Orb had told them about phoenixes not being offensive creatures, as well as the fact that it took Ichtvar several moments to kill some of the monsters in his first run of games, even after their Health was depleted. The golems, for instances, took a couple of seconds each, despite supposedly being weaker monsters. "Phoenixes aren''t offensive," Nathan said. "Yet you seem to manage just fine before." "That was against weaker things," the phoenix retorted. "Phoenixes are healers and life-givers, supporters. Unicorns are defenders, and dragons are attackers. We each have our specialties, even if we can branch into the other two''s domain. I could probably take it out in a fight, it''d just take me awhile." "Well, just make sure we''re safe for now," Nathan said. "It''ll take a bit for Keith to recover his Mana, he lost a lot in those two fights, and he''s exhausted, too." Nathan was tired and sore from the boar fight, but he wasn''t going to mention that. Instead, he dragged Keith over to where the boar was and started pulling it apart, since the creature wasn''t fading. The phantoms did, but that was into shadows, and in the first Dungeon, the monsters often turned to sand. The boar, on the other hand, remained perfectly fine. "You know you can''t take those parts out with you, right?" Keith asked as Nathan removed the tusks with his Shadow Sword. It took him quite a bit of effort to manage to slice them off, and he was grateful he had the System''s augmented Strength for it. He wasn''t sure if the stats remained applied after death or not, and was hoping the toughness of the beast''s body was a result of the System''s Endurance on it. "These are for Splashy to play with," Nathan set the second tusk to the side, only for the elemental to soar in and grab both of them, shifting them so that they appeared to be horns coming off of its ever-shifting form. "See?" "And the rest?" Keith rolled his eyes as Nathan got to work butchering the creature. "How often do you think we''ll get fresh meat instead of jerky?" "And if it''s toxic?" "I''ll try it first," Nathan said. "Since I''m not a big baby about it. We have a phoenix, he can just use his tears to heal us." "I''m not your personal medic!" Ichtvar protested. "Yes, you are," Nathan commented before resuming his work. 00058 "Do you really think it''s safe to make a fire and eat right now?" Keith asked as Nathan made the fire. "It might attract monsters that aren''t hindered by the darkness, like the boars, phantoms, and shades. And if we eat, we''ll need to rest more." "We''ll be fine," Nathan told him. "Splashy''s back, and with him and Ichtvar, we''ll be fine." "I already told you," the phoenix glared at Nathan. "I''m a healer, not a fighter. Against things this strong, it''ll take me a bit to break through their Health." "Sure," Nathan lit the fire, then began cooking the two slabs of meat he''d cut from the boar, using seasonings he''d stored in his cards to add a little flavor. As those cooked, Nathan fiddled with one of their gun projects and Keith napped, waking only once Nathan woke him. They ate, then rested for another hour before Nathan put out the fire and the two of them began moving again, keeping a slow, but steady pace. They kept their magical sight on, just in case something else drew near, but for the most part, things were silent. The elemental''s attack on the shades acted as a small deterrent against those and phantoms, and the boar seemed to be the only other creature around at the start. "What kind of people do you think lived here?" Keith asked after several hours of searching the paths and canals. "These roads ¨C even the bridges across the canals are at least twenty feet wide." "The kind that aren''t here anymore," Nathan answered. "But able to craft fine things, if you look at the pillars lining all of the paths. Possibly humanoid, unless the phantom took on that form after seeing us." "Most of the middle species," Ichtvar said. "Are humanoid. There are humans or human-looking things on most worlds. Then there are dwarfs, elves, and beastkin." "Gnomes?" Keith asked. "Never actually seen one," Ichtvar answered. "Nor heard about them, so I wouldn''t know." "But you''ve seen and heard of others?" Nathan asked. "Even though you''re Earthen?" "I can use the pathways," Ichtvar informed him. "I''ve left Earth a few times. Sadly, you are always drawn back to the world you originated from. It''s impossible to set up a permanent home elsewhere." "You are?" The teens asked. "Yes," Ichtvar answered. "And it''s not necessarily by will at times, either. You''d have a few months, maybe a year at most, in your native world''s time, before you''d find yourself returning home. I''ve seen people open the gates themselves, I''ve also seen the universe tear open and forcibly send them back. In the end, however, they always return to their home planet." "What about going home, then returning?" Keith asked. "Wouldn''t work unless you returned home for awhile," the phoenix answered. "The longer you''re away from home, the stronger the pull to return is. The longer you''re gone, the longer you need to be back home before the pull lessens. I''ve seen people try to mitigate it. A day or two at a time, then return home for the same, then again, switching back and forth. In the end, they find themselves returning home within hours or even minutes because they aren''t at home enough to make up for it." "Why?" Nathan asked. "No one knows," Ichtvar answered. "It''s simply one of the innate laws of this particular universe." "So our plan to create-" "It will work," Ichtvar interrupted the warrior. "People will come and go, journeying to new worlds. They will also return home, then return again sometime later." The phoenix stopped suddenly, then looked off to their right. "I''m detecting a powerful magical presence over that way," he said. "It''s inert, fragmented. It might be the talisman fragment you''re looking for. Maybe fifty feet." The pair of them walked over to the edge of the canal, and before Keith could consider if they should continue until they found the next bridge or turn back so reach the previous, Nathan had grabbed him. "What are you-Naaathaaaaaan!" He screamed as the warrior tossed across him the twenty-foot gap. Nathan jumped across the gap, landing in a roll and springing to his feet. "We''ll continue working on your falls," Nathan helped Keith to his feet. "A little warning next time?" Keith asked. "Please? And you''re lucky the canals are consistent in width. What if it hadn''t been?" "Splashy probably would''ve caught you." Keith looked at his familiar, who was still ''wearing'' the boar''s tusks as if they were horns. The elemental gave a wiggle that could be interpreted as a shrug, and the magician sighed. "Come on," Keith said as he looked around. "I think I found it." The pair of them walked towards the item Keith had spotted. When they were within ten feet of it, a phantom rose up out of the ground, and the enchanter fired off a slash of light. The phantom dodged, finding itself clipped in one arm. The creature wailed, causing the teens to cover their ears as it fled into the darkness. "It''s gone," Ichtvar told the teens after a few moments. "Are you sure," Nathan asked, gripping his lantern with intent to swing if the thing came near again. "Yes," Ichtvar responded. "You two can relax. I don''t think it was expecting someone to be able to hurt it. We''re not like our poor friend over there." Nathan and Keith looked in the direction Ichtvar indicated, where they spotted the skeletal remains of something humanoid. Keith examined it as Nathan held the light out so they could see it. "The ears are too high up," Keith muttered, touching the skull. "Otherwise, it''s just like a human''s." "Cat, maybe?" Nathan suggested. "I''d say monkey, but if the ears are too high up-" "Why would you think-" Keith interrupted, though he cut off when he saw the tail bones Nathan was looking at. "Beastkin. We haven''t seen something like this in a Dungeon before. By ''we'', I mean in the records on Earth. No remains of other players have been found, even if someone died in a Dungeon and it was later revisited." "Two possibilities," Nathan said, knowing Keith had probably figured them out as well. "The first is that the darkness is too strong here and the administrators gave up trying to find the corpse to remove. The second is that in a place this difficult, they don''t care enough to find the remains of those who failed." To add a depressing factor to the difficult Dungeons. And a warning not to take things lightly. "Judging by the intact state of these bones," Keith said. "I''d say they were probably killed by an apparition-type creature. A phantom or shade, most likely. Possibly the phantom we just scared off." "Possibly," Nathan stood, then walked over to the object on the ground. He wasn''t able to read inert magics yet, so he found himself starting at a fragment of what was most likely a disk of some sort made of an unknown, dark gray stone. It wasn''t a large piece of the disk, but it did contain a portion near the center that had a yellow topaz set into it.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "Based on the edge of this," Keith examined the disk. "I''d say this is probably part of a disk half an inch thick and four in diameter. If all of the pieces of it are this large, we''re looking at maybe three pieces? Possibly five if one or two are smaller." "Any magics I should be worried about?" Nathan asked. "They''re all inert," Keith answered. "They appear to be some sort of trigger spell with a light-based enchantment. There''s also a repairing enchantment set into it so that it''ll mend itself. Unfortunately, it''s inert, so if this is the talisman fragment, I don''t know what we''ll need to do to fix it." Neither one of them had considered for even a moment that they wouldn''t be collecting all of the pieces of the talisman, even if the quest was to locate the one. Dungeons were always multi-stage, and they would both find it odd if they didn''t need to collect all of the parts of the talisman. "The game might not care," Nathan told him. "If it''s not something we can do. They may just want us to locate the pieces. And if we do have the ability to repair them, then it will tell us." "Yeah," Keith nodded, and Nathan picked up the fragment. The moment his hand touched it, a message appeared in their visions.
Talisman fragment located.
Locate another fragment of the talisman on that island. You may take as long as needed.
"So the talisman fragments are all on this island," Keith concluded as he scanned their surroundings with his magic sight. "I think we should camp here. There seems to be a lack of buildings on this island, if what my familiar said is true." "That''s more accurate than what Ichtvar said," Nathan snorted. "He said there were plants. And either a labyrinth of some sort or the ruins of a stone village." "We could probably consider this a labyrinth," Keith looked around. "Though for him to think it was the ruins of a stone village? And plants? I think your phoenix was smoking something." "I''ve never smoked anything in my life," Ichtvar huffed. "Not in that sense. And I was reading the magics to make that determination. There are sections where it''s faded or missing." "And the plants?" Nathan asked. "I did say I wasn''t sure," Ichtvar huffed. "You should be fine camping out here. Sparky can handle any shades that come our way, and you two seem intent on getting Experience." "It''s the only way we can progress," Nathan said. "We''ll have to struggle for it, no matter if it''s here or in a long Survival Challenge. Now go scout out the island. Try to find the other piece or pieces of the talisman." "Whatever," the phoenix muttered. "I have a one-pound bar of chocolate for each piece you find." Ichtvar took off with a look of happiness in his golden eyes. "Do you really?" Keith asked. "In the cards." "You made a lot of them," Keith said. "And stocked up a lot, but they still take time to make. Will we have enough to do tomorrow''s batch of runs? Real-time tomorrow''s?" "We should," Nathan shrugged. "We''ll be getting the food supplies, and since they oversend and we have Ichtvar to widen the doors so the-that''s why they send so much." "What?" Keith asked. "So much food and supplies," Nathan said. "They do it because of the doorways. Players would need to carry it either in their Item Boxes, their arms, or whatever containers they find." "Which means," Keith realized. "That they''d probably lose food and supplies, possibly not even manage to get all to their safe zones. They send extra to help, but since Ichtvar can warp space, we can just bring it all at once or one crate at a time." The Tutorial was designed to weed out the weak, to leave behind only the strongest of the strong. They weren''t sure why only eight were allowed to survive at maximum, but the ''only the strong'' mentality was only around in the Tutorial. Everything else was player choice, and the Dungeons ¨C which they''d realized were designed to utilize the players to do real tasks for the administrators ¨C were only available if it was manageable by the present team. In addition, long-term survival runs were aimed at survival over actual combat. Sure, the players had to leave the safe zones to do certain things, such as do their laundry, use the restroom, or take a shower, but other than that, it seemed largely aimed at them surviving. If they wanted to leave later on in the runs, they needed to deal with monsters early on. Unless the weaker monsters remained later on if they hadn''t been killed, though the school would become packed enough it would be necessary to kill them. Both teens came to the realization at the same time. The longer survival runs were intended for training, just not for the kind of exploitation that Nathan and Keith intended. That was why they were stable in scenario to where the students could reasonably predict how tough things will be in the near future during them and know the layout every time. That was why it had food supply drops based on how many monsters were killed and often, it was a form of reward for training. That was why there were Optional Challenges in them. It was all for additional training the players could utilize. They knew that despite Master Torzin not being aware of it, there had to be worlds that knew and utilized this. If not entire worlds, at least some regions of them. Since he''d made it clear he hadn''t stayed very long on worlds with the System in place, or even in those dimensions, it was unlikely he''d stayed long enough to learn that or find people who knew it and used it. "But," Keith shook his head. "Wouldn''t that also mean others exploit this detail as well? There''s no way we''re the first." "Yeah," Nathan nodded. "Hm." The two of them though it over as Nathan fiddled with more of his gun enchantments, Keith resting. After almost half an hour, the phantom from before attacked again, and Keith launched a counterattack as Nathan pulled out a laser pointer and aimed it at the phantom. A red dot formed on the phantom, but nothing happened. "Tch." He picked up the gun he was fiddling with, inserted the magazine, aimed at the phantom, and shot straight at the head as Keith''s second light slice cut through its arm.
Target -7,892 Health
The phantom shrieked in pain as it flailed around, and Keith stared at Nathan. "What?" The warrior asked. "I need some way to fight these things. Are you going for the kill?" As the phantom continued to flail and shriek, Keith summoned another light slash and launched it at the phantom, killing the creature. "You made light enchantments on bullets," Keith said. "Yes," Nathan responded. "I made two magazines of these bullets, to be used against phantoms and other intangible things. Since attacks pass through them-" "Health doesn''t stop it from damaging the bodies," Keith finished for him. "Which also drains the creature''s Health." "We can use the tangible things for actual Experience," Nathan commented. "Since I doubt my current bullets would be effective against them." "Probably," Keith shrugged. "Thanks. Are those just light, or holy light?" "I can''t figure out how to get the holy aspect factored in," Nathan shook his head. "So I''m going back to working on something reachable soon." He returned to working on his gun enchantments as Keith sat down and rested some more. Using light magics was tiring, especially since it wasn''t something he was familiar with and had to figure out what to do on the fly. The magician could understand Nathan''s desire to make a bullet that would hurt the phantoms. Something quick and easy, even if it wasn''t as effective against most things they would face. A packet of chips, another of gummy bears, and an apple flew at Keith, the latter of which smacked him in the chest while the rest hit his face. Only the bottle of apple juice did he manage to catch, before giving his teammate a glare. "You''re five feet from me," he said. "You couldn''t have warned me? Or, y''know, just handed them to me?" "Oh," Nathan said. "I could''ve, couldn''t I have? Well, it got your attention and has you awake and alert, so that intent worked." Keith rolled his eyes at Nathan''s antics. There were other ways to grab his attention, ones that didn''t involve pain. "Did you want me for something?" Keith asked. "Yes," Nathan slide the enchanted gun over to him. "Can you review that?" "Ichtvar," Nathan reached out to his familiar, who was quite a distance away. "You mentioned that you can use the pathways of the universe-" "No, I can''t leave this world," Ichtvar interrupted. "And just bypassing the barriers on the ones here to leave the area around the islands would be difficult. That''s why I''m not bothering to figure out if it''s even possible. Someone''s sealed the pathways in this dimension, using their artificial gates and artificial pathways-oh, found one. Wait, never mind. That''s a rat. Delicious." "So you can''t use them to even travel between the islands here?" "I probably could," Ichtvar responded. "But the mana cost would be astronomical because of the seal they made. Oh, this one actually is the thing. Do you want me to bring it to you? Or will you two come pick it up?" "We''ll go to it," Nathan responded. "There''s no telling what the System will do if we ''cheat'' by having our familiars do the work for us. Even if they want this work done, they may be picky about who does it. Come back to us, Ichtvar. I''m not that comfortable with you too far away." "Admitting fear?" The phoenix chuckled. "Nerves," Nathan responded. "I feel like we''re being watched again. And by more than one thing. And considering how Keith and fared against a single boar, I''d rather not risk something too powerful." "Even with Sparky there?" "Even with Splashy here." "I''m on my way." Ichtvar didn''t mention it, but demigods had dangerously strong senses for danger. If Nathan was nervous about danger even with his forged soul''s fearlessness and the presence of the heavenly storm elemental, then something powerful was nearby, and the phoenix knew of only three types of creature outside of the gods which could provoke that kind of feeling. Members of the Ultimate Trinity. 00059 Nathan and Keith looked over as they saw the swelling of magic in the direction Ichtvar was returning from. Before Nathan could contact his familiar, they both saw the phoenix, even from forty yards away. It had transformed into a bird of pure fire and magic with a thirty-foot wingspan, its light radiating out with an otherworldly brilliance, illuminating the walkways for more than a hundred yards. The teens shielded their eyes and looked away as they heard something whinnying in pain, then the clomp of hooves, before the sound of a raging inferno filled their ears and dozens of wails were filled the air, a wave of fear washing over them. Ichtvar let out a war call, and the teens heard something impacting something else, before another roar of flames filled the air. For several minutes, the phoenix and the horse-sounding creature fought, before the light faded. Keith''s familiar dropped the boar''s tusks as it shot off in the direction of the phoenix as the teens stared, left with just Nathan''s lantern for light. "What¡­ was that?" Keith asked. "I don''t know," Nathan answered. "I didn''t receive any Points, so it''s not dead, whatever it is. Ichtvar seems¡­ unconscious." The link to his familiar had the same feel to it that it did whenever the phoenix slept, and Nathan''s pokes didn''t wake it. Concern for his familiar filled him, and he watched as the elemental returned, carrying the unconscious phoenix, which it gently set on Nathan''s lap. "That was a lot more magical power," Keith told Nathan. "That I thought your phoenix had. It was¡­ terrifying." "Splashy," Nathan looked at the heavenly storm elemental as he turned his tie to the side and unbuttoned his shirt. "Do you know what happened?" The elemental thought for several moments, then formed a hand out of its water, wind, and light, giving a thumbs-up. "Did Ichtvar intend to chase off the creature?" He asked as he pressed the phoenix to his chest, pulling the creature into himself. With the phoenix unconscious for the pull, its red and gold pattern remained visible. The elemental shifted its fist to a neutral state, then back to a thumbs-up. "Did Ichtvar possess the ability to kill it?" Nathan asked as hie eyes began to droop against his will. Thumbs-down. "If you and Ichtvar combined power," he asked as he exposed his right side, where a white swirl was branded onto his skin. "Would you have been able to kill it?" The hand returned to a fist, then back to a thumbs-down. "Something powerful enough that a phoenix and a heavenly storm elemental couldn''t take it on," Nathan muttered as Keith frowned at the mark on his side, which faded away. "What the hell was it?" "Was that a wind elemental?" Keith asked. "Yes," Nathan covered his mouth as he yawned. "I had Ichtvar locate him a few days ago. With Ichtvar being weak by phoenix standards, he requires approximately five-sixths of my magical power to contract. A simple, single-element elemental requires around a fifth of that, which means he takes up most of the rest of my remaining magical power for contracts. That means I have what is, essentially, a normal magician''s allocation left. At least, according to Ichtvar." "Why did you have Ichtvar give you a wind elemental?" Keith asked as he attempted to locate the creature without his magic sight. Elementals embodied their element, were made solely of it. Wind elementals were almost impossible to see unless one was able to locate the disturbances in the wind and air where it went a different direction, flowed a different way. Keith couldn''t fathom a reason why Nathan would want one. "According to Ichtvar," Nathan answered. "Even though demigods are born like normal people, with their magic unawakened, their own children, should they manage to parent one, will be born awakened. I wanted something that could protect my son without being too obvious, for the rare occasions we''ll be separated." "And a wind elemental was your choice," Keith said. "Yes," Nathan answered. "Nearly invisible unless there''s something in the air, and it would take using magic sight to spot it, if you''re able." "I''ve seen your side several times," Keith said. "Swimming, the last set of runs in the game-" "I released him almost immediately in the game," Nathan explained. "And I''ve been keeping him out. He''s been, ah, assisting Samantha in her pregnancy." "In what way?" Keith asked. "She''s not as balanced as she thinks she is," Nathan stated. "Has Splashy said what caused Ichtvar to burn up his magic like that?" "No," Keith frowned. "He said it''s gone for now, but he''ll alert us if it draws near again." "Why didn''t he let us know it was here before?" Nathan asked. "He said it was just watching," Keith answered. "And showed no hostile intent. Whatever it was, I wasn''t able to see it, even with magic sight." "Something that can conceal itself from that?" Nathan asked. "If Ichtvar had to use that much magical power, it had magic, too." "Maybe," Keith answered. "Until he wakes, we won''t know." Neither of them commented that finding out was also dependent on if the phoenix deigned to inform them of what the creature was. They both knew it was hiding information from them, especially information regarding phoenixes that Master Torzin either didn''t know or didn''t want to share.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. They resumed eating and resting, Nathan watching as Keith inspected the enchantment on the gun, before they discussed for a few minutes. Nathan felt tired, and suspected it had to do with Ichtvar''s condition as the exhaustion had begun almost immediately after pulling the phoenix into him, so he asked Keith to take watch as he laid down, using his backpack as a pillow. Keith could tell the moment Nathan fell asleep ¨C there was a subtle shift in the warrior''s magic, which his familiar had mentioned awhile back. If he didn''t know about it, he wouldn''t have thought anything of it or made a connection between the two things. The enchanter inspected the gun a little more. Were they in the Survival Challenge, they''d probably only be a few days away from a prototype. Since they were in a Dungeon, they weren''t likely to manage in succeeding until they left and entered the Survival Challenge to research more. Progress was being made, though. They''d already figured out how to connect the magazines'' enchantments to the gun''s, the only stage left was creating the actual bullets themselves. Unfortunately, figuring out how to use enchantments to generate magical constructs meant they might need to adjust their connective runes. Preliminary tests allowed them to create the bullets, the problem was keeping them sustained after formation. They couldn''t even test to see if a gun worked until after they solved that problem, as well as its stabilization on firing. Both of them knew the bullet would explode with the current firing method and creation. Nathan''s trick with the Lego cannons would work if the bullets were normal objects rather than crafted of pure magic. One solution they would look into once they found a way to stabilize the bullets would be to modify that enchantment to work on magical constructs. Keith looked at Nathan, who''d fallen asleep with his shirt still unbuttoned, the marks for Ichtvar still visible on his chest. Nathan expressed displeasure at being forged for a reason, but the enchanter felt that Nathan had other feelings towards it as well. Towards the Well of Souls. As for himself, he was still attempting to figure out how he felt about it. It made him a prodigy, able to understand things on an advanced level with ease. Enchantments came to him easily, and the only part of that which bothered him was Nathan''s clear affinity for it being stronger. Master Torzin had said that Keith was designed to be a magician with an affinity for enchantments, but there was no implication that Keith was designed solely to be an enchanter. Nathan, on the other hand, was designed to be a warrior and an enchanter. Pushing those thoughts down, Keith looked at Ichtvar''s brand. The phoenix burned up an amount of magic Keith had never seen before, and his magical sight was still spotty from the event. Doing that could have killed the phoenix, and death was something it expressed no desire to experience anytime soon. That worried the enchanter, whose gaze turned to the darkness. He didn''t want to pull out his scrying orb to find out what it was because they had a limited number of storage cards, and the ones with multiple uses were limited in number. Working on improving them was one of their goals for the Survival Challenges, though for after they finished with Nathan''s scrying orb. Two hours passed as Keith worked on the gun and kept an eye and ear open to the darkness, his violet eyes glowing briefly as he became aware of danger. Nathan still slept, exhausted as his magic drained to restore his familiar''s power and health. Standing, Keith turned to the direction he sensed the threat, his psychic sight alerting him that it was a single creature. Based his magic sight, he knew it wasn''t channeling any power at the time, so it was either a boar or something they hadn''t encountered yet. The moment he heard snuffling and slight clopping on the stone ground, Keith summoned several air slices and shot them in the direction he sensed the creature. It was another boar, and four damage notifications let him know that all but one struck. "Protect Nathan," Keith ordered his familiar. "I''ll handle the monster." The boar charged forward, straight at Keith, and the magician leaped straight into the air, utilizing the Spatial Mobility that helped make Nathan so dangerous. From above, he fired several more air slices into the path of the boar, timing it so that each struck the beast. As Keith landed, he generated a thin whip of swift-moving wind, the current running from his hand down to the tip of the whip and back, creating an almost chainsaw-like effect. Without hesitation, he flicked the whip, which extended in length. This boar was slower than the one which enhanced itself with magic, but it would still need space to stop the charge. The slower speed and space needed to stop charging and turn around allowed Keith enough time to grab one of its hind legs with the whip, causing the beast to squeal as the magician pulled on the whip, shortening the length. Most who discovered such a trick believed it required raw strength to work, but Keith knew better. It was a spell, much like force magic. Instead of pushing, the spell pulled instead. Anchored to a spot, the beast needed to be stronger than the force of the spell rather than the physical might of the caster. Repeated Health notifications informed Keith that the whip''s slicing effect worked as well, even if the damage was minor while the boar was dragged towards him as it did its best to pull away. The strength of the boar was enough to resist some of the pull, but the magician managed to bring it back into the area illuminated by his familiar and the lantern. The moment the boar was within his visual range again, Keith shot several air slices at it, moving immediately to an air hammer he formed above the beast, which he dropped just as the slices made contact. Based on the red gauge, his attacks had dropped the beast down to two-thirds of its Health. If he didn''t do something strong, and soon, the boar would potentially break out of Keith''s whip. The magician rarely used the spell as it risked damage to allies who didn''t notice the rapid wind, which meant it took a lot of effort for him to sustain. Using the hammer had pushed his limits. But Keith wasn''t just a magician. He''d already branched into a new spell by modifying the slice spell into a light-based one. Mastering spells took him less time than normal, and learning them was just as much easier for him than for others. Focusing with what he had left as he sent several more air slices at the boar, Keith reflected on his familiar''s tingles as it passed into him, the powerful shocks he felt if he touched the lightning hidden by the elemental''s holy light. On the raw power of one of nature''s most powerful elementals. Channeling that feeling and visualization, Keith felt an immense amount of mana drain as lightning charged through his whip, jolting him slightly through his contact with it in his palm. The flash passed quickly, striking the boar''s leg with enough force to blast it off, completely piercing through its remaining Health. Screeching, the boar began to scramble away on its three remaining legs, but Keith held his hands up, willing a bolt of lightning to blast out from the space between them and connect with the boar''s body, even more of his mana draining as he did. The bolt struck the boar in the side with all the force and power of someone with half the magical power of a freshly-awakened demigod. Without a sound, the boar fell to the ground, the scent of burnt flesh filling the air.
+1 Level
Keith collapsed to the ground, exhausted. There was a reason nature''s most powerful elements were rarely used by any magician, and that was one of them. Controlling them wasn''t an easy thing, and without decades of training, only a prodigy such as Keith could manage to use them. "Perhaps being forged by the Well of Souls wasn''t such a bad thing, after all," he murmured as he stood to see what meat he could salvage from the boar. "There are two more tusks for you." He spared his familiar a glance, which had formed a dome of water, wind, and light over Nathan, using the tusks of the first boar as horns. "You''re ridiculous." 00060 With his Mana low, Keith took out several potions and drained them. Unlike Nathan, he kept a stock of the game''s Mana Potions on-hand, just in case. Purchased outside of the game, he''d be able to use them time and again as long as he only used them within the game. Even though he could restore his Mana to full in around an hour, he wanted to be prepared in case something else came their way. The few potions he had wouldn''t be anywhere near enough to bring him to full, but they were enough he could use his basic attacks again if something attacked quickly. His Mana partially refilled, Keith began cutting into the boar, pulling out some of the meat that cooked with his attack, then he devoured it before sitting beside Nathan. His familiar had already cut off the tusks and were playing with them, and he shook his head in a mixture of disbelief and amusement. Because history was wrong, people would get the wrong idea if they knew who his familiar was. Fifteen centuries ago, it was only a storm elemental. One contracted to a figure now commonly depicted and believed to have been evil. Mordred. They had no idea that Mordred was good, nor that his familiar was a playful thing. The latter part, Keith found out through Nathan and Ichtvar. Until the springboard incident, Keith had always been formal, even if friendly, with his familiar. Contracting something so powerful had made him nervous of upsetting the elemental and losing the contract. He''d been lucky to find it, but now that he thought about things, and some of the hints he''d received, he started to wonder something. If maybe the heavenly storm elemental had sought him out and intentionally let himself be ''found'' by the teen. As Keith finished eating, he sensed something else approaching and looked at it. Since his familiar hadn''t reacted, the blob-like magical thing was likely a phantom and not a shade. This was confirmed when it morphed to a humanoid appearance and stepped out of the shadows, lunging towards the wizard. Reacting immediately, Keith fired off a slash of light at the creature, which dodged, the attack nicking its arm. Keith was already casting another, this one shaped like a plus. As the phantom dodged that, Keith pulled Nathan''s gun from his hip and aimed at the creature, firing at its head. His arm jerked with the unexpected kickback from the shot, the bullet going wide. Adjusting his aim for the chest, he fired again as the phantom charged towards him. The bullet slammed into its chest, causing the creature to let out an ear-piercing shriek of pain. As it flailed around, Keith dropped the hand with the gun and summoned up a sphere of light, an alteration to simply gathering mana above his palm. He took two swift steps forward and pressed the sphere into the phantom''s chest, causing the creature to dissipate. "Sorry, Nathan," Keith sat down and opened up Nathan''s backpack. "I''m probably going to use this a little until you wake up." Sustaining an orb of light wouldn''t be too difficult or intensive for him, as he didn''t need to do anything other than create and sustain it. If he were to move it around on its own, send it flying, or something else like that, then it would be as draining as the light slashes. Since the phantoms stopped moving to wail and shriek from the pain of light-enhanced bullets, that meant that if Keith could manage to hit them with a single bullet, he could finish them off with little magic expenditure. Keith pulled out several of Nathan''s decks, locating the box with a gun drawn onto it. Opening it, Keith pulled out a card with an ammo box drawn onto it. Triggering it, he opened up the metal box that formed and pulled out a bullet, then pulled out his inscribing pen. He kept an ear and an eye out for danger as he worked, occasionally needing to take down a phantom, but no more boars attacked. A few hours passed before he stopped to eat again, and as he did, Keith stared at the boar''s corpse. There was no vegetation that they could find so far, and Ichtvar had made it clear that he''d apparently been mistaken when he detected plants of some sort. Or had he actually detected some somewhere on the island? What did the boars eat? Where were they hiding? How many were there? After eating, Keith asked his familiar to keep an eye out and to wake him if something happened. The magician was exhausted and elementals didn''t sleep. With Nathan out for the count until Ichtvar had recovered enough, shifts couldn''t be taken for keeping watch, and Keith wanted to be as alert as possible. Keith settled down into sleep, waking to his familiar zapping him lightly. "What is it?" Keith asked, realizing immediately what the problem was. With his magic sight, he was able to see what appeared to be many, many magical threads surrounding him in the darkness, almost as if a web had been woven to trap him and Nathan where they were. "Uh," Keith murmured to his familiar. "Pretty sure I said to wake me if there was a problem." His familiar gave off a shrug, then returned to gently poking at Ichtvar''s markings on Nathan''s chest. Rubbing his temples, Keith stood and slowly turned, examining the all of web that encircled them. It was around thirty feet in diameter and formed a dome over them. After a few minutes of examination, he spotted the location of the spider that created the thread. Or rather, it began to weave more of its magical web, this time aimed at Keith. The magician flicked his wrist, sending a slice of air at the web. The two connected a few feet above his head, the silvery web cutting in two and splitting to the sides of him as the spell continued forward. The web was wearing away at his spell, but Keith knew it wasn''t that effective on a spell as powerful as his. He shot off several more slices of air, surrounding the spider as it attempted to move out of the way. Hissing, the spider dropped to the ground, and Keith gave it a satisfied smirk when he noticed one of its eight legs was missing. Dark brown fur with onyx-black eyes, the beast stood nearly three feet in height. "You''re a big one, aren''t you?" Keith asked as it shot web at him. Raising his hands, the magician summoned a wall of wind that stopped the magical thread in its tracks. Punching at the wall, Keith sent several small blasts of air at the beast, which scurried to the side to avoid being struck as it shot more webbing at him. It was a bad match-up for the spider, Keith knew. His air magics were perfect for stopping the webbing dead without giving it anything to latch onto, and he was powerful enough that the webbing''s magic-draining property took too long to make much of a difference. In addition, his attacks were powerful enough that any which missed the spider and didn''t hit the ground hit the web wall instead, damaging it.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. All he needed to do was find a perfect opportunity, as the creature continued to evade his attacks. He continued to generate his wind barrier as he shifted to continue to protect himself, Nathan, and their gear from the webbing, noting the web wall surrounding them mending, even without the spider''s work. It was obviously draining magic from his attacks to repair itself, even if the attacks themselves broke through and continued on until fizzling out. "Fine, fine," Keith growled as he blasted off another leg of the spider''s, causing it to hiss once more. "I''ll use fire magics again. I fucking hate it, though." Focusing on the feeling of heat and flame, Keith mixed it into his wind as he continued to punch. While the wall itself remained the same, he was no longer projecting out blasts of air, but fireballs. The spider hissed at Keith, jumping up to avoid the flurry as Keith''s breathing quickened. He needed to end it quickly, before he had a full panic attack. Praying to whatever deities would listen, he hoped his tactic would work. When his fireballs struck the web well, they ignited hit, his magical flames spreading quickly enough to do massive damage, enough that the wall wasn''t able to repair itself. The spider shot web up to ascend to the dome, then began scurrying to repair the damage left when the flames faded. Keith aimed at the spider''s path, firing off several more shots. They quickly connected, setting the spider and the webbing aflame, and he continued igniting the webbing until it was no more. Sweating and breathing hard, Keith collapsed to the ground. Using fire magics wasn''t easy for him, not since the accident a couple of years ago. His first attempt at it resulted in disaster, a disaster that left him fearful of using fire magics. Much like lightning, it wasn''t easy to control, and his arrogance from easy learning back then led to him thinking he could use it easily and outside of a controlled environment without any training. Madeline had to have trained for years to be able to wield fire magics the way she did. The only good that came from that incident was that it led to him meeting his familiar. Kieth had gone outside of town to use it, not wanting to be caught at home. There were some decent-sized woods not far out of town, so Keith had gone there. He summoned a fireball, and in his joy at having managed it with relative ease compared to what it should have been, he forgot to keep control over it. The fire expanded with his emotions, exploding outward. The woods around him, his clothes, and his body were all set aflame. By rights, Keith himself should have been covered in burns from the incident, but the next thing he remembered, aside from the pain and all the flames, was the cool, concern-filled touch of water flowing over his body. When he came to, Keith found himself being washed by water, touched by a breeze, and lightly zapped by electricity, his flesh mending. The woods around him had been put out, and as he collected himself, he realized with a start that there was an elemental there, mending his burnt body. Keith spent a few days out in the woods, recovering from the fire and communicating with the elemental, which accepted his contract before he went home. According to the familiar, it had just been passing through. But was it? Or was it intentionally there, watching Keith? The magician slowly sat up and looked at the heavenly storm elemental, which was still poking at Nathan''s chest. Mordred''s familiar had become his own, and then a few years later, its old friend Ichtvar became the familiar of someone who was rapidly becoming close friends of his. In real time, it would not be soon before Ichtvar''s surrogate son would be reunited with them as well. Keith focused on his familiar''s form, on the way the wind, water, and light mixed together as it flowed smoothly through the air above Nathan. Watching it helped calm him down after being reminded of that incident. It was a humbling experience, and one that led him to focus more on enchanting than spells, though he kept up with wind and force magics, as they were easier to control and shape. "Hey," Keith said, then sensed his familiar''s gaze upon him. "When you contracted with me¡­ you weren''t ''just passing through'', were you? You were there for me, weren''t you?" "Yes," he heard his familiar''s cool, gentle voice in his head. "I was watching you for weeks before the incident. Do you think you''ve recovered enough to try fire magics again? When it''s not something small, like igniting a twig, or in an emergency, like an hour ago?" "Has it really been an hour?" Keith asked, then sighed. "I don''t know. It was the only thing I could think of to quickly end the fight. I was able to damage the spider from the start, but it was fast. I got lucky. Even with my System-enhanced speed, I was barely able to keep up with it. My attacks weren''t doing much damage to the webbing, and it was repairing¡­ hey!" Keith stared at his familiar, sensing it knowing he''d realized why it had waited so long to wake him up. "You knew I''d use fire magics." "Yes," his familiar responded. "I have been all about helping you, Keith. I saw an opportunity to maybe help you with your fear. Remember, Keith, that fear isn''t a bad thing. Don''t let it control you, but instead, allow it to make you stronger. You faced your fear earlier. Using fire magics shouldn''t be as difficult anymore. And also remember that as cold as Nathan seems, that despite what he says, you are his friend. It will be okay to admit your fear of using fire magics to him. He may tease and taunt you over it, but that''s simply how he is, much like with making you uncomfortable by suggesting you do something else you fear." "Have sex with Michael," Keith said. "Correct," his familiar said. "It''s a deflection for him. He knows you''d never do that. By making others uncomfortable, he keeps them from getting too close. That''s why he will taunt and tease you over your fear. "However," it continued. "You have already broken past his walls. He refuses to accept that you are more than a tool, more than a means to an end. You are his friend. And in the end, past his taunting and teasing over your fear, he would be more than willing to help you face it and overcome it." Keith snorted. "Nathan doesn''t have any fears," he said. "And I really don''t see him willing to help anyone overcome a fear. I''m sure he''d tell Samantha to just suck it up." "That''s how he seems," the heavenly storm elemental said. "But that''s not how he is. He''d say that, but at the same time, do what he could to make them face it. If you told him about the incident, and how it gives you nightmares still, he''d tease you while simultaneously telling you to ignite the fires with magic. For a fear of spiders, he''d probably take you to a store that sold pets like spiders, teasing you as he held them up. It would be his way of trying to make you face your fears." "I''m not scared of spiders," Keith said. "And doing something like that would probably make an arachnophobe freak out hard." "Maybe," the familiar said. "But you''ve already seen how Nathan misunderstands things sometimes, or views the world with a skewed lens. It isn''t intentional, but simply part of who he is. And who knows, maybe the person with arachnophobia would realize later that it hadn''t been as bad as they''d thought, and maybe want to give it another try. Maybe not let the creature crawl all over them, but perhaps just visit the store again." Keith thought on his familiar''s words. It had never pressed him about trying to overcome his fear, simply let him be, helping him when he asked and acting as a friend when he needed it. It was his friend, which was why he could tap into the being''s full power through their connection. "Do you think," Keith took a shaky breath. "Do you think that using my magic, my fire magics, for small things would help me?" "Help you acquire fine control over it," his familiar responded. "While allowing you to use it in such a way that it would be hard for it to go wrong? Yes, Keith. It would help you acquire a comfortable feel for fire magics. Nathan would likely think the same thing, which is why I mentioned it." "Okay," Keith said. "Though I''m not sure I''m ready for Nathan to know just yet." "He already suspects, according to Ichtvar." "No reason to confirm," Keith looked at his teammate, who was still unconscious. "Do you know how much longer they''ll be out for?" "No," his familiar responded. "Awhile, though. I''d recommend staying put, it''ll give you less chance of facing more monsters. It could take a few hours, it could take a few days." "Great," Keith muttered. "I could be stuck here for a few days, waiting for Nathan to wake up." "On the bright side," his familiar said. "It''ll give you time to not be shadowed by Nathan''s own ability to steal the spotlight. That''s the phrase, right?" "Yes," Keith said. "That''s the phrase. And how, exactly, would Nathan steal the spotlight? We''re alone, and against anything tougher, we''ll have to work together." His familiar ignored the question, continuing to poke at Ichtvar''s marks. 00061 As Nathan slept with his magic fueling his familiar''s recovery, he dreamed he was elsewhere, another person. A man around nineteen or twenty, with pitch-black hair and crimson eyes. He wore nothing at all, his thin, pale frame marked with cuts, scrapes, and bruises from where he had been beaten. A crimson tattoo collared his neck, his hair long and tangled. He was a slave. It wasn''t something that Nathan knew, as Nathan had forgotten himself, existing as this other person. The person he was, however, knew that he was a slave, just like the other seven slaves gathered with him, each similar to him, each with long black hair and crimson eyes. That was simply how everyone was. Their bodies broken and beaten, the eight slaves were forced to their knees as their overseer walked by. A man who looked to be in his forties, he wore nothing but tattoos. There, clothing was nonexistent, not even a concept. His tattoos consisted of rings around his upper arms and ankles, swirls on his chest, shoulders, and upper back. The patterns of green, blue, and yellow tattoos denoted him as a lesser noble, one who normally wouldn''t be able to afford to own a dozen slaves. Which was brought him to the current moment. The eight slaves before him were the worst of his slaves, the most disobedient. He fed them, as he did all slaves, and that was the minimum care required. But they were insubordinate, defiant, and a drain on his money, money that was needed for other things. "You eight," he spoke, and though it was a language Nathan could never have heard before, it understood it perfectly. "Will be sold into the pits tonight. Your last act of service for me will be earning me money, paying back some of what you''ve drained away. Had you behaved like the others, you would have continued to have a gentle life." Their overseer sneered at them, then left the room, leaving the slaves kneeling. The pit was a combat arena that forced slaves into battle day after day until their lives gave out. None of them wanted to be in the pits, but as slaves, they could do nothing but obey. The marks around their necks told everyone who and what they were. They could not be concealed, so any who saw them would know they were slaves and turn them in, should they escape. Nathan''s dream shifted, advanced to the slaves being led out of the mansion by guards with orange marks on their arms and legs, lines and swirls that denoted excellence in battle. The marks and swirls on their upper arms and torsos and on their lower legs denoted the Grand House they served, their lives sworn to it. Were they to ever change loyalties, their flexible morals would be portrayed to all who saw them. The coloration of the brands marked them as of common blood. The slave that Nathan was shuffled along with the others, watching and waiting. Just as they were about to be loaded into the back of a caged wagon, he took off, slipping between two guards before they could catch him. Despite being weak from hunger and the beating he had taken earlier that day, the slave ran quickly across the field, evading the spells and lances of shimmering orange energy that tried to stop his escape. All he needed was to take a step or two to either side to avoid being struck. They didn''t want to kill him, as a dead slave was a useless slave. Instead, they were trying to throw him off-balance by destroying the ground, but not enough so that his legs would be damaged. He wouldn''t earn money in the pits if he couldn''t fight, so the chances of him being accepted were slim if damaged. Which gave him all the leeway he needed to escape. The slave reached the woods. If he could disappear into the woods, he would be free. The guards were preoccupied at the moment, so they couldn''t spare anyone to chase after him. Two of the slaves they were selling knew magic, which meant that upon seeing someone else escape, they would take the opportunity to do so if another appeared. In the woods, the slave continued running, up until a net of deep purple magic snared his feet and lifted him into the air. Twisting his torso, he attempted to wriggle free before catching the color of the spell. Only a higher magician could cast violet magic, and none of his overseer''s people could do so. "What do we have here?" A gentle, feminine voice asked, and the slave twisted to face the speaker. A woman who looked in her early twenties, though he knew that could be false. Their people''s aging slowed, eventually halting. Some, like his overseer, looked older, while some looked younger, though the slave looked his age. "A runaway slave, are we?" She asked as he eyed the violet swirls on her shoulders, upper arms, and sides that denoted her as a member of a High Noble House. The Len House, if he remembered the pattern correctly. Without any other coloration, she was a pure-blooded High Noble. "I wasn''t expecting that when I chose to pass through. Based on the location, I take it you''re running from the local lord? Come with me." The slave found himself dropping onto the ground as the High Noble turned and walked away. He could run, he knew, but she would catch him. Even if she were the age she appeared, a High Noble''s power was too grand for him to escape. She would catch him within moments. So he followed, hoping for an opportunity to escape again. Bad luck was the only reason he was caught that time. Another opportunity would present itself. They always did, even if his bad luck forced him back to his master. The High Noble led him to a carriage drawn by two stallions with silver streaks through their crimson fur, their three blue eyes watching him intently. A group of soldiers with green markings stood around the carriage, ready to cast spells at the slightest sign of danger to their lady. The slave eyed the soldiers with envy. Green markings indicated they had cultivated their magic to a higher level than the common blood the orange markings showed. As a slave, it was unlikely he would ever advance his magic beyond red, should he ever unlock it. Were he to, his overseer, his master of the time, would torture him until death. Orange was the color of commoners, and a weaker magic. Most commoners were born with it available to them without training and cultivation. One''s magic at birth was often dictated by parentage. Green was the point at which someone could attempt to become a noble. The lady''s guards were no doubt among those who wished to try their hand at becoming one. Gaining the favor of a High Noble could ascend one to greater heights. "Enter," the High Noble drew the slave out of his thoughts of envy at her guards, and he realized that she had already entered her carriage and was looking at him from outside. "Now, slave." The slave hurried to obey, even if confused. Why would she allow filth like him inside her fancy, clean carriage? He expected to be lashed to the back and dragged behind until they reached his overseer''s mansion. As soon as the slave had seated across from the lady, a guard closed the carriage door and the carriage began rolling, the clop-clop of the horses on the road and the wheels turning against it the only sound filling the air. While they rode, the lady stared at the slave. "That wasn''t your first escape attempt," she said after a few minutes. "I could tell by the look in your eyes when I caught you, slave. You''ve attempted escape before, and will attempt it again, should you be given another chance. I heard the local noble was selling several to the pits. If you''re among them, then I can promise you, escape won''t occur again. No one escapes the pits, even in death." The slave gave no response. It was not his place to speak to a noble, only obey and await orders and punishment. When they arrived at his overseer''s mansion, the slave was forced out of the carriage by one of the guards, flung unceremoniously onto the ground as the High Noble stepped out.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Lady Eralen," the slave''s overseer bowed to her, sparing his slave only a glance. "I apologize for the trouble my slave has given you. I assure you, milady, that it will be punished accordingly before I send it off to the pits." "You will allow me to punish the slave instead," she commanded. "Lift your head, Bairul. He has troubled me, and so it will be I and mine who deliver punishment. I will pay you five hundred thousand zultar for the slave." The slave''s breath caught in his throat. Five hundred thousand for a defiant slave was quite a lot. The pits would have only bought him for around twenty thousand. To make an offer for him that high, he knew that the pain he would suffer would be unimaginable. Nathan''s dream shifted again, this time, he was in a stone cell, his hands chained to the high ceiling, his feet chained to the floor, barely able to touch it with his arms stretched up as they were. Several of Lady Eralen''s guards watched from the walls, two by the solid metal door. Lady Eralen herself stood in front of the slave, a rectangular object with three metal prongs protruding out of one end in her right hand. The slave was covered in even more bruises, cuts, and burns than before. "Remarkable," Lady Eralen commented, before pushing the triple-pronged object into his stomach. The slave''s back arched as he grit his teeth against the pain, despite the force of lightning running through his body. Lady Eralen saw to his breaking at least twice a day, and she did not hold back. Even the power of four of her guards at once did not hurt as much as her personal touch. "How interesting," she pulled the object away, leaving him breathing hard, forcing himself to not gasp for air through clenched teeth as he glared at the High Noble. "Your regeneration rate is quite high for a slave, but we''ve already checked your mana, it''s red. You have a high pain tolerance as well, and a defiant spark that won''t leave. Three months, you''ve been in here now. Three months of pain and agony." She handed the object to one of the guards, who returned to the wall, then the lady summoned a baton of violet energy, before striking it against the slave''s thigh. He grunted, then spat at her. "Three months of torture that stops for not more than a few minutes at a time," she smiled. "And yet you still manage to show defiance. You are quite the remarkable slave. I enjoy seeing the pain you do your best to conceal, slave. I do enjoy attempting to break you. You have lasted the longest of them all, but everyone has their limits." She struck him again, and again, and again, and the slave took it, not giving her the satisfaction of crying out in pain, not even when she altered the magic to amplify pain, or when she used it to burn him. She switched to using a whip that felt like acid against his skin, boiling and bubbling his flesh. After an hour of additional torture, Lady Eralen left, and the guards resumed taking turns working the slave''s body. The defiance in his gaze never left, even as his body healed. The guards enjoyed that aspect of the slave ¨C normally, only people who reached blue mana or higher could heal injuries as severe and numerous as the slave''s in a day, yet he managed to do so within half of one consistently, even with little food and drink. It meant they could hold back even less. The dream continued, everything becoming a blur to Nathan as the tortures blended together, until the day things changed. Lady Eralen entered the cell in the evening, as usual, and approached him. "Three years," she touched his chin, looking the slave in the eyes that began to close, exhaustion seeming to claim him quickly in the break of pain. "Even the most hardened of soldiers would find it hard to remain defiant and unbroken. Yet you are breaking. The lack of proper sleep and food has caused hallucinations, has it not? I know it has, with how long has passed since you came into my care." She held out her hand, and a guard handed her the object used to shock him. She rammed it into his side, frowning as it elicited no reaction from the slave. He continued to sleep. The device was designed to disrupt sleep patterns, to ensure that anyone it touched woke, even if they developed a resistance to the pain or shock. It was nearing the maximum shock levels as well, to ensure the slave couldn''t develop a resistance to it. "It''s working," she pulled it away and inspected it. "Yet he didn''t wake." She rammed it into his right breast, the prongs surrounding his nipple. A sensitive spot, yet even there received no response. Nor for his left nipple, nor his neck, nor his member down low. The slave slept through it all. "How interesting," she handed the device to the guard, but kept her hand out. A four-pronged object was placed into it, and she inspected it. "He still breathes, so he lives. It should be impossible for him to sleep through this." She rammed the four-pronged item into his balls, and a sensation like fire was spread through his body, yet the slave still gave no response. "He''s sleeping through torture?" She asked. "How absurd. Did someone cast a spell on him?" Lady Eralen placed a hand on his chest and pushed with her magic to release any spells placed on the slave, then she rammed the prongs into the same spot as before. No reaction from the slave. The lady tossed the device to a guard as she manifested a short whip, which she began to use on him. Despite his skin bubbling, burning from its acid touch, the slave made no reaction. For two hours, the High Noble did everything she could to wake him, including casting dream spells to grant him nightmares, yet the slave continued to sleep peacefully, unaffected by the torment. "What in the name of the elders," she looked at a guard. "How is he sleeping through this?" The guard shrugged, and the lady turned back to the slave, who was sleepily opening his eyes. It didn''t take Lady Eralen more than a few seconds to realize that he was sassing them, even if silently. His eyes were filled with exhaustion and pain, though it was hard to discern through the pure defiance within them. He hadn''t been asleep at all, only pretended to be. That was even worse than sleeping through the torture, because it meant he actively ignored the pain and forced his body to remain relaxed, despite how difficult it must have been. "Well, then," she smiled. "I have to say, slave, I''m impressed. I can think of perhaps none of my guards who would manage to remain unbroken through what you''ve been through these last three years. Even the toughest of them would have broken no later than six months ago. No slave I have ever tortured lasted more than two months total." The slave continued to stare at her with defiance, challenging her to continue attempting to break him. She knew that it was impossible. The slave had nothing, no one. He was, after all, a slave. Born to slaves, taken from his parents at birth, branded a slave, and treated as one. He had no friends, no family. No loved ones, no belongings. Nothing that could be used against him. Torture, sleep deprivation, starvation, thirst. Those were what worked on slaves, what broke them. And they had failed. Many times the length, yet not the slightest sign of breaking. In fact, he''d begun to silently sass them over their torture, despite them constantly spiking the level of it to prevent him from adapting. He''d still managed to adjust. Finding someone who could remain unbroken after all that was not an easy task, nor was it something she ever expected, and so had never searched. She had uses for someone with that much willpower, however, and his absolute loyalty immediately became something she desired more than anything. "I find that intriguing," she told the slave. "I always knew there were slaves out there made of something tougher than normal, and here one is. You were meant to learn a lesson and break so that you''d never escape again, yet it is I who learned a lesson. You cannot be broken." "Milady!" Several of the guards exclaimed as the others gasped. "And so," she said. "I would like to make a deal with you, slave. You feel the pain, yet you ignore it. You can remain here, eternally undergoing torture after torture, allowing us to come up with new and more creative methods for it, until we find a way to break the unbreakable. It would yield more methods for breaking others, if we could try them out on you first. "I am quite fond of that option," she smiled. "You are, after all, a slave, and slaves must be broken so that they lose their defiance. But at the same time, I want you near me. So, slave, I will give you an option. This will be the one and only time you may accept it. If you refuse the option, you will remain right here for the rest of your unbroken life. "Be my personal slave," she told him. "And never attempt to escape again. You will serve me to the best of your abilities. You will carry when I want you to, stand where I want you to, do what I want you to. Obey me and be a faithful little slave, and I will ensure you are fed well. Not as a slave, but as a commoner. You will have a gentle place to sleep for obedience, and you will not be harmed unless disobedient." "Milady!" One of the guards stepped forward. "As your Captain, I must advise you against this. Having an unbroken slave, one that has proven defiant, as one of your slaves, much less a personal one, is a bad idea!" Lady Eralen had expected her Captain''s rejection, and knew her other guards were in agreement, despite their lack of vocal rejection. The slave could not be broken through torture, but what if was broken through goodwill? She knew of another High Noble who had a slave that was absolutely loyal to him without torture breaking him, so she knew it was possible that might work for this particular slave as well. "Perhaps," Lady Eralen said. "Or perhaps it''s a good idea. Slave, if you accept this, I expect the best of behaviors from you. You will be treated as a person so long as you are obedient. Perform well for me long enough, and I will even allow you to unlock your magic." If she promised treatment as a person and commoner, even with him as a slave, it would help to bring loyalty to him. One thing all slaves wanted was to earn their freedom so that they could be considered people, and she knew the moment she said he would be treated as one that she hooked him. His eyes said it all. "But be forewarned," she said. "That if you attempt to flee even one time, slave, you will be right back in this cell. Do you accept the offer?" 00062 "Will you quiet down?" Nathan snapped. "I''m sleeping, here." "Help!" Keith exclaimed as he fired off several more air slices at the trio of boars he was fighting. "Nathan, help!" Nathan grumbled as he sat up and assessed the fight. There were more than a dozen carcasses on the ground, though they all looked and smelled old to Nathan''s quick look. Then, there were the three boars that Keith was actively fighting. "Fine," he muttered. "Then I''m going back to sleep." Nathan charged forward, punching the boar charging towards Keith from the right with enough force to alter its path into another boar. The two of them tumbled as Nathan glared at the other boar before charging towards it as Keith attacked the two that were recovering from Nathan''s initial attack. As Nathan took on the third boar, his wind elemental joined him and stopped its attempts at tripping up the boars to form a wall of wind in the beast''s path. The beast ran through the familiar, which sent a spike of irritation through Nathan, though its attempt at stopping the creature did succeed in slowing it down. The warrior grabbed the boar by the horns, taking note that it had a mostly-full Health bar through Scan. Only one of the three was empty, charging itself with power, and Nathan had punched another boar into it. Pivoting, Nathan heaved with all his might, throwing the boar at the other two and sending them tumbling in the other direction. Then, he charged forward again, using Impact into the side of the boar he''d just thrown, the force of his punch sending all three of them scooting a few inches before he pushed out with force magic. "Nathan, get back!" Keith hollered, and Nathan jumped back. A flash of light blinded Nathan as thunder boomed, the smell of ozone filling the air. "One down!" Keith said. "The fuck was that?" Nathan growled as he tried to clear the spots from his eyes while listening to the boars. "Lightning!" Keith answered as Nathan ran forward, aiming where he guessed a boar was. His fist slammed into a tusk, and the boar squealed as Nathan pulled his hand back, shaking it. "Lightning?" Nathan asked. "I just fucking woke up, and you try to zap me with lightning? The fuck you trying to do, kill me?" "Kill you?" Keith asked as Nathan drop-kicked the boar, his vision finally starting to clear enough he could see again. "Nathan, I told you to back up for a reason! The bolt stunned the two it didn''t hit and wiped out a lot of Health!" Nathan grabbed the boar''s tusks and heaved with all his might once more, this time lifting the beast up and slamming it into the other, before twisting while still gripping the tusks as firmly as he could, sending the boar tumbling across the path. "You killed the one without Health!" Nathan snapped. "Now stop whatever you''re doing and help me more! Then we''re talking about waking me up!" "Just keep them distracted!" Keith said as Nathan kicked at the remaining boar. "I can summon another bolt, I just need time to charge up and form the spell!" The boar Nathan had thrown stumbled off into the darkness, though both teens knew it was likely coming back with a charge, so Nathan focused on the one he was already beating down on, hammering away at its Health without giving it a moment to rest. As he did, Keith continued charging his spell, before giving Nathan a warning to move back. As soon as the warrior was a few feet away, the boar stumbling around, Keith fired off his second bolt of lightning, removing the rest of its Health and burning its flesh. "Damn," Keith muttered. "That one''s got more than the others. Nathan, handle the other, I''ll finish off this one!" Nathan glared at Keith before charging at the charging boar, hearing the other squealing at Keith''s attacks. The warrior and the boar collided, Nathan grabbing its tusks and using its momentum to swing it around, throwing it at the other boar. "Dammit, Nathan!" Keith exclaimed as the warrior charged to the boars. The magician sighed and watched as Nathan beat down the boars, finishing them off with a mixture of his martial arts and force pushes. When he finished, Nathan glared at Keith. "I was sleeping." "You''ve been sleeping for two days," Keith gestured to the dead beasts all around them. "Meanwhile, I''ve been dealing with boars, bats, and a particularly annoying spider. I could''ve handled the boar if there were only two of them. As it was, I still did more in that fight than you." "I count fourteen beasts," Nathan decided not to argue, as Keith had a point and did seem to have fought a lot while he was out. "I shoved some of them out of our space," Keith rubbed his temples. "Why are you so cranky?" "I''m always cranky when I just wake up." "Uh, not to contest that, but I spent more than half a year in the game with you," Keith said. "And I''ve seen you training first thing in the morning. You haven''t been cranky." "What do you think the training''s for?" Nathan asked. "I''m getting more rest. You handle anything else that shows up." "No," Keith said. "You and I are eating, then we''re getting away from here and hunting down the next talisman fragment." "I''m sleeping," Nathan laid back down, resting his head on his backpack. "Wake me when we''re dead." "Get up," Keith rolled his eyes. "The longer it takes for us to finish this Dungeon, the longer it''ll take for us to get to working on the scrying orb so you can see your son once he''s born and you''re in the game." Muttering curses under his breath, Nathan sat up and pulled out some food as Nathan used blades of wind to cut into the hide of one of the boars, cutting out two steaks cooked by his lightning. "Not as good as what you make," Keith handed Nathan one of the steaks. "But it''ll do for now." "I hate you." "Yeah, yeah," Keith rolled his eyes. "So what did you dream about?" "What makes you think I was dreaming?" Nathan glared as he ate some dried fruit from a container. "The fact that you pulled your exhausted familiar into you," Keith answered. "Ichtvar nearly sacrificed himself to do whatever that was, and it put a heavy magical burden on him. When you pulled him into you, you began unconsciously feeding him magical power to assist his recovery, which is why you went unconscious. Doing that, especially with a strong bond with your familiar, causes you to dream whatever they''re dreaming. Heck, just sleeping with a familiar pulled within you with a strong bond to them causes that." The strong bond between Keith and his familiar resulted in him dreaming of the familiar''s time with Mordred, the reason the magician knew the familiar''s identity and the truth about back then. "Ichtvar and I don''t have that strong of a bond," Nathan said. "And I doubt he''d dream about being a slave getting tortured for months. This island is fucking with my dreams." "You dreamed you got tortured for months?" Keith asked. "Round-the-clock torture," Nathan nodded. "They looked human, but I don''t think they were. Everyone had black hair and crimson eyes, and their magic was a different color based on how powerful they were, how cultivated and refined their magic was." "That''s not like how it is at all," Keith shook his head. "I know," Nathan bit into the steak, then tossed it to Keith, who set it to the side. The warrior began eating more dried fruit. "There are only four colors of mana, and it''s not based on power or refinement. Now shut the fuck up." Keith opted to be silent as Nathan finished eating, then the two of them and packed their things, and Nathan began walking. "Since Ichtvar''s still unconscious," Keith said. "Made obvious by the fact that you haven''t released him and I can still see his marks, should we just continue wandering around?" "For the other pieces, maybe," Nathan began buttoning up his shirt. "Did you move my backpack at all?" "No." "Then I know the direction Ichtvar was in when he found the fragment," Nathan told him. "Splashy, you and Keith are to keep an eye out for inert magical objects, especially ones with broken enchantments." The heavenly storm elemental gave Nathan four thumbs-up, and Keith rolled his eyes at his familiar''s friendly attitude to Nathan. Several hours of walking passed as the pair did their best to check every inch of the path and canal they could for the fragments, then they sat down to eat. "I thought you couldn''t use lightning magic," Nathan said as they ate. "I started to while you were out," Keith answered. "It was one of the only things I could use that did enough to the boars to work." "And the bats?" "My wind was fine for those." "And the spider?" Nathan asked. "That looked charred."This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "Yes," Keith winced, and his familiar prodded him. "That was fire magic. I burned it and the web it had woven around us to trap us in. It was the only way I could think of to stop the web from completely repairing itself." "I thought you hated fire magic?" The heavenly storm elemental zapped Keith. "Fine!" Keith glared at it, before looking back to Nathan and telling him about the incident a few years ago, which led to him meeting his familiar and his fear of using fire magics. "So there you have it. Go on, make fun of me, I know you want to." "I don''t make fun of you," Nathan said. "I make you uncomfortable. Also, you''re starting our fires from now on. If you''re done eating, we need to get moving." Keith sighed, then grabbed his stuff, and the pair continued walking. Several times, Nathan changed paths, though Keith suspected it wasn''t as random as it seemed. According to his familiar, Nathan was taking them down different paths. "Are you keeping a mental map?" Keith asked. "No." "But-" "I can''t do that shit," Nathan said. "My elemental''s telling me when we''ve already gone a direction." "I see it," Keith said, then walked past Nathan and examined the item. Nathan joined him. "There''s something odd about it." "What do you mean?" Nathan asked. "It looks like another fragment of the talisman, with another topaz in it. "Yeah," Keith frowns. "I don''t know, something just feels off about it to me." Nathan reached out and picked up the fragment, a notice appearing in their visions.
Talisman fragment found. It is not compatible with the piece you have; it is not a part of the talisman you are attempting to locate the fragments of. You may either leave it here or carry it with you.
"There are two talismans?" Keith asked. "Never mind, there are eight islands. There might be one for each." "Possible," Nathan stuck the fragment into his backpack. "At least we know why it seemed wrong to me," Keith said. "Let''s start looking for another piece." "I''m tired." "You''re going to be," Keith said. "And if you lie down for a nap, there''s a good chance you''ll be out for another two days." Nathan grunted, then began walking again. Neither teen sensed any monsters as they continued their search, which yielded another fragment piece after only another half-hour. When Nathan picked it up, a message appeared in their vision.
Talisman Fragment found.
Go to the Altar of Light at the center of the island.
"With only two fragment pieces?" Nathan asked. "The rest might already be there," Keith said. "We did find a corpse, it''s possible their party or another past one passed by the Altar of Light, whatever it is, on their journey. If that''s where the pieces are supposed to go, then it''s possible they were informed they could leave it there." "In case they didn''t make it back," Nathan nodded. "My familiar says the center of the island is in that direction," Keith told Nathan, and the pair began walking. An hour and a half of navigating the maze-like paths of the island, and the duo found themselves standing in front of a stone octagonal altar that stood three feet in height and stretched three feet on the top. Resting in an impression on the pedestal was the final fragment piece, though another piece of a talisman rested on the altar as well.
Altar of Light reached.
Join all pieces together, then flow your mana through until its self-repairing enchantment activates. It will take a lot. When you finish, place the completed talisman into its slot.
Nathan pulled off his backpack as he attempted to remember something Ichtvar had said about the center of the island. He wished the phoenix was out to remind him of it, but as he didn''t sense whatever it was the phoenix had fought against, he wasn''t as nervous. But it still felt like the phoenix had said something important. The warrior pulled out the fragments and handed them to Keith. There were three topazes with a diamond in the center of the full talisman. "You''re the magician," Nathan looked around. "Are your familiars telling you anything?" "No, why?" "I''m not sure," Nathan set his lantern on the talisman''s slot on the altar. "I''m on-edge, but I can''t sense anything. It''s not like when I called Ichtvar back before. Maybe the silence and lack of attacks has made me uneasy." "I''ll get to work," Keith set the three pieces together on the altar, then held the edges with his hands as he closed his eyes. "It said it will take a lot. Hopefully, my regeneration is enough to deal with it." "With your absurd amount?" Nathan asked. "Sure. Just get to work so we can finish this." Keith nodded and began pushing his mana into the talisman. As he did, he discovered that the creators had designed it with the thought that it might be broken apart and rendered inert. An enchantment he hadn''t noticed before ''guided'' his mana to reactivate the enchantment. As he worked, he sensed two unique mana signatures in the talisman. The only reason he could tell them apart was because one felt incredibly ordinary to him while the other felt similar to Nathan''s ¨C a demigod''s. The demigod''s mana was in the fragment they found near the beastkin, while the ordinary mana was in the piece on the altar. Two separate parties had attempted the Dungeon, it seemed, and both failed. That, or the ordinary and the demigod were in party together and failed. Just as he thought he couldn''t perform the repair anymore, Keith finished, then collapsed onto the ground as the gems in the talisman began to glow, the talisman itself repaired. A moment later, he found himself flying to the side, something ramming into him. "Nathan!" He gasped. "Get some rest and avoid dying," Nathan told the enchanter as he stood back up, his sword in his hands as he scanned the area. "Splashy, you seem lethargic. Watch Keith. I remembered what it was Ichtvar had said, which is the reason I''m uneasy. There''s something powerful at the center of the island." "Why did you ram me?" "It''s a wolf," Nathan said. "I''ll deal with it, you recover. You''re obviously exhausted. Splashy, ensure Keith is fine." Nathan inhaled, then pushed his mana into his sword, the enchantments on it beginning to glow, the edge of the blade beginning to shine with light. The wolf had dove out of the shadows, and when Nathan tackled Keith out of the way, he noticed it disappearing back into them. "When did you enchant that?" Keith asked. "Out of the game," Nathan asked as he continued to scan their surroundings. The beast had waited until Keith had finished repairing the talisman, then attacked. The talisman itself broke as a result of that, snapping in two. It was still, there, he was sure of that. "Why did you enchant your sword for light?" Keith asked. "I thought you didn''t-" "I didn''t," Nathan interrupted. "It''s a Shadow Sword. I wanted to see if a light-based enchantment would work on it. We''ll discuss it more later." Nathan took three swift steps to the side as the wolf lunged out of the shadows of the altar. He swung his sword, and it passed through the beast.
Target -197 Health!
"Fuck!" Nathan swore as the wolf disappeared back into the shadows, only to return a moment later, tackling him and knocking the sword out of his hand. It slight faded away as Nathan managed to scramble away from the wolf. The beast was faster than him, and it had a high Endurance if he only did that much damage with a light-based attacked. It took time to buy Stat Points, as he had to buy them individually. The only reason he had succeeded in buying a thousand of them to invest into Strength during the Tutorial was because he had moved away from the dragon for a few minutes, and he doubted the wolf would give him time. "Breezy!" He commanded, and the elemental attacked the wolf as it went after Nathan. The familiar was passed through, though Nathan noted that its Health went down, even if incrementally. What the hell is this thing made of that a wind elemental''s slices barely damage it? The wolf tackled Nathan, sending him rolling. The warrior managed to enter a crouching position, then jumped to the side. The wolf had already taken out a quarter of his Health, and he wanted to do his best to stay one step ahead. "Jump straight up!" Keith''s voice entered Nathan''s head, and Nathan obeyed without a moment of hesitation, barely evading the wolf, which had jumped out of the darkness Nathan had landed near. Nathan''s gazed flicked to the magician, whose eyes were shining violet, indicating use of his psychic power. "Twist and land to your right!" Nathan obeyed, finding himself beside his sword. "Activate the enchantment, run to the altar, and stab into the shadows in the side of the altar cast by the lantern!" Nathan obeyed.
Target -218 Health!
"Beneath you!" Nathan jumped back, only too late, as the wolf lunged upwards, biting into his side, its teeth stopped only by his remaining Health. As it released him, the wolf clawed at his legs, sending Nathan rolling. "Don''t stop rolling!" Nathan forced himself to continue rolling as he cursed. He was almost out of Health. Just as he moved another two feet, the massive wolf landed where Nathan would have stopped had he not listened to Keith. "Jump up and to the right as soon as you stop rolling, try to pass over the altar! You should land by your sword!" Nathan obeyed, finding the wolf''s mouth closing in on his right leg, biting in as the last of his Health disappeared. He let out a string of curses as he pulled out his gun and fired at the wolf, the bullets passing through it. "That''s not fucking fair!" He fired two more shots into it as the wolf threw him to the side. Nathan rolled as he swore, pain shooting through his leg. "Keith, you said-" "Sorry! It was guesswork based on what I saw!" Keith responded. "Ugh. Nathan, I''m fading out." Nathan watched as the wolf''s Health dropped a small amount again, and guessed that his familiar had probably struck at it once more. It had been doing that throughout the battle, anytime the creature became visible. Realizing that his familiar''s attacks were working, he shot at the beast, finding his bullets impacting its hide.
Target -347 Health!
Target -342 Health!
Target -351 Health!
The rest of the bullets ceased affecting the wolf, which disappeared back into the shadows. Nathan glanced at Keith, who was shrouded by the heavenly storm elemental, which looked even more lethargic than before. Its water and light were moving slower, and he couldn''t make out the wind aspect anymore. He made a note to ask Keith why that was after the battle ended. Keith looked to be unconscious, drained by using his psychic power after fueling the talisman''s repair. Nathan shifted to the side, barely avoiding the swiping of the beast''s claws. It had taken out all of his Health, and while he recovered 9 Health every ten seconds, he knew it was not enough to help him. Keith was out of commission, the psychic''s familiar seemed unable to help, Ichtvar was out. That left him and his wind elemental, with one barely damaging it and the other being nothing more than a toy. Nathan fumbled for a fresh magazine as he ran, only to be tackled by the wolf again, which pinned him to the ground with one strong paw, its claws digging into Nathan''s chest. "Gaaargh!" He roared in pain as one of the wolf''s hind legs dug into his leg. "Ichtvar," he gave a small mental prayer to his unconscious familiar as the wolf lowered its maw, opening wide. "Please lend me your power, even if we don''t have that sort of bond." Drawing on the sensation of his familiar, Nathan willed fire to form. His wind familiar watched as its master''s torso and head became surrounded by flames, a pair of wings burning into the ground beneath him, the flames above the unconscious warrior exploding upwards and ripping through the wolf of shadows. When the flames faded, the elemental soared forward and caught its master, whose wings had left nothing behind where they had stretched. It didn''t want its master to sustain a concussion on top of suffering from extreme magic overload exhaustion. With its master safe from that risk, it pulled him over to Keith, then looked at its senior. The heavenly storm elemental continued to slow down, and the wind elemental communicated with it. It senior relaxed, then reshaped itself into a ball of water, wind, light, and lightning, a crystal-like shell forming around it to contain its elements, before it dropped down. The wind elemental caught its senior and gently set it between the two fighters, before circling around them. The only reason Nathan and Keith had lasted against the wolf of shadows had been because of the heavenly storm elemental, which had imbued all of the connected light, water, and air within a hundred-yard radius with its power. It wasn''t something just any elemental could do, and even one as old as that one would need to rest after. Taking watch, the wind elemental wondered what its master was dreaming of. 00063 As the slave came to, he grew aware of the presence of several others and the lack of chains binding him. At first, he felt confused about the change in his situation, but when he opened his eyes and saw Lady Eralen sitting in front of him, the agreement they had come to resurfaced in his memory. A simple nod, and he found himself lowered from the ceiling, and that was the last thing he remembered. "Welcome back to the land of the waking," Lady Eralen said to the slave. "You have been recovering from your ordeal for the last three days. The speed at which you have awoken impresses me, slave. Most reds would take at least two weeks." She waved a hand, and the attendants present bowed and left the room. "Your duties begin now," she stood. "I have an important meeting. You will follow, you will say nothing, you will cause no problems. After, you will serve me my dinner. Do not forget your agreement, slave." The slave stood and gave a small bow, then followed his new mistress out of the room he had awoken in and through the marble halls of the palace. They reached another room, where several others with violet marks, some with indigo added into them, were seated. Standing behind each was a slave, the red branding around their neck marking them as such. The slave stood behind his mistress as she sat, his gaze taking in the other slaves, each of whom had at least one injury. A black eye, a swollen lip, burns, bruises, cuts, scrapes, and more in some cases. Even the slightest action could result in injury, whether the slave intended it or not. "Is that slave really so well-behaved that you''ve no need to remind it of your authority?" One of the other nobles asked as Eralen took her seat. "I have never seen it before, yet it bears no marks of punishment." "Stand on your right foot," she instructed without looking at the slave, who obeyed with only a moment''s delay. "Do not question my decisions, Kairul. If the slave needs no punishment, it will not receive one. This slave has been mine for three years, now. It has suffered plenty of punishment and will obey my every command. I can overlook a slight delay or hesitation when every command is obeyed." "Yet that delay and hesitation questions your authority!" Kairul argued. "It is not fully broken, and before you know it, it will be attempting to escape, or even to take your life!" Eralen snapped her fingers and a lance of shimmering violet energy burst forth, soaring towards Kairul and destroying his head in an explosion of gore. "Kenrul," Eralen looked at the man in the seat beside the now-dead Kairul. "I hear that you have recently been promoted to the head of your family. I wish you well in your domain''s prosperity." "Thank you, Eralen," Kenrul dipped his head to her. "My father ruled the territory for the last thousand years, but I am confident I will be able to manage with his passing. I heard that you recently acquired the Vet family''s allegiance. How is it having them as part of your domain, now?" "Their territory is tiny and inconsequential," she responded. "I only paid them any attention because they liked to intrude. The land my father gave me was small, and they thought to test the limits of my power. A mere indigo could never hope to stand against a violet." "About that," one of the other nobles said. "Did your father give any reason for ordering you to claim this land for the Len domain? These mountains are not exactly flourishing." "I am sure he only wishes to have me out of his way and occupied," Eralen smiled. "He fears my ambition and desire to rule, and believes that placating me with a land of my own to rule over will keep me too busy to overthrow him." To their people, abandoning one''s territory in favor of ambitions was a great dishonor. Even if she was a ruler, she was required to focus her efforts on her land. Should she ignore it to lead a rebellion against her father, her people would lose their loyalty to her and her allies would abandon her, many turning into enemies who would wage war against her. "So," one of the other nobles said. "What shall you do?" "It has been five years," Eralen smiled. "What is five hundred to our kind? If my father wishes me out of his way, then I will simply make a life here. Put your foot down," the slave obeyed. "And become the head of a new clan. I am grateful to have such trusting allies nearby." "You will found your own clan?" Kenrul asked. "What of your father?" "He wishes me out of the way," Eralen responded. "And so I shall be out of his way. Once my territory has built up sufficient power, I will cease relations with my father and become an Icht. He has no need to fear my ambition. Do a handstand," the slave obeyed. "Why go through the trouble of overthrowing him when I can simply build my own territory?" Discussions continued for nearly three hours, and during them, Eralen gave several commands, each of which the slave obeyed, even if with a slight delay. The other High Nobles and Grand Nobles were impressed, as they knew that most slaves would not be paying attention after so long. They feared what would happen for listening in on their superiors'' business, yet this one seemed to hold no fear. When the meeting ended, Eralen stood and exited the conference room, her slave following behind. She led him to a garden with vibrant flowers of blues, greens, and purples, then turned and faced him. "You have permission to speak," she informed him. "What did you think of the High Nobles and Grand Nobles there, and the outcome of the meeting?" "It is not my place to judge nobility," the slave responded. "I order you to answer the question with full honesty." "Lord Elmel will likely try to kill you and claim this territory for his domain, Lord Kenrul and Lady Imiral will be great allies. Lady Inovas will ultimately serve whoever pays her the most, and should not be trusted if milady wishes to prosper well." "The Rul Clan," Lady Eralen said. "Has had tense terms with the Len Clan for thousands of years. They were once a part of us. Why do you believe that Lord Kenrul would be a great ally? Answer with full honesty." "He would do anything if it meant a chance to bed with you." "What brought you to that assessment?" She asked. "Answer with full honesty." "He could hardly take his eyes off of you during the meeting," the slave answered. "Though forced himself to so as to not seem suspicious. The pitch of his voice was different while he spoke with you than when he spoke with others." "Both of those," she said. "Could be attributed to anger and desire to kill me or ruin me. You looked into the eyes of nobles? Answer with full honesty." "I could tell by the angle of his head, milady." "Look into my eyes," she commanded, and he did, noticing how dark hers were as she noticed as light his were. "What other reasons do you have for believing he would favor me over desiring my end or ruin after I slayed his father? Answer with full honesty." "His father granted you multiple insults, milady," the slave answered. "While as a guest in your home. You were within your rights to execute him. If he faulted you for that, then he would lose the trust of the other nobles. To do so is the exception, not the norm. Most nobles in his place would understand the attack, and likely would have done the same in your place." "It seems you understand nobles better than your rebellious attitude would show," she said. "You are right in that we are above such petty grievances. I will have to test this theory of yours about Kenrul, slave. If it turns out true, then I see no reason not to deny it. He is quite handsome, and a violet is much less likely to break with me than a slave. Come. It is dinner time." The slave followed his mistress to another room, where several other slaves were putting out food. None approached her, leaving it to him to serve her. Once she had her food and had begun eating, he claimed food for himself and sat at a smaller table to her right, facing her as he ate, rising anytime she desired more food or her glass emptied to replenish her meal and drink. As long as she held to her agreement with him, his life would be better by obeying her and being the good slave than by not, even if he managed to escape. She even promised to allow him to learn magic, should he earn enough trust from her. After dinner, Eralen sent the slave to her room, informing him she had private business to look after. He bowed, then left, and after receiving directions from another slave, found his way to her room. It was spacious, with a large bed resting against the back wall. Exploring his master''s space, the slave located her relief room and her bathing room. Anticipating her desire for a bath after she finished with her business he was not invited to, he attempted to locate a way to fill or heat the bath, which was set into the floor instead of raised, like the baths at his old master''s. At his previous master''s, there were levers to push, yet there, he could find no such thing. There were a series of circular runes around the inside of the top of the bath, with similar ones on the bottom, yet other than that, it was simply stone. No method of filling the bath, nor any method of emptying it. "The bath isn''t the kind a lesser slave owner might have," a voice said, and the slave jumped, turning and bowing to his mistress, afraid of the punishment he would receive for not being in her room when she returned. "I take it you''ve been searching for a way to fill it for awhile. You will not be able to, it runs on magic."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. She walked over and gestured for him to enter the bath. He did so, then held up a hand so that he could help her step down into it. Once she was standing in the bath, she placed a hand on a rune outside of the bath, and water began to pour into it from the circular runes lining the inside edge. The slave stared at the magic in awe, having never heard of such a thing. What further impressed him was that the water was steaming, and when it hit his feet, it was already hot. "Activating this rune," Eralen informed him as she removed her hand. "Fills the bath until the water covers the pour runes. Activating this rune," she gestured to the one beside the first. "Will cause it to drain from the holes in the bottom. Begin washing." The slave dipped his head, then grabbed a cloth from a shelf within reach from the bath, wet it, and poured some liquid from a jar onto it, then began scrubbing his mistress with it, working gently to avoid any possible retaliation for being too rough. After he finished washing her and rinsing her, making sure to thoroughly clean and brush her hair, the slave stood and waited as she sat and relaxed. For nearly an hour, they remained like that, then she activated the drain rune. "Help me out," she commanded. The slave stepped out of the bath and held out a hand, assisting her exit from the bath. He grabbed a towel and began to dry her off, making sure to rub as much water out of her hair as possible. "Dry yourself," she ordered him. "Then come to my bed." He gave a small bow, then dried himself with a second towel as she left the bathing room. After disposing of the towels in the wicker basket meant for them, he entered her bedroom and approached her bed. Lady Eralen lay on her back, her hands resting lightly on her stomach. "Speak with full honesty when questioned by me," she commanded. "Have you ever been used as a pleasure slave?" "No, milady," he answered. "I am not worthy of such things." "You are a slave," she said. "You are not worthy of anything, and all that you have and are is by the grace of your master or mistress. Have you ever had sex?" "No, milady," he answered. "It was not permitted of me. As a slave, performing such an act would surely result in offspring, which would only burden my master or mistress." "You are a red," she said. "I am a violet. The chance of offspring is negligible. I have a tendency to break slaves who act as pleasure slaves. Their bodies are not resilient enough, and they take awhile to recover. You have a strong body and a swift recovery time. You will pleasure me." "I am honored that milady would allow me to satisfy her," he said. "However, I do not believe that I would be able to do such a thing, and apologize for that." "It is a matter of experience," she said. "You will learn what I like, slave, and how to pleasure me. Now climb onto my bed and kneel beside me." The slave obeyed, and she grabbed his right hand, pulling him towards her and resting it on her left breast as she grabbed his head and forced it down to her right breast. "Use your tongue on my nipple," she ordered him. "Lightly pinch it with your teeth. Do not pierce. I know that while you can ignore the pain, you still feel it. Do not think I will not abuse that if you displease me." The slave obeyed, lightly pinching her nipple with his teeth and brushing his tongue against it. She knew he was hesitant, but in time, he would service her without her guidance, and only then would she truly begin to enjoy it. Eralen used a hand to guide his fingers on her other breast, massaging it and even pinching her nipple, and after several minutes of his hesitant pleasure, she ordered him to switch nipples. When he did, she skillfully maneuvered him so that his half-kneeling, half-laying position resulted with his left leg between hers, his thigh brushing her below as his tool rubbed her leg. She let out a light moan, then suppressed a snort as he quickly lifted up, doing his best to not let it touch her. Eralen ran her hands over his bony shoulders. Give him a few months of proper food, ensure he remained active, and he would have a handsome body to go with his tool. "Now lick and suck between them," she ordered him. "While massaging and pinching both." He obeyed, working his tongue between her breasts as his fingers worked her nipples, and Eralen let out a soft moan and lifted her hips up, making sure to rub against him. When he began to pull away, Eralen grabbed his sides and pulled him forward, shifting so that he was in the proper position. The mistress bit the slave''s neck, and he let out a small moan, his mistress moving his right hand to her breast as her sudden shift forced his left onto the bed, propping him up as she massaged herself using his hand. He did his best to resist the desire, the instinct, to penetrate into her, to make her his and take her as his nature demanded, his status forbidden him such a thing. The slave gasped as Eralen used her legs to pull his waist down and shifted her hips until he was brushing against her, before she pulled him down further. "Milady!" He gasped as she sank him into her, lifting her hips to take him all the way. "Shh," she released his neck as she slid her hands from his shoulders to the middle of his back, pulling him down so that his chest rested on hers. "Continue to thrust, slave. If you please me enough, I may let you finish, and even might allow you to sleep in a bed rather than the floor." Eralen dropped her waist back onto the bed, using her legs to pull him down again as she bit into his neck once more. As he lifted his chest up to reposition himself instinctively as he fought the desire to move quickly and roughly, Eraeln moved her hands to his chest, massing his breasts for a moment before sliding her hands down his sides and onto his ass, before pulling it down as she thrust her hips up. The pair of them moaned, and the slave stopped moving, savoring the sensation of his mistress pushing up and sliding back down on him as she came close. She bit into his neck again before she flipped him off of her. He had only a moment to fear before he found her shoving herself into his face, ordering him to use his tongue to enter her and pleasure her. The slave did so to the best of his ability, noting that when he rubbed a certain spot with his tongue, she moaned even louder, her hips thrusting into him. Before he knew it, he was holding her by the waist, lost in the moment, and doing everything he could to hear that moan again. It lasted only a minute before she thrust forward, snapping his head back as purple swirls began to form on her body, shifting around as her moans increased in intensity. Through her orgasm, the slave continued to massage her ass as he recovered from the sudden thrust and worked her with his tongue. As his mistress continued to shudder and thrust forward, the slave began to fear that she might break his neck, but after several minutes, her orgasm subsided and the extra marks faded away. He watched as his mistress climbed off of him, then slowly lay beside him. "Most had to take a few days to recover after that," she traced her on his slave branding, then lightly dragged her fingers down to his right breast and lightly teased his nipple. "And you picked up on what I liked quickly. I grant you permission to finish yourself off, slave. Though I am your mistress, you may pleasure yourself with my body and finish within me, if you so wish. Do not fear punishment for relieving yourself with me, slave, as this is my gift to you, for service such as what you gave to me for your first time. It was better than most." "I thank you for the honor," he responded. "But I could never do such a thing. You are my mistress, and it would be in appropriate of me to do more than you command." "I command you to accept the gift," she told him. "You will find that I take pleasure in both taking charge and having charge taken, slave. If you do something that crosses a line, I will inform you of it so that you will not perform that error again. Do keep in mind that if you take true charge, as I am allowing you to do, you will find an instinct to bite my neck. Resist it at all costs, or you will be punished severely. Am I clear?" "Yes, milady," he said. "Now begin," she ordered him. "Do as you would wish for me. Do not resist your urges and allow yourself to do as you desire." "Y-yes, milady," he responded. The slave looked at his mistress, unsure if she was testing him with the ''gift'', but she had given him a command, which meant he had to obey. His instincts, now that he had begun to feel sexual pleasure, demanded that he thrust back into her, but he also desired to taste the milk that the female of his people produced at all times, which supposedly became a sacred nectar when they gave birth. Only able to do one, the slave placed a hand on her stomach as he knelt over her, rubbing it gently as he took her left breast into his mouth, pinching her nipple with his teeth and sucking as he massaged her other breast with his left hand. It only took a few moments for her sweet, warm milk to spray into his mouth, his mistress moaning, her hands on his shoulders. He felt a tingle, no doubt magic touching his skin, and it send a wave of pleasure that increased his senses and lust. He drank deeper as his right hand moved down her stomach and began to probe her. The slave finally understood why others had mentioned the taste and the desire to let their mistresses allow them even one more drink of it, and after a few deep drinks of it, he switched breasts, using his right hand to massage the one he had just drunk from as his left probed her and entered, carefully searching out the spot that made her moan in a way that touched a primal part of him. As soon as she shuddered and moaned, he knew he had the spot. He took several deep drinks from her left breast, deciding he preferred the milk from her right almost immediately. Then, he released her and moved forward, allowing himself to slide back into her, almost immediately beginning to push in as roughly and quickly as he could, only the desire to finish filling him. The slave massaged her breasts as he fought the urge to bite her neck, his right hand resting beside his mistress''s head as he forced his head to remain up. As his mistress''s hips began to thrust, assisting him in penetrating her and drawing out those moans, the slave snarled, using his left hand to grab her right arm and pull it between them, biting into her forearm as his nostrils flared. He sank into her again, his right hand moving beneath her and pulling her closer against him, feeling her moist breasts against his chest, her soft back under his fingers. He bit into her arm again, only vaguely aware of a fear of punishment for the bites, even if they weren''t on her neck. He had lost himself into the pleasure and instincts awakened with him by her beginning, and as he continue to thrust, the bed beneath them lightly shaking, crimson swirls began to form on him, shifting around him as violet ones formed on her once more, shifting around her as the two climaxed in unison. When they finished and their senses returned to them, the slave immediately checked his mistress''s arm. Though he had bitten it many times, not a mark remained. The bites were not too deep and a violet could heal such injuries in moments. "The only others," she said as he bowed his head, awaiting punishment. "Who managed to resist the urge to bite my neck bit their own arms instead. This was a first for me, slave, and I dare say that I enjoyed it likely as much as you enjoyed it. Lie down and turn onto your left side." The slave obeyed, wondering what she was going to do to his back as punishment for biting her and taking her as his. Much to his surprise, she pulled against him, sliding an arm beneath the pillow under his head, her other resting over him and gently massaging his stomach, her body pressed against his. He stiffened, wondering if it was some new form of punishment as his mind focused on the feel of her soft chest against his back, her smooth legs against his. "Sleep," she whispered to him. "And when morning comes, the first thing you will do upon waking is pleasure me orally. If you can behave and obey my every command throughout the day, and please me both upon waking and at bed time, I will allow you to finish with your instincts and desires unleashed, rather than finishing in your sleep, alone, after several days of lacking release." Eralen tapped the slave, realizing that he had fallen asleep, exhausted from what she knew was the first time he had ever given in to those instincts. He would still be recovering from the torture as well, so she admitted a small level of stupidity at thinking he would have managed to stay awake for her explanation simply because he had tensed up at her touch. His instincts would have told him that it was time to sleep without worry, and his subconscious side acted on that. The mistress bit her slave''s neck, then gently nipped his ear before settling against him. 00064 When Keith awoke, the first thing he did was bolt upright and check for Nathan, then quickly averted his gaze. Nathan''s shirt and tie were nowhere to be seen, his backpack was resting under his head as if a pillow, and his erection was not bound by his pants, which had their zipper and button undone, his belt pulled off of him and boxer-briefs pushed beneath his tool. "What the fuck?" Keith asked as he pulled a shirt out of his Clothing Box and carefully placed it onto Nathan to cover up his state, before registering that Nathan''s Health wasn''t full, despite his own Mana having been restored, which meant he could not have been out more than an hour or three. "Hey, what-" He cut off as he realized he couldn''t sense his familiar''s conscious state, even though he could sense the familiar itself. When he looked around, he found Nathan''s wind elemental holding his own in its recovery mode. When he looked at Nathan again, he noticed how bloody several parts of the warrior were, and the injuries in them. "What kind of healing power does he have to stay alive after that?" Keith asked, then got to work cleaning the wounds and assessing which ones needed patching up, before then working on that. When he finished, he sat back and looked at Nathan, before scanning the surroundings and finding the charred state of the remains of the wolf. He turned his gaze to the wind elemental. "I know you can communicate with me," Keith said. "Because I have a storm elemental. Even in that form, you can connect to it to project your thoughts. What happened?" "The Master," a young-sounding voice entered his head. "Drew on Icthvar''s power and triggered a spell that manifested a phoenix state. It only half-worked, though, as the Master didn''t know what he was doing and simply let the spell run its course when it triggered and fell unconscious before he finished as a result. Even using Stoneskin, The Master suffered immense damage from the wolf of the shadows, and it was a desperate last-bid hope that he could tap into the phoenix''s powers that worked and allowed him to slay it. Since your familiar had performed a power infusion to help slow down the wolf of shadows, it drained him and caused him to fall unconscious as well. I have been watching over the three of you. It has been three hours." "If Nathan was unconscious," Keith said. "Who undid his fly?" "He does not have a fly." "Who unzipped his pants?" "That was me. He got hard around ten minutes ago, and it did not look comfortable to be contained in those pants, so I decided to let it free so that he would not be in pain when he awoke. I estimate he will be unconscious for at least two or three days. I do not recommend drawing His Greatness into you, or you will likely enter a state similar to the Master''s. The monsters are keeping their distance after the Master''s show and His Greatness''s effects, so you should be able to complete the quest you have undergone without worry. You will likely have noticed several notifications regarding Points earned through His Greatness''s attacks as the Master lost against the wolf of shadows." "Yeah," Keith muttered. "I do. Thank you¡­ Breezy?" "I enjoy the name the Master gave me, do not be so hesitant about it." Keith nodded, then dismissed the notifications regarding Points he had earned. It seemed his familiar had slain more than one hundred beasts during the power infusion, a state he had heard of only in myths. If the heavenly storm elemental could perform it, then it was nearing the point where it would ascend to the heavens as an angel. Though after hearing Master Torzin mention the truth, Keith wondered if they truly became angels, or were like all other creatures that ascended to the heavens. Deciding to ponder that some other time, he walked over to the two halves of the talisman and picked them up. He placed the two pieces together and began to pour his mana into it, noticing that it as he did, it seemed to require less than before. Theorizing that it was due to being only two pieces rather than three, he let his mana flow as the talisman''s enchantment guided it. When it repaired, he moved the lantern and placed the talisman into its slot. Two things happened immediately. First, he received a message. Second, each and every last pillar lining the paths of the island, each and every undamaged set of runes lining the inner lip of the waterways, and runes around the top of the altar began to glow with light. Enough light that the darkness that pervaded the island was pushed back, yet not bright enough to blind them unless he looked at one of the pedestals too long. He sensed the same sort of holy power in them as his familiar possessed, so he knew that many shades and phantoms had likely just lost their lives. So that is what those were for! He mentally exclaimed. Keith turned his attention away from the pedestals and looked at the notice in his vision.
You have completed the Isles of Darkness Dungeon 1.
Before you receive your reward, you have two options. All team members must be conscious and make a decision to vote. This is a multi-Dungeon Dungeon, which means that it consists of multiple Dungeons within it. Each Island is its own Dungeon, with the potential on some for having an additional Dungeon triggered. If you choose to leave now, you will receive the reward for completing 1 (one) Isles of Darkness Main Dungeon and 0 (zero) Isles of Darkness Side Dungeons. If you choose to perform another Dungeon, your reward upon completion and exit will increase by 50% (fifty percent). This will increase by 50% (fifty percent) additively until you leave the Dungeon of the Isles of Darkness for each Dungeon completed beyond the first (this one). You will have 15 (fifteen) minutes to decide if you wish to leave or complete another island''s Main Dungeon from when all players are conscious and have dismissed this notice.
Keith read over the notice twice, then dismissed it. When he and Nathan entered the Isles of Darkness, they expected them to be a series of small islands the Dungeon''s quests were stretched across. Instead, it seemed that it was actually a series of Dungeons, and they only needed to complete the Quest for one of them to count as completed. The increased reward for completing them consecutively would be a nice bonus for anyone who did it. While they weren''t sure what the bonus was for a single island, completing two of them would net them an extra island''s worth of rewards. It was something else that suggested Nathan''s theory of the purpose of the game to be true. While most players would probably be as exhausted as the two of them were and choose to leave instead of continuing on, there was incentive for those who felt they might be able to continue rather than coming back at another time. It also rewarded those who continued on, even with their exhaustion, beyond what the normal reward would be. He frowned as he thought over part of it. It mentioned that there were side-Dungeons on some of the islands. Was that only some, or was that all except theirs? Unless theirs had one as well, but they didn''t come across another Dungeon''s quest.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Deciding to discuss it with Nathan when the warrior woke, Keith settled down and rested, eating and sleeping when needed, occasionally relieving his bladder and bowels when necessary while trying not to think about another form of relief. In the end, it took Nathan three days to wake up, something Keith became aware of due to the string of curses the warrior let out. "If it''s over the erection, you''ve been hard for three days straight," Keith said from where he was enchanting. "Also, your sword''s busted." "I feel like weeks passed," Nathan growled. "And no, the curses were because I obviously went out for several days again. With how much sex was in that dream, I''m not surprised I was hard. I''m taking care of it into the canal, don''t look." Keith snorted and resumed working on the enchantment, waiting the couple of minutes before Nathan returned. "How in the fuck did you stay hard without blasting it?" Keith asked, noting that Nathan had pulled on another shirt and tie. "I''ve always been that way," Nathan answered. "I don''t shoot unless there''s physical stimulation. Also, the people in the dream are always hard, I think that''s just how they are." "Sometimes," Keith muttered. "I wonder if you''re father''s a god of sex." Nathan was silent for several moments. "I''m asking Ichtvar when he wakes back up," Nathan said. "And if he refuses to answer, Master Torzin." Keith snorted, then asked Nathan his opinion on the System''s notification. After several minutes of discussion, Keith was confused. "Why do you want to give it another try?" He asked. "You nearly died!" "The System," Nathan said. "Probably gives the recommended Levels based on averages of Stats across the universe." "Yes, we''ve established that." "And other than when we fought the dragon, I''ve never purchased any," Nathan said. "The wolf was barely better than me. Another five hundred to a thousand Endurance, and it probably wouldn''t be hurting as much, or at all. I invest that much into Endurance, Strength, and Speed, and I should be okay to deal with the islands as most who show up here can." "You''d need to adjust to the new speed," Keith said. "Our stats are instinctual," Nathan reminded him. "It''s as if we''re already adjusted, and we can easily control the extra strength and speed." "Right," Keith sighed. "Forgot about that, I''m a mage and don''t use that much." "Buy Stat Points and-" "Put them into Endurance, yeah, yeah," Keith nodded, and then two did as planned, agreeing to put one thousand into the chosen stats. "How many Levels did you gain when you bested the wolf?" "What makes you think it was multiple?" Nathan asked. "It was Ichtvar''s power that slayed it, and quite easily according to what Breezy said." "Because your Charisma definitely went up." Nathan looked at the message in his vision.
You have slain the Alpha Night Wolf demiboss!
+8 Levels +1 Alpha Night Wolf pelt
When Nathan fought and killed the Sand Tortoise demiboss, he received 8 Levels as well, which told him it might be a pattern and not just coincidence. "It seems that killing a demiboss nets eight Levels," Nathan told Keith as he dismissed that message, then the notice of the Dungeon Completion, causing a new message to appear in their visions.
In 15 (fifteen) minutes, you may decide if you wish to exit and claim your rewards or continue on to the next island for a bonus to your overall rewards from all completed consecutive Dungeons in the Isles of Darkness.
Nathan spent the next fifteen minutes running back and forth, testing out his new Speed. As he did, Keith decided not to be left behind and purchased more, grateful for the immense amount of Points he had due to the Survival Challenges. He also debated adding more into Magic and Mana Stat, but knew that having a higher magical power and being able to control it or use it were two separate things. He hadn''t put a single point into it so far, and nor had he put any into Mana. Throughout the game, he had been applying his Stat Points to his Endurance, to increase how much damage he could take before his Health ran out. In the end, he decided not to add to either of those. Having a higher Mana Energy might benefit him, but he also considered the possibility that increasing either of them, especially artificially, might have negative repercussions. If he ended up needing another familiar, badly, because of such a change, or something even worse, he would have to perform an emergency exit of the Dungeon, which was impossible. So far, they managed as they were, and as long as they weren''t overwhelmed, they would manage until their familiars awoke. When the notice appeared, Nathan rejoined Keith.
You have 15 (fifteen) minutes to decide if you wish to exit the Isles of Darkness and claim your reward, or attempt to complete another Island Dungeon for bonus rewards. You will be required to restore another talisman and place it into the pedestal to consider it complete. There is no time limit to completion. Transportation will be provided. If you do not vote within the time limit, it will be counted as a Claim vote. If the vote is a tie, it will be counted as a Claim and you will exit the Dungeon.
Claim Continue
"Are you sure you want to continue?" Keith asked before Nathan had finished reading, talking almost as soon as the message appeared. "I saw you limping, and I know my patch on your side won''t hold forever." "Demigods heal faster than regular people," Nathan pulled out the fragment of the talisman they had found that didn''t go to their island''s, then looked at the extra piece on the pedestal. "These may be important. With this light, we won''t have to fear as much, and the canals filled up to the lights once we reactivated the island''s magitech. I''ll be fine in a day, we can search for the last piece or pieces of this one and see if restoring it triggers another Dungeon quest." "Alright," Keith said. They both accepted it, finding a pair of notices appearing as an object appeared, which Nathan caught as it fell.
The Naviglobe will show you the way to the other islands. Follow it to one of your choice. There are boats at various docks around the island, do not fear the sea. To complete the next Dungeon, you must restore that island''s Talisman of Light and restore it to its place on the island''s Altar of Light, which rests on its center.
There are five total pieces of a second talisman on the island you are currently on, of which you possess two. You may choose to collect them if you wish. You may either bring them with you to the next island or leave them on the Altar of Light on this island. You are free to restore them if you so choose. They are not required and the talisman''s Altar of Light is on the central island.
Both teens thought over the second message. Both found it suspicious that the central island''s talisman was on their starting island rather than its own, and both quickly came to the conclusion that it likely had a talisman for each other island for its Altar of Light. "Which means," Nathan said as they discussed that. "Collecting them would likely be the central island''s Dungeon quest." "Probably," Keith said. "The System wants us to either leave it here so that whoever makes it that far can easily find it when it''s time, or bring it with us so that whoever does the next island if we fail finds it on our corpses." "Speaking of corpses," Nathan looked around. "Beastkin was found alone with a fragment. Where was his or her team?" "I don''t know," Keith shrugged. "Let''s look for them," Nathan pulled on his backpack, then walked over to the pieces of his sword. No information appeared regarding it, so he assumed it was no longer functional, a theory proven when he attempted to use the Weapon Repair voucher he had in his Item Box in case of an emergency repair requirement. "Why?" Keith asked as the warrior kicked the pieces of the sword to the side. "There''s dirt here," Nathan answered as he walked over to the altar and picked up the lantern, which the mage had turned off while he was out. "Which means we can give them a burial. I have a shovel in one of my cards." "Why?" Keith asked in confusion. "To see if long items would fit," Nathan answered. "The Shadow Sword didn''t enter, which could have been because it was a System-generated item, so I used a shovel." "¡­did you go out and buy the shovel?" "Yes." "Don''t you have combat staffs? Brooms? A mop?" "¡­right." 00065 "How did you know they weren''t beastkin?" Keith asked as they examined the skeletons they had come across a few minutes prior while looking for talisman fragments and the beastkin''s team. "You don''t know much about anatomy or anything like that." "I can tell it''s obvious they aren''t with the beastkin," Nathan told Keith. "There are eight of them." "There are?" Keith counted the skeletons. "Oh, there are." "Why do you say they aren''t?" Nathan asked. "And don''t give me ''because there are eight of them, it was obvious you hadn''t even noticed that." "Their bone structures are different," Keith answered. "For example, the typical human has two hundred six bones in their body, including twelve pairs of ribs, though some individuals have eleven or thirteen pairs instead. The beastkin''s bone structure was mostly humanoid, including the count for stuff not involving the tail." "Did you take Anatomy and Physiology?" "Yes." "Why was it called that instead ''Physiology and Anatomy''?" "Why would they call it that?" "A and P is the short form," Nathan answered. "Aandp. Why not Panda instead?" Keith groaned, shaking his head in exasperation at Nathan''s thought process on that. "Anyway," he said. "Our beastkin friend had twelve pairs of ribs, just like us. While these guys have the same sort of humanoid structure, they have fifteen pairs of ribs, which are slightly thinner than ours and the beastkin''s. They''re also taller, and while their ears are higher up, they aren''t as high as the beastkin''s. Their tails are different as well, they''re thicker at the base, while the beastkin''s was almost uniform through." "Could be another type of beastkin." "The beastkin didn''t have any claws despite likely being some form of cat beastkin," Keith shook his head. "Whatever these were, they had claws. I would say¡­ possibly something lizard-like? Look at their eye sockets as well, they''re a little less round and more oval than ours. Same when compared to the beastkin''s. They also have six fingers on each hand and seven toes on each foot." "I think you know more than just from the confused panda." "I read a book or two on human anatomy," Keith rolled his eyes. "Anyway, as we both agree, these are not with the beastkin, and are likely a separate creature altogether. Not likely to be beastkin, even if still possessing some sort of humanoid form. I take it you want to bury them as well?" "Yes," Nathan responded, causing Keith to sigh. "Don''t give me that. It''s respectful to our fallen comrades. They died attempting to complete this Dungeon." "We still don''t know why," Keith said. "They''re having us accomplish these tasks. This Dungeon¡­ it was obvious once a civilization, that''s the only explanation for the talismans'' faded magic. Otherwise, they would''ve had to have created them, broken them, then let their magics fade over time before sealing it for the Dungeon." "To restore their old civilizations and purge invasive species," Nathan answered, and Keith blinked a few times. "That''s my current theory. The Seed of Life I planted in the Dungeon of the Sandcastle Kingdom had virtually no life outside of the beasts, which likely lived off the sun and sand. The only real life I saw was the garden to plant the Seed of Life in. There have been two other Seed of Life Dungeons that I was able to find records on. According to both, life there was minimal or nonexistent except in the garden in which to place the Seed of Life in that Dungeon. According to Icthvar, the Seed of Life we had was filled with enough life energy it was unreadable. "He''s not able to discern the magics within it beyond that," Nathan continued. "But we discussed the theory that as it''s a Seed of Life, it grows into some sort of life-giving plant, and that the Seed of Life Dungeon quest series are them using players to put in the Seeds of Life to start restoring life to those worlds." "Dying worlds," Keith nodded as he thought that over. "Or worlds where something happened that caused most life to wipe out. That makes sense. Can you sense how much longer it will be before Ichtvar wakes?" "No," Nathan answered as he pulled a blanket out of his Item Box. "Let''s get to work." Keith nodded, and they began using blankets to pull the skeletons, one at a time, to the rocky place where they had brought the beastkin. It was away from the paths, past a strip of dirt that claimed not even weeds as residents. "Where do you think all the boars are?" Keith asked. "It''s possible we killed them all," Nathan answered. "And that what few beasts are left here are hiding. There''s been at least two groups before us who attempted this, possibly more whose remains we didn''t find. If the game freezes this place in time-" "Skeletons?" "I dunno," Nathan shrugged. "I try not to overthink stuff like that. Maybe they don''t freeze it right away? Or have to take so long between unfreezing and refreezing? Either way, it''s possible stuff like the boars don''t have time to reproduce much. That, or the resources to. I haven''t found any plants or anything that would work." Keith shrugged, and they returned to working. Once all nine corpses were there, they began digging holes near the rocks, then buried the skeletons side-by-side. After that, the pair of them searched for the last three fragments of the second talisman, a feat which took them only a day and much less effort and caution than the main talisman. "Having the lights on," Keith said as they walked towards the Altar of Light. "Made that much easier. No need to worry about phantoms or shades, no need to move slowly and carefully." "Indeed," Nathan nodded. The pair of them reached the altar, where Nathan''s elemental was watching over Keith''s, whose speed had begun to pick back up, a sign he was nearly finished recovering. They sat down, and Nathan checked on his ankle, poking at the pink skin. "It''s done healing," he told Keith, who rolled his eyes. "My tan will be returned by tomorrow." "Wait," Keith gave him a stunned look. "Your tan returns? Isn''t fresh skin untanned?" "Uh," Nathan gave him a confused look. "Don''t you have a new layer of skin every month or something? Isn''t that tanned as well, even if you aren''t outside for a few months? Maybe not as dark, but still tanned?" "Well, yeah, but-" "Healing the skin is the same as producing new skin to make up for the old skin dying," Nathan said. "Why would the tan not return? Breezy, smack him." The wind elemental struck Keith in the cheek with a whip of wind, then returned to reverently watching over the heavenly storm elemental. Keith rubbed his cheek, then assembled the five fragments of the second talisman together and began to pour his mana into it. He succeeded after nearly fifteen minutes of work, then collapsed to the ground, exhausted, as a notification appeared in their vision.
Talisman repaired. You may either take it with you to the next island or leave it on this one, preferably at the Altar of Light for easy access for whomever completes its Dungeon. It is one of the seven talismans for the central island.
"Looks like our theory was right," Keith told Nathan. "Are we taking it with us?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "Even if we don''t complete all of the islands, at least it will benefit whoever comes after we leave to find it and however many others in one place."The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Keith nodded, then told Nathan he was taking a nap. The warrior nodded, then built up a fire and began cooking egg noodles and homemade alfredo sauce he had in a jar. When he finished, he woke Keith up and the pair ate, then got some sleep. Once they were both rested, they awoke to Nathan''s elemental being chased around by Keith''s, who was using boar tusks as horns, and if the pair guessed correctly, was attempting to convince the wind elemental to do the same for some sort of game. "I think Splashy''s recovered." Keith gave Nathan and amused look, then called his familiar back to them. The heavenly storm elemental reluctantly returned and the wind elemental soared over to Nathan, who picked up the naviglobe. Within it were eight dots, seven of which were formed of shadows, the eighth of which was formed of light. The dot of light pointed at the Altar of Light which they stood beside, while the other seven pointed in various directions. They were on the westernmost island, based on the directions of the dots of shadows. The one pointing to the southernmost island and the one pointing to the northernmost island stood out from the other five, which were clustered near each other, even if one of them had a small distance from the others. "The only ones," Nathan said. "I''d like to do are either the southernmost or the northernmost." "Same," Keith said. "We can work around in a circle. It might become more difficult the further inward we go." "North?" "North." The pair followed the dot of light, wondering what type of boat they would have. When they reached the sandy shore, they walked along it for nearly half an hour before coming across a wooden pier, a small rowboat tied to it. "Wonderful," Nathan muttered. The two of them climbed into the rowboat, and Keith untied it as Nathan picked up the oars and began rowing in the direction of the chosen island, following the dot of shadows. As they pulled away from the island they illuminated, the darkness settled back in, pushed at bay only by the light of Keith''s familiar. Nearly two hours later, a notice appeared in their vision.
Dungeon Entered: Lair of the Sirens
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Advanced
Kill the seven sirens and the siren queen. You may take as long as needed.
"Sirens are real?" Nathan asked. "Apparently," Keith responded. "Can you hear them? If they''re like the myths-" "I can only hear the water, us, and the rowing," Nathan snorted. "I doubt the sirens''s song would travel that far into the darkness." "Do think it''s on the island?" Keith asked. "Or are we passing through on our way to it?" "Unless the message," Nathan said. "Left out that we can also enter Dungeons between islands, then it''s on the island." "Then we''re close," Keith nodded. "By the way, I did some enchanting work while you were unconscious." "You were working on it when I was awake," Nathan said. "I used some of your blood," Keith held out a storage card with an ammo box inside. "These bullets were enchanted with the light element while using your blood as part of the medium. It was a theory I had." "Blood bullet?" Nathan asked. "Holy," Keith corrected. "Ichtvar mentioned that demigods can use holy light, with training. The gods themselves are the source of the holy element. I theorized that perhaps demigods have some of that holy power as part of their makeup, which would explain why they can use holy light as well. I tested to see if your blood would work as a means of enchanting holy power into things, and it succeeded. The ammo in this box is all I was able to make with the blood available, but they''re all enchanted with the power of holy light. They will affect shades." Nathan examined the card for several moments, then pulled out the box and a spare magazine, which he then loaded with the holy light bullets. After putting everything away, the magazine placed into a gun that he equips to have ready in case of a sudden shade attack, Nathan frowned a little. "If my blood," he said. "Allows for holy enchantments, does that mean I can grant holy power as well? Even if temporarily?" Keith thought over it, having not thought about that angle. The gods were able to bless people, but he didn''t know what that involved or if demigods could do it as well. The whole concept of gods and demigods existing was new to him, and there wasn''t any research or information to go off of. "I don''t know," Keith admitted. "But my familiar¡­ he''s not just the same type as Mordred''s, like I said. He is the same one who contracted to Mordred. His dreams of that time is how I know the made-up stories about Mordred were wrong." "You said the original mentioned only that he and Arthur fell at Camlaan," Nathan nodded. "Yes," Keith nodded. "He and Merlin were half-brothers, both were the sons of Guinevere." "How much older than Arthur was she?" Nathan asked. "She was younger, I think?" Keith asked. "You''re thinking of the classic Merlin. He was actually the son of Arthur and Guinevere, according to my familiar''s memories, born several years after Mordred." "Since he was contracted to what was apparently the brother of a demigod," Nathan said. "You think he knows?" "Yes," Keith said, then looked at the wind elemental. "Would you kindly?" Nathan gave Keith a curious look as his elemental familiar flew up, communicating with its senior before touching it. "Do you know if there''s a way for demigods to grant a blessing to someone?" Keith asked. "Or can only gods do that? We''re wondering if there''s a way for Nathan to grant me the ability to use holy light, even if only temporarily." "There is," Nathan''s eyes widened as the gentle, yet ancient voice entered his head, and gave Keith a curious look. "I thought elementals could only communicate with those they''re contracted to?" "Normally," Keith nodded. "But if they''re touching an elemental contracted to someone else, they can speak with the other elemnetal''s contractor. Is it a method that Nathan can easily perform for me? Or does it require training or something?" "He can perform it," the familiar responded. "A male god grants the ''blessing'' by releasing their seed of life into the lesser being. It can be through procreation methods, oral methods, or anal methods. For female gods, it would be by having the nectar of their breasts drunk. The blessing lasts for anywhere from five to ten years of the mortal''s native world, depending on how powerful their magic is. A mortal can retain the blessing permanently by taking in the seed of life or nectar of a god or of several gods at least ten times in ten years of the mortal''s native world." "Erm," Keith gave Nathan a nervous glance. The warrior was focused on rowing with an irritated expression on his face, his jaw tense and his rowing suddenly stiff and forceful. "The same goes for demigods?" He prayed to the gods that was not the case, and that if it did happen to be, his familiar would behave and not suggest or imply that Nathan do the same to him. The enchanter knew the warrior would probably explode if that happened. "Somewhat," the familiar responded. "For a demigod to bestow the blessing, it would last only two or three days of the mortal''s native world, depending on how powerful the mortal''s magic is. To make it permanent would require performing it around one hundred times in half a year of the mortal''s native world." "Yeah," Keith said. "Much as I''d probably like that, A-much as I''d like that, that''s not going to happen. Nathan''s made it quite clear that we won''t ever be anything past friends. Is there any other way?" "We''re not friends," Nathan glared at Keith, his voice as tense as his body seemed. As Keith expected, it seemed Nathan was annoyed by the process and had no plans to perform it, and the enchanter was not going to ask. "We''re business partners, and only because you''re useful in helping me achieve my goals." Keith mentally sighed, knowing that Nathan still had the mindset where he only allowed people near him if they were useful to him. That only that which was useful to him was allowed. But the way Nathan talked with him, it went beyond business partners and Keith being useful. They were friends. "Keep telling yourself that," Keith''s familiar voiced their thoughts, and Keith noticed how much more dangerous Nathan''s expression turned. "But you obviously think of him as a friend, or you would not be considering making him your son''s godfather." Keith gave Nathan a stunned look at the news. He hadn''t even considered who Nathan would be appointing to that, assuming it would be something the senior ignored. "Samantha pointed out," Nathan growled low in his throat, a sign that Keith recognized as one that might soon lead to something violent. "That having a godparent in case of something happened to her, me, and our parents was a good idea. As you are my business partner, you will have a substantial amount of money once our products begin selling. It was a logical decision. I trust you and you have proven yourself useful." "Then make him even more useful and grant him the blessing, even as short as it may be," the familiar said. "All it would take is-" Nathan pulled out a gun and began firing at the elemental, which manipulated its body to avoid being struck as it soared around the boat. As Nathan fired the last bullet, he blinked several times, then mechanically ejected and replaced the magazine with a fresh one before firing in that direction again. He replaced the magazine several times as Keith wondered why Nathan was staring off into the darkness, shooting dozens of bullets at nothing. The enchanter also marveled at the fact that the darkness suppressed sound so much, the shots of the gun weren''t as loud as he''d been expecting.
1 (one) of 7 (seven) sirens have been slain 6 (six) more to go.
"I think the sirens are in that direction," Nathan said as he aimed his gun at the heavenly storm elemental and fired off the last three shots. "I also think they''re stupid if they remain upright long enough for me to shoot them fifty times. I had to pull magazines out of cards." Nathan replaced the magazine with a fresh one, then refilled the ejected ones and either fixed them to his belt or placed them back into cards. "Please don''t ever tease Nathan like that again," Keith told his familiar, who touched Nathan''s elemental. "He likes making you uncomfortable, why can''t I return the favor?" 00066 Nathan slowly guided the boat along the face of the cliff as the pair of them looked for a suitable place to enter the island. The cliff itself was nearly one hundred feet in height, though some sections were lower. A few times, they thought they found a way in, only to come up against a wall and need to row back to the ocean. Finally, after what felt to them like forever, they found a section where the cliff fell away. It was a strip of rocky shore lasting only twenty feet in length, they determined as they moved across it to check, and it was there that they saw the siren Nathan had filled with bullets. It had been sitting on one of the rocks of the shore, its feet dangling in the water, its back against another rock. "That might explain why it didn''t move away," Keith commented. "It was probably stunned by the bullets, and then in too much pain from the impact that traveled through Health to be able to move. With the rock there, it wouldn''t have fallen." Nathan nodded as they examined the creature. It was a naked woman with pearl-like skin and ample breasts, a pair of white feathery wings stretching out of her back. Her nails were a rich, emerald green, and her eyes were violet and flecked with gold, her long hair as black as the darkness around them. "Guess violet for her didn''t mean psychic," Nathan muttered. "Being psychic doesn''t make you aware of danger," Keith shook his head. "I''m in the process of training mine to react when danger''s near, and have been for over a year of real time. It isn''t easy to adjust that, and right now, it only works around once out of twenty instances." "Whatever," Nathan muttered. "I''m still pissed at your familiar." "He meant it in good fun," Keith shook his head. "He''s playful, as you''ve seen. He just has a hard time telling the differences between humans. Well, humans and demigods. That makes it hard for him to know if someone can take his jokes. Look, Nathan, the fact that you won''t have sex with me doesn''t bother me, and we can deal with me not being able to use holy power. We have your bullets and my familiar, and that''s all we really need to deal with shades. If it makes you feel any better, I didn''t even consider asking you and had dismissed the idea immediately, and that''s the honest truth, psychic''s honor." "Does an EMP affect Splashy?" "I''d rather not find out." Nathan muttered something incomprehensible, then climbed off the boat and shoved the siren to the side, using the rock she had been sitting against to tie off the boat. He held out his hand and helped Keith onto the shore, then they grabbed their backpacks and Nathan replaced the lantern''s batteries before turning it on as the two of them read the notification that appeared when they set foot on the island.
Dungeon Entered: Isles of Darkness
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Advanced
Locate the talisman fragment on the island you''re on. You may take as long as needed.
"Make yourself useful," he growled to the heavenly storm elemental. "Carry this. It will help us with the light, since yours is insufficient," the way the heavenly storm elemental shifted as it took the lantern annoyed Nathan, who looked at its contractor. "Did it just sass me?" "It said ''well, excuse me for not training up the holy light aspect of my existence so that I don''t increase the likelihood I ascend sooner rather than later''," Keith responded, and Nathan pulled out a gun. The enchanter grabbed his arm. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Nathan. Calm down. He''s a little moody after being shot at. Just give it a little bit, he''ll be back to normal." Nathan lowered his arm and muttered something that Keith was pretty sure sounded like "how much does an EMP cost?" The enchanter shook his head, then glared at his familiar and sent a message along their familiar link to be nice, that it had hit on sensitive ground. "He makes comments about you and William doing it with another guy all the time." "And I told you," Keith said. "William and I actually would. Nathan wouldn''t. His teasing makes us uncomfortable, but it''s done purely as a self-defense mechanism to prevent people from drawing too close to him. If it actually upset us, we''d make it clear to him and he''d stop. Don''t do that again. As it is, Nathan''s probably trying to figure out how to make the magical equivalent of an EMP because of that comment." "If you''re done flirting with Splashy," Nathan called out, and Keith noticed that he was at the edge of the ring of light. "Let''s get moving." "Where''s the Naviglobe?" Keith walked over to him, his familiar floating above them to grant them light. "It disappeared once we stepped onto the island," Nathan answered. "Probably a one-use thing. We need wax." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "We don''t have anything that could actually protect us from their songs. Try to keep your wits about you." "Breezy, I don''t want you touching Splashy again," Nathan growled, and his elemental flew close to him. "Speaking of familiars," Keith said as they began walking in a pass between two cliffs. "Can you tell how close Ichtvar is?" "If phoenixes could orgasm, he probably would''ve several times." "Not that kind of close!" Keith exclaimed. "Nathan, I meant to recovering." "Oh," Nathan said. "No, I cannot. We didn''t find whatever it was he chased away, either." "I''ve been thinking over that," Keith said. "It was powerful enough that a phoenix couldn''t actually handle it, only chase it away. We definitely heard hooves and neighing and whinnying. It was horselike. I can''t think of any creatures that would match that ¨C a unicorn is a defensive creature, not offensive, so I can''t foresee a reason why he would be chasing one of those away and putting himself into such a state." Nathan shrugged, and the pair kept walking. As they did, he thought over their current Side Dungeon, the Lair of the Sirens. If he remembered myths correctly, they were often on the shores, yet the only one they came across there was the one he had killed. If the myth were true on their location, then it was possible the others had been there as well, only to flee when the attack began, abandoning the one who he struck. He''d counted all of his bullets in or in front of her body, which meant every shot had hit her and not the others. Nearly half an hour of navigating the rocky maze of cliffs passed before the sounds of a song reached their ears. A gentle, melodious song that drifted on the air. "Well," Nathan said softly as he looked around. "We''re close if we can hear it through the darkness."Stolen story; please report. "Yeah," Keith nodded. "These cliffs are affecting the acoustics. Where do you think she is? Are you imagining anything as a result of hearing the song?" "I''m seeing Samantha," Nathan shrugged, then unloaded his entire magazine into her, his ''girlfriend'' wailing as Keith spun around to see her. All the mage saw was a siren similar to the one they found on the shore, wailing and shrieking as crimson blood sprayed the air. He sent off several slashes of air, and in only a minute, the pair of teens had killed her. "She looks like a siren again," Nathan said as he began refilling a magazine with more bullets. "You killed your girlfriend?" Keith asked. "Just raised a gun and shot at her." "While I saw Samantha," Nathan said. "I knew that it couldn''t be her. We''re in a Dungeon within the game. Samantha is outside of the game, frozen in time until we return. I was able to ignore the guise and understand I was facing a siren. If I remember correctly, they lure men to their deaths. I guess it doesn''t work on gay people? You seemed to react just fine." "That''s only one variation," Keith told him. "Originally, sirens had males and females, not just females. The myth was changed over time. It''s possible that there are male sirens to seduce women to their deaths, and gay males as well. Did her song not affect you?" "I have Breezy covering my ears," Nathan said, and Keith looked closely at the warrior''s ears, noting that there seemed to be a slight breeze affecting them, his hair gently shifting in it. "He''s acting as a filter. I can hear just fine, but he said he could potentially prevent their song''s magic from working and wanted to give it a try. It didn''t affect you?" "No," Keith answered. "It may be limited to those who are affected by their entrancement, which might be why I heard her song, but wasn''t drawn by it. Two down, five left, plus the queen." The next siren they came across dropped on them from above, singing a seductive song, and Nathan flipped her onto her stomach, shooting at her from point-blank, resulting in higher damage. Then, he struck down with all of his Strength as rapidly as he could, building up a higher damage bonus through Combo Strike, Damage Dealer and Piercing Strikes allowing him to quickly break through her Health and kill her. When they came across the fourth siren, she didn''t bother trying to sing to them and only attacked. Keith battered her with air slashes, quickly ripping through her Health before severing her head, wings, and arms with his attacks. They found the fifth siren atop the cliffs, dangling her legs over the edge as she watched the darkness, a series of braziers providing light for the amphitheater behind her. Deciding to try to make amends with Nathan, Keith''s familiar offered to act as a springboard so they could avoid dropping her into the ocean. Nathan took up the offer and charged forward, leaping past the siren and off the cliff. He twisted in the air and let his feet pushing into the heavenly storm elemental, before springing forward and tackling the surprised siren, forcing her further back onto the cliff as he drove his knee into her stomach, left hand gripping her throat as his right struck at her face several times, his Burst Knuckle cracking, then breaking, before he killed her. "Well, fuck," Nathan muttered as he examined it, then attempted to restore it with the Weapon Repair Voucher, only to have it fail. "That''s two weapons I''ve lost in this Dungeon. When we get out of here, I''m getting a stronger, more durable weapon." "Not going to buy more from the Item Shop?" Keith asked. "They''re probably going to suffer the same fate," Nathan stood. "I''ll need something made of a higher-quality material. Mithril exists, right?" "And adamant, and orichalcum," Keith nodded. "And speaking of things with ''cum'' in it, Nathan, I know you''re able to logically separate the sirens from your girlfriend, but there''s a part of you that''s gotten obviously aroused. I''ll turn around if you want to, uh, deal with that." "Yeah, well, looking at and seeing that''s affected you," Nathan said. "Your turn is after me." Keith turned around, and Nathan walked to the edge of the cliff and took care of it, then Keith did the same once Nathan walked away. "One left, plus the queen," Keith said. "What do you think will come after this stage of the Dungeon?" "Who the fuck knows?" Nathan asked as his eyes scanned the perimeter of the area illuminated by the braziers. "The sirens have light, too. We didn''t see this from the bottom of the cliff." "That''s because light doesn''t travel in the darkness," Keith reminded him. "So unless you''re in its affected area, you won''t see it. It''s not like the darkness at home where light''s simply lacking, since this darkness actively suppresses the light." "Right." "Something''s nearby, isn''t it?" "She''s at our eleven." Keith sent several horizontal slashes in that direction as Nathan unloaded two magazines into the siren, then the pair walked over to examine her. "They all have black hair," Nathan said. "And all have the same eyes and nails. Think the queen will be the same?" "I think," Keith responded. "The queen might have a stronger allure. Did you really see Samantha for all of them?" "The one on the cliff''s edge shifted between her and Katie," Nathan said. "I think she realized that Samantha wasn''t working and tried changing. We''ve only seen females, so it looks like our theory that sirens were possibly male as well was wrong. Breezy, make sure I only hear voices, not the seduction of the sirens. Keith might not be affected, but if the queen is stronger, it''s especially important to be careful." His familiar tickled him behind the ear to let its contractor know it understood, then the teens began descending the cliff once more. Nearly an hour passed before they found the siren queen. She was resting on the edge of a pool that bordered a cave filled with a dozen or so eggs large enough to fit an infant human. "I guess sirens lay eggs," Keith said as the queen stared at them from where she rested, high cliff walls all around them, forming a sort of cavern. "At least we can see well enough here. Would you kindly set the lantern down?" Braziers lined the edges of the pond, a golden glow emanating from runes along their edges, reflecting off the water''s surface. Keith''s familiar acknowledged the request, then set the lantern down before it followed Keith''s will and flew towards the siren queen. "Who are you seeing?" Keith asked as Nathan changed the magazine in his gun. The heavenly storm elemental stabbed against the siren''s Health, draining a small portion of it, then continued to drain as she screeched and batted at it, its wind and lightning wearing away her Health. "Does it matter?" Nathan aimed his gun and shot, the bullets enhanced by wind magic soaring much faster than normal, dealing more damage to her Health than the previous bullets he''d been using would have. "She''s going to die soon." "She has a lot more Health than the others," Keith said. "Want me to-" "Keep the lightning saved," Nathan interrupted him. "I''m suspicious of what we have to do if we''re already facing the tough one in the first part of the hunt." "Think we''re going to," Keith said as Nathan ejected his emptied magazine and replaced it with a new one, then resumed shooting as the siren, which was being held in position by Keith''s familiar, whose own elements continued to wear at her Health. "Have to fight something else?" "I count fourteen total eggs," Nathan said. "We may have to damage those, and there''s some sort of shield that''s preventing my bullets from passing into the den." Keith blinked, then looked at the den, using his awakened sense of sight to scan the ground in front of it until he noticed light reflecting off of what were likely bullets that had impacted the barrier. Nathan had already tested to see if he could destroy the eggs. "Save your magic," Nathan pulled out a card and activated it, crushing it in his hand and gripping the gun that formed, aiming it at the siren and firing just as the other ran out of bullets. "Refill the magazines. We might need your magic for the next part of this." "Got it," Keith said, then took the used gun from Nathan and began working, refilling the magazines as Nathan had trained him to do. Ten magazines later, the siren queen''s Health ran out, and Nathan put several bullets into her as the elemental''s lightning burned her skin and stunned her body, its wind cutting through her arms, legs, wings, and neck. She lasted only moments before the pair of teens received the death notice. "She wasn''t a demiboss," Nathan grunted as the ground rumbled, the pool of water beneath them shaking as a new message appeared.
Siren queen slain.
Kill the Siren King.
The runes on the braziers glowed brighter as their flames began to stretch higher, reaching three feet in height, and the teens'' gaze turned to the pool as a figure began to emerge from it, a male siren, his skin flawless, his wings the purest of whites, his eyes akin to amethysts, his nails matching. He stretched his wings out as he landed on the surface of the water, standing there. Nathan spared its ripped, nude form only a glance before aiming his gun. "I''m bigger." Just as he went to pull the trigger, something tackled him from the side. 00067 Keith stared at Nathan in confusion. It felt like time had stopped around him, leaving just him and Nathan, standing on the pond. When he looked to the Nathan beside him, he took several steps back. It wasn''t Nathan, but a siren. Befuddled, he tried to piece together how the siren had swapped places with Nathan, and why his friend was naked, the Siren wearing his clothes and backpack, its wings somehow fitting through them. "Keith," Nathan said, and the magician turned his gaze back to him. "I''ve temporarily halted time, though the spell won''t last. You haven''t been traveling with me. That''s the Siren King. He''s bound me in a chamber deep beneath this pond, and what you''re seeing is an astral projection. I can''t grant you much aid until I finish breaking his binds." "Since when can you do that?" Keith asked. "And why are you naked?" "The Siren King stole my clothes when he bound me," Nathan answered. "He shouldn''t have succeeded, but caught me off-guard while you and I were examining the one I killed from the ocean. He has some temporal powers as well. I copied them. Haven''t you wondered what it is I''m doing when everyone wakes up and I''ve been up for awhile?" "You said you were training," Keith said. "Magic, yes," Nathan told him. "As a demigod, my capacity to learn magic is far greater than yours. I hid my extraordinary growth to avoid upsetting you and making you feel inadequate. I will do what I can from down here, Keith, but ensure this astral projection doesn''t get destroyed. If it is, then I will be killed as well. I cannot dismiss this if I wish to continue assisting you, as I need a link to there in order to project my magic up. Sending this projection wasn''t easy, but it allows me to assist you. My temporal halt is about to end, Keith. I''m amazed I managed to sustain it so long, it''s my first time manipulating time, and it''s through a projection. I will do my best to slow time as you fight, but I don''t think I will be able to halt it again for awhile." Before Keith could ask anything else, the Siren King began to move. "I''m bigger," it said as it aimed its gun at Nathan. Keith charged the Siren King, tackling him to the side and causing the shots to go wide. "What are you doing?" The siren asked, throwing Keith off of him, then narrowed his eyes. "You have Player-Striker?" "Stop pretending!" Keith said. "I know the truth, Siren King!" "I''m not the Siren King!" The siren frowned. "Keith, what are you-" "I can see through your illusion, now!" Keith lashed out with an air slash, which ripped open the siren''s sleeve. "Fuck," the siren muttered as it dodged another slash of Keith''s. It jumped forward, stretching out its wings and landing, then jump off of, one of the walls as it went after Nathan, only for Keith to knock him off-target with a series of slashes charged with force, air, and electricity. The siren landed in the water and sank beneath, and Keith sent several attacks in that direction. "Be careful," Nathan said. "I can''t move this form much now that I''ve fully implemented it, not much at the moment. I''ll need to build up a little more power into this projection to start moving and attacking. Keith, your psychic power is granting you insight, I''ve granted you some of my energy to allow you to look past the illusion, so it won''t affect you anymore. Your lightning in the water can damage me badly and weaken me, so please be careful." Keith felt a rush of wind as the wind elemental suddenly attacked him, pushing him back. Knowing his own wind magic wouldn''t work as the siren resurfaced in the pond, looking pissed off, Keith began to burn the air around him to drive the elemental back as he fired several slices of force magic at the Siren King. "Attack the Siren King!" Keith commanded his familiar through their link as the Siren King roared in pain and dove back under the water. "Keith," Nathan said as he floated up several more feet, the flames in the braziers rising with him. A dense barrier of force magic formed behind him, protecting him against the elemental''s attack. "The elementals are affected by the Siren King''s power, which can affect any creature of the male sex or which possesses no sex. They see me as the Siren King and the Siren King as me. I can stop Breezy from believing the Siren King''s allure, but it won''t be easy. Splashy is a lot more worrisome." The wind elemental suddenly vanished, and Keith let up on his burning air as he commanded Splashy to attack the one it saw as Nathan. "That''s Nathan!" "That''s the Siren King!" Keith told it as he attacked the Siren King, which had resurfaced elsewhere and was beginning to fly out of the water. "Nathan''s the one floating in the center!" His familiar tried arguing, but Keith shut it down and attacked the Siren King as it performed a flip, firing several bullets at Nathan. A barrier of wind caught them and dropped them, and Keith drew the gun that Nathan insisted he keep on him, before firing at the Siren King as he let his mana recover a little. Grateful for Nathan''s insistence on not using magic unless needed there, Keith had nearly enough to summon a bolt of lightning. "How does it know how your cards work?" Keith asked as he fired at the Siren King, which generated an uneven barrier. "It''s still trying to pretend it''s you!" "Siren Kings," Nathan said as he lifted a hand and blasted the Siren King with a gust of wind. "Can copy and use the power, knowledge, and skills of anyone they kiss, so long as the kiss is consensual." "But you''re completely straight!" "I''m bisexual," Nathan told him as the last of Keith''s bullets struck the evading Siren King, which had jumped onto a small outcropping on the cliff wall. "The Siren King''s power worked against me, and I fell into his allure. It''s how he acquired control of Breezy as well. I''m almost done freeing myself, Keith. Soon, I''ll be able to assist you at full power. After we can discuss the real reason why Splashy made me uncomfortable earlier. Do know that I''m not a bottom in any way." The Siren King watched the two of them, and Keith dropped the emptied gun, before holding his hands up and beginning to form the spell for a lightning bolt. Even with his Skill to decrease casting time ¨C or rather, increase his magical casting speed ¨C it would still take several seconds. Nathan nodded, stretching out one hand, and the Siren King was slammed with force magic, throwing it backwards into the cliff. As it began to fall, it twisted, then pushed off the cliff face with enough force to send him flying at Nathan. Keith finished his lightning bolt spell and shot it at the Siren King, which roared from the impact, which sent it flying back into the cliffs. The heavenly storm elemental short towards it and caught it, forming a partial shield against Keith. "I order you to retreat within me!" Keith commanded. "The Siren King has fooled you! Please obey, or I''ll be forced to invoke your True Name!" "Use your psychic powers!" His familiar responded. "You''ll see that you''re the one being fooled!" Keith paused, then shook his head as his violet eyes glowed. He saw exactly what he was seeing ¨C his familiar protecting the Siren King and Nathan floating above the pond, a white aura surrounding him. "I have, and I see exactly what I was seeing!" Keith told him. "It shows me Nathan in the center and you protecting the Siren King!" "If that is what you say, then perhaps you are right," his familiar responded quietly as it dropped the Siren King and began to fly back towards Keith. "I''ve never heard of sirens in reality, so I do not have experience in this sort of thing. To be affected by attraction magic despite having no sexual or romantic capabilities¡­ quite interesting. I cannot find it in me to attack one which takes that form, so I will retreat within you, or I will be tempted to protect him against you, regardless of our bond." "Thank you," Keith responded as the Siren King struggle back to its feet and his familiar slipped beneath his shirt and entered him. "I''ll try to end this quickly. The Siren King is tough, but it looks like Nathan is managing to use more of his power." "I never knew Nathan could do so much magic." "He said he''s been training secret," Keith responded. "I guess his acts with the barriers and force magic were to convince us he wasn''t actually superior. I need to finish this, both to rescue Nathan and to find out what he meant."If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Keith sent several more slices of air, force, energy, and fire at the Siren King, who stopped them with a barrier imitating Nathan''s. The mage wondered why it continued the farce, even after it was clear Keith had seen through the truth. It flew up, pushing off the cliff a few times with its feet, then pulled out a card as Keith summoned his wind hammer and slammed him with it. The Siren King was pushed into the cliff, a giant crater forming from the hammer''s force, and the magician infused his spell with the power of lightning, draining several Mana Potions as the damage notifications stopped coming in, the Siren King''s Health finally depleted. It had less than I expected, Keith thought. Only around twenty-two thousand or so. As Keith''s mana ran out completely, even with the Mana Potions he used, the lightning aspect of the power spell draining him, he dropped to his knees. "Nathan!" He called out. "I can only do a little more," Nathan held out another hand as he slowly turned to face the Siren King, and a spear of ice slammed into the Siren King, impaling it against the cliff. "That''s all I can do, but it should be enough to hold him until we can recover more." Keith nodded, watching the Siren King, who was still gripping the card, its eyes half-closed as it breathed heavily, letting out a wheeze every few breaths. The shirt it had stolen from Nathan had disappeared at some point, and he was covered in cuts, scrapes, and burns from Keith''s last spell, his body covered in bruises from the beating and bullets it had repeatedly taken. The spear of ice itself went through the Siren King''s stomach. Had Keith not already verified and known that was the Siren King and Nathan, the fact that it still lived would have told him. The part of the spear through its stomach was shaped like two triangles bisecting each other, a rod sticking out of the center. Six inches in width both horizontally and vertically, the Siren King''s lower torso was destroyed by the warrior''s spell. His lungs, intestines, liver, and more were completely destroyed. The magician struggled to return to his feet, finding his strength sapped. Using his magic had drained him more than he realized. "Lesser Boom," he heard the Siren King mutter, before it flicked the card. Keith''s eyes widened, and he thrust out a hand, casting a wind slice to destroy the card before it could activate. His spell missed, soaring past the card as it went for Nathan. It was a bomb card that he and Nathan had created. He wasn''t even sure how it worked, but they had five suspected working copies of the card. Four, as the Siren King had activated one. The card glowed as the bomb image on it darkened, then the entire thing burst in an explosion of fire and magic that swirled around the pond, blinding Keith. "Heh," he heard the Siren King chuckle. "Heh. Heheheheheh. No damage notification. It''s still alive, too. I guess it wasn''t enough to kill it. Stupid card. It''s up to you now, Keith." When Keith''s vision returned, he tried to process what happened. Nathan was covered in burns and was glaring at the Siren King, his perfect body damaged terribly by the magical bomb card. As he watched, the warrior''s flesh began to mend itself. The demigod''s perfect, flawless body that Keith had wanted for so long, destroyed and damaged by the card, mending through his hidden power back to its marked state, its Health bar completely empty. That was when Keith knew he had to end the fight. The Siren King had to die. He picked up the gun off the ground and ejected its magazine, then replaced it. "I barely managed to protect myself," Nathan told Keith. "My astral projection is restoring, but it''s taking all of the power I had poured into it. Kill it quickly, before it manages to remove my spear and recover. Unlike me, the Siren King can recover from damage and perform a series of powerful attacks-why are you aiming that at me?" "You forgot to recover Ichtvar''s marks," Keith answered, then began unloading the gun into Nathan, continuing even after he received the kill notification. When he finished, he dropped his arm to his side, holding the gun loosely. "Little mistakes like that can make or break a fight." As the beast''s corpse began to drop, the flames in the braziers returned to their original height, and Keith took a moment to let out a breath of relief. Keith dismissed the notification for killing the Siren King Demiboss, then looked at Nathan as he ignored the other notification. He was back to looking like Nathan, complete with Ichtvar''s crimson and gold marks on his chest, slightly-damaged by the spear sticking out of his stomach. "I''m so sorry," Keith said as he used Spatial Mobility to reach Nathan in just a few leaps. "I don''t¡­ I don''t know how to pull that out. Or save you. How are you still alive?" "Death isn''t always a fast thing," Nathan chuckled. "And with Ichtvar inside of me, it''s a lot more difficult to attain. That, and I''ve had a few Health Potions when you weren''t looking." Keith looked down and saw the potions'' bottles broken on the ground far beneath them. "It fooled my Sight," Keith apologized as he pulled out another Health Potion and helped Nathan drink it. "I-I''m sorry, Nathan. I seriously thought you were-" "I know," Nathan chuckled, then wheezed. "I figured that out fast. The Siren King''s allure made you see what you wanted to see, made you hear what you wanted to hear. When were you going to say you had Player-Striker? And for how long?" "I acquired it with the Level 80 batch," Keith told him. "I have Player Killer as well. The Siren almost took us both out, and probably by accident. Had I not had Player Striker, I would''ve been dead, then it would''ve just killed you." "Heh," Nathan chuckled. "It was aiming for that, Keith. We aren''t the first players, there are skeletons under the water, if you look close enough. They likely figured out that the people who come die if they attack another. It probably ran into a few who hadn''t, but did when they killed others." "Stop talking," Keith told him. "You''re wheezing too much. Your lungs are damaged. Oh, fuck, how the fuck can I heal you? Ichtvar''s still out for the count, or you''d have pulled him out already. I''m such a moron. I believed its lies. I''m so sorry, Nathan. You being bisexual? That''s a dream of mine ever since I realized you were straight. It used that against me, knowing it was my weakness and would make it easier to manipulate me. How did it fool my Sight, though?" "Sirens are part of the Grand Set," Nathan said. "Or at least, their kings are. Their persuasive power might be enough to subconsciously fool you. You probably saw the truth, but its power convinced you that you were seeing its truth." "Stop talking," Keith said. "I need to think. I need to figure this out." "Your emotional state his heightened," his familiar suddenly spoke into his mind. "Grief, sorrow, regret, guilt. What''s going on?" "I was the one who was fooled," Keith responded verbally, allowing his familiar to hear him. "The entire time, I was the one who was hallucinating. The Siren King fooled even my psychic power. Nathan''s dying, he''s been speared with ice against the cliff, and is so damaged by my attacks¡­ he''s dying. I don''t-" "You said ice, yes?" His familiar asked. "Let me out. If he can be saved, I can give him the optimal chance." Keith allowed his familiar to release, and it floated out of the back of his shirt, before wrapping around the shaft of the spear. Then, it partially fused into it, acquiring control over the water which forged it, spreading its power to the blood touching it as well. The magician watched as his familiar worked, Nathan beginning to lose consciousness. The heavenly storm elemental sent Nathan''s blood back into him, restoring some of the sizable amount which had been lost. Then, it manipulated the ice to create a seal over the wound in Nathan''s lower torso, front and back, the seal attaching to his organs as well. "Nathan has an advanced healing due to being a demigod," the familiar told Keith as it grabbed the then-unconscious Nathan and began to fly down. "You lack healing magics and only ever keep one Health Potion on you for some ridiculous and stupid reason. If there is any hope for his survival, then it is to let him rest." Keith jumped down and looked at his familiar as he approached. "What are the odds of Nathan''s survival?" "Almost none," it responded. "You two shouldn''t have continued on, Keith. That was stupid. Your odds of survival without him are almost nonexistent. The two of you need each other in this Dungeon just as much as you two need Ichtvar and me, and right now, it''s just you and me. Even my powers as a heavenly elemental will not be enough to assist you all the way. As a familiar, much of what I do is restricted by the freedom you''ve given me and how much you consciously and subconsciously allow me to do. I could have killed the Siren King by myself, no doubt, but my link to you prevents me from wielding my true powers." Keith sighed. He knew that was true ¨C familiars were weakened by taking on a familiar contract, it was one downside to them for contracting with something weaker than them. That was part of why so few things in the Grand Set, Elementals, or Ultimate Trinity ever contracted with something. "How did Nathan know that Siren Kings were parts of the Grand Set?" Keith asked. "He specified them." "It''s possible Ichtvar knew," his familiar responded. "Nathan may have tapped into the knowledge of our world-traveling phoenix." Keith sighed, then began removing Nathan''s destroyed pants. "Getting frisky, are we?" "His underwear''s undamaged," Keith snapped. "And his legs are covered in injuries as well. He might have advanced healing, but his body will probably try to focus on the worst of it. The least I can do is try to clean up and mend the lesser injuries. I''m part of why they''re there, after all. Do you know how to do healing magic? Or at least, know how I can use it? I doubt I''d be able to mend the spear''s damage, but if I can take care of the weaker parts, I might be able to raise that ''almost none'' to ''a little more than almost none''." "Your knowledge of the human body might be helpful here," his familiar responded. "As you can use it to guide your magic. Breezy and I will keep watch, but try not to knock yourself out. There''s always the risk that someone else shows up." "Where is Breezy, anyway?" Keith asked. "The Siren King ¨C while pretending to be Nathan ¨C said that he could get Breezy to stop. I thought he''d forcibly pulled the elemental back into him." Thinking about it, though, Keith realized that he didn''t actually see the familiar''s mark on the Siren King''s appearance. "He was teleported to another part of the island," the heavenly storm elemental answered. "I told him what you''d told me, and that it seemed we were both fooled. That was right before you pulled me back in. He told me once you released me that he figured it out before you did because he could still communicate with Nathan. I suppose I should have asked him. His connection to Nathan would have made it obvious. By the way, I forgot the boar tusks on the other island. Do you think we could find me some new ones once we leave the Siren''s Lair?" "Yes," Keith sighed as he placed his hands over one of the burns on Nathan''s right thigh. "This burn is deep, and probably one of the bad ones. Do you think you can do that ''watch'' you said you were going to do? I need to concentrate." 00068 After his fourth healing session on Nathan, Keith was exhausted. He''d managed to deal with all of Nathan''s wounds except for the ones from the lance, and he had dedicated the entire fourth healing session to those. So far, he''d managed to repair Nathan''s flesh on his front and back, and only part of his lungs, which he had focused on first. The theory that Nathan''s body would focus on the worst injuries first did prove true, as none of the other injuries were even healing without Keith''s magic. He sat back, wishing he had started at least attempting healing magics sooner. Then, this wouldn''t have been an issue. The Isles of Darkness Dungeon was forcing him to use new magics repeatedly. Keith had wanted to hold off on learning new magics because of the amount of training required to actually use them properly. Even with his Mana Energy resting at more than thirty thousand points, using so much healing magic exhausted him. As Keith rested, a message appeared in his vision. He frowned, immediately alert and fearful that another Dungeon had somehow been initiated or that the lack of a time limit on the third stage turned out to be false, but when he read the message, he found it¡­ not at all what he was expecting.
Accelerated Offer: Ordinarily, after eight consecutive Dungeons in a row, it may be permitted for another player to join you in the Dungeon. The player would be selected by the Overseers and come from anywhere in the universe, but also be someone who would qualify for the Dungeon entered as a suitable member of their team. The Isles of Darkness have had over five hundred attempts without a single successful completed Dungeon, even side Dungeon. As such, the Overseers have granted permission to accelerate this requirement. If you accept the accelerated offer, the Overseers will then perform an offer to a suitable person. If they reject, it will be offered to someone else. This will repeat until someone accepts. If you decline the accelerated offer, then it will not be made again unless you complete eight consecutive Dungeons in a row, including current and past Dungeons. Sacrifices must be made in order to accept this offer due to the accelerated nature of it. As one member of the current party is in critical condition and unable to accept any offer, they will not be required to vote and the decision will be made by the sole remaining member. The Points penalty will be paid only by conscious members, the exit restriction by all.
Requirements: 200,000 Points and inability for the party to exit the Isles of Darkness until a total of 10 consecutive Dungeons and Side Dungeons have been completed, including any current and past Dungeons.
Accept Decline
Keith had barely finished reading the message before responding. "Accept!" He said. "Accept!" If the Overseers, who seemed to be above whoever was watching their play of the Dungeon, were accelerating the offer at that moment, then it was no doubt to bring a healer to them. He didn''t think twice about sacrificing so many Points, nor about the fact that it meant they would be stuck in there for longer. All that mattered to him was that Nathan was healed. Keith theorized that it would likely take several minutes unless time froze for them while the offer was being made. To do that, they would have to unfreeze each individual, make the offer, then freeze them back up once the decision was made. He doubted they would do that fully in the mortal realm and instead would generate an alternate specifically to make the offer in. Since no one appeared immediately, he felt his theory had credibility. Only half a minute passed before someone appeared before him, a girl who looked to be around his age, but with white hair, cat ears, and a white cat''s tail, her yellowish-green eyes with slits for pupils. She possessed a pure-white aura, another demigod. Dressed in a rather skimpy outfit that showed off quite a lot of skin and her ample cleavage, Keith knew she was probably considered pretty or even hot by straight standards. Seductive, maybe. Before he could react, she spun and faced Nathan, and a single step took her to him. At least she has speed, he thought as he stood and walked over. The catgirl knelt beside Nathan and placed her left hand over his forehead and right over the ice. As she did, Keith noticed a white and silver mark resembling a horn on her back. Does she have a unicorn? The catgirl began to weave together her magic, and the ice covering Nathan''s wounds faded away as his body began to knit itself back together. She spent seven long minutes mending Nathan, whose eyes opened only moments after she finished. Keith jumped back as Nathan''s right hand shot up and grabbed her by the throat, and the catgirl yelped. "Nathan! Nathan!" Keith said. "Stop! She healed you!" "Only you and I entered this Dungeon," Nathan said. "Only one group of players are in the game at a time. She''s obviously a-" He cut off as he read something in his vision, then released her, and the catgirl stumbled back, massaging her throat. "That''s an interesting piece of news," he said. "We''re stuck here for another eight consecutive Dungeons. Did you take a 200,000 Point hit?" "I''d rather be forced to do eight more Dungeons in a row," Keith said as he realized the catgirl was healing her throat. "Than try to finish one without you, Nathan. Plus, Samantha would probably have my hide if I returned with you dead." Nathan looked at the catgirl. "I wonder if my tendency towards languages works on languages from other worlds," he said as the catgirl looked at him, her tail flicking to the side. Nathan touched his lips several times and pointed at her. "I don''t understand that gesture," she said. "It does," he told Keith, then looked at her and responded in her language. "I can understand any language, that motion was me telling you to speak so I knew what language was needed." "I see no aura in you," she said. "Are you unawakend?" "I learned to hide my aura quickly," he answered. "I am awakened, though not a magician. I am a warrior." "I am a warrior and a healer," she held out her hand, and a six-foot-tall staff of pale wood formed, which she then gripped. The two men noticed it was heavily enchanted, and thus unlikely to be System-forged. "Though I am primarily a healer. So this is the Isles of Darkness. I was not aware it was a multi-quest Dungeon. You have already completed eight? You must be quite talented." "We''ve only completed one," Nathan told her. "According to the System, no one has managed to complete a single one before. It accelerated the offer and granted us the extra team member early likely as a way of providing a healer for me, since I was probably going to die. I was unconscious, so it was all Keith who made the decision. We''re stuck here for at least ten consecutive Dungeons, which means we have eight more after we finish this one." "Which is the current one?" She asked, and Nathan read the notice in his vision.
You have slain the Siren King.
Destroy all of the siren eggs. There are a total of 37 (thirty-seven) of them. There is no time limit.
"We''re on the third stage of one," he answered. "After fighting a Grand Set monster. Now, we have to destroy the eggs." He looked at the den, where the fourteen eggs were resting. The other twenty-three were underwater, he knew. "Why are you dressed like that?" He asked her. "Is that normal for your people?" "I was in the process of getting dressed," she answered. "What about you? Your inquiry makes it seem as if wearing little is abnormal, when combined with your friend''s fully-clothed state. Or is it acceptable for males to dress with only their genitals covered?" "My shirt was destroyed in the fight," Nathan said. "And Keith probably removed my pants since they were damaged and only in the way of healing me. I wasn''t aware he could do healing, though I suppose it took him awhile, or the Overseers wouldn''t have chosen to accelerate the offer. He probably only just figured out how to do it. He''s a powerful magician with an innate talent for learning." "I see," she said. "He is psychic as well, judging by his eyes. He is cute." "He is also gay," Nathan told her. "He prefers the body of men over women. You seemed to know about the Isles of Darkness, yet the message said we were the first to complete any of its Dungeons."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "I have a Special Skill," she explained. "Called Death Read. You can see the type of Challenge or the name of the Dungeon someone was performing when they died. One of my brothers died in the Isles of Darkness." "Was he attempting it on his own?" Nathan asked. "He liked to do the game by himself," she nodded. "Why would you guess that, rather than as a team? How many others in your team are there?" "It''s just us," he answered. "And on the previous island ¨C there are eight of them, each with a Main Dungeon and several with one or more Secondary Dungeons ¨C we came across what we thought might be some form of cat beastkin. There was an item from the Dungeon nearby which had remnants of a demigod''s magic in it, according to Keith." "An item from the Dungeon with remnants of magic?" She asked, and Nathan explained about the Talismans of Light. "I see. So that is the Main Quest of each island?" "Yes," he nodded. "The Lair of Sirens is a Secondary Dungeon, we stumbled upon it while traveling here from the previous island. We have to destroy the eggs, and most of them are underwater. Would you help me pull them out, unless you can destroy them beneath the surface? I doubt Keith is in any state to continue using magic, with how much he''s used." "You keep saying my name," Keith muttered. "I really wish I could understand you. The game''s translation between players doesn''t seem to apply between worlds." "I explained that you were the one who took off my pants and had probably figured out how to use healing magics," Nathan explained. "Also that you were gay when she called you cute. Now, we''re discussing the fact that you''ve exhausted your magic and are probably not in any state to be using it. There are a bunch of eggs underwater." "Ah," Keith collapsed onto the ground. "Yeah, sorry. Even if my mana recovers fast, I''m still exhausted. If I had the energy, I could probably summon up lightning and just blast the water, but¡­ I can''t." "And Splashy?" "I''ll get him to work on destroying the eggs," Keith said. "You told Breezy to not attack me, didn''t you?" "I knew the bomb card would make you realize the truth," Nathan said. "I''d already hit it with an attack and noticed it hadn''t restored part of Ichtvar''s mark. It was a small missing section, which you probably wouldn''t have noticed since it could''ve simply been another part of the mark. It just took me too long to cast the damn thing. "So," he looked at the catgirl. "Join me for a swim?" "Yes," she removed her clothes and set them and her staff on the ground, then dove into the water. "I guess her people don''t like swimming while wearing even their underwear," Nathan muttered, before dropping his own underwear and diving into the water. The two of them picked up the eggs and swam to the surface, only carrying one at a time, and after twelve trips for Nathan and thirteen for the catgirl, all of the eggs were on the surface. As soon as she set the final egg down, the heavenly storm elemental attacked it, destroying it and frying it with its lightning, leaving behind roasted goop, eggshell pieces, and unborn infant sirens. It had already destroyed the barrier to the others and destroyed those as well while they were retrieving the eggs from the lake.
Lair of the Sirens has been completed!
Your reward bonus upon leaving the Isles of Darkness has increased from 0% to 50%.
"Are those a familiar''s marks?" Nathan asked the catgirl. "No," she answered. "My brother was contracted to a unicorn. The unicorn died as well, its corpse ejecting from his body. I had its natural brand marked upon my back to honor him. I know he would not have died without defending my brother to the end. Is that a phoenix''s brand?" Nathan wondered, then, why Madeline''s familiar hadn''t been ejected from her body. Was it not inside of her when they entered? If not, where was it ejected at when they left? There was much about the situation with familiars that he wanted answers to, as with the game, but knew that all he could do was speculate based on what he did know. He also wanted to know how she had seen her brother''s corpse if it was still in the Dungeon. It was another reason to question how they were in both their part of the realm and in the game simultaneously, and one he knew he might never find the answer to. "Ichtvar, yes," Nathan told the catgirl, aware of a slight opening of her mouth and slight widening of her eyes, a subtle, yet sharp, inhale of breath. "He is my phoenix. If your brother was contracted to a unicorn that died in the Isles of Darkness, then it likely died to something we came close to encountering. Ichtvar expended an immense amount of magical power in order to drive it away before it reached us. You know of Ichtvar?" "Yes," she responded. "The great phoenix appears in our world every winter for a festival, and has for nearly a thousand of them. He is worshiped almost as a god. To think that he would contract with someone¡­ I never expected such a thing." "I only awakened my magic a month ago," Nathan told her. "In real time of the world Keith and I are from. We had no information regarding demigods, and as soon as we left the Tutorial, went to find me a familiar. It wasn''t until later that we learned demigods have no need of them. Ichtvar decided to accept my offer because he was bored. You worship him?" "Every beastkin," she nodded, her tail flicking from side to side again as her face lit up. "Dreams of attending the Festival of Life. It takes place on the first day of winter, the solstice, and is an event held in the capital. That is the day when many matches are made and mates for life are found. It is also the one day a year that nobility can look for a new mate. During the festival, those whose illnesses are beyond what our magics could fix are granted a temporary reprieve from their sickness and a chance to try for child. Even though my mother didn''t attend the true festival, she, like many of our people, still tried for child on that day. I was born as a result. "A thousand years ago," she continued. "The great phoenix Ichtvar arrived in the capital, and he offered to actually heal all of the sick at the festival, not just grant temporary reprieve. All he demanded in exchange was tribute of gifts, the same gifts and foods we sold and gave away at the festival." "Let me guess," Nathan rubbed his temples. "Most of it has chocolate in it?" "How did you know?" She asked in surprise. "Ichtvar has an addiction," Nathan answered. "He was probably just wanting chocolate and saw a way to get people to give it to him. When is the Festival of Life?" "In two months," she answered, then paused. "In real time, not game time. You mentioned you only went through the Tutorial a month ago?" "More like a few weeks ago," he nodded. "It''s blurred together a little." "But¡­ how old are you?" "Age of adulthood is eighteen where we are," he informed her. "According to someone we know who has been to several worlds with the System, the age you are when it happens depends on the age of adulthood for your world. How old is that for you?" "Fourteen," she answered. "I have had access for five years, now." "How long has your world been under the System''s power?" "For around three centuries," she answered. "Yours?" "Less than a year," he answered. "So we''re still in the beginning stages as well." Nathan gasped, clutching his side, then stumbled over to the nearest cliff wall and leaned against it as he slid to the ground. "I healed all of your wounds from severity," she walked over and ran her hand over his side. "But even I have my limits. As a demigod, your body will heal what I couldn''t on its own. Exerting yourself to swim likely tore something open." It had probably been from when he lashed out at her, then swimming shortly after that. That could have torn something back open for sure. "I''ll be fine in a day or two," he nodded. "Thank you. What''s your name?" "Evala," she answered as her hand glowed with healing magic, the beastkin mending the reopened wound inside of him. "Yours? I already know your gay friend is Keith. My brother would have enjoyed him." "Nathan," Nathan answered, then looked at Keith, who was averting his eyes. "Her name is Evala, and she said her brother would have found you cute, had he not died in here. Maybe after we finish the gate enchantment and power orbs, we can try to find her world and see if we can''t hook you up with a catboy?" "Can you guys please put something on?" Keith asked. "I''m not all that comfortable with you two being naked, Nathan, and thanks for that thought. Also, where''s Breezy? I don''t see his mark on you and my magic vision isn''t showing him anywhere." "He said he found talisman fragments while returning after the Siren King shot him across the island," Nathan answered. "I told him to collect them if he could." "Alright," Keith sighed, then decided to respond to a question Nathan had asked earlier and another he would have asked, had the warrior not gotten side-tracked by the demigoddess. "By the way, Nathan, the Points Penalty took out quite a lot of my Points, yes, but I still have around two hundred thousand left. I can''t access the Points Shop again yet, though." "Get your Level higher," Nathan told him. Keith peeked at them, then turned back around and started fiddling with his backpack. "Nathan, please put on some pants." "You''re the one who took them off." Nathan didn''t have to see the magician''s face to know it was crimson. "Are you teasing him?" Evala asked. "Keith likes me," Nathan told her. "And seeing us naked is making him uncomfortable. Do you have clothes to put on that are not just underwear?" "If you''re asking if I have clothes in my Clothing Box, the answer is ''yes''," she answered. "Is nudity not an allowed thing in your world? It is the norm for mine outside of special occasions and formal events." "It can make people uncomfortable," Nathan groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. "I need some sleep, and am in so much fucking pain. Keith!" He switched back to English. "Make some dinner, please? Don''t worry about trying to please my tastes, I''m going to get some rest, but Evala''s stomach is making hunger noises." "Please put on some clothes before fal-" Keith cut off as he looked at Nathan, who looked like he had already dozed off. The demigod was hiding his aura again which made it impossible to know for sure, but Keith was pretty sure that Nathan actually was out, based on everything that had been happening since they began the Isles of Darkness. "Jeez," Keith muttered, then began pulling out cards, shifting uncomfortably when Evala came close to examine them. "Could you kindly put a shirt on him?" Keith pulled one out of his backpack, and his familiar grabbed it and moved it over to Nathan, covering his crotch with the shirt. "Thanks," he said, then looked at the catgirl and touched his shirt. "Clothes, please?" She tilted her head to the side, but didn''t seem to understand, so Keith sighed and got to work making something to eat. He was exhausted and starving, she was probably hungry, and he was definitely waking Nathan up once it finished. The warrior hadn''t been eating much because of all the sleeping he was doing, but he needed to eat to recover his energy and reserves better. "Oh!" The catgirl exclaimed in surprise when Keith pulled the items out of the storage cards. It wasn''t until he had already started the fire and was boiling water that the magician realized she was probably fascinated by the strange magic he had displayed. If Master Torzin was right, then it was unlikely anyone else had such enchantments. 00069 Nathan cracked open an eye and watched as Keith used yet another card, which fascinated the catkin. It took everything he had not to snap at Keith to stop wasting them. Most of the cards were reusable, but they still had limited uses. He understood what was going on, though. They had a new teammate, one where such a thing didn''t exist as the enchanted cards didn''t exist, and she was fascinated by them. Suppressing a sigh, he closed his eye again, then returned to talking with Icthvar, who had woken up. "So?" He asked. "Would you be able to help us guide a gate there?" "No," the phoenix answered somewhat lethargically. "Though Torzin might. I can bring him to that world, then he would be able to help you guide the gate there." "Alright," Nathan responded, then cracked open an eye again as the catgirl made an impressed sound. Keith was demonstrating the Chill Drink card on a bottle of water. "I want to smack him so hard." "And probably have sex with her," Ichtvar said. "I can tell you''re hard, Nathan, and you know Samantha won''t care." Nathan knew that, and he knew that if Katie had an issue with him sleeping with women other than the two of them, then she probably wouldn''t last. Samantha knew about Nathan''s less-restricted side when it came to sex, and had told Nathan that as long as those he was in an actual relationship with were the priority, she wouldn''t mind. If he did have sex with the catgirl and Samantha did have issues, she''d probably reluctantly be fine with it because it was a catgirl. Then probably ask how it was and if she could join in if they ever found a catgirl together. "Do you think Keith would have sex with her?" Nathan asked. "Keith is gay," Ichtvar said. "I highly doubt he would even be able to get hard, much less have sex with her." "Not even as an experiment?" Nathan wondered. "Probably not," Ichtvar said. "Why-oh. No, Nathan. Don''t do that." "What?" Nathan asked. "You were thinking about a three-way." A three-way hadn''t even crossed Nathan''s mind as he preferred one-on-one, but he decided to tease Ichtvar a little bit. "Me in front, Keith from behind," Nathan said. "Hm. Maybe we could stick her tail in him, and use that to help him stay up?" "Don''t. Just¡­ don''t." "Maybe some other time," Nathan said, then let out a short, piercing whistle. The other two players jumped and turned to face him, and he spoke in English. "Ichtvar''s woken up, though he still needs rest. He also says that nearly all demigods can speak every language." "Yes," Evala smiled and spoke in English, startling Keith. "My mother was a goddess of healing. Healing is universal, and a healer must be able to communicate with her patients. As such, I possess the gift of tongues." "Did we wake you up?" Keith seemed embarrassed to Nathan. "I said I was going to rest, not to sleep," Nathan said. "Evala, are beastkin mate-for-life kind of people?" "No," she answered, her tail flicking to the side. "If the attraction is there, there is no issue with it. Why?" "Just curious if it would be inappropriate to ask if we can have sex," Nathan answered. "You are very attractive, and a catgirl, and you never know when a Dungeon might kill you. I also have a lot of pent up sexual urges that I need releasing, and wouldn''t mind it with you if you were interested." Evala thought it over for a few moments, then nodded and approached Nathan. Keith decided to busy himself with cooking and quickly turned away. As soon as Evala was kneeling in front of Nathan, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, feeling his tool with her hand. Nathan pushed his tongue into her mouth as his hands found her breasts, massaging them for a few minutes before moving his left hand to her back, gently running the tips of his fingers down her spine and to her tail, eliciting a soft moan of pleasure from the catkin. He admired the feel of the soft fur of her tail as it moved under his hand, which he then moved to her ass as he squeezed her boob, pinching her nipple between two fingers and causing her to moan again. Nathan gently bit at her lip, and she ran her tongue over his lips, before pulling back and lowering herself, quickly taking his tool into her mouth as he placed one hand on her head and the other on her back. Evala expertly worked him, alternating between suction and tonguing, deep-throating and gently taking him down or simply licking around the head or up and down the shaft. Her left hand either held his member or massaged his balls, while her right would move from his thighs to his stomach to his chest, returning the favor of his treatment to her breasts. Nathan reveled in the feeling of her expert treatment, moaning as her touch, kiss, and licks. When he felt himself drawing close, he pulled her off of him and flipped her onto her back, then sat between her legs and bent forward, feeling for her spot and pushing two fingers in as he massaged her right breast, biting onto her left nipple while careful not to let his tool touch her, to keep things as long as possible. Alternating between either massaging or biting her breasts and kissing her, Nathan worked her, drawing out moans as he stimulated her insides. Several times, he slowed down, doing nothing more than kiss her, to delay her further. With his awakened senses, just feeling her against him, hearing her moans, pulled him ever closer, and he knew that she was likely feeling the same thing. When he knew she was ready, Nathan pushed himself into her, the two demigods moaning together at the tightness and filling, and Nathan began to aggressively kiss her as he thrust back and forth, changing his angle every few thrusts until he found the one she appreciated most. Her hands ran across his sides and back, and he felt her tail between her legs, smacking against his. When they finally climaxed, Nathan pulled out, only to pull her up and turn her over, so that she was on her hands and knees. He entered here again, playing with her tail as he rubbed her back and thrust back and forth once more, moaning with her until he orgasmed once more. Only then did he pull out of her and collapse beside her, the catkin laying beside him. Nathan played with her tail for a few minutes, before looking at her. Time to bring up the thing he''d been talking to Ichtvar about, which the phoenix had slightly misunderstood. "Do you only produce milk after giving birth?" He asked, and she gave him a confused look. "Gods ¨C the female ones, anyway ¨C produce milk at all times. Nectar, really." "Oh," she said, then nodded. "As a demigod, I can, too, though only in limited amounts each day. It was something I was warned of, years ago. Anyone not a child of a god who drinks it will have their magics imbued with holy power for two or three days." "There are shades here," Nathan said, noticing Keith stiffening as the enchanter plated the pasta he had finished cooking. "And Keith doesn''t have any holy power. I''m not a magician, so learning how to use holy power is a long way off for me, but we enchanted some bullets with my blood to add it to them." "Bullets?" She asked. "And if your gay friend would have no issue with drinking my milk, then I would be willing to let him, since he is cute. But only if he had sex with me. I won''t let anyone who doesn''t sleep with me drink of my breasts." "I only nibbled," Nathan said. "Can I have a taste?" "Only if I can drink your seed once you''ve recovered it a bit," she responded, and Nathan quickly took one of her nipples into her mouth, biting down gently and sucking on it as he worked it with his tongue. "Oooh!" It didn''t take long for him to taste the sweetness of a demigoddess''s milk on his tongue, and all too soon, she tasted no more. "There wasn''t much," he complained, then looked at Keith. "Do you want to be able to fight the shades, too? Or just rely on her and Splashy?" Keith wrestled with his answer, because he both did and didn''t want to do it. He wanted to because it would mean he would be able to fight the shades himself, but he didn''t because, well, the thought of something like that with her grossed him out. Disgusted him, even. Nathan whispered in Evala''s ear, and she smiled and nodded. The warrior looked at Keith. "Just go over there and let her take charge," Nathan began dressing, then walked over and sat by the small fire. "She''s got a tail, you know." Keith shot him an annoyed look, but gave in and walked over to Evala. Nathan began eating, occasionally glancing over to see how things were. The catkin was sitting on top of Keith, whose back was against one of the cliffs, and while he looked uncomfortable, he was moaning just as much. Nathan had asked if she ever stuck her tail in someone before, and it looked like she had taken the hint and moved it into the enchanter''s ass, stimulating him to give him pleasure, too. When they finished, Keith took a bath in the lake as Evala joined Nathan for food, dressing at his suggestion. "I think he nearly puked," she told Nathan. "Possibly," he responded. "I don''t think he ever wants to do that again, based on how hard he''s scrubbing himself with that soap. You won''t make him do that every time, will you?" "No," she smiled at him. "That was enough. It almost felt like I was raping him, and I feel sorry for that. I don''t think your friend will be happy with us." Nathan agreed, and for the first time, he realized he felt bad about something. He''d only suggested it to Keith, but it was possible the enchanter had felt forced to. He needed to find a way to make it up to the enchanter, or it was possible their alliance could fade because of that. "I only suggested it," Nathan pushed those thoughts back, deciding to worry about it later. It was a new feeling to him, and he wasn''t sure how to handle it. "He gave in to do what needed to be done to allow him to be able to combat the shades. That''s one of the respectable things about Keith ¨C he will do what needs to be done. Now, instead of one being who can fight the shades, we have three, plus my guns." "Guns?" She asked. Nathan pulled out a gun and explained the basics behind it, and that he and Keith were trying to invent a version that formed the bullets entirely out of magic. After a few questions about the issues they were facing, Nathan asked if she were an enchanter, too.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. "No," she answered. "But my brother was. After he died, I took his journal and have kept it on me. He specialized in making magical weapons, and it was part of why he was so good at taking on Dungeons by himself. He was Level 487, I believe." Nathan was impressed by that Level, and briefly wondered what hers was. The way she said her brother''s, he doubted she was as high, but she was likely still higher than him and Keith. Hearing about her brother''s journal made him suspicious of something, and he wanted to see it. To check if he was right. "You have it?" Nathan asked. "Can I see it?" "Sure," she pulled it from her Item Box and handed it to him. The journal was thick, with several loose papers in it, and Nathan began reading through it. He wouldn''t have it when they left, so he needed to memorize anything he could, though he would trust Keith to do most of that. As he studied he, Keith returned from his bath, his skin scrubbed raw, and joined them in eating. He was quieter and more withdrawn than normal, though Nathan didn''t notice. The catkin watched Keith as he began washing the dishes once they finished eating. "I apologize," she said, washing her tail in the lake. "If I upset you. By the time I realized I should probably stop, you and I were nearly to our orgasms, and-" "It''s fine," he interrupted her. "Whatever needs to be done. The more who can fight shades, the better. Just¡­ promise you won''t ever do something like that again. Forcing someone to have sex just to give them something they need to be able to fight monsters in the game is wrong. Maybe it''s acceptable where you live, but we aren''t like that. It''s wrong." Evala felt bad, and knew he was upset, but wasn''t sure how to fix the situation. Their cultures were different and she didn''t know him well enough to know what to do or say to make amends. "Keith!" Nathan hollered, and the enchanter looked at him. "The Overseers ¨C they picked her for more than just healing me!" Keith frowned, confused about what that could be until he saw the gun Nathan was examining. The mage hurriedly packed up the dishes and returned to Nathan. "What?" He asked. "This journal," Nathan looked at Keith. "This is proof the Overseers want us to develop weapons more powerful than what they can do with the System." "How?" Keith asked. "Because it solves that problem we''re stuck on," Nathan answered. "One of the weapons her brother wielded? A sword whose blade was made out of pure magic. It was generated by pushing mana into the hilt. And he didn''t have to constantly put mana into it ¨C according to these notes, as soon as the blade was made, it would remain active for a set amount of time, and he could ''recharge'' that by putting more mana into it." Which they could break down into the more basic enchantments and runes to create the bullets. Forgetting where they were and what had happened, Nathan and Keith pulled out enchanting supplies and gun parts, immediately drawing up the new enchantments. Evala watched the pair of them, reminded of her brother whenever he would fall into his research into something. Several times, she even had to quite literally put food in front of his face because he would forget something so basic as eating. Several hours passed before Nathan held up the gun they were working on and aimed it at the former nest of the sirens, pulling the trigger. A bullet of pure-white magic shot out of it almost faster than their system-enhanced speed could track and impacted into the back of the cave, blasting a crater through it. Nathan and Keith stared at the gun in shock, then burst out laughing. "I guess that''s what happens when a demigod uses it!" Keith said. "We definitely need to put a limitation on how powerful the bullets can be." "Adjustable," Nathan said, firing off several more shots, all into the hole. "We''ll also need to reinforce the gun, maybe change what it''s made out of in addition to buffing its protective enchantments. The gun''s wearing apart already." Keith looked at the gun, which was cracked and partially melted in several places along the barrel. "Yeah," he said. "Definitely on that front. Let''s make up another one, and try to put a limiter on how powerful it is. We don''t need to blow up our allies by them being too close." "We make two, maybe three more of these," Nathan said. "Then we''ll have to wait until we leave. We can focus on elemental bullets once we leave here and resupply for another day. Let''s make two more, I want to have one as backup at all times, in case of emergency, and another for anything that''s far too powerful, but not emergency-level." "Got it," Keith said, and the two of them returned to work. When they finished, Nathan stretched, then unbuttoned his shirt and revealed his smooth, unmarked torso. "If you''re recovered enough to hide your marks," he said. "You''re recovered enough to exit me." Keith snorted, then frowned as he looked around as Nathan responded to something his familiar said. "Because the last two times before this last one where I fell asleep while heavily exhausted or after near-death while you were in me with this recovery thing, I had freaky dreams! And this past time, I was dreaming I was you, beneath Yellowstone, preening! For six weeks! Now get out!" Reluctantly, the phoenix left Nathan, appraising the catgirl as Keith tried not to laugh at Nathan''s most recent dream. "Hello," Ichtvar greeted the catgirl as Keith continued looking around. "Nathan said you''re from the world whose Festival of Life I bestow my presence upon." "He said you only do that because you want chocolate." "Both sides benefit, do they not?" The phoenix asked. "Where''s Breezy?" Keith asked, finishing his assessment of the surroundings. "He never returned." "He''s up there," Nathan pointed towards the darkness in the general direction of the top of a cliff. "Breezy, come on down." The wind elemental flew down to them, eight talisman fragments carried in it. Carefully, Nathan pulled them out one at a time, moving them into two piles based on which ones gave him notifications or not. "These five," he touched the pile of five. "Are the second talisman''s. These three," he touched the other pile. "Are the ones for this island. I''m not going to bother asking how Breezy found eight talisman fragments, but he did. I''m going to get some sleep, because I did nearly die. Twice. And can use it. You two can deal with merging them together or not." Nathan grabbed his backpack and used it as a pillow, sleeping on his back. Ichtvar landed on his chest and sighed. "I don''t suppose either of you have chocolate before I go back to sleeping?" He asked. "Here," Keith pulled some out of a card and handed it to the phoenix, who devoured it before laying on Nathan and falling asleep. "Let''s get to work putting these together, Evala. One of us at a time, though ¨C they take a lot of mana, and I want to be prepared in case something comes our way." Evala nodded, then picked up the five pieces and began pouring her mana into it, realizing how serious Keith had been about the cost only once she was nearly empty. When the pieces finally began to mend, she stopped and began to rest, Keith working on the other only once her mana bar had refilled most of the way. "Are you able to use your psychic power to see other places?" Evala asked Keith, hoping she could try to make amends. It was clear they had vastly different cultures, and she had done something taboo to theirs. Asking about his powers, she felt, was one way to start to figure out what to do to make it up to him. "Or does yours come in another way?" "I can read minds," Keith answered. "Project thoughts, basic fortunes ¨C the starter of nearly every psychic, so that was a given ¨C see other places, and in some cases, see the future." "Are you able to see out of the game?" "With a lot of exertion and effort," Keith nodded. "After we leave here, we''re going into an extended Survival Challenge to try to create a scrying orb that makes it easier ¨C and for non-psychics to use." "You have big ambitions," she told him. "It''s all Nathan," Keith explained. "I''m in it for the research and excitement of discovering new things. He just wants to be able to see his baby while in the game from here into reality, rather than simply through images he''d have of him." "He''s a father?" She asked. "Going to be," Keith snorted. "He''s not exactly the kind of guy I''d have expected to be the fatherly type, but he seems to get along with his younger cousin well and is ecstatic for his son. He actually cares about the son more than his girlfriend¡­ in a frightening level of difference." "Children are precious," she nodded. "What about you?" "What do you mean?" "Do you want children?" "No," Keith answered. "I don''t think I could ever be a parent. You should get some sleep, I''ll keep first watch." Evala hesitated, but moved to the side and curled up, allowing herself to fall asleep, and Keith began fiddling with more enchanting stuff. Were either of the other two awake, they would have noticed his sour mood and frustrated expression. Several hours into his watch, Keith sensed movement and turned, finding Nathan behind him, offering to him a bottle of peach-flavored lube and¡­ "Is that the replica of your dick that you had made for Samantha?" "No," Nathan answered. "This is an unenchanted one. You can have it." Keith began to ask why Nathan was randomly giving him a dildo, but the question died on his lips as he realized the answer. Nathan was trying to apologize to him and make it up to him. The guilt was clear on the warrior''s face. "Nathan," Keith sighed. "Thanks, but¡­ it''s not you I''m upset with. I expect stuff like that from you, because of how oblivious you are and how bad your social abilities are at times. Well, maybe I''m a little upset at you, but¡­ it was obvious what your thought process was. You were thinking about ''what needs to be done'' and ''what will work for us the best''." "I made you upset," Nathan offered up the lube and dildo again. "I did something wrong. You can have it." "Thanks," Keith accepted the peace offering, then sighed again as he looked at the items. "I hate myself for giving in and doing it, Nathan. I didn''t like it, and it took everything I had not to puke. Really, the tail was probably the only thing that kept me feeling good, and¡­" He shivered, as if something disgusting or disturbing were there. "So no catboys?" "What?" Keith asked, then laughed. "Nathan, that''s not what was bothering me. If it were a catboy, then I''d probably be fine." "Okay," Nathan nodded. "Ichtvar''s going to take Master Torzin to her world, so that when we finish making a permanent gate, we can open one there." "Where is Ichtvar?" "I stuck him in my backpack," Nathan sat down beside him, then frowned. "Are we good?" Keith turned the bottle of lube and the dildo over in his hands as he thought about Nathan''s question. The warrior was serious about trying to make amends with Keith, who admitted that he didn''t really blame him. Sure, his methods were unconventional, and definitely something only someone with Nathan''s way of thinking would try with him, but the effort was there. Nathan probably told himself it was so that he didn''t lose Keith''s partnership for enchanting, but Keith knew better. Despite what he said, Nathan saw him as a friend. "Yeah," Keith looked at the label of the lube again. "We''re good, Nathan. Sorry if my gloominess is bothering you. As I said, I don''t¡­ I don''t really blame you. It''s on me. I chose to do it. I do have a serious question for you, though." "What?" Nathan asked. "Why do you happen to have my favorite lube flavor?" "Oh," Nathan''s gloomy expression lightened up a little. "Samantha gave me a case of it, said to give it to you. I was going to do it once we were in the Survival Challenges, but figured you might want some lube to use that now. I''m not sure why she didn''t give it to you directly. Or why she picked flavored lube. Maybe she thought that you could suck yourself, too, and did after jacking it for a bit?" "Too?" Keith asked. "Wait, you can suck yourself?" "Apparently." "Apparently?" "Samantha asked me to try the last night we weren''t in the game," Nathan nodded. "She seemed to like it. I didn''t." He frowned. "I''m not sure why she would have liked it, it''s not like she got anything out of it." "Some girls get off to things like that," Keith snorted. "They do?" "Yes," Keith told him. "They do. Trust me. Samantha''s got plenty of gay porn and self-sucking porn in her browser histo-" "Why did you hack her computer?" "I''ve hacked, like, most of our school''s," Keith snorted and turned his gaze back to the lube and dildo. "Too many people clicked on the link in the spam email I sent." "What email?" Nathan asked. "I sent out an email awhile back," Keith shrugged. "Designed to be ignored by spam filters most emails have. It had a link in it, and went to everyone at school with an email address. If they clicked on it, I was able to check out their whole computer. I did it, like, every semester." He sensed something dangerous and looked up. The expression on Nathan''s face was terrifying. "I deleted all of my files on Samantha as soon as you two started dating and I got the chance after we left the Tutorial," Keith said. "Though she did have good taste in the twinks she looked at." "What do you have from me?" Nathan growled. "Considering that you were one of maybe twenty classmates who never actually clicked on the links?" Keith asked. "You actually passed the test. Your parents failed, though. I was kind of disappointed when I got into your computers after your parents''. You have a boring computer life. The only things you ever did was schoolwork, research for schoolwork, and looking up pictures of puppies, with the occasional look at stuffed animals. In the last four years, you never looked at porn. Ever. What teen doesn''t?" "Me," Nathan growled. "I don''t have any files on you anymore," Keith said. "I promise. Just like with Samantha''s, I''ve deleted them. By the way, I''m pretty sure your parents would have let you get a dog." Nathan stared at Keith for several seconds, then his annoyed expression turned curious. "Are we okay?" He returned to the topic of why he had approached the enchanter originally. "Yes," Keith nodded. "I''ve forgiven you, Nathan. I promise, I''m not going to be upset with you." "Good," Nathan let out a massive sigh of relief. "Good?" Keith asked. "Why do you seem so relieved that I''ve forgiven you." "Because if that didn''t work," Nathan said. "I was going to have to offer Plan B. I didn''t want to do that." 00070 Nathan glanced over at Keith, who was busy preparing to move out by finishing up whatever enchanting he was working on. The warrior wasn''t sure, he was confident that he had probably misunderstood something the previous night. That, and that he was glad Keith had told him he would have just rejected Plan B and asked for some of his gummies and chocolate instead. Oh, Nathan realized. He wasn''t asking for them. It was only a couple of cards, he had plenty more stocked up, and the enchanter seemed happy. And sore. "We can wait a few more hours," Nathan told Keith. "I''ll be fine," Keith said. "I don''t run around like you do. Are you seriously doing that?" "Yes," Nathan answered before looking at Evala, whose tail he was playing with by stroking and rubbing against his face, neck, and torso. "Your tail feels very nice." "Thank you," she smiled, her eyes closed as he toyed with it. "I am glad you''re not hesitant to do such things. I have heard that a few who''ve come from other worlds are often hesitant to do such things, afraid of us being upset at being compared to our animal base." "But if you enjoy it, why would that be an issue?" Nathan asked before scratching behind her ears, causing her to sigh softly at the enjoyable feeling. "Because people in some cultures would probably be offended by that," Keith said. "And so would expect the beastkin to be as well, despite it not just being another culture, but another world entirely. It''s like with her thinking it''s okay to tell someone they need sex to have something that could be quite vital in a Dungeon. Different cultures, different mindsets." "I do apologize for that," Evala told the enchanter, frowning lightly. "It was Nathan''s idea, why are you not upset at him?" "He only suggested I drink your nectar," Keith said. "And a way that I might enjoy your requirement. You were the one who required me to sleep with you to drink it. I know Nathan''s thought process, how he thinks. In addition, he gave me a genuine apology and tried to make it up to me." "When did he do that?" She asked. "Only you and I were awake last night." "Before I woke you for your turn taking watch," Keith answered. "I apologized," she said. "Nathan''s idea," Keith put the pieces of his work into his pack and pulled it on as he stood. "Was for me to drink your nectar. You said I could only if I had sex with you. Nathan suggested that we use your tail for stimulant for me so that I might have some enjoyment. He thought about what I liked and wanted. Had I actually said I didn''t want to fuck you or voiced my dislike at your selfish desire, he would have said something in my defense. He didn''t just apologize to me to keep things friendly between us-" "We aren''t friends." "Keep telling yourself that, Nathan, but the point is, you weren''t just apologizing to keep things friendly between us while we''re in the Dungeon, as much as you tell yourself that''s the reason. You felt genuine guilt, and that became evident with your five attempts at apologizing and constant asking that we were okay." "There were five attempts?" Nathan frowned. "I only remember three." "Pretty sure you went with Plan C, too!" Keith said. "How did you get those in my backpack? You were definitely out after you laid back down!" "I told Breezy to do it when you weren''t looking," Nathan frowned as he released Evala''s tail. "Oh. Four." "And never mind five!" Keith said as Nathan walked over to his backpack. "The point is, Evala, Nathan did it for more than just ''keeping things friendly'', even if he won''t admit he felt guilty or wants to stay actual friends. Your apology was just to try to keep things ''okay'' between us while we were here in the Dungeon, which is for selfish reasons. We already know you don''t have Player-Striker or Player Killer, which means that neither of us would give a damn if you died." Without those, they knew she couldn''t do too much to try and sabotage them if they got upset with her or shut her out. Nearly anything she could do would count as violations of the rules against harming or causing harm to players. "We might be stuck here until ten Dungeons and Side Dungeons are completed, but Nathan and I are both stronger than we seem, and we did qualify for this Dungeon. Now that Ichtvar''s awake again, any risk to our lives is minimal. You didn''t actually feel guilt-" "How do you know I don''t have those Skills?" She folded her arms across her chest. "Any windows you can see," Nathan held up a card. "We can see. If we touch this to another Player and push mana into it, we can see whatever Skills they have. They''re not on the list when we use it on you." Another card they had worked on in the Survival Challenges, though Keith had apparently continued worked on it during the night they were at Nathan''s house and had finished it while Nathan was going back to sleep. Oh, Nathan realized. Number five. He had stayed up a little bit later after realizing that Keith was working on the cards for the reads again. They weren''t able to view things without a window with them, but knew it was only a matter of time. Nathan''s help mostly consisted of summoning up his windows and letting Keith test the card on him. The enchanter already knew all of Nathan''s Skills, so he didn''t have an issue with it. Evala was a suitable test target for them, since she came from another world, and so they used it on her to confirm it worked before Nathan returned to sleep. Something they discovered with the card was that the Skills window and the Skill Shop window were linked. They could see any Skills that were available to someone, and the catkin demigod had two in her shop. "Anyway," Keith said as Nathan put the card away. "You didn''t actually feel guilt, you just wanted to make sure things were peaceful between us to minimize problems. We''re grateful to you for saving Nathan''s life, and that''s the only reason we''re not ignoring you. But if push comes to shove here in the Dungeon, and I had to pick between you and Nathan, I would pick Nathan, without a doubt." "I would pick Keith," Nathan pulled on his backpack. "You are an unknown. I trust him. I don''t trust you. Sorry, Keith." "I told you," Keith sighed. "You''re forgiven, Nathan. You can stop apologizing." "Okay." "Now," Keith looked back to Evala. "Let''s get moving. Thank you for saving Nathan''s life, and for letting us use your brother''s enchanting notes. Consider things made up, but don''t consider us friends. We''re simply allies until either we die or we get out of here." Evala looked at Nathan, who had already begun walking, the heavenly storm elemental following. "Thanks," he told her. "I''ll still fuck you if you want." Keith snorted and followed, then Evala hurried to stay with them as she looked at the lantern. "That works different than the ones on my world," she commented as they began to navigate the maze of cliffs of the sirens'' lair. "No magic at all." "Our world doesn''t have that much magic," Keith explained. "So science became a bigger thing. Magic''s there, and so are magical creatures, but for the most part, the government placates them with tributes and offerings to keep them from revealing the truth to the world. That''s how it''s been for a long time, and no one really knows when it started. It''s only been in the last few decades where more people began learning magic. A kid teaches it to their friend, who gets pulled into the local clan. A guild of magicians forcibly recruits anyone who has a decent spark of magical talent who they find, even those who haven''t awakened. Stuff like that."This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "You?" She asked. "I''m considered an outlier," Keith explained. "Almost every magician on our world belongs to a guild because of how rare magicians are and guilds fighting over them. Even the various governments in our world end up working with guilds, and those that don''t, well, they''re essentially over their own guilds. Our government both works with guilds and has its own magicians, so the ones within it are considered part of their guild. "I''ve avoided becoming a part of a guild," Keith continued. "For several reasons, though a few have tried to recruit me. I nearly had to become part of one to work on a project last summer, but managed to get away without that. Nathan and the rest of our usual team are all awakened, but no guild has come after them yet. Part of that''s because we''re technically in the government''s custody, and part of it''s because they''re seen as my apprentices. "So right now," he said. "The various guilds are waiting to see what happens. Since I helped them awaken and am the primary point of their magical leadership, the guilds are wary of crossing them." "You do not seem that powerful," Evala said. "How powerful," he looked at her. "Is a normal magician, before they go through the Tutorial? On your world, I mean?" "Hm," she thought for a few moments. "Unlikely to be higher than ten to twenty Mana, and probably around the same Magic, based on our estimates of their values. Someone who trained might be closer to fifty in magical power." "That''s the same for our world," Keith told her. "And the System is new." "Your magical power is strong," she said. "You would be average for my world." "I haven''t put a single Stat Point into Magic or Mana Stat," he informed her. "And I haven''t gained much from Levels, either, considering I''m not even Level 200 yet." "You''re¡­ that low?" She froze, and Keith looked at her. "But you have access to such a Dungeon? Just the two of you?" "Yes," Nathan responded, turning around to face her. "Neither of us are Level 200 yet." Her eyes widened further in her shock. "But-but-no one under Level 400 should even be able to see such a Dungeon!" She exclaimed. "Even with such high natural magical abilities! This Dungeon is too hard! It''s ranked at Advanced! Even factoring in that you two seem to have decent stats if you can complete one of its Main Dungeons and kill a boss in a Secondary Dungeon, you shouldn''t have been able to see it! Not with just the two of you!" "Nathan did nearly die twice," Keith said. "But we think the game also looks for the familiars. I have a heavenly storm elemental that''s probably a few years from ascending to the divine realm, and Nathan has a phoenix and a young wind elemental. That makes for two Elementals and one of the Ultimate Trinity. Alone, either of us can handle between one and three of a normal monster for this place. "I learn magics easily enough," he continued. "That since arriving here, I have relearned fire magics, learned lightning magics, and learned light magics. By the time we leave here, I will likely be able to summon not just one or two bolts of lightning at full mana, but ten to fifteen. Since he was three, Nathan has trained extensively in martial arts and other combat techniques. His reflexes are built around not having the System enhancing his strength and speed or awakened power nor expectation of it coming. Of a weaker, slower body with duller senses. With his mana pool, he is capable of using the few combat Skills he has many times over, as well as a unique fighting style that incorporates force magic into his attacks for an even more devastating effect than what the System''s Impact Skill creates. "Alone," Keith told her. "Nathan and I are equivalent of people much higher in Level than we actually are. Together, we are a dangerous duo. With our familiars, we are nearly unstoppable. The only reason there was any issue at all is because Ichtvar burned himself out doing something, resulting in my familiar having to overwork." "There are variants to everything," they heard, and Nathan turned so the others could see Ichtvar, whose head was poking out through the gap created by the backpack''s zippers. "And that is true even of the Ultimate Trinity. "I am a standard phoenix," he said. "Which means my powers are of life and healing as their primary focus. A dark phoenix, they are of disease and death. Dragons are offensive creatures, but the inverse version of dragons, also called ''dark dragons'', are of defense. "Unicorns," he shook his head. "Are supporters and defenders. Their inverse, the dark unicorn, is also called a ''nightmare''. They are vicious beasts, capable of infiltrating your minds and seeing your darkest fears. They can sow unease and discord, all without being seen. They don''t attack directly, but instead, make you attack others. If they do get involved, you will find yourself facing a beast with the same offensive power as a dragon. "What I chased off," he continued. "Was a dark unicorn. A nightmare. It is among the few creatures capable of making Nathan feel nervous about danger because of the forged nature of his soul and status as a demigod. I had to tap into deeper powers in order to do that, and once I recover, all should be fine again." "Deeper powers?" Nathan asked. "How did you do that? Keith and I agree that you used far more power than you have." Icthvar was silent, and the trio knew he was contemplating telling them something. "A phoenix is a phoenix in all universes," he said. Evala looked at him in confusion, Nathan frowned as he understood the implication, and Keith took a step forward. "Are you saying that you remember your past lives?" He asked. "Yes," Ichtvar answered, and the eyes of the two Earthen teens widened. "A phoenix retains its memories across all universes, and is always a phoenix. There is a special storage space in the Well of Souls for us. We are released periodically into each universe, to space us out in both location and arrival time. A phoenix lives until the end of the universe, the only creatures that can do that no matter what. When I said I was two hundred million years old¡­" "You were referring to your past lives," Nathan said, and the phoenix nodded. "Some of my knowledge of enchanting," Ichtvar says. "Comes from past universes with similar methods. There are phoenixes far more knowledgeable, however. I am rather young, for one of us. The youngest, actually. As a result, I am released last of all the phoenixes." "How do phoenix souls form?" Keith asked. "That is a story for another time," Ichtvar shook his head. "To answer the question Nathan asked, do you remember how phoenixes gain power?" "By dying," Keith nodded. "As you go through birdy puberty, you receive the growth spurts to your magic again." "That is correct," Ichtvar nodded, and Nathan''s brow furrowed in confusion. "Those growths," Keith said. "That''s giving your access to more of the power you had in previous lives, isn''t it?" "It is," Ichtvar nodded. "Our cycle of life and death is to allow us to use more of our true power." "But why can''t you from the start?" Nathan asked. "None of us are quite sure," Ichtvar shrugged, resulting in the backpack''s top lifting a little, the zippers parting just a small amount more. The phoenix used his beak to pull the zippers back to him before continuing. "But one thing is universal in all universes, in addition to us and a couple of other things." "What''s that?" Nathan asked. "As someone''s power grows stronger," the phoenix answered. "Their body adjusts to contain that power. Rare are the universes where a body can simply hold all that power on its own. It''s part of why humans need to have a familiar to help them harness their magical power ¨C their bodies aren''t meant to handle a lot of magical power, and it takes a long time for it to adjust to the magical power. I''d say that a magician who barely reaches the magical power where humans need a familiar would be okay if they stretched that out from a five to twenty years to maybe sixty or seventy. Possibly eighty." "But Keith and I-" "You are a demigod," Ichtvar said. "Your body is naturally attuned to having high levels of mana and magical power. You''d need at least two or three times as much mana before needing a familiar, but a demigod''s body also adjusts pretty decently. As long as it took you five years to reach that point, you''d be perfectly fine, your body already adjusting." The phoenix''s gaze narrowed at Nathan. "If you were a normal demigod," he corrected. "You and Keith both have forged souls, which as you both know, has an effect on your bodies as well. Your bodies, your minds, your powers¡­ all of those are affected by it. And those with souls forged by the Well of Souls also have higher capacity for mana and a higher rate of adjustment. It''s simply a side-effect of your soul being touched by magic at formation, since magic is linked to the soul, even if it''s stripped away when you return to the Well of Souls. Truthfully, at the rate your mana pool increases and your body adjusts, you probably wouldn''t need a familiar until it was ten to fifteen times as high as it is. "The downsides to having a familiar," the phoenix continued. "Is that it also decreases how slowly your body adjusts. At least, in this universe. Forged souls are generally an exemption when this happens, from what I know." "Okay," Nathan said. "So that vast power you used was you what, using power you have, but don''t have access to?" "Yes," the phoenix nodded. "Which is tiring and risky to do. By the way, only phoenixes are born this way and continue through universes. Dragons and unicorns are just dragons and unicorns. They''re ordinary souls. That, and I think there''s only one forged soul running through dragons, and none through unicorns." "Um," Keith said, the shook his head. "Are phoenixes shapeshifters?" "No," Ichtvar responded. "We are simply phoenixes. We are the same in all universes, and we do not change our forms." "Then why was I having those funky dreams?" Nathan asked. "Not my fault you had dreams of me preening." "Not that," Nathan rolled his eyes, then explained about the strange ones with the slave. "I have no idea what could be causing that," the phoenix said with a neutral tone and a poker face. The trio were impressed by the poker face, having never before believed a phoenix could have one. It was, after all, just a bird, even if a very special one. "Thank you for that cosmic, meta information," Nathan told Ichtvar. "But please don''t lie, it doesn''t suit you." "Theoretically," Icthvar said. "If I did know why you had that dreams, I would say that it probably has to do with the nightmare." "And if they continue, even after we leave here?" "Nightmares can have lasting effects on your mind," Ichtvar said. "Any other random questions that you probably won''t get answers to?" "What''s this talk about other universes and a soul well and forged souls?" Evala asked. "Oh, that?" Keith asked. "I guess we can answer that. As we walk, though. I''d rather not be here longer than necessary. The darkness kind of¡­ disturbs me. And I''m pretty sure that I sometimes I see things in it." 00071 "I see," Evala said after they finished explaining. "And it doesn''t bother the two of you that your actions are partially predetermined?" "It does," Nathan turned down a passage between the cliffs. "But there''s nothing we can do," Keith said as he and the catkin followed. "It''s¡­ simply a part of who we are. We don''t feel any different than other people probably do, and we act as if it''s part of our nature without the forging. It''s not like we''re conscious of if our actions are because of the forging or not." "The attraction is," Nathan said. "The Well of Souls guaranteed the three of us would be linked to each other, and it''s resulted in some sexual attraction." "Yes," Keith nodded. "Samantha and I are interested in Nathan and want him. Strangely, Samantha doesn''t have any interest in me, even though I''m male, too. She thinks I''m cute, but nothing romantic or sexual there. And I have none for her." "That''s because you''re gay," Ichtvar piped up. "You are biologically inclined towards males, with no biological inclination towards females. The attraction instead focuses on friendship. It''s not as strong of a bond as romance, but works as a suitable substitute. The forged soul aspect causes stuff like this." "What about Samantha?" Nathan asked. "Same reason," Ichtvar said. "Keith is gay, so he has no sexual appeal to a forged soul that does not suit his sexual preferences and would not be inclined towards him. In other words, only males with attraction to males would find attraction in him if they were forged souls. Since Samantha isn''t a male, even if she''s attracted to them, it doesn''t cause the sexual and romantic attraction. This only affects forged souls, though, which is why the three of you are drawn to each other ¨C that''s a better term than ''attracted'', since that is often used for another sense. Another effect on the body of a forged soul is heightened sexual attraction of those with a forged soul, by the way. Even if Keith doesn''t have a ''preferred'' body, there are enough subtleties there to increase his attraction." "Samantha made up a list of them," Nathan muttered, causing the phoenix to laugh and Keith to give him a curious look. "You''ll have to ask her if you want to know, I didn''t bother looking at it. She can make up her lists of why guys are attracted if she wants. Keith, can you send a slash of light in that direction?" Keith looked at where Nathan was pointing, then aimed his hands and summoned a slash of light, sending it out. "A little more to the left," Nathan said, and Keith fired off another. The pair of them worked together, Nathan targeting as Keith attacked, and Evala watched, confused. "Dead," Keith said. "How did you know where it was?" Evala asked. "You can''t see in this darkness! Only in the ring of light made by the elemental and the lantern!" "He has Breezy scouting ahead," Keith informed her. "Elementals ''see'' in a different way, which gives them an advantage in territory like this. The light is only so we can see each other and walk without tripping over ourselves and any potential rough terrain. How did you think Nathan knew which path to take? We started walking an hour ago." Evala only then realized that she had completely neglected to realize that. They had passed by several other passages before turning down that one. "Is¡­ the wind elemental going to inform us every time there''s a monster?" She asked. "No," Nathan answered. "He''s killed several already. He''s an Elemental, even if a young one. A weak Elemental is an Elemental. Even Keith could only hold him off temporarily, and that was when Breezy was only trying to stop him with a fragment of his power. If we wanted, we could have our familiars kill almost everything here." "Then why don''t you?" She asked. "Because," Ichtvar yawned. "Then they wouldn''t gain Experience, and they sort of want it. Nathan was able to draw on my power while I was unconscious despite us not having a bond allowing us to. The two of them defeated a siren king, even if one of them nearly died. Do you know how rare it is for someone to be able to take down a member of the Grand Set, even with the System, as just a pair?" Evala thought it over. "It normally takes a team of five of at least 500 Levels each," she nodded. "With expected losses of at least one. Having a higher Level would be best for them, then." "Speaking of Levels," Nathan looked at Keith, who nodded and asked Evala about training in extended Survival Challenges. "Yes," she nodded. "We are only permitted to perform up to two Survival Challenges lasting longer than one month without completing a Dungeon. If we do not have enough slots to perform a Dungeon after the second one, it will not allow us to enter the second one. The records do mention this began sometime after the initial few years. We usually run up to one hundred days, no matter the difficulty setting we place it on. After that, monster amounts usually become too high for even a team of eight to deal with at once, even if all eight have familiars. Most do not have familiars at or above the Grand Set." "Because most creatures there," Ichtvar said. "Would never contract themselves to someone. Grand Sets are looser on this, but still rare enough. I know someone who has a griffin, for example." "Says the phoenix who''s contracted," Keith snorted as Nathan looked between two passages. "Beyond that," Ichtvar said. "Grand Set will only contract to forged souls. I''ve never heard of one that contracted to another, and neither have the others I''ve spoken with on this. Elementals will only contract to forged souls with touches of prodigy or high magical ability or power to them, and not just as a ''requirement''. As for Ultimate Trinity, like myself, we only contract to forged soul demigods. Forged souls are rare enough, and forged soul demigods are even rarer." "Merlin was a forged soul?" Keith asked as Nathan continued to look between the two passages. To Keith and Evala, he seemed like he was having some sort of mental argument with something, which meant he was probably arguing with Breezy about which passage to take. "From a past universe," Ichtvar confirmed. "Before my time. I''m not sure what he did, but I do know a phoenix who does. We can ask him someday. Merlin''s soul was inclined towards magical power, but not in the way that Keith''s is. Whatever the purpose of these three, the Well of Souls intended for them to be powerful beyond what forged souls normally are." Nathan and Keith hadn''t informed Evala about the suspected reason for their existence. They still weren''t completely sure why the Well of Souls wanted them to destroy the game. For Nathan to, specifically. They also didn''t mention to her that it was apparently rare enough for the Well of Souls to forge more than one soul at a time. "How did Merlin die?" Keith decided to steer the topic away from him and Nathan, just in case. "Poison," Ichtvar answered. "Nathan, will you just go the way Breezy wants you to go? He knows what he''s doing." "Fine," Nathan muttered, then began walking again, going straight instead of down one of the two side passages. "Merlin was poisoned?" Keith asked. "Yep." "By who?" "They never found out." "Why didn''t you save him?" "Erm, I was elsewhere at the time," Ichtvar explained. "He had my babysitting his kid a lot."The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "Merlin had a kid?" "Two girls and a boy," Ichtvar nodded. "It was the boy he had me watching all the time. Little tyke kept getting into trouble. Hurt, actually. Not from others, he was just a daring boy. Adventurous. I remember this one time¡­" Ichtvar told them tales of Merlin''s son as the trio continued to walk through the maze of cliffs, Nathan occasionally interrupting to have Keith attack in a certain direction. The phoenix continued even as they passed several corpses from time to time, and when they stopped for lunch and dinner. "Hey, we''re at the Altar of Light," Keith said as they entered an open area with an altar matching the one from the previous island. "Yeah," Nathan gave him an amused look as Breezy returned, dropping several talisman fragments onto the altar. "That''s because Breezy and I collected all of the missing pieces as we walked. You didn''t notice that we''ve been walking for twelve hours? Or that we''d covered the entire island?" "I was too focused on Ichtvar''s stories to notice," Keith admitted as Nathan began restoring one of the talismans. "I''ll get the other." Keith took care of the second talisman as Nathan finished with the first, and the warrior set his into the slot. Immediately, the altar began to glow, same as the previous had, and runes along the cliff walls revealed themselves. The suppressing darkness faded away as the island''s enchantments began to work, and within moments, the entire island was clear of it.
Isles of Darkness has been completed!
Your reward upon leaving the Isles of Darkness has increased from 50% to 100%.
There is 1 (one) Secondary Dungeon remaining on this island.
"If we went through the whole island," Keith said. "Where''s the other Secondary Dungeon?" "We passed it up," Nathan answered as he sat down, exhausted. "That makes two second talismans, too. Let''s get some sleep, Keith, Evala. When we finish resting up, we can go to the caves." "Caves?" Keith asked. "I was looking around, Nathan, and I didn''t see any caves." "I didn''t, either," Nathan said. "I only knew about them because Breezy mentioned them. They''re hidden by some sort of illusion magic. He said we should be able to just pass through it, since he only saw an illusion." "What about you, Ichtvar?" Keith looked at Nathan''s backpack, only to find the phoenix had retreated back inside of it, pulling the zipper closed behind him. "He went back to sleep," Nathan said. "He had to force himself to stay awake as we traveled. He''s still recovering from that magical overload borrow whatever. Let''s get something to eat." Keith began setting up cooking supplies and preparing pasta. They brought a lot of pasta, since it stored easier and longer for them. Thinking about it, the magician realized that they had probably already begun to subconsciously know that provoking a limitation, or an early limitation, on extended Survival Challenges was best to be avoided. They''d prepared as if they expected to do something else, even though they hadn''t discussed doing that, as they both knew they would be thriving on the Survival Challenge''s supplies during them. As Keith began preparing for dinner, Nathan stripped to his pants and began practicing martial arts. He had done it that morning, too, but wanted to add in extra practice, especially with touches of his force pushes mixed with his attacks. "Does that really do extra damage?" Evala asked after a few minutes of watching, her tail twitching back and forth. "Keith mentioned they did earlier, and I cannot see how." By then, she was already naked and comfortable, having shed her clothes to relax and prepare for sleep, and the warrior rolled his eyes at her, both at the question and at her state. Nathan turned and walked over to one of the cliff walls surrounding the altar''s safety area, then punched it using Impact. A small crater around his fist formed, only around a foot in diameter, despite his immense, System-enhanced Strength and the Skill. "That''s with Impact," he told her, walking several feet down and punching with his force push used at the moment of impact ¨C or as close to it as he could. "That''s with the force attack." The crater that formed was nearly three times as large as the first, but several inches deeper as well, forming almost a cone of damage leading up to Nathan''s punch. The damage itself went deeper than his fist had touched, the magic pushing through the dense, durable rock easily. "By the gods," Evala gasped. "I''d rather not be on the receiving end of that. I''ve seen people imbue fire or ice into their punches, maybe even electricity, but force directly? That''s frightening." "I use what I have," Nathan told her. "Which are my weapons and martial arts. Now, if you don''t mind, I want to return to practicing punching with this." "Don''t want to take a break?" She asked suggestively, rubbing herself. "Maybe later," Nathan walked past her and returned to practicing martial arts. "First rule of Nathan''s training time," Keith told her. "Don''t interrupt it. He is extremely serious about honing his skills. Not even sex will get him to stop, and that''s when he likes someone. Try offering him sex after dinner. From what I''ve seen, he''s usually more open to it then." "After dinner?" "After eating a meal," Keith clarified. "He even let his girlfriend give him a blowjob a couple of times while he was serious about not letting her do anything sexual, all because she caught him at the right time after he ate." "He didn''t let his girlfriend have sex?" "We told you about his protectiveness as a result of the forging?" Keith asked, and she nodded. "It makes him paranoid that having sex with her while she''s pregnant will cause damage to the baby. Despite most of it being extremely illogical and irrational, the forged part of his soul makes him adamant about it. Admittedly, he is rough when he has sex, but it shouldn''t be enough to actually cause harm to his son, and he does know how to hold back, as he obviously did with you. But forged souls are forged souls, so he can''t help that paranoia. "Breezy," Keith gestured to the wind elemental, which was chasing around his own familiar. "Was obtained specifically to act as a bodyguard for his son, even before birth. Part of his duties, out of the game, are to ensure that his girlfriend doesn''t come to harm, even if it''s from tripping, which she can catch herself doing and avoid harm from." "Oh," Evala said. "He really can''t help it?" "No," Keith answered. "Unlike you, who can avoid being that close to me while you''re naked." "Sorry," she backed up, then returned to watching Nathan practice. He stopped when Keith finished dinner, then the three of them ate. Keith washed the dishes using the supply of stored water they had, then he began practicing magic, so that he could work on decreasing his mana costs for his three new elements. "So," Evala sat beside Nathan, letting her tail rub against his bare back and arms. "Want to take the rest of your clothes off and have some fun?" "Later," Nathan told her, and he frowned. "I want to watch Keith practice magic while practicing my own." "You two said you aren''t a magician," she said. Nathan sat by his backpack and opened it up, pulling out the phoenix, which he set on his lap. "Keep watch," he told her. "Shades and phantoms aren''t the only threats here, there are boars as well. If one enters this area and it doesn''t have a Health bar, it''s using a Skill to enhance itself that drains its Health. Just so you''re aware." Nathan began to generate a barrier around himself, and Evala did her best not to laugh at the uneven shape of it. He ignored her and focused on strengthening it rather than fixing its appearance. If he pulled Ichtvar back into him and had the phoenix help, he could probably make it a perfectly-round barrier every time, but he wanted to succeed in that on his own. Once he was sure of the durability of the barrier, Nathan began adjusting its edges. Slowly, section by section, it smoothed out. Areas that dipped in too much moved out, while areas that stuck out too far began to retreat. Almost ten minutes passed before Nathan had reshaped his barrier into the standard disc form. "Good job," Keith told Nathan. "Mind if I throw fireballs at it?" "Go ahead," Nathan stood, willing his barrier to move up. "Holding it is exhausting." "Mentally," Keith snorted. "I know it doesn''t take much mana for you." "Evala," Nathan said. "Might want to pull out that staff of yours." "Why?" She asked. "Because you''re taking care of the boar coming in from the tunnel over there," he and Keith pointed in unison, and she looked over to find one of the boars charging in. "By myself?" "You''re a high enough Level," Nathan said. "You should be able to handle it. If it seems like you can''t, then we''ll step in. Or would you rather Keith and I claimed all the Experience and Points here?" "Alright," she pulled out her staff and took a stance as the boar began to charge. Rather than practicing, Nathan and Keith watched as she fought. The demigod struck with her staff, leaped out of the way, flipped over the beast, jabbed with her staff. She aimed at its eyes, neck, and legs, and they could tell she was using some form of Impact with it based on the crack that sounded out every time it struck and the slight dip in her mana that accompanied it. Unlike Keith, who fought with pure, powerful magical might, or Nathan, who relied on quick strikes and powerful blows, the catkin demigod mixed precise jabs with her staff and the System''s Skills to whittle away at its Health while using her agility and reflexes to nearly dance around the beast. After a few minutes of her graceful movements, Evala succeeded in removing the boar''s Health, and a few more strikes killed it. "There we go," she smiled at the other two teens. "It''s-why is your familiar-eeek!" She jumped to the side, then watched as the heavenly storm elemental quickly removed the tusks, before flying around using them as fake horns, chasing Breezy as it did. "He does that," Keith said, then threw a fireball at Nathan''s barrier. "Wait, let me check with air slashes and force pushes, first, so we can see how it compares to the past." "When you finish testing my barrier and using your new spells," Nathan pointed at the boar. "We''re having fresh meat." "I figured," Keith said. "Just, like, ten minutes. Hey, Evala, can you start butchering that? You never know when you''ll get fresh meat here, and it''s best to use it when you can." 00072 "So where are the caves?" Evala asked, and the other two looked at her while Ichtvar gave her the stink eye. "What?" "I just said they''re right here," Keith gestured to the cliff wall. Nathan muttered something the other two were sure was, "At least Samantha knows how to pay attention." "This seriously looks like a cliff," Evala said. "Illusion," Keith said. "Nathan already said his familiar said it was concealed by one." "I also don''t hear any wind moving through," her ears twitched a couple of times. "No sound indicating it would be a passage. Our voices aren''t echoing or anything." "We are literally standing in front of magical barrier in a dimension frozen in time where select areas are unfrozen temporarily to allow for people to enter so that they can fix shit that''s wrong," Nathan snapped. "Pretty sure the barrier can handle stuff like that, you fucking moron." The two guys and their familiars all agreed upon seeing Evala''s face that she had no idea about the Dungeons, so Keith explained it to her. "And this is all theory?" She asked. "No," Ichtvar said. "We''re in another dimension from ours and yours. Sparky and I both agree it''s the same one as all other Dungeons we''ve been in, as well as one Challenge Nathan was in. From our records of Dungeons others have done, all Dungeons have followed similar veins: multiple stages or simply slaughtering everything. This dimension is also a very real one, and not one of the artificial ones, such as those used in extended Survival Challenges and the Tutorial Game." "We have other reasons for believing what we do," Keith said. "But the belief is there, and it''s tangible for us." "And one day," Nathan added. "We''re going to destroy the game itself and murder the bastards who put us through this." Without waiting for Evala to respond, Nathan stepped through the cliff wall, disappearing from her senses entirely. Keith quickly followed, his familiar soaring in with him, and Evala brought up the rear. The three of them read the notice in their visions, standing just inside the cave entrance.
Trial Entered: Trials of Light
Complete the Trials of Light.
Warning: Only one player may run the Trials of Light at a time. Familiars cannot enter. You must complete it to leave the caves it is housed in.
None of them were exactly sure what to make of the message. Looking at Evala''s face told Nathan and Keith that she''d never heard of such a thing before, either. "The fuck are Trials?" Keith asked. "Hm," Nathan thought for a moment, then pulled out the System phone they all had and began looking through it. "It''s not a comprehensive guide," Keith said. "It does update from time to time," Nathan said. "Sometimes based on things that occur or are awarded in-game. Remember? It even includes the bit about multi-Dungeon Dungeons. Found ''Trials''. They aren''t Dungeons, but can be found in them. "Often concealed through hidden entrances," he continued reading and summarizing. "They are ''normal zones'', where we lose access to the System''s stuff temporarily. No Item Box, no stats, none of that stuff. It happens as soon as you begin the actual Trial, not just when you step into the area. Upon completion, you''ll acquire a special item and regain access once you exit the trial space and reenter the starting area. Under ''Trials of Light'', it lists it as a weapon tailored to the completer. "They can be completed by any number of players," Nathan continued. "But can only be completed one time by each player. However, once a Trial is completed, it becomes available to any player who has ever completed a Trial but hasn''t completed them. "It looks like," he pocketed his phone and looked back to Keith. "Trials are rare, and something outside of the System. They might be a remnant of whatever society was around, whatever the Overseers were, before they became the Overseers. We''re also allowed to reveal the existence of the Trials, which backs them being rare." Keith thought for a few moments, then nodded. "Why didn''t it tell us about them?" She asked. "If it''s not a Dungeon, then this isn''t the missing Secondary Dungeon." "Because," Keith said. "It probably would have told whoever fully completed this island that there was a Trial Grounds hidden on it somewhere, or something. Or possibly whoever completed the final Isles of Darkness Dungeon." "It''s also possible," Nathan added. "It may have never informed anyone, had we not stumbled upon it. I''ll go first." The three of them walked through the tunnel on the other side of the cave, which led them deeper underground, until they arrived in another chamber, this one with a stone pedestal at the entrance of another tunnel with darkness on the other side, none of the islands'' runes illuminating it from within. As Nathan approached the pedestal, a message appeared in his vision.
WARNING!
If you pass by the Trial Pedestal, you will lose access to the System until you return to this chamber after completing the Trial! You can only exit the Trial once you complete it, even if you have not yet begun it, as you have entered this area!
Nathan dismissed the message. "Keith," he turned and faced the mage. "The System can tell if we''re actually reading its messages or not." "What do you mean?" Keith asked. "It didn''t let me," Nathan explained. "Dismiss the warning message until after I''d read through it. Skimming it didn''t let me, I had to actually read every word, in order." "That''s somewhat disturbing," Keith said, and Evala nodded in agreement. "Yeah," Nathan nodded, then approached the pedestal. When he did, a notice appeared in his vision.
Trial Requirements:
Naked, unarmed, and alone. Leave behind all possessions and familiars. If you have any form of spatial or dimensional storage, it will be inaccessible during the Trial. You may recover them once you complete the Trial. If you die, then you will have no need of them.
Nathan read the runes on the pedestal, which gave him the same information, and just as bluntly. He informed Keith of that, and the enchanter shrugged. "I guess it was meant to test someone''s raw ability?" Keith replied. "Where''s Breezy?" "Currently hovering above your head," Nathan removed his backpack, then began stripping. "Watch my stuff." "Will do," Keith responded. "Does he always fold his clothes when he takes them off?" Evala asked as Nathan sent his neatly-folded shirt into his Clothing Box, as usual. "Yes," Keith answered as the shoes and socks were removed and sent in. "Nathan¡­ is a bit of a neat-freak when it comes to clothes. You mentioned before that your people don''t wear clothes except on certain occasions. How do you normally treat them?" "We normally just take them off and drop them or toss them into the basket," she answered as Nathan finished stripping and folding his clothes to put into his Clothes Box. "They aren''t that important to my people." Nathan ignored their conversation and stepped into the tunnel, and he felt some sort of shift. Testing, he confirmed that he had no access to his menus, and his speed and strength were back to what they should have been. Still greater than they were before the Tutorial, though, because of his additional training and awakening. Reaching out with a hand, Nathan let one hand drag along the to his right as he listened for shifts in sound and the feel of the air. The tunnel twisted and wound, and several times, Nathan had to step across a small gap in the ground, or walk across a thin bridge, or get around some other obstacle. He knew he wasn''t Keith, and couldn''t just learn a new spell, so he had to traverse the place in darkness, blind. Even great eyesight couldn''t see where there was no light.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. After more than an hour, Nathan spotted light ahead, the flickering of flames. Cautiously, he continued walking. Not long after he spotted the flames, he nearly stepped into another pit, and felt around until he found the ledge against one wall. Slowly and carefully, Nathan inched across the ledge, reaching the other side of the gap twenty feet later. After that, the next obstacle was a wall in his path with a gap big enough for him to see the flames through. It took him a minute, but he located an open space in the wall on the left, a ledge a few feet off the ground, and he pulled himself up onto it, crawling through the brief tunnel that went around the path''s block. Carefully, Nathan lowered himself down, feeling for the ground before releasing the ledge. The rest of the trip towards the brazier with a pedestal in front of it went smoothly, and he read the pedestal. Unlike the one at the entrance, this one had both words and images. The images were of a series of empty braziers, with one above them having flames in it. Arrows pointed from that one to the ones below. Even without reading, he could guess that it meant he had to light other braziers. The runes above confirmed it. There were ten braziers throughout the room ahead, and he needed to light all of them to move on. A torch leaned against the brazier with flames in it, and Nathan picked it up and lit it from the flames. Using the torch to light his way, Nathan walked along the right-hand wall, coming across the first brazier quickly. He touched his torch into it, and the flames spread into it. With that one lit, he continued walking around the wall. There was another in the corner, then halfway down that wall, and in the corner, then halfway to the passage to the next tunnel. The other side of the chamber was the same, and when Nathan finished, he looked around the room. That wasn''t difficult at all. The path itself wrapped around the outer edge of the room, but there was also a path leading straight across from the entrance to the exit, as well as an additional path leading from the center of that one to each brazier. He frowned, then shook his head and made his way across the center path and into the next tunnel. As he entered it, he felt the torch yank out of his hand, and watched as it flew across the chamber back to where he had picked it up, extinguished. Sighing, Nathan began walking down the next tunnel, one hand touching the walls. Coming across no obstacles, he made it to the next chamber easily. This one was illuminated by runes along the walls and ceilings, allowing him to see the many posts set into the deep pit. There were easily hundreds of them, spread out at uneven heights and distances, and the chamber itself stretched at least two hundred yards across. Some of the posts had the runes on them as well, in two colors. Some were red, while others were glowing with the same white-yellow light as the normal lighting runes. Nathan knew that if he fell into the darkness below, his life was probably over. The platform on the other end of the chamber, where the exit should be, had nothing but a wall attached to it. The warrior turned his gaze to the pedestal. As with the previous, it had both runes informing him of the challenge and images depicting it. For this stage of the Trial, Nathan had to land on every last post with the glowing red runes, and they would shift to the normal light. Only once all posts with glowing runes had the regular light would the other door open. Looking at the posts, Nathan knew that he would barely be able to stand on them. Keith might have a hard time in here. Stepping past the pedestal, Nathan stepped onto the nearest post as he looked for the nearest with red runes. To make it over, he had to step and jump between posts. Grateful for his balance training as part of the martial arts training he spent most of his life going through, he began to make his way across the posts. As he traveled, seeking out every last red post, he discovered on more than a few occasions that he needed to turn around or go a different path. Either the post he wanted to get onto was too low to make the next jump, or too high, or too far away. The closer he grew to the exit''s platform, the more frequently this occurred, to the point where he began having a hard time knowing which posts were good or not, even with his ability to judge the distances. A few were even a little bit thinner than the others, with a couple allowing him room for only one foot. Nearing the final post with red runes, Nathan''s foot slipped as he landed on a post, and he fell backwards. Reaching out on instinct, Nathan managed to grip the top of the post firmly enough to not fall all the way down, but it did result in him swinging straight into the post. "Ow!" He winced as he crushed a sensitive area. Hauling himself up, Nathan managed to stand on the post. Rubbing his sore spot, he winced again, then continue his journey, a little more carefully. When he finally landed on the final post with the red runes, a section of the wall at the exit faded away, and Nathan carefully made his way there, needing to loop around to reach it. Once he finally landed, he followed the path to the next chamber. There, the air felt moist, and the pedestal was illuminated by runes on itself. The room he was in felt cavernous, and he was unable to see its depths. The light on the pedestal wasn''t enough for him to see the floor, even. That one informed him that he was in a room with a series of ''lakes'', with a wall sectioning off each part of it. Somewhere along the wall was a small island he needed to cross to reach the next lake, and the next stage of the trial was past the dark chamber of swimming hell. At least, that''s Nathan decided to call it, grateful that there weren''t any monsters in it. If the Trial was protected, anyway. Walking forward, Nathan carefully moved his feet until he felt nothing beneath it, then pulled his foot back and knelt down, reaching to feel the water. It was only a few inches below the platform. Lowering himself into the cold water, Nathan began swimming until he reached a wall. Then, he followed it to the right, and found himself turning down another, then another, and he was back at the starting platform. Growling, Nathan pushed off and swam in what he hoped was a straight direction, aiming back for the wall he''d reached first. When he reached it that time, he swam along the wall to the left, until he came to a break in it. It was a platform, and when he pulled himself onto it, runes along the bottom edge of it began to glow, just above the water. At least it lets us know if the one we reached is the one we''re coming from, he thought, collapsing onto it. How many more of these do I have to go through? After the posts, he was sore. The swimming increased that, even if he had enough stamina to continue. Growling lightly, Nathan made his way to the other side of the platform and dove into the water, swimming straight forward. When he reached the far wall, he swam to the right until he reached a platform, then pulled himself upon it. In the next lake, the platform he needed to reach was not on the direct opposite wall, but the wall to the left of where he started. The next section, it was on the right-hand wall, and again in the next three, before he finally pulled himself onto the platform on the left-hand wall. As its runes lit up, Nathan''s eyes rested on the entrance to the next stage, cautious. Runes were lit up along its path when they lit up on the platform, and that was suspicious, since that hadn''t happened before. Nathan sat down and gave himself half an hour to collect himself, then he stood up and began walking through the passage. It looped around while leading him even deeper beneath the island. It was too cool down there for him to dry, and Nathan shivered more than once. He knew he''d catch a cold if he didn''t find a way to warm up soon. When it finally ended, he found himself in a chamber with a pedestal in the center and a rectangular altar behind it. Nathan approached the pedestal and read off of it. The image beneath it only showed a hand touching the altar, then a series of items. The runes were more helpful. Touch the crystal on the altar to receive your reward and open the passage back to the start. Letting out a sigh of relief, Nathan walked over to the altar and examined it. Set into the front of it was a yellowish-orange crystal, and when he placed his hand upon it, the surface of the altar glowed and barriers of golden light formed around it, rising from the edges. When the barriers faded away, his reward sat upon the altar. A long sword, sheathed in a leather-and-gold scabbard. The hilt itself was both simple and elegant at the same time, and some sort of yellow-orange stone rested in the pommel, a sunbeam design on the crosspiece. The grip itself was made of strips of leather spiraled around it, allowing for a comfortable grip. Nathan picked up the sword, and a passage opened up behind the altar. Before going through it, he drew the blade. Crafted of a pale yellow metal, Nathan could tell just by touching the sword that it was powerful in some way. It was simple, yet elegant, just like its hilt, and he sensed something holy within it. When he gave it a test swing, he both found it perfectly balanced and suited for him and discovered that the edges of the blade glowed as it was swung. Using his magic sight, he looked into the weapon and found enchantments layered so heavily, he couldn''t make them out. Nathan sheathed the blade, then hurried through the passage, shivering even more as he went. When he finally entered into the chamber with the others, he glanced behind himself as a pair of messages formed in his vision. No passage there.
Trial of Light completed. System access restored.
Would you like to buy fluffy towels and a thick blanket for 100 Points?
Yes No
Yes, Nathan responded immediately, and a thick blanket and pair of fluffy white towels appeared in front of him as the other two turned to face him. "Why are you soaked?" Keith asked as Nathan caught the items. "Because it''s too cool to just dry," Nathan answered. "And it''s somewhat humid underground." He began drying himself off, ignoring the fact that Evala was already naked and had approached him. "Want me to help you warm up?" She asked. "No," he finished rubbing himself down with the towels, making sure to get his hair before wrapping the blanket around himself and sitting down, pulling it over his head so that he was completely concealed. "The Trial changes between attempts. Evala, you go next." It was only a suspicion Nathan had, but the room with the posts suggested that to him. Why would it have posts that had the proper lights instead of only ones with the wrong color, with instructions to land on all of the wrongly-colored lights? "Alright," Evala said, then made her way past the entrance of the Trial as Keith gave Nathan''s curled-up, blanket-cocooned form an amused look. "You know you have a phoenix that could probably warm you, right?" Keith asked as Evala disappeared from sight. "Right," Nathan said, his voice muffled by the blankets. "By the way, I think the stages themselves are the same, only with some variations to each one. So you both will probably have to do the swimming one, too. It is a lot of swimming, so keep that in mind and make sure to rest between each section of it. Can you bring me the backpack with Ichtvar in it? He''s being stubborn and saying he''s comfy where he is." "Is it really that cold?" Keith laughed as he grabbed Nathan''s backpack and brought it over. "Yes," Nathan adjusted his blanket so he could sit up with it still wrapped around him, then opened up his backpack. "We go pretty deep beneath, and it gets damp and the air is chilly. The water we have to swim in is chilly, too. The only reason I don''t have hypothermia is probably because of how much I was moving." "What are the stages you had to do?" Keith asked as Nathan pulled the phoenix out and under the blanket, which he wrapped tightly around himself. Nathan explained them, and the two began to wait for Evala to return. 00073 Evala summoned an orb of light to illuminate her way, then carefully made her way through the obstacles of the starting tunnel. With her training and balance, it was easy for her to make it across the narrow ledges and jump past the small gaps, climb over or crawl under the blocks in her path. When she reached the first chamber, she read the pedestal''s information, then picked up the torch and touched it into the brazier, using her orb of light to show her the way. The braziers were resting in random points on the various paths, with two in the corners of the room. The paths were narrow enough that the braziers on them completely blocked the path, though with some flexibility, she knew she might manage to move around them. The only risk was if she fell and was unable to grab onto the path or brazier in time, so she''d have to turn back after lighting each brazier. Determining the optimal path, Evala quickly made her way through the room, lighting the braziers before moving on to the next tunnel, the torch extinguishing and flying back to its original position. In the third chamber, Evala looked around at the posts she had to land on, then quickly began jumping between them. As a catkin, she had excellent and swift reflexes, even without the System. It did take her a minute to adjust to not having her usual speed, but once she got the hang of it, making it through the rest of the room was a breeze. Walking down the path, she froze when she came to the next area and saw what lay before her. Sending her orb out as far as she could, the catkin''s eyes widened. Water. Lots and lots of water. And if she wasn''t mistaken, she had to swim. Evala wasn''t a ''big'' catkin, or one such as a tiger, lion, or leopard. No, she was a ''small'' catkin, and like most, she had an aversion to bodies of water. The pond was okay for her because it was smaller and she could see the bottom, but these lakes were too much. Instinctively taking several steps back, she found herself up against a wall, and turned around, only to find that her exit was simply another part of the cavern''s wall. She had to move forward if she wanted to leave. For nearly half an hour, the catkin talked to herself, psyching herself up to swimming, then ran forward and dove into the water. Resurfacing, she gasped for air and shivered, before letting out a pitiful mewl, glad no one was around to hear. Doing her best, she swam around in the dark, unable to sustain her orb of light in the situation. When she finally reached the first platform, she groaned as she pulled herself onto it. It took her a few minutes to psych herself back up to swim in the next section. By the time the catkin reached the final platform, the path ahead lighting up, she was ready to quit. She never wanted to see that much water ever again, no matter what. The fact that she was on an island and would need to travel to another before she could leave started to rise up, but she pushed it down, knowing she''d deal with that when she came to it. Nearly an hour passed before she stood and began walking down the path, finding herself in the final chamber. There, she read the pedestal and let out a prayer to the gods that it was over, before placing her hand on the crystal on the altar. When the barriers faded away, an elegant staff of yellow-white wood rested on the altar, smooth and graceful, with caps made of a pale yellow metal on either end. Knowing that blankets and towels awaited her, the shivering catkin raced through the tunnel until she came out back in the starter room. Keith was naked and stretching, and Nathan was still wrapped up in his blanket, though his hair had finished drying and he was sitting, the phoenix''s head poking out of the blanket just below the warrior''s head. "My turn," Keith finished stretching as Evala looked at Nathan. "Can I use your towels and blanket?" She asked. "Get your own." "Can you show me that rough sex you''re worried will hurt your baby?" She asked as she accepted the System''s offer. "I''m out," Keith took off into the tunnel, an orb of light appearing in front of him. He didn''t sprint so much as walked briskly. Instead of testing his balance or luck with jumps, he used his wind magic to fly across any gaps, worrying only about climbing over or crawling under obstacles. When he reached the first chamber, Keith barely slowed down, letting his orb of light float higher and glow brighter. As he crossed the path to the other end, he shot off fireballs, aiming them at the braziers. Each one landed, and the braziers came to light, the passage to the other side opening up to let him through just as he reached it. Keith pulled his orb back to him and shrank it back down in the next tunnel, quickly making his way through it and into the next room. He had spent an hour nearly every day in the extended Survival Challenges practicing flying with his wind magics, and used that to simply fly over the posts, landing on each of the ones with red runes. Without needing to plan his route, backtrack, or catch himself, Keith was able to finish the chamber in only a few minutes, then moved on to the next tunnel. Ignoring the pedestal in the next chamber, Keith sat down and allowed his mana to recover as he let his mind rest from the spell casting, shrinking the orb of light to reduce its cost. He didn''t need it at the moment, anyway. Once his mana was back to full, Keith took off, allowing his orb to grow larger and glow brighter as he flew over the water. It didn''t take him long to find the next platform, and traveling through that stage of the Trial was easy. Landing on the final platform, Keith dismissed his light, aware from Nathan''s explanation that he was finished and only needed to claim his reward. In the final chamber, he placed his hand on the crystal, then picked up the elegant staff that awaited him. Similar to Evala''s, it possessed what he was pretty sure was some sort of special magical crystal, which was fixed onto the tip. Nathan''s sword had one, too. They seemed to be hybrids between mana stones and mana crystals, and he could sense the holy light within them. With the mage''s staff in-hand, Keith knew it wasn''t a System-generated item, much like Nathan''s sword. It was something¡­ else. Entirely. Deciding to dwell on it later, Keith exited the chamber and made his way through the passage, taking his time. He and Nathan had both discussed things, and knew that Evala would probably want to have sex again, and he wanted to give Nathan time to finish. Smiling a little, he wondered what Evala was going to be like when he reached the starter room. He and Nathan had discussed the fact that she would probably ask him for sex again, and Nathan was going to oblige. Even if he wasn''t going to be as rough as he was with Samantha once or twice, Evala had asked to feel the roughness. As he walked, he tested his staff, determining that it used holy light and that any magic channeled through it was imbued with holy power as well. It also helped reduce the cost of any spells he cast through it, too, which he knew could be a lifesaver, especially if they ever had to fight the nightmare from the first island. He and Nathan had discussed that, too, and knew that it would probably have a way to travel around. It was a member of the Ultimate Trinity, after all. Thinking about unicorns and their counterparts, Keith remembered something he''d heard in reality, something he wanted to ask Ichtvar about. When Keith finally entered the chamber with the others, Nathan was dressed and practicing with his new sword while Evala was moaning, wrapped up in a blanket. "I thought you said you''d hold back?" Keith asked as he dismissed the offer. "I did hold back," Nathan looked at him. "A wizard''s staff?" "Yep," Keith tapped it against the ground, the crystal atop it glowing brightly, and the two demigods felt the holy power radiating out of it. "This will help against shades and phantoms."If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Same with my sword," Nathan slashed down, the edge in the direction he slashed glowing. "I got the hang of triggering the glow. That''s definitely holy light." "Yeah," Keith released the enchantment he had activated, and gestured to Evala, who was sitting up. "If her staff follows the pattern, it can probably be used for fighting against shades and phantoms, too." "What interests me," Nathan said. "Is what the rewards for the Trial of Holy Light would be like, if this was just the Trial of Light and granted weapons attuned to holy light." The moment he finished, a message appeared in their visions.
Correction made: the Trial of Light you just underwent was misnamed. It has been renamed to its correct ''Trial of Holy Light'' title.
"That answers that question," Keith laughed, then looked at Evala. "If you need to rest, we can rest. It''ll probably be a bit before it''s time to head to the next Secondary Dungeon here." "We don''t know where it is," she said. "And I didn''t realize how rough Nathan could really be." "I was holding back," Nathan muttered. "Samantha likes it rough. I like it rough." "You''re also a monster," Keith said. "Most people probably couldn''t take that tool of yours in any orifice without a lot of lube, foreplay, and gentle, tender, and loving care. It''s only because of the System-granted Endurance that Evala probably didn''t notice how bad it was, and your Strength only increases how rough things are. You''d probably break a normal girl unless you let her control everything." "Whatever," Nathan sheathed the sword. "You and I are training until Evala is ready to move. And Evala, Breezy is out looking for the other Dungeon, or anything that it could be." Keith pulled on some underwear and pants as Nathan stepped out of his shoes and removed his shirt and tie. The pair of young men began sparring, Nathan helping Keith with fighting with the staff. It wouldn''t be enough to make Keith a viable fighter in the Dungeon, but they both knew that even the basics would be enough to potentially save his life where not being able to would leave him dead. The two of them stopped only when a large gust of wind slammed into Nathan, toppling him over. "What the fuck was that for, Breezy?" He scrambled to his feet, drawing his sword and cutting through the elemental, which simply separated to avoid the strikes. "Well?" Nathan sighed and sheathed his sword, then looked at Keith. "He found a den of boars," Nathan told Keith. "That''s probably the Dungeon, since he says it''s the only thing of interest he found on the island. You still have the naviglobe?" "Unless you removed it from my pack." "Naviglobe?" Evala asked, standing up. She was dressed and ready to go. "What''s that?" "How we''ll find our way to the next island," Nathan answered. "It appeared when we completed the Isles of Darkness Dungeon, and Keith stuck it in his backpack for safekeeping." "It''ll disappear when we step onto the next island," Keith pulled on his backpack, then gripped his staff. "Come on, we need to go deal with this other Dungeon." They set off, and Evala followed. "Is Ichtvar sleeping?" Keith asked, and a moment later, the phoenix unzipped Nathan''s backpack enough that he could poke his head out and give the enchanter a curious look. "You said that members of the Ultimate Trinity only contract to demigods with forged souls, but Master Torzin mentioned that the unicorn which contracted to Merlin tries contracting to all demigods on Earth, even if only temporarily." "There is something strange about that unicorn," the phoenix nodded. "Very strange. I''ve already advised Nathan not to accept his contract, no matter what." "Any particular reason?" Keith asked. "Torzin," the phoenix said. "Is the only contractor it ever had that lived more than five years after the contract ended. I''m not saying they are linked, but it is somewhat suspicious." "You think it''s killing them?" Nathan asked. "Or instigating it," the phoenix said. "Either way, do not accept its contract. There was something weird¡­ I don''t know what it is, but I do not trust him, even if Torzin sees nothing wrong with him. Now, if you don''t mind, I need to return to recovering. It''ll still be a few days before I can do much of anything." He retreated back into the backpack and pulled the zippers closed, and the trio of teens continued their walk, following the path that Breezy dictated. Eventually, the path led them up, to the tops of the cliffs, and they found a small collection of caves with dead-looking trees devoid of leaves not far away. As with the first island, there were small pillars enchanted to glow scattered here and there, their light bright enough to stretch more than a dozen yards individually. They could see all across the surface of the island, the upper section almost even, save for the gaps and occasional cave, like the ones they had found nearby. "This place gives me the creeps," Evala voiced aloud. "It''s literally called ''Isles of Darkness''," Keith rolled his eyes. "You walk around in a darkness that suppresses even light and sound. I will admit, though, that being able to actually see for a bit, with the silence and lack of, well, anything does add an extra layer of creepiness to it." As Nathan ignored the comments and approached the caves, a message appeared in his vision.
Dungeon Entered: Boar Den
Challenge Type: Slaughter
Difficulty: Kill all of the boars in the den.
Kill all of the boars in the den.
"We''re here," Nathan drew his sword, and the other two prepared for battle, approaching as Nathan let out a piercing whistle. "What was that for?" Evala asked. "You just let them know we''re here!" "They were bound to notice, anyway," Keith said as Nathan let out another piercing whistle. "This way, we don''t have to worry about getting trapped in the caves. Whatever comes out, we''ll kill. Then, we''ll go in and butcher what''s left. Simple as that." "Is that how you guys normally do these things?" She asked. "This is our first time doing a Dungeon together," Keith told the catkin. "Normally, the only stuff we do together deals with making enchantments." "We just both tend to agree on strategies," Nathan told the stunned catkin, then let out another piercing whistle. "They''re coming." "I want to try something," Keith told Nathan, who nodded and took a step back as the magician stepped forward. As nine boars charged out of the four cave entrances, Keith summoned up his power, weaving together the spell for lightning and channeling it through his staff. The magician aimed the crystal atop his staff at the boars, and the spell flew out of it, a bolt of lightning that struck the lead boar. The moment it did, the lightning spread out, striking into the other boars as well. The initial boar died immediately upon impact, while the spell did heavy damage to the others, less the further from the first they were. All remaining boars were stunned, and Keith followed the spell up with a few slashes of air, before Nathan charged forward with his new sword. Evala followed, using her staff to strike at the boars as Nathan carved into them, his blade forged of the strange metal helping him break through their Health, before easily cutting into their hides. As they fought, several more boars charged out, and Keith channeled his air magics through the staff, generating spikes of wind to drive into the new ones, killing them as the other two teammates finished their job. When they finished, Nathan and Evala moved the corpses to the side of the caves, then rested with Keith until his mana had built back up. Then, Nathan began letting out sharp, piercing whistles again. For almost an hour, they waited, killing only a few more boars that came out. Then, they made their way into the caves to finish the job, with Nathan in the lead, Keith beside him and to the right, and Evala at the back, watching for anything coming from the rear. It took them three hours to finish cleaning out the caves, and when they did, they received a notice, the Secondary Dungeon itself significantly easier than they had expected.
Boar Den has been completed!
Your reward upon leaving the Isles of Darkness went up from 100% to 150%.
"That''s four of ten," Nathan looked at Keith. "Let''s rest up by the altar, then we can sort out which way to head. I''ll have Breezy guide us to the boat." "Alright," Keith said. "What about my opinion?" Evala asked. "Keith agreed with me," Nathan pointed at the enchanter. "That''s two against you. In addition, this is our Dungeon. We know you''re only here for five Dungeons, since there''s more than that." Evala stared at them, then frowned. "What makes you think that?" "The System phones," Keith answered. "We looked up about multi-Dungeon Dungeons while you were in the Trial. It said that after eight consecutive Dungeons in one, players may opt to allow the Overseers to pick someone from anywhere in the universe to join them. That player will be with them either until the others leave or five Dungeon completions, whichever comes first. It also said that this is made aware to them. You only receive the bonus for the ones you completed, which means you''re also a reward beneath us. When you leave after our sixth Dungeon, we''ll still be here for at least four more." "Plus," Nathan added. "You still haven''t given Keith a proper apology. The only thing you felt bad about was upsetting him, not about what it was you did to upset him." "Probably because to my people, that''s not unacceptable!" She said. "And I didn''t force him to sleep with me!" "You told him," Nathan growled, and she took a step back. "That he could have only drunk your nectar if he fucked you. You sounded pretty damn honest about that, so he felt he had no choice. I should''ve told you to fuck off with that and let him drink it anyway. Keith. Is. Gay. He does not like girls like that. He feels sick having sex with girls. He is not okay with having sex with girls. Forcing someone to sleep with you just to give them something that could save their life ¨C or yours ¨C is nothing less than wrong and inappropriate. Consider yourself lucky that I was still recovering from nearly dying when that happened, or you would''ve been in for a lecture then, and possibly some pain for screwing around like that. And consider yourself lucky the Overseers didn''t see that as rape. Now let''s go." 00074 "What is it, Nathan?" Keith sighed as the warrior continued to frown as he looked around them while he rowed. They knew the waters were safe, and Nathan''s expression wasn''t one of worry, anyway. It wasn''t easy to read for Keith, though, and the constant looks around as they rowed was starting to annoy him. "What?" Nathan looked at Keith. "Why do you keep staring off into the darkness?" Keith asked. "It''s not as much as it should be." "What does that mean?" Evala asked as Keith looked at the darkness, then gauged the distance the light of the lantern and his familiar reached "You''re right," Keith nodded. "It''s not much, but it''s definitely a little bit weaker. Do you think us activating the Altars of Light is having an effect on the darkness in the area?" "Possibly," Nathan answered. "The only way to know for sure is to complete all of the islands in the outer ring. If the darkness is a lot lighter inside of that ring, then there''s a definite effect." "What do you think the next island is like?" Evala asked. "Do you think it will be as easy as that one?" "This one was easy," Nathan said. "Because you showed up after the danger had passed and Breezy did most of the work." "Oh," she said, looking around. "Where is he, anyway?" "Collecting talisman fragments while getting chased by a giant bat," Nathan answered with a tone that said it was perfectly normal. "Nathan," Keith rolled his eyes. "Why didn''t Breezy kill it?" "So that you guys can get some Points, too," Nathan answered, then went silent for a few moments, his expression saying that he was shocked. "That one''s a flaming bat." "There''s a flaming bat?" Evala asked. "Yeah," Nathan nodded. "Breezy says he''s saving them for you." Keith snorted. "Nathan," Keith said. "According to my familiar, Breezy is currently behind the boat, pushing it to help us get to the next island faster." "My arms were tired when we reached the last island," Nathan said. "I''m confused," Evala looked between them. "Nathan was bullshitting us," Keith told her. "I''m not sure why, though?" "Boredom," Nathan offered. "You made it seem so serious," Keith said. "You normally don''t when bullshitting. It''s usually easier to tell." "Boredom." Keith laughed in response, and they fell back into silence as Nathan continued to row. Even with Breezy''s pushing, the rowing did help. Despite what felt like a smooth and rhythmic pace to the three teens, a ''gentle'' rowing, Nathan was utilizing his immense Strength and Speed. Were they to allow themselves to fade back into normal speeds, it would feel as if the boat was moving at more than two hundred miles per hour. Only their massive Endurance allowed them to ignore the wind created as a result as something simple. The only sign that they were moving impossibly fast was the splitting of the water around their boat, the way it sprayed to the side. Even that wasn''t full, however, as Keith''s familiar had surrounded the sides of the boat in a form of shield to keep the spray down. "Just how far apart are these islands?" Evala asked after nearly an hour of silence. "The first and second were around six hundred apart," Keith answered. "We''re not sure how the people traveled between them whenever they were inhabited, but they probably had a quick way of moving around, too. Why did the boat slow?" "Breezy''s doing something." "What?" Keith asked. "Fapping." "Elementals can''t do that," Keith rolled his eyes. "You''re the one who slowed." "It feels melancholy," Nathan stopped rowing entirely, and his familiar stopped as well, the boat quickly slowing, then stopping, resting on the barely-moving waters. The other two frowned, but quickly realized what Nathan meant. There was a depressing atmosphere to the air, as if a great tragedy occurred nearby. Evala''s ears perked up, her tail sticking straight up with its fur out, and Keith looked around uneasily. "What''s causing this?" Keith asked. "Think it''s the nightmare?" "No," Nathan answered. "That felt different. We''re near the island." "How near?" Evala asked. "Maybe twenty yards," he answered, and she frowned. "The range of our sphere of light," Keith quickly realized that, coming from an entirely different world, her units of measurement were also probably quite different. "Is around twenty-two feet. A yard is three feet." He paused as he said that. Before, the range of the lantern was definitely shorter than that. Nathan was right, the darkness had weakened. "Five iklan," Ichtvar poked his head out of the bag. "Ah," Evala said. "We''re that close?" "According to Breezy," Nathan nodded. "We did travel a bit after I stopped rowing." "My familiar confirms that," Keith nodded. "It''s the island doing this?" "Think there are multiple nightmares?" Evala asked. "Unlikely," Ichtvar responded, looking in the southeastern direction, to where the island was. "No¡­ I would know if there were more than one nightmare nearby, and the other one hasn''t followed us. At most, there might be one nightmare on this island, but it''s doubtful." "If there is," Nathan said. "Do you think you''ll have the strength to fight it?" "No," Ichtvar shook his head for a moment. "I need another day to recover back to a reasonable amount, but it''ll be at least a week and a half before I can tap into that much power again. Hm¡­ there is something that can be done, though." "Something?" Nathan asked. "It involves kissing Keith," Ichtvar said with a poker face, and Nathan flicked the phoenix on the head. "What was that for?" "You''re a terrible liar." "Fine," Ichtvar grumbled. "Why don''t you take my jokes like that?" Nathan heard, and Keith sighed. "There is a huge difference between having sex with me and kissing me," Keith told his familiar. "But-" "Just drop it," Keith said. "Ichtvar, what is it?" "Sparky, should I tell them?" Keith and Nathan looked at Ichtvar in shock. The phoenix was asking the elemental for permission to say something? Since when did he ever do that instead of simply deciding on his own? "If you think Nathan would agree to it," the heavenly storm elemental responded. "But it would be best if we knew for sure that an offensive member of the Ultimate Trinity where here. Otherwise, it would be for nothing." "Indeed," Ichtvar nodded. "When Merlin and Mordred did it, things were pretty different. We knew for sure that there was something there, and Merlin didn''t yet have a powerful dragon on his side." "Just the hatchling," the heavenly storm elemental said. "It is unlikely that there is a nightmare here, but if there is, then there would be enough time for them to do it. The only things we would have to worry about would be a dark phoenix and a dragon." "I can handle a dark phoenix," Ichtvar snorted. "I''m not entirely useless. Plus, a dark phoenix probably wouldn''t bother them more than a ''hello, how are you?'' We''ll only need them to do it if we confirm the presence of a dragon or a nightmare."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "What is it?" Nathan asked. "It''s a form of merging your powers," Ichtvar answered. "It would allow you to tap into the other''s magical power and their mana. It also creates another link between you, though. A more emotional one." "So it would make me horny for guys anytime Keith looked at a hot guy?" Nathan looked horrified. "No!" Ichtvar laughed. "It doesn''t affect the participants in that way. It doesn''t affect your emotions or attractions at all. Instead, it gives you an awareness of theirs. It also, well, does stuff you and Keith already do. Know what the other''s thinking in a less direct way than a straight-up thought link, anticipate the other''s actions, and such. Even after the connection is ended, the mental and emotional aspect of it lingers, even if in a smaller form." "So instead of getting horny any time Nathan would look at a hot girl," Keith nodded. "I would just know that he''s getting up. Which would then probably get me up." Nathan punched him in the arm. "You started it!" Keith protested, before noticing the smile in the warrior''s eyes, even if it wasn''t elsewhere. "I don''t get horny over every girl," Nathan said. "Just some. Ichtvar, how is this connection formed?" "First," Ichtvar said. "It requires a deep connection already. You and Keith already have that. As I mentioned, you two can often tell what the other is thinking or has concluded, and your actions are often in sync with each other, even if you don''t realize it." "It''s further proof you two are friends," the heavenly storm elemental commented, and Nathan shot it a glare. "Deny it all you want, Nathan, but the fact that you and Keith have literally moved in tandem with each other several times is proof enough." "We''re not friends, we''re business partners and allies," Nathan grunted, then lifted the ends of the oars, ready to finish the trip to the next island. "We can do that connection if and only if we absolutely need to. So you''re saying that the two of us, drawing on the other''s power, can handle a member of the Ultimate Trinity?'' "A weak member," Ichtvar nodded. "I''d say¡­ that something on my own, current level of power as either a nightmare or a dragon, you two would manage. The connection isn''t just drawing on the other''s power. It augments it, increasing it further. It would be Keith who did it, though. His magic, augmented by yours, with access to your Mana, would probably be enough." "So it''s purely in magical might," Nathan said. "Correct," Ichtvar confirmed. "You and Keith have a long way to go before your physical might would be enough to do something to a beast of my level." Nathan nodded, then though for a minute before looking at his familiar again. "So why do you think a dark phoenix wouldn''t do much more than a ''hello, how are you'' rather than attack us?" "Because it''s a phoenix?" Ichtvar offered. "Most of us are rather disinterested in fighting and conflict, usually only doing stuff when we''re bored." "And if there''s one here, and it''s bored?" "It would probably fly around with us," Ichtvar responded. "Maybe occasionally giving us tips and advice on how to deal with this place. Might even tell us what kind of people lived here." "Are you sure?" Keith asked. "It''s literally a ''dark'' phoenix." "Dark as in the inverse of light," Ichtvar huffed. "Dark and light aren''t inherently evil and good, children. And we''re talking about beings who literally live through the universes, retaining our memories of all time, staying the same over and over, living over and over. We can die a million times over before a universe ends, depending on how early we''re born into it. It is impossible for anything to outlive us. After a time, we start to lose interest. We find hobbies, do things to entertain ourselves, and so on. But we have a general rule which encompasses our lives. That rule is to never interfere in the quests of mortals unless it is to assist someone with a forged soul. You and Nathan, Keith, have forged souls. No dark phoenix would act against you." "Why?" Keith asked. "That doesn''t make sense. Why would a phoenix or dark phoenix only be interested in assisting us? You guys clearly do other things ¨C you help people on-" "We do stuff like that, certainly," Ichtvar nodded. "To pass the time, as a hobby, and so on. But it isn''t truly interfering with a quest. It''s simply forging a tradition. Forged souls are special, and so they are the only ones whom we will truly interfere for." "Why?" Nathan asked. "Two reasons," Ichtvar answered. "We know far more about forged souls than any mortal could ever hope to know, as part of us being special in the Well of Souls and in addition to us, them being consistent. "Second," Ichtvar looked him directly in the eyes. "Those with forged souls possess the power to actually kill a phoenix or dark phoenix, sending our soul back into special section of the Well of Souls in which we''re housed up until the next universe." Silence reigned for several minutes as the teens processed that news. Keith was the one who broke it. "So if Nathan or I were to kill you, you''d be dead-dead?" "No," Ichtvar shook his head. "Neither of you have the power to do such a thing, even if you possess the ability. It requires soul magic, which neither of you know. The only soul mages capable of affecting phoenixes are forged souls." "Why?" Keith asked. "It''s complicated," Ichtvar said. "But soul magic can only be used on a phoenix by another phoenix or a forged soul. Likewise, soul magic can only be used on a forged soul by a phoenix or a forged soul. It''s simply one of the quirks that is the same in all universes. It could be a safeguard, or it could be something else. Well of Souls only knows the answer to ''why''. I might be two hundred million of your years, but that doesn''t mean I know everything and have the secrets to the universes in the claws of my talon. "Now," he said. "Do you guys have any further questions? Or can we get going? I don''t know about you guys, but I''d rather not just linger around just chatting when we could be working." Both Nathan and Keith knew that there was more to it than what Ichtvar said. His explanation sounded a little fishy to them, but they knew that pushing him for answers probably wasn''t the best of ideas. The phoenix only answered what he wanted to, only gave what information he felt was absolutely necessary to give at the time. He only answered as much as he had because he knew that the two of them would push for answers due to needing the safety of mind about dark phoenixes if they encountered one, and now that he had given them a ''plausible'' answer, he would refuse to elaborate further. With that in mind, Nathan began rowing again, and a few moments later, they were at the shore. The three of them grabbed their stuff and stepped off of the boat, the naviglobe vanishing as they read the trio of messages that had appeared in their visions. The wind elemental grabbed the lantern and joined them as the heavenly storm elemental began to swirl near its contractor.
Dungeon Entered: Isles of Darkness
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Advanced
Locate the talisman fragment on the island you''re on. You may take as long as needed.
Dungeon Entered: Lair of Phantoms and Shades
Challenge Type: Slaughter
Difficulty: Advanced
Kill as many phantoms and shades as possible. You may take as long as needed.
Dungeon Entered: Land of Missing Statues
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Advanced
Return all statues to their rightful pedestals. You may take as long as needed.
The three players looked at each other in response to the messages. Setting foot on the island wasn''t just an initiation to the Main Dungeon, but to two Secondary Dungeons as well. Both doubted they were in a localized area, like with the Lair of Sirens. "We have to move statues?" Evala asked. "Yes," Nathan responded as he dismissed his notifications. "Splashy, make sure to keep your light going around us as full as you can sustain. The shades don''t enter its range because your light is holy light, and that burns." "Some will probably brave it," Keith said as Nathan slipped out of his backpack. "A stronger one might actually manage to get a hit in before my familiar''s light killed them." "I wasn''t done," Nathan said. He set down his pack and rummaged through one of the front pockets, rummaging through it as everyone watched. Finding a deck of cards, he pulled it out, then began quickly sifting through the cards until he found the one he wanted. Activating it, he pulled a lantern out, which he set to the side and took the lantern from his elemental. Nathan sent that into the card, which he returned to the deck, and slipped the cards back into their box. The warrior returned that to his backpack and pulled out the pack of batteries currently open, pulling out enough for the lantern before returning it to his bag. "Why are you changing lanterns just to change batteries?" Evala asked as he placed the fresh batteries into the lantern. Instead of answering, Nathan screwed the battery cover back on, then pulled off the cover around the bulb, checking to make sure his runes were still in place. The cover was clear, but the runes were easier to inspect without it. "Is that blood?" Evala asked as she saw the runes painted onto the bulbs, only then noticing the marks. "Yes," Keith frowned. "I noticed those when he pulled the lantern out. Nathan, did you-" "Yes," Nathan responded, making sure everything was set. "If it works, then it''s an additional source of holy light." "Holy light?" Evala asked as Nathan replaced the cover and clicked on the lantern, setting it to its brightest setting. "But¡­ that''s not holy magic?" "The blood of a demigod," Nathan told her. "Can be used to perform holy enchantments. I didn''t just use my blood, but some of Splashy''s water. That''s two potent sources of holy power infused with his light." "That explains why he felt so tired when I woke up," Keith muttered. With heavenly elementals, it was their light itself that was holy, not the rest of their aspects. They could, however, fuse their light into their aspects or aspect in order to imbue that with holy power as well, though it was costly for them and drained a decent amount of their energy. "If the enchantment works as it should," Nathan ignored Keith''s comment. "Then the layer of magic shimmering around the bulb, as you''ll notice if you use your magic sight, will imbue the light that passes through it with holy power. Splashy, hold this." Nathan held up the lantern, and the heavenly storm elemental took it, though the warrior could sense the question it wanted to know. "The light of you and the lantern combined," he explained. "Should be enough to destroy any shade that enters it by virtue of the combined holy power. As long as we keep replacing the batteries every when they run out every eight hours or so, then we''ll only have to deal with the phantoms, which won''t burn in the light alone, and whatever other monsters are here." "And then," Keith nodded. "We can simply collect the talisman fragments, merge them back together, and put the proper talisman back into the pedestal. The enchantment triggers, and most of the phantoms and shades die. If there are any hidey-holes, we''ll just have to hunt them down, if the Dungeon didn''t complete." "The only thing that bothers me," Nathan admitted. "Was the fact that it didn''t give us an actual amount." "Probably," Ichtvar said. "Because not only is this place filled with them, but because some will probably flee to other islands. It will probably just want their numbers on this island to drop below a certain amount." "Got it," Nathan and Keith said together. "So," Evala said, looking at Nathan. "You kept hurting yourself until your Health was empty, then bled yourself, just to make that?" "No," Nathan answered. "I hurt myself until my Health was empty, then bled myself to make three of these, plus more than two hundred bullets enchanted for holy light. I also put such an enchantment on a knife." Evala gave him a horrified expression. "Why would you hurt yourself for that?" She asked. "Especially while in a Dungeon?" "Because he''s Nathan," Keith answered as Nathan began walking along the shore. "He wants us to survive. If it means helping him or his friends get through, then he''ll do anything he can, even if it goes against his nature. So yeah, he''ll bleed himself. You might think it''s weird, fine. But it''s useful, and it''ll help us survive. That is what he cares about." 00075 "Why are we walking along the shore?" Evala asked after several long minutes of silence. "To find out what these statues are," Nathan answered. "Did you notice it when we passed?" "Uh¡­ no?" She answered. "Let''s go back," Keith suggested. "It wasn''t that far." Nathan nodded, then the two teens from Earth led the catkin back around a dozen yards, before gesturing to the ocean. "We''re at low tide right now," Keith said. "According to my familiar. That makes it easier to see. Do you see it now?" "Low tide?" Evala asked, before looking at the ocean. A few moments of searching, and she noticed it. What looked like some sort of platform made of dark gray stone. It was ten feet in diameter, and the players from Earth had noticed two previous ones. "It''s the third one," Keith told her. "That we''ve passed by. Nathan''s probably trying to find the statues that go on them. Or at least, one of them." "We''ve come across three of them?" Evala asked. "Yeah," Keith nodded. "They were spaced a hundred yards apart. I''m not sure how to translate that into your distances. Twenty yards is five ilkan, I believe Ichtvar said. So that would be twenty-five ilkan, I think? Unless my math is wrong." "Doubtful," Nathan commented. "Yeah," Keith nodded. "Unless the ilkan changes over greater distances, it would be twenty-five, I believe." "It is consistent," Evala told him. "They are that far apart?" "Whatever they are," Keith gestured to the platform. "They''re either very large, or have large standing spots." "What I want to know," Nathan muttered. "Is where they went." "Yeah," Keith scratched the back of his head. "I''m kind of wondering that, too. If the statues are large enough to require such big, sturdy stands¡­ what the hell moved them?" "Maybe they moved themselves?" Nathan asked. "Please, please, please," Keith glared at him. "Don''t ever suggest that again, because the universe will see it as a challenge." "I''ve told you before," Ichtvar piped up. "That''s not-" "-how it works, yeah," Keith rolled his eyes. "But you can''t say in all honesty that sometimes, things happen to be exactly the oddity someone suggested. And if these statues really do move themselves, then we might have an issue getting them back in place." Keith let out a shiver, and Nathan gave him a sympathetic look. The somber, despondent feeling was familiar to them, though the mage was having a hard time placing where he had felt it before. "I thought," Evala said, her tail and ears still perked up, her tail''s fur still on end. "Ichtvar said it was almost impossible for you to feel nervous or uncomfortable due to the forged aspect of your soul?" "That''s Nathan," Keith told her. "And being fearless and being able to sense death and despair are two different things. There are a lot of phantoms and shades on this island, as evidenced by the Dungeon requiring us to kill a lot of them." "This is an island of the dead," Nathan said quietly, and the other two looked at him. They both knew that the wind elemental was still there, as it had been ruffling Nathan''s shirt and tie as it kept protectively close to him. That meant that his range of awareness was limited to the same as theirs. "What makes you think that?" Evala asked. "He''s right," Ichtvar told them. "This feeling, this depressing atmosphere that is more than what the darkness of this world makes¡­ either a great tragedy occurred here, a lot of dead are buried here, or both." Keith looked around, then back to Nathan as he finally realized where he''d felt such a thing before. "The school," Keith said, and Nathan nodded. "It felt like this when we passed by the school. But this is so much more intense." "Yeah," Nathan nodded. "Much, much more intense. Let''s get moving. I want to find one of these statues." The trio began walking again, and after nearly an hour of it, Nathan and Keith both stopped and groaned. "What?" Evala asked. "I know the tide''s been coming up, it''s made me a bit uncomfortable with needing to go out to the-" "That," Nathan and Keith pointed out to sea. Just inside the range of their light, they could see it. A statue that was partially in the water. Nathan had Ichtvar exit his pack and take the lantern as he and Keith sent their familiars to bat the ocean aside, clearing the space around the statue as they both began to strip naked to avoid soaking their clothes and getting them dirty with the sediment on the seabed. "You two are going in the water?" Evala asked. Rather than answering, the two naked men began walking into the water, ignoring its chill as they approached the statue, which the elements were focusing on keeping clear of water. The phoenix himself joined them, hovering above the quartet to give them light, leaving Evala at the edges of it. The catkin, rather than helping, summoned an orb of light to push the darkness away from her. She would prefer to use the mage''s staff for holy light since he left it behind, but knew that the System might register that as stealing. "Jeez, this thing is big," Keith said. "Yeah," Nathan nodded, kneeling down in the wet sand, brushing at the edge of the statue, where it had sunk beneath the surface. The statue itself was made of the same dark gray stone as the stands for them, and would take up a little more than half of its space in the seated position it held. The parts they could see were the head and most of its torso. Shaped like a lion with ram''s horns on its head and a pair of wings tucked against its back, the beast statue sat in the seabed in an actual sitting position, carved in a way like a cat or dog would sit. "There''s no good way to lift this," Nathan shook his head. "I won''t be able to get purchase on this sand. Wind?" "I can alleviate some of its weight with my wind," Keith nodded. "I''ve never tried lifted something so heavy before, though." "Force?" Nathan asked hopefully. "No," Keith shook his head. "I don''t know the proper force spell for this. Would you be willing to put more Points into-" "That''s not the issue," Nathan shook his head. "I could probably lift it by myself if it weren''t so large. Weight is only a part of the factor. Size affects it as well. Then there''s the fact that we''re standing on at least six inches of sand and it''s sunk probably a foot or more into the ground. All of that makes it more difficult. I won''t be able to get purchase on the ground, my feet will just keep slipping and shifting under the weight." "What should we do?" Keith asked. "If a certain catkin wasn''t terrified of drowning," Nathan gave Evala a pointed glare. "We could get her over here to help us. Though we''d still have the issue of purchase and it being sunk into the ground." "So?" Keith asked. "Stay here," Nathan told him, then went back to shore and began digging through his backpack. "I can''t help it," Evala told him. "Especially after having to do that Trial where we-" "Shut it," Nathan glared at her before finding what he was looking for. He pulled out two of the cards from the deck he''d located, then activated them and pulled out the pair of shovels he''d stored within. With the shovels out, Nathan returned to Keith, handing one to his comrade.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The pair began digging, careful not to bump the statue with their shovels. They were confident they wouldn''t damage it, but neither wanted to take that risk. As soon as they cleared a full foot around the statue, save for an inch or two directly against it, Keith used his wind magic to push the remaining sand and sediment away. The statue was sunk a little more than a foot and a half down, but they''d cleared out enough that it wouldn''t be an issue. With that settled, they began to sort out the logistics of actually moving the statue. Even if they''d cleaned out a small section, they still had to walk eight feet to the platform it was supposed to go onto. In the end, the familiars came up with a plan without conversing with their contractors. Since Nathan and Keith couldn''t come up with something viable, they decided to go with it. "Are you sure you can handle that?" Nathan asked the mage. "You know it''s not within my abilities." "Yeah," Keith nodded, then a barrier began to form around the two of them and the statue. It expanded out, and the elementals soared up to avoid being touched by it. The barrier itself gently scraped across the seabed as it held the water at bay, then the two elementals moved to the statue, doing their best to lift it as Nathan stabbed one shovel into the seabed and threw the other to shore. As they were creatures of pure elements, even they had their limits for what they could do, but by digging underneath the statue, the pair of them were able to begin to lift it up, keeping hold of its feet and the tail wrapped around them as Nathan placed a hand on the wobbling statue to help stabilize it. Ichtvar, as he had been, continued to hold the lantern. The quintent moved slowly, Keith doing his best to slowly allow the water back in by decreasing the height of his barrier. It would hinder him and Nathan walking, but also free him up to help with the statue. As soon as he felt comfortable with the water level, Keith released his barriers, allowing the last foot or so to fill back in suddenly. The elementals had lifted the statue above the surface already, so as soon as his barrier ended, Keith joined Nathan in helping stabilize it as they moved, using a barrier on his side. Due to the weight of the statue, the sandy ground beneath them, and the water they were walking through, it took them several minutes to reach the stone stand for the statue, which they slide onto it¡­ Only to jump back as it came to life the moment it was fully on. Keith backpedaled as fast as he could in the water as Nathan took a fighting stance, the elementals each becoming a spear in form. The beast stretched for a moment, then circled around its stand before resuming its seated position directly in the center of it, its wings stretched out to the sides as it looked out to sea, becoming still once more. "At least we know we don''t have to put them exactly in the center," Nathan commented, and Keith snorted. "Of course your mind went there," Keith said. "It''s true, though," Nathan gestured to the statue. "And at least we know that they''ll do this again. And why they aren''t on their pedestals." "You think they walked themselves off?" Keith asked. Nathan looked out to sea, then walked over to where they had found the statue. "Breezy, Splashy," he said. "Push the water aside." They obeyed, Ichtvar hovering above to give them light with the lantern, and Nathan had Keith switch to his barrier for more consistency. As soon as the space was clear, Nathan grabbed the shovel he''d left behind and moved to the edge of the excavated area furthest to sea and knelt down. "Hm," he shook his head and threw the shovel back to shore, then focused, drawing on the Mana within him. Carefully, Nathan used force magic to move the sand and sediment that had washed back into that edge, carefully looking for what he''d noticed when the statue was lifted up. Finding it, he began to clear the area around it, making sure to not damage it with his force magic as he wished he had a small brush. Keith continued to increase the diameter and height of his barrier to push the water away more as Nathan continued to excavate his evidence. By the time he finished, it took both Ichtvar''s flames, Breezy holding the lantern, and the heavenly storm elemental to illuminate the full sixty-foot length of the thing that had been in front of the statue. The skeleton of a long, serpent-like creature that had looped around several times. If Keith had to guess, it was over three hundred feet in actual length, with a pair of legs every five feet past the pair of heads. Nathan had spotted the tip of its skull when the statue had moved, before sediment covered it again when the water filled back in. In several places, bones were cracked, but other than that, it was mostly intact. "The statue," Keith said. "Killed this?" "Possibly," Nathan nodded. "There were probably others that fought it, too, then wandered off to fight other threats while this one went inactive. Or once it was weakened enough, they wandered off to deal with other threats, and this one either won just in time to go inactive, or went inactive, but the beast was already doomed." "What is it?" Evala called out as Nathan and Keith began to walk back along its length. "Come out here and find out!" Nathan called back with an irritated glare. "I can''t exactly hold this barrier up much longer," Keith told him. "I know you worked quickly, and had a little help from the familiars, but I''m drained mentally and almost completely with mana." "She''s actually braving the water," Nathan commented, and Keith looked over to find Evala tentatively walking over to them. "Just a few more minutes." "Oh, my gods," Evala gasped when she saw the beast. "Is this-" "A monster?" Keith asked. "Yes. Not sure what, exactly, since it''s got, well, legs. Ichtvar said sea serpents don''t." The familiars pulled back in close, and Keith released his barrier, warning the others to prepare for the waves to crash against them. Evala created a barrier on one side of them to help decrease the pressure, then the group returned to the beach. "Now that we''re done digging up bones," Evala said as Nathan crouched down, opening up the oysters he''d collected as they worked, held by his wind elemental for safekeeping. "And¡­ whatever those are, can we get to working on the quests? I''d rather not be here any longer than necessary, this place gives me the creeps." "No," Keith said. "We need to warm up, first. Nathan, did you just break that open?" "It''s already dead," the warrior commented as he pulled out the green pearl. "Look, pearls." "You know we can''t take them out of the game with us," Keith said. "I know," Nathan responded. "I want to see if we can take them between Challenges. Do you know, Evala?" "I don''t know," she answered. "I''ve never tried taking stuff from Dungeons out of them before, that would be ridiculous." Nathan shrugged, then continued pulling out the pearls as Ichtvar taught Keith how to create a magical flame that would continue to burn until the mana poured into its creation ran out. "That way," Ichtvar told him. "You don''t have to keep using the wood you and Nathan put into the cards. I''m not sure how much he did, but this will probably help." "It does," Keith nodded. "And it''ll help us warm back up faster, too." "Want to know what else will?" Nathan asked as Keith set the flame to burning with most of what mana he had. "I''m guessing sex?" Keith asked. "You know that it''s somewhat disrespectful to have sex on an island that''s probably a graveyard, right?" "Beaches are fair game," Nathan set out a blanket. "The beach isn''t a graveyard, so it''s safe." Evala opened her mouth, but whatever she intended on saying, neither of the men found out, as Nathan grabbed her and pushed her onto all fours on the blanket, his hands quickly groping her breasts and massaging them as he rubbed his erection against her ass. The catkin moaned in pleasure, and Nathan slid his hands from her breasts down her torso, using one to finger her and the other to play with her tail, wrapping it around his waist before pushing himself into her. "Oooh!" Evala moaned, only vaguely aware of something else penetrating her ass as the other demigod''s hands moved back to her breasts. "More-unnh-eek!" Evala squealed as Nathan pinched her nipples while simultaneously ramming in as hard as he could, before returning to his previous rhythm, and Keith turned his back to them while asking the wind elemental to cover his ears so he couldn''t hear it as he warmed up. When he sensed the catkin drawing close to her orgasm, Nathan quickly pulled out, and Evala felt whatever he had put in her ass pull out with the movement as well. She barely had a moment to realize that he had shoved her tail in there before Nathan flipped her onto her back and knelt over her. "Nathan-" she moaned, cutting off as his mouth met her right nipple. "Unnh!" Nathan drank her nectar, sucking until no more came out, then switched to her other breast and did the same. Finished, Nathan pushed himself back into her, and Evala wrapped her legs around his back as he pressed his body against hers, moving only his hips to thrust in and up, drawing out even greater moans of pleasures from the catkin. Evala climaxed, arching her back and pressing against him even more, then her legs went slack and slid off of Nathan as he continued to thrust into her. His speed picked up, and Nathan lifted his body up a little, his breathing quickening as Evala began to grunt from the force of his thrusts. When he finally climaxed, Nathan pulled off of Evala and lay next to her on the blanket, closing his eyes. Moments later, he seemed to be asleep to the catkin, who rested for a few minutes as she basked in the feeling. Her Endurance was high enough that he hadn''t hurt her, and he hadn''t worked her like he had back at the Trial, so she wasn''t as sore. When she thought about the three times they had sex, though, one thing stood out to her in each. "Keith," Evala said, and the human mage gave her a glance, before quickly looking away. "Nathan didn''t seem to actually enjoy that," she said. "What do you mean?" Keith asked. "He doesn''t grunt or moan very much," she said. "And his face is always pretty neutral, or he just has an intense look of concentration or focus. And he won''t meet my gaze, either." "Oh, trust me," Keith snorted. "Nathan was enjoying it. Honestly? He was probably picturing you as his girlfriend. Nathan isn''t that noisy, if you hadn''t noticed, though I think he might get so with his girlfriend at times? I''m not sure. As for averting his gaze, you aren''t his girlfriend, and he probably considers meeting gazes for too long during sex to be something between more intimate people. With people who have a deeper relationship than you two." "How can you tell he was enjoying it?" She asked. "He let you climax first." "What do you mean?" She asked. "He just takes awhile to-" "Uh, no," Keith snorted. "Nathan chooses when he climaxes, though the more he delays, the worse the need to gets. The way you were moaning and shifting around, I could tell without looking that you''d climaxed. Unless your moans get even louder and you squirm around for half a minute just normally at a random point almost forty minutes in." Keith wasn''t going to mention that his psychic powers had grown enough for him to develop empathy, which let him sense the mental state of those around him. He could tell when they each orgasmed because he hadn''t figured out how to shut off that passive ability yet. "I don''t think people choose when they climax." "Oh, Nathan can," Ichtvar stuck his head out of the backpack. "His dad''s a sex god, and that gives him certain advantages, like being able to choose when he climaxes during sex, bigger loads, a bigger toy, the ability to sense someone else''s sexual state, the ability to delay his partner''s orgasm, the ability to guarantee or prevent pregnancy, and more." "Hey, Ichtvar," Keith looked at the phoenix. "If you knew this, then why didn''t you tell him so he could learn how to prevent pregnancies with that trait of his so he doesn''t have to worry about condoms? You know that''s one of the reasons he was holding off on doing something with Katie, even with as low as the odds of a demigod impregnating someone are." "His sexual frustration was alleviating my boredom." 00076 Keith and Evala shot upright, waking with a start, to the sound of a bird squawking and shrieking. When they looked over to the source, they found Nathan nonchalantly strangling Ichtvar. Keith could see the irritation in Nathan''s eyes, and assumed he''d found out about Ichtvar knowing the demigod could prevent pregnancies through his magic as an innate trait. Which meant that all Nathan needed to do was learn how to do so, and it would be easy to do it, no practice required. "Can you please strangle the phoenix while we''re in extended Survival Challenges?" Keith asked. "Okay," Nathan stopped strangling Ichtvar. "He''s surprisingly difficult to kill." "You were actually trying to kill him?" Evala asked in shock. "But his egg-and growth-and-" "Ichtvar''s gone well beyond the normal time between deaths," Keith told her. "He''d probably hatch within minutes, and he''d have all the power he has now. We wouldn''t really be hindered unless he died again anytime soon." "I don''t see Breezy ruffling your clothes," Evala frowned. "Did you send him off to do something?" A moment later, the island''s light enchantments reactivated. Not far out of the range of their vision on the beach were pedestals with light enchantments, as with on the previous islands. The platforms for the statues also each had a ring of light on the top of the sides. In addition to that, each of the mausoleums the trio could see on the island had light pedestals surrounding them, giving a clear view of them.
Isles of Darkness has been completed!
Your reward upon leaving the Isles of Darkness went up from 150% to 200%. There are four remaining Secondary Dungeons on this island.
"Uh¡­" "The talisman was in only three pieces," Nathan finished stuffing Ichtvar back into his pack and pulled it on. "So I had him put it back in its spot after I repaired it." It had taken him nearly an hour of arguing to convince his familiar to set off on its own, too. The wind elemental didn''t want to go around the island alone, and Nathan didn''t blame it. The aura of death and tragedy was immense. "Let''s go," Nathan began walking. "How are we going to find," Evala asked. "Phantoms and shades if the light destroys them? Wouldn''t it have killed pretty much all of them? It''s everywhere. Wait ¨C how does the light destroy the phantoms? I know shades are killed simply by coming into contact with holy light, but phantoms have to have the light pushed through them." "The light of this place is special," Keith explained as he and the catkin began following Nathan. "It can kill phantoms without being forced through. I''ve been trying to figure out the magic with my magic sight when we''re surrounded by it, but so far, I''m at a loss. If we could figure that out, we could enchant the lanterns for it as well. Unfortunately, the pedestals are enchanted too heavily for me to read, and the runes are really for show, as a ''source'' of the light. They aren''t the enchantment themselves." "Not all of the pedestals," Nathan said. "Are intact. In addition, if something is surrounding it, the light obviously can''t escape. If you use those catlike eyes of yours, you''d notice a dark spot." While Nathan was appreciative of Evala saving his life, he was starting to believe she wouldn''t have been the Overseers'' first pick if she hadn''t had her brother''s journal. He believed that she may have only barely been making it through by acting as a supporter for others, using extended Survival Challenges and team kills to acquire her Levels. Despite the fact that he understood their cultures had major differences and that he should have said something, he was still upset by her ''requirement''. Then there was the fact that instead of facing her fear, she left Keith and him to deal with the statue. She wasn''t observant, either. Truthfully, that alone made him wonder how she''d survived for several years of real-world time with the game. It was a bunch of "little" things, but Nathan was confident in his conclusion about her. That meant he needed to be even more observant with his surroundings, because her own mistakes, even if minor, could be problematic for them. The mausoleums were spaced forty feet apart with the pedestals lined up halfway between them, as if separating the walking paths. The mausoleums themselves were large buildings, thirty feet in height and twenty in width, with columns at the front and gargoyles on the top. There was a gargoyle on each corner, facing out from them, and then four between each pair of corners, facing the path on that side of the building. The paths themselves were cobblestone, slightly uneven, but easy to walk on. A few times, they passed by some of the statues they had to return to their stands, all of which were identical to the one they had already moved. One had its wings broken off, while another had its right horn broken in half. Two were sitting facing each other, as if in an eternal staring contest. They put returning the statues to their places on hold for the time being, as they wanted to examine the island first and deal with the dark spots. It went unsaid that Nathan and Keith also wanted to get rid of Evala before dealing with the statues, as they knew they would find themselves constantly frustrated with her while moving them back. After an hour of walking, the players reached the dark zone Nathan and Keith had spotted, a space surrounded by a wall of webbing. It stretched between the mausoleums, and the front of the blocked-off space spanned twenty mausoleums, creating a large home for the spiders. They could make out in small gaps that the pedestals of light had been covered up as well, all with webbing. "The darkness isn''t in there," Nathan told Keith. "How can you tell?" Evala squinted as she looked in. "It''s dark." "So it probably needs at least some path to get in," Keith nodded, looking up. "The light from the surrounding areas is enough to affect the sky above this zone. Do you think the spider or spiders did this before the talisman was removed, then? Otherwise, why intentionally wrap up the pedestals and the runes on the buildings?" "Most likely," Nathan nodded. "There might be darkness in the middle of this zone." "There''s darkness filling it," Evala butted in. "We''re talking about the world''s darkness, not natural darkness," Nathan told her. "Do you think it''s another Dungeon?" Keith asked. "Probably," Nathan answered. "The Overseers likely want this cleaned up."Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. "Why do you think there''s no darkness in there?" Evala squinted into the zone, trying to figure out the difference between the darkness she saw and the suppressing darkness of the Dungeon. "Sword or flame?" Keith asked. Nathan swiftly drew his sword and cut open a doorway into the dark zone. He knew that if the spiders and their webs were like the ones Keith had fought on their first island, the webbing would start to repair itself quickly. Waiting a moment, he nodded, watching as the webbing quickly repaired itself. "¡­you were checking to see if that happened, weren''t you?" Keith asked. "Yes," Nathan answered. "Burn this up." Keith nodded, then took a deep breath, pulling on his power. He found it surprisingly easy to use fire magics without fear, he realized. Overcoming that one obstacle of never using it out of fear seemed to work for him, and he knew Nathan had figured that out already. The warrior wouldn''t have made such a simple comment if he thought Keith was still scared to use fire magics. Weaving together his spell, Keith held out his hands and unleashed his fires, letting them burn through the webbing as Nathan watched. The mage was confident the warrior would look out for any danger as he focused on incinerating the webbing to create a large hole. Keith could feel the webbing draining his spell''s mana as it tried to repair itself, so he poured more mana into the flames to make that work slower. Once he''d burned up half of the wall of webbing, he canceled his spell, then looked at Nathan, who was standing in front of a spider that had been sliced in half. "Why did it jump at me instead of attacking with its webbing?" The warrior asked in confusion. "Didn''t you say the one you fought used intelligence?" "Well, yeah," Keith responded. "But the one I fought had also probably fought players before. These ones might have never done that, only dealt with each other and whatever ended up in their home." Nathan grunted in annoyance, then led the way in, Keith quickly moving to the next pedestal to burn away the webbing around it while ignoring the Dungeon notification. As he did, Nathan and Evala fought a duo of spiders that attacked them, likely drawn by the destruction of the webs and the appearance of intruders. Those spiders kept their distance, and any time Nathan or Evala drew close, they backed up. Frustrated by that, Nathan pulled out a gun and shot them. He''d already killed the first one with ease, so it was unlikely he would earn Experience, anyway. "So that is what a normal gun does?" Evala asked, and Nathan glanced at her. "I only saw you use the enchanted gun." "Yes," he said. "This is a normal gun." He turned his gaze away from her and to the message in his vision as Keith finished clearing the webbing off of the pedestal, whose light began to fill the area even as the light from outside began to dim, the wall repairing itself now that it was no longer actively being burned.
Dungeon Entered: Spider''s Nest
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Advanced
Kill the spider matriarch. You may take as long as needed.
"We have to kill the matriarch, but not the rest?" Evala asked. "What kind of Dungeon is that?" "The kind where the matriarch will probably seek us out," Keith answered. "We''ll probably be instructed to kill the rest once she''s dead, then to clear away the webbing. Until the spider that made it is dead, the webbing will continue to repair itself." "The webbing on the light pedestal didn''t," she gestured to it. "That," Keith indicated the base. "Is because the webbing there was only on it. There''s none connecting to it. So as soon as I burned it all away, there was none left to start the magical repair from. Nathan! Are you seriously eating chocolate right now?" "Ichtvar''s making me hungry." Keith sighed, shaking his head in disbelief as he looked around. The light from the pedestal extended forty feet out by itself, which told him and Nathan that they were spaced closer together intentionally for overlap. In case one went out, so that the space would continue to have the light. "Let''s just clean up the pillars," Nathan told Keith. "We''ll be attacked by spiders until the matriarch comes." Keith nodded, then got to work on the next one, with Nathan shooting down the spider that came to investigate. "That''s really unfair," Evala commented. "You''re taking all the Points for this." "If all you care about are Points," Nathan told her. "Then feel free to do an extended Survival Challenge, Evala. That''s how you build up your Points. Not while in a fucking Dungeon. In a Dungeon, you do what it takes to complete it. If that means sacrificing Points and Experience, then so be it." Nathan aimed his gun and fired, killing another spider. "Understood?" "That''s easy for you to say," she said. "You earn Points easily. I''m sure you have plenty of them to do with what you want." "Oh, I do," he told her. "Trust me on that. Because I used extended Survival Challenges to build them up. But even if I hadn''t, I wouldn''t be here, going ''I need more Points, let me kill everything so the bitch can''t get any''. I''d make sure Keith got some, too. But we aren''t here for Experience, we aren''t here for Points. Those are only bonuses, and only when we know we''ll manage it without too much hassle. "We''re here for the Dungeon and its mission," he continued. "We''ll get a reward when we complete it, and that''s all we need to focus on obtaining unless the Dungeon tells us to obtain something. Keith and I go for Experience in here, yes, but we''ll switch from that when necessary. Which is why I pulled out my fucking gun." He shot another spider. "A Dungeon is challenging, yes," he said. "And it''s even a good place to get Experience and Points. But it''s not intended on being the main source of them, or we wouldn''t be able to create custom Challenges and do extended Survival Challenges so freely. The Dungeons are here to get shit done. "So get off the horse of yours," he told her. "Be a good little catkin, and just shut the hell up and let the actual players do the work. I don''t have a doubt in my mind you''d have died against one of the two demibosses we''ve fought so far." "Excuse me?" She asked as Nathan shot another spider, moving forward with Keith, who was moving on to the next pedestal of light. "What makes you-" "Your fighting skills are subpar," he interrupted her. "You''re focused on healing magics, not combat. I''ve seen you fight multiple times already, and I have nearly died against both of those demibosses I''ve fought, myself. "The first was a wolf that slipped in and out of any shadow with a hide so tough, I might as well have been hugging a stuffed bear every time I hit it. I broke two of the System-generated weapons against it. I had to draw on Ichtvar''s flames to kill it, and still nearly died. "The second," he continued. "Was the reason that you came into here, don''t forget. I nearly died against it because it was simply that powerful. Its attacks punched through my Health like it was nothing. It tricked Keith into thinking it was me and I was it, convincing him to attack me instead. I blew it up, and the thing dared to heal from that in seconds. That was an attack that took out pretty much all of its Health and burned away most of its body, if you don''t know what it means to blow something up. Imagine Keith''s flames, but bigger, stronger, compressed, and then being released, its containment no longer there. A mixture of force and heat so strong, it can destroy buildings. Had I used that attack on Keith or myself, without a barrier up, we would have died, even from full Health. "So yeah," Nathan growled. "You''re useless against the actual demibosses of this place. What you care about is getting more Points, even in a Dungeon, a place not meant for that. The only things you''re good for here are healing and a nice fuck, Evala. Keith and I figured out how it is you got so far in the game. You played off of others. The only reason I didn''t abandon you was because Keith talked me out of that. "Now," he glared. "If you don''t mind, there''s a giant fucking spider we need to kill." Evala looked at the end of the path, where a spider twenty feet in height was standing. "And it''s resisting my fucking bullets!" Nathan emptied the rest of his magazine at the spider. Keith sighed as Nathan drew his sword, and the enchanter pulled a gun from Nathan''s hip, aiming it at the spider matriarch and firing off three shots. The magic bullet gun drew on his mana, powered by his magical strength, and the trio of bullets pierced through the beast''s hide, killing it.
Spider matriarch slain.
Kill all remaining spiders in the nest.
"We are definitely going to work on improving this gun as soon as we can," Keith told Nathan, who snatched it back and returned it to its holster. "I think that counted as a situation requiring it, Nathan. Or would you rather deal with its webbing and possible venom?" "Fine," Nathan grumbled. "Let''s go kill the rest of these fuckers." 00077 "Please don''t," Keith rolled his eyes. "Stay here and make sure the spiders stay away from me while I burn away the webbing. Now that the Spider Matriarch is dead, it might be possible to burn it away without it restoring itself, which means it will go faster." "Why would it do that?" Evala asked. "Didn''t I already explain?" Keith asked. "It stops repairing itself when the maker dies. At least, the one I dealt with before here did." "I don''t trust her, so I''ll stay," Nathan muttered under his breath, then spoke up. "Evala, why don''t you go kill spiders, since you''re so Experience-happy and Points-happy? I''m sure you''ll manage to get something before Keith and I deal with the rest." Evala glared at Nathan, then stomped off, and Keith returned to burning away the webbing. "Was that a good idea?" He asked once he was sure Evala was out of earshot. "She''s the one who walked off on her own," Nathan shrugged. "Any actual player would know better than to do that. Are you sure I can''t shoot her?" "Yes," Keith rolled his eyes. "This webbing is still repairing, I guess the spider matriarch wasn''t the only one preparing this place. It''s possible it didn''t form until after the nest was made." Nathan nodded, then kept an eye out, occasionally shooting down a spider, switching his bullets to flame-enchanted ones for extra effectiveness. It took Keith around three minutes to clean off each pedestal of light, or two on the ones which didn''t repair themselves. When they reached the intersections between buildings, they were forced to either burn through a wall of webbing or turn down a specific direction. The first intersection, they could have also crawled under the wall, but neither of them wanted to do that, so they just turned down it. When they did, they noticed on the right side of the path a ''tree'' of webbing that stood around fifteen feet in height and four in width. "That''s not creepy at all," Keith said. "Let''s be careful," Nathan nodded. "Oh. Hey, Keith?" "Yeah?" Keith asked, realizing Nathan had his phone out, having looked up something while they were walking. The warrior held it up for Keith to read the text he''d found. Before, they had only looked up the information on Dungeons themselves. Having thought they had figured out everything regarding Scavenger Dungeons, they never went into the actual section itself. According to the phone, Scavenger Dungeons sometimes allowed players to work on multiple steps of it at a time. If that were the case, they could view all possible stages of the Scavenger Dungeon at once, through the Scavenger Dungeon Information Window. Both players pulled up that information as Nathan pocketed his phone, both of them annoyed that Evala hadn''t told them about it. Considering how long her world had been under the System and how long she herself had access, they knew she had to have known about it, and she knew they were new and hadn''t really been using the phones.
Spider''s Nest Scavenger Stages:
Kill all spiders Destroy all Web Trees
Clear all Illuminaters of webbing Remove most of the webbing
Destroy all spider eggs
"Considering the order on that," Keith said. "It looks like the Web Trees are important. And those are obviously anything like that." He gestured to the tree that they were cautious of doing anything to. "Yeah," Nathan nodded, then thought over something and nodded. "Want to go with plan ''Blaze Everything''?" "That''s not a real plan," Keith muttered, then sighed. "Sure, let''s just do that." Nathan nodded, then shrugged off his backpack and set it down, opening it up and pulling out the sleeping phoenix. He wasn''t sure why Keith didn''t like that plan name, since it seemed perfectly fine to him. "Ichtvar," he roughly shook the ancient magical creature awake. "We''re going with plan Blaze Everything." "Burn Everything," Keith said. "I don''t want to," Ichtvar grumbled. "You have the energy for it?" "Yes." "Then do it," Nathan said. "You can include-" "Don''t burn Evala," Keith rolled his eyes. "Get all of the webbing you can, as well as spider eggs. Spiders themselves are fair game as well." "You owe me-" "You''ll get a pound of chocolate," Nathan told the phoenix, then thought for a moment. "Plus another for how I woke you. We know you''re still recovering, but you have the ability to finish this Dungeon for us quickly." "Don''t burn the buildings," Keith told Ichtvar. "I know that phoenixes can control what their flames burn." "Yeah, yeah," the phoenix stretched out his wings, then flew off, flames swirling around him. He soared off towards the estimated center of the spider''s nest, and the pair of players waited. They only needed to wait a couple of minutes before flames burned away the webbing near them, rapidly pushing through the space they were in. They felt the warmth of the phoenix''s flames as it washed over them, then it was gone moments later, continuing to travel to the edge of the nest. "Huh," Nathan said. "I didn''t get any Points."
Notice (will be mass-released sometime after you leave the Dungeon):
Monsters killed solely by familiars will no longer grant Points.
"Well, we did abuse that," Keith snorted as they dismissed the messages. "I guess having familiars as powerful as ours is that rare they haven''t really had an issue before." "Or it''s happened enough with others," Nathan added. "That they decided to put a stop to this abuse after initiating more players with such creatures."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "Probably," Keith shrugged as Ichtvar, no longer burning, returned to Nathan, settling into his backpack and falling asleep. Nathan pulled on his backpack as they read the Dungeon Completion message, their reward having gone up to 250%. "So does Evala get a time buffer?" Nathan asked. "Or was she warped out immediately?" "Let''s find out," Keith said. "We stay here, she''ll probably find us if she''s still here." A minute later, Evala turned the corner and approached them, looking angry. "What was that?" She asked. "Us completing the Dungeon," Nathan answered. "Congratulations, you get to go home now while we''re stuck here for another four Dungeons. Then, you''ll get to farm all the Experience and Points you want while riding on the abilities of others. Good job. Out of curiosity, do you get a reward for helping out someone else in this situation? Or just the rewards from completing the Dungeon?" Evala glared at them, but under Nathan''s intense stare, she shrank back. "I receive an additional reward," she answers. "Dependent on my contribution to the Dungeons and survival of the players who were present." "Congrats," Nathan said. "You were useless from the start, but you''ll still get something, since you helped me survive." "Will you stop that?" Evala asked. "Not used to someone figuring it out and calling you out?" Nathan asked. "Did you ever wonder why your brother would go into a Dungeon alone, despite having a powerful healer as a sister? Isn''t that a little odd? The way you talked, it sounded like you were on good terms. Was that wrong? Shouldn''t it have been suspicious how he wouldn''t take you into Dungeons with him?" Evala''s glare returned, but Nathan knew he''d struck a chord with her. "How long before you''re forced out?" He asked. "I have fifteen minutes," she answered. "From the completion of the Dungeon. I can also manually leave." A moment later, she and her new staff disappeared. Nathan checked his Item Box. "Her notes are still here," he told Keith. "Though I''m sure she has the real copy with her still and these will disappear when we leave." "You went a little beyond, there," Keith told him. "That was kind of unnecessary." "Was I wrong?" Nathan asked. "No, but-" "Then why shouldn''t I have called her out?" "Most people would be considerate enough not to be an ass." "Me calling her out on the truth is me being an ass?" Nathan asked. "Yes." "Whatever," Nathan muttered. "I''m hungry, then let''s figure out how to deal with the rest of the phantoms and shades, if there are any other ''dark zones''." Keith sighed, then nodded, and the pair sat down and ate lunch. When they finished, they began wandering the island and talking, their conversation eventually returning to Evala. "We didn''t tell her everything," Keith commented. "No," Nathan agreed. "Even if the Overseers did put a lock on her so she can''t share what we revealed, it was still best if we didn''t. I know you have another theory or two about this place." "About the dimension?" Keith asked, and Nathan nodded. "It has to do with time, doesn''t it?" He asked. "Yes," Keith nodded. "I take it you do, too." "Yes," Nathan answered, looking up to the darkness above. "I know my academics aren''t that great, but¡­ is it really possible to desync just one portion of a dimension? Wouldn''t that cause issues?" "I was thinking that, too," Keith responded. "And have come to the conclusion that they aren''t unfreezing a specific portion so that players can act in it. Instead, every time a player enters this dimension for a Dungeon or Challenge, the entire dimension unfreezes. It''s not that there''s a cooldown on how long before a place can be frozen again, it''s that it''s constantly unfreezing and refreezing time for the dimension itself. That''s why things can change so much. "And then," he continued. "There''s something else. Is Icthvar awake? If not, wake him gently." Nathan grumbled under his breath, and a few moments later, the phoenix opened up a small hole in the zipper so that he could look at Keith, and Nathan turned so that the phoenix didn''t have his vision obstructed by the warrior''s back. "Ichtvar," Keith said as Nathan turned his head to look at the phoenix as best he could. "Do all dimensions in the mortal realm follow the same timeflow? In other words, is it one second to one second in all dimension?" "No," Ichtvar answered. "You said," Keith said. "That it would be two months before the festival. Is that true for her world or ours?" "Ours," Ichtvar answered. "I was too sleepy to realize my mistake¡­ or that she didn''t attempt to correct me. I suppose she figured we were talking about our own dimension." "Okay," Keith said. "So if an entire dimension is frozen in time, it won''t affect other dimensions?" "No," Ichtvar answered. "It would not. That is how they are able to support the freeze on this dimension." "About that," Keith explained his theory, and Ichtvar listened, nodding as he did. "What do you think?" "That is more plausible than what we thought before," Ichtvar answered, craning his neck in one direction. "Interesting. So are you two going to finish up these Dungeons on this island?" "Yes," Nathan frowned. "What was interesting?" "Nothing to worry about," Ichtvar answered, and Keith raised an eyebrow. "I promise, it''s nothing to worry about. It really isn''t anything important, just something interesting I sensed. It''s not like the dragon that''s on the central island." Nathan cleared his throat. "What?" Ichtvar asked. "Aren''t you two planning on leaving once your ten Dungeons are up? I didn''t think it was important to mention that. He seems content to be there and leave us alone. It''s not like any of you would survive, should he decide to attack. He''s at least as powerful as me, and he''s a dragon, an attacker. There''s a reason I laugh at the fact that anyone thinks a mere mortal could kill one. Sure, with the System, it''s probably possible, but in practice, without this crap? Definitely not." A message appeared in the teens'' visions.
The dragon is locked onto the central island and cannot leave. Unless you choose to undertake the Dungeons on that island, you will not face it.
Keith relayed that message to Ichtvar as he and Nathan pondered over why the Overseers chose to tell them that. "Could be an automated thing," Keith decided. "We became aware of the presence of a dragon, so the System sent us a notice informing us to not stress over it, as doing that could affect our performance in the Dungeon." "Makes sense," Nathan agreed. "Same here," Ichtvar yawned. "I''m tired, Nathan. Don''t bug me again until I wake up, would you?" "I''ll give you an extra pound of chocolate if you help us move all of the statues back into place." "Make it two, and you have a deal." "I''ll make it two." "Keith, if you''d mind?" Ichtvar asked, and the mage helped him out of the bag, the phoenix floating in the air as Keith zipped the bag back up. "So, how am I doing this?" "Same as the crates in an extended Survival Challenge," Nathan explained, pulling out a card and removing the rope from it. "We''ll tie this around the statues, then you grab the rope and fly them back to their spots. It''s a lot better than using the rest of us to move it, and probably faster." "Alright," Ichtvar said. "So how many statues are there?" "Probably five hundred or so." "I want to amend our deal." "You already agreed," Nathan walked over to another statue. "You get to work on this while Keith and I start looking for more phantoms and shades and places they can hide." Ichtvar groaned, but they got to work, Nathan and Keith setting the statues upright, then Nathan tying the rope around it and the phoenix taking it, then flying off. Then, the two players would continue to look for dark zones. They found none, though Keith reported that his familiar found several phantoms and shades hiding from time to time. Keith couldn''t get out of it where they were, but eventually, they received the notice that the related Dungeon had been completed. For several days, he, Nathan, and the two elementals would move statues onto pedestals, taking breaks to tie ropes around others so that Ichtvar could fly those ones to their spots. With the phoenix''s much faster rate of completion, they managed to finish in only a week, and when they did, Nathan collapsed to the ground, his phoenix already sleeping in his backpack. "Exhausted?" Keith asked. "Yeah," Nathan answered. "Ichtvar''s draining me, too, since he''s been working so much while still recovering. He is definitely not returning inside of me until after he finishes. I do not want to dream about being that slave again. I am not a masochist." "I''ll make dinner," Keith snorted. "You just rest up." "Yeah," Nathan''s eyes drifted closed, and he was asleep within moments. 00078 "Keith," Nathan said, and the mage looked over to the warrior as the latter sat up. "Would you mind if we waited a few more days before trying to enter the final Dungeon this island?" "For Icthvar?" Keith asked, and Nathan nodded. "That probably would be for the best. We can do some enchanting while we wait." Nathan pulled out food and began eating, glad Keith was willing to delay how long they were in the Dungeon. Even though they could see the suppressing darkness far above, it wasn''t as depressing or disturbing as when it surrounded them from a much closer distance. The warrior wanted to wait until Ichtvar had recovered fully, so that his familiar stopped drawing on his power and was in peak condition if something happened, especially after the catkin healer was gone. They only needed to complete two more Dungeons, and they would be done with the Isles of Darkness. Unless, of course, they chose to journey further. So for the next few days, Nathan and Keith trained in both magic and body, enchanted, explored the island, and rested until Ichtvar stretched his wings and flew into the air, performing two brief circles around the elementals before promptly dive-bombing Nathan, who swatted the bird into Keith. "What was that for?" The mage and the phoenix asked at the same time. "Why were you dive-bombing me?" Nathan asked Ichtvar. "Gimme chocolate!" "You''re such a child," Nathan pulled out a one-pound bar of chocolate and handed it to the phoenix, who began eating. "As soon as you finish with your snack, we''re looking for the last Dungeon this island." "What about the talisman?" Ichtvar asked. "Did you find the last piece or pieces of it?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "It''s completed and in my pack with the other two." "Okay," Ichtvar bit another chunk out of the bar of chocolate. "Do you two have any thoughts on where the last Dungeon for this island might be?" "Yes," Keith answered, gesturing to a nearby mausoleum. "If you notice, this one is different from the others. It''s only a slight difference in the design, but it''s enough to stand out when all the others are identical. There are eight of these on the island, with four being close to the Altar of Light, the other four being at the cardinal points of the island. We believe that one of them may be the entrance to the last remaining Dungeon for the island." Ichtvar nodded and finished eating his chocolate, then joined the two players as they approached the mausoleum. Nathan pushed open the doors, revealing a room illuminated by four braziers with nothing but stairs leading down. When he entered, a message appeared in his vision.
Dungeon Entered: Catacombs
Challenge Type: Slaughter
Difficulty: Advanced
Kill all of the monsters in the catacombs.
"They''re probably spiders," Keith sighed as he joined Nathan, their familiars joining them. "Probably," Nathan said. "Guns or no?" "They''re catacombs," Keith shook his head. "Let''s try to win without, for the Experience. If it takes too long, then pull out your guns. Since it''s a Slaughter and not a Scavenger Hunt, there probably isn''t a boss." Nathan nodded, then descended the stairs, the rest following. The catacombs themselves were built of the same gray stone as the mausoleums above, with slots in the walls for the stone sarcophagi. Sconces were set six feet up the walls and spaced every five feet to provide light. The tunnels themselves were only ten feet in height, and around eight in width. "I changed my mind," Nathan stepped behind Keith. "Your flames might be better than my fists." Keith laughed, but he knew why Nathan decided that. The opponents did seem to be spiders, as there was webbing filling most of the tunnel starting only fifteen feet down. As Keith worked on burning away the webbing and killing any spiders that drew too near with his air slashes, Nathan examined the enchantments in the walls, sconces, and sarcophagi with his magic sight, comparing some of them with the notes Ichtvar had made for him in his book on enchanting, as well as some of what Evala''s brother had researched. "Hey, Keith," Nathan said after an hour of their journey through the tunnels. "I think these sarcophagi are enchanted to prevent shades and phantoms. Ichtvar and Splashy agree with me." "That''s nice," Keith responded. "Please help me, I''m facing five spiders right now." Nathan turned and lunged towards the nearest spider, sidestepping the webbing it shot at him as he punched. When his fist connected, he released a burst of force magic, throwing the spider back as a Points notification popped up. "I wanted to punch it twice," the warrior looked disappointed, causing Keith to laugh. Nathan lunged forward and punched another spider, then jumped back to avoid Keith''s flames as the mage attacked the remaining spiders and their webs. The pair spent hours beneath the island, cleaning out the catacombs of the spiders that had made them their home, and by the time they finished, both were tired of the repetitive activity and just plain exhausted.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "Look at this," Nathan told Keith as he held out the notebook from Evala''s brother. "Why?" Keith asked. "It''s just the first page, Nathan." "Examine it with your magical sight," Nathan told him. "I didn''t keep turning it off while looking at the enchantments down here and noticed something." Keith frowned, but did as Nathan suggested, realizing immediately why. Evala''s brother didn''t just write on it with normal ink, but something that left traces of magic as well, leaving behind a completely different journal when viewed that way. "Let''s go back up to the surface," Keith sent the notebook into his Item Box. The group made their way back to the surface, then down to the beach and followed it until the found the boat on the southwestern shore. There, they chose to make camp to rest up and recover from the tunnels. "We have nine completed Dungeons," Keith said as they ate jerky sticks Nathan procured from one of his cards. "So the question is whether or not we want to keep going after we complete the Isles of Darkness Dungeon for the next island and whatever other Dungeons we end up in while trying that." Nathan laid down instead of answering, sighing. While he knew it was a better idea to leave as soon as they could, he wanted to push through. He was confident that the longer they were on the Isles of Darkness, the greater the chances were of them discovering something crucial about the System and its makers. However, he had nearly died twice already, there was confirmation of one member of the Ultimate Trinity being in the area, and a high likelihood of another. There was also the fact that he wanted to return to Samantha as soon as possible. He wouldn''t admit it, but after opening up to her in the Tutorial and being with her as her boyfriend, Nathan missed being around her. Reluctantly, he admitted to himself that he would probably miss being around Keith, William, and Michael, too. Despite preferring to be alone, he had grown attached to them. Sure, William and Michael were more of ''there'' than people he''d like to be close to in any way, but they had proven themselves useful in the Tutorial, and he had developed a sense of companionship with them during the two sets of extended Survival Challenges while helping Samantha get through her pregnancy safely. Nathan wished he had what he wanted already. A way to destroy the System and prevent his son from ever being initiated into it. A way to protect Samantha from its evils and the risk of dying she''ll face in Challenges. While they could control Dungeons and Challenges, they could not control Mandatory Challenges. To complete that goal of his, he needed to understand the System better, figure out how it worked, and then come up with a way to erase it from existence. There were too many questions still needing answering, though. How did it work? How was it powered? Who were the Overseers? Why did they enslave countless dimensions to fix issues with the one the Dungeons were in? How was it run? How could they create such a thing as the System? What gave them the thought that it was right to control someone''s life in such a way? How was the System put into people and monsters? Why did it seem to only selectively affect things? What would it take to destroy it? Nathan lifted his head up, then let it slam down into the sand, and he grunted in annoyance as some fell into his ears and landed on his eyes. He lifted up a hand and rubbed his eyes until the sand that had gotten in them was gone. That was another thing that bothered him about the System. Why was Health so inconsistent? "Let''s decide after finishing what we have to on the other island," Nathan told Keith. "We can delay needing to choose by not putting the talisman in right away." "Are you sure?" Keith asked. "I can''t decide right now," Nathan sat up. "And it will give Ichtvar, Splashy, and Breezy more time to assess the dimension itself. There has to be a clue in the blocks that tell how everything is done. At the same time, I want to just return back to home, take Samantha, and hug her. I''ve never felt like this before." Well, maybe he would admit it. But only to Keith. "The Well of Souls might have affected your emotional state," Keith smiled. "But it didn''t affect all of it, only parts. Your distance from people for years affected it, too. That''s because you''re in love, Nathan." "I know," Nathan rolled his eyes, flicking sand at Keith as he sat up, and the mage stopped it with a brief barrier. "It feels strange, regardless." "Yeah," Keith said. "Well, two months ago, you were basically a caveman, so that''s progress." Nathan threw more sand at Keith, who stopped the sand with another barrier. "Don''t worry," Keith assured Nathan. "This feeling of not wanting to be away from your lover or lovers will fade with time, even if the love itself doesn''t. It''s because it''s new." "Samantha and I have technically been dating for nearly a year." "And?" Keith asked. "Just roll with it, Nathan. Back to before, though ¨C you want to wait until after we finish whatever we need to do before we leave to decide?" "Yeah," Nathan answered. "I''m hesitant to go into the extended Survival Challenges right now. I miss Samantha. It feels like it will be boring to just-" Nathan cut off and stared at Keith. "What?" Keith asked. "We''re making a scrying orb," he said. "So that I can look at Cyrus once he''s born while we''re in the game." "Yeah," Keith said. "Don''t you have the ability to see what awaits us?" Nathan asked. "On the other islands? Why haven''t you been using that?" "Because we''re literally surrounded by a suppressing darkness," Keith answered. "I doubt I''d actually see anything." "Can you give it a try?" Nathan asked. Keith sighed, then opened up his pack and pulled out the card with his scrying orb in it. After retrieving the crystal, he focused his power, his violet eyes beginning to glow. For nearly ten minutes, the psychic looked through his orb, and when he finished, the glow in his eyes faded back to normal and he looked at Nathan. "The next island," he says. "Has just the fragments scattered about, and a small collection of stone buildings with more of those night wolves in them. It will be rather easy. Another island is pretty plain, I doubt there are any Secondary Dungeons on it. Another has another group of sirens, plus a den of wolves, as well as stone buildings all throughout. The last one ¨C other than the central island ¨C is full of stone buildings as well. I saw another siren''s lair, two different dens of wolves, more statues, a spider''s lair, and that''s it for what I could perceive as possibly being Challenges. "And yes," Keith continued as Nathan opened his mouth to ask something. "I looked at the central island. There''s one dragon there, and based on what I know of dragons, I''d say it''s around three, maybe four centuries in age. That island doesn''t have its own Altar of Light, but it does have seven of them scattered across it. I''m not sure what else could work for Dungeons there, so it''s probably just those two things." "Two more Siren''s Lairs," Nathan said. "Three dens of wolves, a Spider''s Lair, and Land of Moving Statues. Is that our estimate for the other islands?" "Yes," Keith nodded. "All in all, it would probably just be time-consuming for us. The spiders are easy for you and I to handle without bothering with having our familiars act. For the wolves, we can figure out how we''ll fare against them when we handle the ones on the next island." "So the only uncertainty before that," Nathan said. "Would be the Siren''s Lairs." "Correct," Keith said. "And anything I might have missed in my searches. It was dark." "Let''s decide after the next island," Nathan said. "I want to sleep." 00079 "So are we attack the night wolves?" Nathan asked, hand on the hilt of his sword. "Yes," Keith answered as he stepped off the boat. "We''re going to attack the night wolves." "Good." Keith snorted at little at Nathan''s response. He knew the warrior wanted to fight them because of what happened on the first island. With his stats increased after that incident, Nathan was unlikely to suffer again the way he had then, and that was before including his new weapon. Both players were confident that it could cut into the night wolves easily. "Can you ask your wind elemental to hunt talisman fragments while we''re in there?" Keith asked. A moment later, the ruffling of Nathan''s shirt and tie disappeared. "He''s doing it," Nathan told Keith. "I figured," Keith responded, his eyes beginning to glow. "The buildings are this way." The teens and their familiars, minus a wind elemental, began making their way in the direction of the buildings, keeping an eye out for any potential danger. They were already able to confirm a definite difference in the radius their light could affect, as its range was around twenty-four feet, after the previous island''s Altar of Light was turned on. Because of that, their range of observation was larger, even if only marginally when compared to the vastness of the space they were in. An hour into their walk, they were alerted to the presence of a night wolf, which charged into their ring of observation as Keith jumped to the side. Nathan whistled at the wolf, which charged him, and the warrior stepped to the side, drawing his sword and cutting at the beast''s hide, confirming that his new weapon was far more effective against it, even if only marginally as it skimmed off some of the beast''s Health. As the wolf lunged back to the shadows on the other side, Keith assaulted it with blades of light and Nathan jumped forward, stabbing at the wolf''s hindquarters and taking off another amount of Health. They waited, tracking the wolf, and repeated their attacks when it came at them again. The third time it entered the clearing, it leaped into the air, aiming at Keith. With a burst of speed, Nathan reached where Keith was and shoved the mage out of the way while slashing his sword up, connecting with the night wolf''s maw. The wolf snarled at Nathan, before scrambling back, too late to avoid the slashes of light Keith sent its way. "I''m the one with Endurance here," Nathan told the wolf. "So I am the one you''re going to attack. Got that, doggy?" The wolf snarled, before taking several steps back. Instead of allowing it to retreat or lunge, whatever it was going to do, Nathan lunged forward. The wolf jumped to the side of him opposite of Keith. Due to the need to move forward with that jump, the wolf moved into the path of another slash of light, tumbling from the extra force contained with it. As the wolf returned to its feet, Nathan jumped forward and brought his sword down with all of his Strength, the attack removing a massive amount of Health from the wolf''s bar as it forced the wolf back to the ground. The wolf snarled, only to find Nathan kicking it in the ribs, lifting it into the air with more force than his kick alone should have. He hadn''t trained with pushing out force magic with just his fists. As the beast twisted to avoid being struck again, Nathan stepped forward and pivoted, cutting into the wolf''s side again before jumping to the side as a pair of light slashes passed by, striking into the wolf. "No more Health!" Nathan called as the wolf attempted to flee back into the shadows. "Oh, no you don''t!" He lunged forward, pushing out of his feet with force magic to accelerate his movement, and stabbed his blade into the night wolf, sinking deep into it. The creature howled in pain for a few moments, then went limp. Nathan nodded, then pulled his sword out and began cleaning the blade as he looked at Keith. "Was that force magic mixed with light?" The warrior asked. "They were actually striking it." "Yes," Keith nodded. "Light itself wouldn''t have done much alone to the wolf, but I suspected that if it struck the wolf instead of just, well, broken against it like light normally would, then maybe it would do some extra damage." "Good," Nathan said. "It worked. That one wasn''t an alpha, though, so we can''t know for sure." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "Think others will come because of this?" "If they do, it won''t matter," Nathan said. "They might be about to lose the shadows to hide in." "Breezy on his way back?" Keith asked. "On his way to the altar," Nathan responded. "He said that he found a complete talisman and is going to check if it''s this island''s or not." "Okay," Keith said. "Let''s keep walking." "Let''s," Nathan said. "I gained a Level." Keith gave Nathan a curious look. He knew the warrior wasn''t keen on revealing his Level to anyone, nor when he acquired any, so he found it interesting Nathan had shared that he had gone up a Level. Maybe he''ll start seeing people as friends soon, Keith thought to himself. And actually trust some of us. Only a few more minutes passed before the pair learned the answer to Breezy''s curiosity, the island filling with light from the Altar of Light and the Illuminaters that marked out paths. Nathan and Keith had yet to come across any due to the way they were walking, apart from the ones on the beach, and when the island lit up, they discovered its Illuminaters were different. At least, some of them. The ones lining the paths, which were fifteen feet in width, were the same as on the previous two islands. However, in the large plots of land between those paths, stood Illuminaters twenty feet in height and five in width, filling the plots with light. The plot the pair were walking on at the moment was more than a quarter of a mile on each side, with a larger Illuminater every two hundred feet. "What do you think this island was?" Keith asked. "Sparring arena," Nathan answered. "Paths were used for viewing the battles, big spaces for fights. They probably had to stay within the squares made by the Illuminaters." "That would be a lot of fights going on at once," Keith said. "And it was unlikely they''d have such narrow viewing spaces. What about the buildings? My scry of the island only showed one cluster." "Healing houses," Nathan nodded. "I think," Keith said. "These were farms, and those buildings might have been storehouses for crops and tools. The paths were for them to walk along or move wagons or whatever along, while the bigger plots were were the crops were grown. They used the larger Illuminaters for the fields to save space and make it easier to use tools. In addition, the regular ones probably weren''t big enough to grant light over some of the crops." "Why not use the bigger ones everywhere?" Nathan asked. "They were probably more expensive to make," Keith answered. "A lot more, considering they''re taller and their range is immense. Did you read the message?" "Yeah," Nathan turned his gaze back to the completion notice.
You have completed the Isles of Darkness Dungeon 4.
This is a multi-Dungeon Dungeon. You have completed 4 (four) Isles of Darkness Dungeons and 6 (six) Isles of Darkness Side Dungeons. Your total reward upon exit will be 450% (four hundred fifty percent). This will increase by 50% (fifty percent) for every additional Dungeon you complete in here. You will have 15 (fifteen) minutes to decide if you wish to leave or complete another Island''s Main Dungeon from when all players have dismissed this message. If you are completing another Dungeon on this island when the time limit is up, the decision will be delayed until completion of that Dungeon.
"Did you dismiss it yet?" Keith asked. "No," Nathan answered. "I figured," Keith said. "Notice that it didn''t specify that we needed to be conscious?"If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Yeah," Nathan said. "Probably because we both were. I''m not dismissing it yet." "We need to decide," Keith nodded. "If we''re going to another island before we trigger the timer. Should we do the wolves first?" "Yeah," Nathan nodded. "That one wolf, by itself, wasn''t enough to give us a good estimate." "Alright," Keith said. "You know how to ''set aside'' a message for later reading, right?" Nathan gave Keith a look that asked if the mage thought he was stupid. "Right," Keith muttered. "You experiment with everything. Come on." They made their way across the island, finding the collection of buildings near the northwestern edge. "This supports my theory," Keith said. "It''s both close to the central islands, which is where everyone probably lived, and to the island we still don''t know the purpose of, in addition to further away from raiders and such. That''s where you''d want your storage to be." "Right," Nathan pulled out a card. "Think the Overseers would be pissed if we blew up their buildings?" "I''m not sure, to be honest," Keith said. "Their main mission is probably to fix certain issues, like the monsters and the talismans. Stuff like the buildings might not be as important. Also, we don''t know if our bomb card could actually damage the buildings." Nathan shrugged. "If they don''t want us to use it," he said. "They better send us a message telling us not to." "You know that''s not how it works," Keith rolled his eyes and began walking once more, Nathan following. "They told us so themselves." Nathan shrugged. When the pair reached the cluster of ten buildings, Nathan charged up the Lesser Boom card, then threw it while calling out its name. The card spun through the air and entered into the empty doorway of one of them, then exploded. As flames and the shockwave traveled out, Keith created a barrier in front of them to avoid the debris that was also thrown about as a notification appeared in their visions.
Dungeon Entered: Lair of the Night Wolves
Challenge Type: Slaughter
Difficulty: Advanced
Kill all of the night wolves, including the alpha. You make take as long as needed.
"I didn''t get any Points for that," Nathan told Keith. "I guess bombs don''t count, either?" "Or you didn''t kill everything," Keith said. "Though nothing''s moving from there. Look out from there." Keith pointed and shot off a slash of light as Nathan drew his sword once more, a dozen night wolves charging at them. Due to the Illuminaters, they had no shadows to dive into, which hindered their abilities greatly. Nathan and Keith sent commands to their nearby familiars, which then traveled to the other buildings to deal with any other night wolves, to avoid the teens from needing to fight more than they already were. As Keith shot off slashes of light, Nathan jumped, leaped, twisted, and lunged among the wolves, slashing as he went. Rather than focusing on a single wolf, the pair continuously changed targets with the idea of keeping the wolves from being able to adjust to them. The players knew that in theory, it would take them longer to kill the wolves that way, along with more energy. However, they knew that in practice, it probably worked quicker, as focusing on one wolf would mean having to avoid the others. When they managed to reduce the wolves'' numbers down to half, Nathan hollered to Keith. "Do you have enough for your jumpy lightning?" "Yeah!" Keith called back. "Cast it!" Nathan called as he blocked a wolf''s bite with his sword, then kicked it in the chin. He twisted to the side, pushing the wolf into the one lunging at him as he did, then he punched the incoming one twice in the snout. As soon as he sensed Keith''s spell charged, he jumped up and back, landing behind the mage. "Tag, you''re it," Nathan tapped Keith on the back. Keith unleashed his lightning, killing one wolf while dazing the other five and removing most of the remaining Health on them. "I''ll back you up if needed," Nathan told Keith. "Get Experience if you can, I''ll handle the rest." Keith nodded, then focused on his light-imbued force slashes and barriers of wind to cut and stop the wolves. Twice, he manifested his whips of wind to grab and throw wolves into each other while ripping into their Health or flesh at the same time. Nathan watched as Keith finished off the rest of the wolves, then nodded as the completion notice appeared. "Why''d you decide to let me do that?" Keith asked. "We were doing good together, and that probably took me longer alone than it would have if you continued." "I hit Level 200," Nathan answered. "And I knew you could handle them on your own." "Ah," Keith said. "You''re sharing your Level?" "I trust you not to tell anyone," Nathan said, a hint of warning in his voice. "You and I need to have the same number of free Challenges to perform if we''re to keep going in and doing extended Survivals for research. You''ll need to hit Level 200 in the next extended one if you aren''t before we leave here so that we can stay even." "Ah," Keith said. "Going to share if you have new Skills available? And what they are?" "No." Keith snorted, then looked at their familiars, who were watching them. "You two are definitely in sync," Ichtvar said. "Who killed the alpha?" Keith asked. "Sparky did," Ichtvar responded, then looked at Nathan. "What are you doing?" "Trying to decide if I want to get this Skill or not," Nathan answered, returning his gaze to the menu in front of him.
Skills Shop: 591
Warp Step 100
"What is it?" Keith asked, and Nathan stared at him. "Right." Nathan decided to buy it just to see what it was. There was nothing else available for him to buy, anyway, and he knew he was probably getting a lot of Skill Points after leaving, anyway. As soon as he''d purchased it, he opened up its information window.
Warp Step Level 1
Warp to a chosen spot within your vision with the next step taken.
Range: 5 feet per Level of this Skill
Cost: 500 Mana
Level 20 Max
Warp Step, Nathan thought, then took a step. Nothing happened, so he focused on a spot a few feet away in his vision and took another step. Warp Step. That time, he found himself standing at the spot he had looked at. "I have a decent amount of Speed," Keith said. "So I should have been able to follow that movement of yours, yet there wasn''t even a blur." Nathan looked at Keith and took a few steps closer, until Keith was within the range. Then, he focused on a spot behind Keith. Warp Step, he thought before taking another step, ending up right in front of Keith. After a few more tests, Nathan determined that the spot didn''t just need to be in his line of sight, but he also needed a clear path to it. However, an instant movement was better than even the fraction of a second he would take for the same, especially over a longer distance. Nathan decided that the Skill was probably not meant to be useful on its own, but that other Skills would unlock later on as a result of it, similar to Player-Striker and Player-Killer. He also theorized that he acquired Piercing Strikes because of Damage Dealer, though wasn''t completely sure on that. "You''re warping, aren''t you?" Keith asked as Nathan increased Warp Step to its maximum Level. "It''s pretty obvious," Nathan shrugged. "It doesn''t seem that good. The Skill probably has additional Skills that I can unlock to work with it later if I use it enough and depending on what happens." "Maybe," Keith said. "But with how fast we can already move, that ''instant'' is pretty good anyway. A monster at 2,000 Speed would be hard-pressed to hit someone using that if they, too, had 2,000 Speed. Keep in mind that we can slip in and out of our full Speed, but it feels normal to us. I was at my full Speed, yet you were still moving instantly." "Right," Nathan said. "Well, I hope it comes with more Skills later." Keith snorted, and the wind elemental flew out of one of the buildings, dumping a bunch of talisman fragments at Nathan''s feet. "Let''s repair this," Nathan said. "Then head to the Altar of Light before we decide. If we leave, we''ll leave the four talismans there, if we stay, we''ll collect the naviglobe and rest." "Yeah," Keith said. "Recover your Mana and do it, you have more left than me." Nathan nodded, then snacked as he waited for his Mana to return to full before collecting the seventeen fragments of the talisman and puzzling them together. He began pushing his Mana into it at a steady rate, decreasing the rate once he came close to running out so that he could recover more. Keith sat in front of him and placed his hands on the talisman a few minutes later and began pushing his own Mana into it, and Nathan stopped, letting the enchanter take over so he could recover. Another trade-off occurred before the talisman mended fully, then Nathan moved it into his backpack with the rest. As soon as he pulled his backpack back on, they began running towards the middle of the island, crossing the miles in moments. When they reached it, Nathan unhid the completion notice for the Isles of Darkness Dungeon, then looked at Keith. "We need to get that scry orb done," Nathan said. "But I want to be with Samantha." "What does that have to do with the Dungeon we''re in?" Keith asked. "Leaving now would give us probably one to three weeks less before we leave the game again." "I don''t want to do two extended Survivals," Nathan muttered. "Maybe if we get the orb done, I can use that to look at her and be okay? This is so confusing." Keith decided to let Nathan work out his separation issues on his own and sat down to snack a little. "Staying in here longer," Nathan finally said. "Would mean being able to spend more time learning about this place. I vote for that." "So do I," Keith said. "For the same reason." Nathan nodded, then dismissed the notification, seeing another appear in his vision almost immediately, in addition to the one informing them that they had fifteen minutes to decide, same as the first time.
You have completed 10 (ten) Dungeons within a single Dungeon entry. Special rewards await you upon exiting.
"Special rewards?" Nathan and Keith asked in unison. "That''s new," Nathan said. "Yeah," Keith nodded. "An additional reward in addition to the increased rewards? I doubt it''s something like Points, Skill Points, or Stat Points. Since the requirement to earn it is pretty steep, it might be halfway decent." "Yeah," Nathan said. "Are we resting before we head to the next island, or taking off as soon as the naviglobe appears?" "Let''s rest a few hours," Keith said. "Then head out." 00080 "Row-" "We''re not on a stream, and life is most certainly not a dream," Nathan interrupted Ichtvar as soon as the phoenix began to sing. "Just trying to fill the silence," Ichtvar said. "How about burn-" "No," Nathan and Keith said simultaneously. "Spoilsports," Ichtvar muttered. "How much further do you think it is?" Nathan asked. "We''ve gone further than the others." "Probably not too much," Keith answered, then they went silent for several more minutes. "My familiar is arguing with me over why you''re sustaining a barrier as you row." Nathan had created a small barrier in front of him, only two feet in diameter, half an hour after he had begun rowing. From time to time, he would shrink it down, only to bring it back up a few minutes later. Both barriers worked at just-under his Mana regeneration rate, taking up 10 Mana every second as opposed to the 12 Mana he recovered every second. When he had begun that, it took him 11 Mana every second, which was part of why Nathan was doing it. Because of his boosted recovery rate, Nathan was able to constantly train his barrier spell and force magic, and he wanted to allow his magic to become familiar with the spell. Since practicing a spell allowed one''s magic to become more familiar with it, and thus, cost less to cast and make it easier to cast and alter, Nathan decided to train the barrier while traveling between those two islands. Between the next two, he would use a simple force push spell over and over. Those were his two basic spells, and he wanted to become as familiar with them as he could. Rather than explain all that, however, he decided to answer simply, knowing Keith would understand. "Training." "Which is exactly what I said," Keith rolled his eyes. "Make sure you don''t exhaust yourself." "I''m being careful," Nathan stopped casting the barrier, which faded away. "He wants to know why you just canceled it," Keith asked. "Because Breezy says we''re probably within half an hour of the next island." "By my estimates," Keith said. "We''re probably past the central island. One of the northeastern islands must have been close by." While there were two islands to their northeast, Nathan and Keith had decided to keep moving clockwise around the central island for their journey. "Maybe," Nathan stopped rowing. "Going to rest, Breezy will keep pushing." Keith nodded. "Keep in mind," he told Nathan. "My power of sight isn''t always exact, and I may have missed things or put Dungeons from different islands together." "I know," Nathan closed his eyes and began to rest. "He says ''now shush so I can rest''," Ichtvar whispered, and Keith snorted. The rest of the trip to the island passed in silence, Nathan opening his eyes when their range of light, which reached up to thirty feet after the completion of all four outer islands, passed the front of one of the platforms for statues in the water. As they passed by it, Nathan and Keith noted that it had a statue actually on it, and they prayed to the gods that they would not need to move statues back into position there. When they reached the shore, Nathan and Keith stepped off and examined the group of notifications in their vision. In addition to the standard Isles of Darkness Dungeon, they also had to move statues back into place and slay a total of fifty boars. "If I wasn''t mistaken," Keith said. "Then this island also has a lair of sirens and a den of wolves." "Got it," Nathan nods. "Though it looks as if some of the statues are in place, which is a relief." "Yeah," Keith agreed. "A huge one, if it''s not just a few of them. Are you sending your wind elemental out?" "Yes," Nathan answered, and the ruffling of his shirt and tie disappeared. "Having him hunt for and collect the fragments is much easier than doing it ourselves. He''s faster, can see and sense more, and can handle monsters on his own. He can cover the entire island in the time it would take us to find only a few of the fragments. He''ll also be able to give us a good estimate of what''s on it, too." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "That''s why I was wondering. He''s collecting the talisman fragments, let''s deal with the boars and any other Dungeons we come across, and handle the statues once we''ve turned the Illuminaters back on." "Agreed," Nathan nodded. "Let''s go." The pair began walking, Ichtvar soaring above the heavenly storm elemental, which remained above them, holding a lantern enchanted with the potent mix of holy juices that Nathan had used. When they stepped off the shores, they were greeted with the sight of stone roads lined with stone buildings with an empty canal running down the center, and no time passed before they were charged at by a boar. "Full Health," Nathan commented as he drew his sword, slashing at the beast''s side. At the same time, Keith shot several air slashes at it. Nathan sheathed his sword and Warp Stepped into the boar''s path and braced himself, grabbing the boar by its tusks. Keith created a wind whip and lashed it around the beast, which attempted to break free of Nathan''s grip. The mage''s spell only took around ten seconds to rip through the boar''s Health, then only seconds more to cut the beast in two. Nathan promptly cut off the boar''s tusks and threw them up to the heavenly wind elemental, which wiggled at him in response as it moved them to look as if horns.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Your familiar is really weird." "Says the guy with Ichtvar," Keith snorted, and Nathan shrugged in response. "We''ve got some fresh meat here, let''s eat before exploring the island." "We should probably make sure the area is clear first," Nathan said. "And that''ll turn into us trying to clear the island," Keith said. "Just to make sure the area is clear. Our familiars can keep watch, their senses are better than ours, and my familiar is more powerful than your wind elemental. He can sense pretty decently outside of the range of light we have, too." "But-" "You just want to hurry up and get out of here," Keith interrupted him. "And you did a lot more work than I did on the way over. That was a long trip, you didn''t eat, and you were active almost the entire way. Now shut up and carve out some steaks." Nathan glared at Keith, then began butchering the boar. The mage had a point, and they should have made a temporary camp on the beach for a meal. They probably would have still been attacked by the boar, but at least they would have still rested a little first. When he finished cutting out steaks, Nathan began cooking them on Keith''s flames. After only a few moments of that, he frowned and looked at Keith. "How do you like your steaks?" "The way you''ve been cooking them is fine." Nathan''s frowned deepened. "That''s not flirting," Keith cleared his throat. "That''s the answer. I''m actually not really a steaks person because of some bad experiences with them, and I know you''re making do with an odd meat." "Oh," Nathan said. "Eight inches or nine?" "We were just talking about meat, and you ask that," Keith stared at him. "Why-" "Breezy told me to ask you," Nathan told him. "He won''t tell me why." "Nine." "He wants to know why." "Because it''s three times three," Keith answered, not quite believing the wind elemental was actually asking about the two lengths and why he picked the one he did. "And three is the magic number. Why does he want to know?" "He says he''s not su-" Nathan cut off as he heard the sound of rushing water. "You hear that, too, right?" "Yeah," Keith looked around, and a moment later, their gazes were drawn to the canals. "He says ''oh, it was for the canals''," Nathan told Keith. "He also says that he found another piece of the talisman, and that it''s covered in slime." Keith raised an eyebrow. "I told him to clean it off." Keith snorted, and Nathan continued cooking the steaks on the fire, before serving Keith one while eating the other. After they finished eating, they cleaned up, then watched as the canal''s water levels drained. "Did your familiar just turn them back off?" Keith asked. "He says he got curious about what moving the eight-inch one into the slot would have done," Nathan said, and the pair began walking. "He says that he can''t tell what''s going on." "Into the slot?" "Seems he found some sort of control room," Nathan shrugged. "He also says the measurements aren''t exact, he''s just rounding. He said that it made something pop out. He pushed it back in. It popped back out. I told him to stop, but he''s not listening." Keith snorted again, then looked at one of the nearby buildings. "Want to investigate?" He asked. "See how they differ from ours?" Nathan nodded, and the pair entered one of the nearby buildings, Keith channeling light through his new staff''s crystal to illuminate the inside while his familiar remained outside with the lantern. As they entered, his light shining in areas still in shadow from the heavenly storm elemental and lantern''s light, the duo of teens heard a wailing. "What was that?" Nathan asked. "Something dying," Keith answered. "I got Points for it. Since phantoms need it to be cut into them, that was probably a shade. This staff is pretty useful for that." Nathan nodded, then looked around the room they were in. There was an obvious stove made out of stone, set with inert enchantments. He wasn''t too sure on what they were for, but Keith mentioned that they were there to act as the stove''s actual heat source, and same for the oven. Since he was already explaining things, the mage also explained the different enchantments he could tell from them to Nathan, then did the same with the opening in the floor with a thin stone separation, which seemed to be some sort of fridge and freezer. "It might have had a wooden lid," Keith told Nathan. "Which would explain why it''s gone. The only other thing in this house are those stairs, which lead to the roof. It''s one-story." Nathan looked around the space. No bathroom of any sort, just the one room with the cold storage and the stove and oven, along with the stone counter. "What do you think this place was used for?" He asked. "I don''t know," Keith answered. "But whoever they were, they had similar dimensions for a human, maybe a little taller than us. Their stove, their doorway, and their stairs all match up with what I''d expect for a human who is maybe six and a half to seven feet in height, if that were the norm." Nathan frowned, and Keith knew from the look in the warrior''s eyes that he had a theory. Keith did, too, but he didn''t want to voice it because there wasn''t much to it yet. "Depending on if this is the norm," Keith told Nathan. "Or not, we can expect that the people who lived on this islands may have been humanoid in form. We''ll need to check every building just in case Breezy missed something, especially since he seems¡­ occupied." "He''s found parts to both talismans," Nathan shrugged. "But he did say he''ll need to go through the island a lot slower than the previous ones to locate the pieces because of all the buildings. He also says that the one we were in seems to be the basic blueprint." "Let''s check the roofs, too," Keith told Nathan. "Breezy said he''ll cover the roofs," Nathan told him. "Since they''re plain and easy to look at it. We can handle the ground." Keith nodded, and the pair left the building, then began checking the next several buildings, each identical to the previous, the only variance being an occasional bit of dust, or in one case, a trio of boars that surprised them, only to be blasted with lightning out of Keith''s staff, the mage killing them from the entrance of the building with only a few attacks. "Those ones were young," he told Nathan, then examined the doorway. "Maybe only a little wider than what we normally have on Earth? I''d say about half a foot wider." "Meaning what?" "I don''t know," Keith answered. "Could be just something different about what they made as their acceptable standards. Why are our doors as wide as they are, not narrower or wider? Ever notice that it can be hard to move fully-assembled furniture through a doorway? Why do closets often have smaller doors?" "To make it more uncomfortable for you to come out of it." Keith rolled his eyes at Nathan''s attempt at a joke. "The point is," Keith said. "While we find that to be an acceptable size for doors of various types, not all species view things the same way. We already got reminded of that with Evala." "Yeah," Nathan said. "Come on," Keith said. "Let''s check inside." "Yeah," Nathan pulled out a marker and made an X beside the door. "What''s that for?" "The air is cool," Nathan explained. "So the meat will spoil slower. We can come back later to grab some." "Oh," Keith entered the building. "It is getting cooler. Think they''re hitting autumn or winter?" "Maybe," Nathan answered. "Let''s hurry and check this place, I want to get done with this place." "Want to leave after this island?" "No," Nathan answered. "I just don''t like delaying here. The constant silence bothers me. From now on, prepwork for any entrance into the game will involve ensuring we have music, with enough batteries to last for months." Keith snorted and shook his head at Nathan''s comment, though he knew the feeling. The constantly silence apart from them was eerie. At least they had the sound of the canal, when it was running. "Something that might help with the silence here," Keith told Nathan. "Would be the water running through the canals again." Nathan thought on that for a moment, then told his wind elemental to do whatever it was it had done to send water into the canals. A few minutes later, as they were leaving the building, they heard the sound of the water running through the canals once more. "Better," Nathan said. "Let''s get moving." 00081 "Will you stop poking it?" Keith asked Nathan in exasperation. "It feels like a real arm." "It is a real arm," Keith rolled his eyes, then looked at Ichtvar. "I wasn''t aware you could regrow limbs." "It''s exhausting to do," the phoenix told him. "Which is why Nathan shouldn''t have used his arm as a shield." "I really want to know what that thing was," Keith told Ichtvar. "Are you sure you don''t know anything about it?" "Nothing at all," the phoenix responded. "It looked like some sort of mutated hybrid between a bear, a boar, a lion, a bird, and a demon. With maybe some hyena and snake mixed in." "Well, whatever it was," Keith rolled his eyes again as Nathan continued to poke his newly regrown arm. "It''s dead now. As soon as we get this talisman in the Altar of Light, we''ll be done with this Dungeon as well." Nathan gave out a light sigh in relief, Keith echoing it. They had spent a couple of extra weeks in the Dungeon to finish up all of the other islands except the center island. It was mostly monotonous work by the two of them, with Ichtvar sometimes attempting to sing before being shut down by Nathan. Neither of the teens were appreciative of his singing. The phoenix had a decent voice, but chose bad songs for the situation. So after a month or so of living in the dark world, they were ready for some sunlight and relaxation. A change of scenery, pace, and something to give them entertainment rather than a boring, repetitive routine. Not that they would have much variation if they did the extended Survival Challenges, but it would be better than the Isles of Darkness. "I already gave it to Breezy," Nathan told Keith. "Splashy offered the mana to finish the mending while Ichtvar was healing my arm." "Stop poking it!" Keith smacked Nathan''s hand away. "It''s a real arm, Nathan. It''s like regrowing skin when you get a cut." "It even has my tan," Nathan muttered, causing Keith to roll his eyes again. "All of your injuries have been healed with that," Keith told him. "Or do you not remember taking an ice spear to the chest? No sign of that, remember?" Nathan shrugged, just grateful for the fact that they were about to leave the Isles of Darkness as soon as the lights turned back on. Which they did only a moment later. "About fucking time," Nathan muttered. "I want to go home and see Samantha now." Keith sighed as Nathan read the notices in their views.
You have completed Isles of Darkness Dungeon 7
This is a multi-Dungeon Dungeon. You have completed 7 (seven) Isles of Darkness Dungeons and 15 (fifteen) Isles of Darkness Side Dungeons. Your total reward upon exit will be 1,050% (onethousandfifty percent). This will increase by 50% (fifty percent) for every additional Dungeon you complete in here. You will have 15 (fifteen) minutes to decide if you wish to leave or complete another Island''s Main Dungeon from when all players have dismissed this message. If you are completing another Dungeon on this island when the time limit is up, the decision will be delayed until completion of that Dungeon.
Special Dungeon Notices:
Warning: the central island contains an S-2 dragon; do not attempt unless you are confident in survival.
One outer island contains an S-2 nightmare; if you enter it now, you will be given a Dungeon to slay it. This island will be marked by a red light in the naviglobe rather than a yellow one.
"So it actually warns us," Keith said. "That''s good news, I suppose." Nathan nodded as he read over the messages again, then dismissed them. "Can we try the nightmare?" He asked as he pulled a clean shirt on. "I''ve had weird dreams several times because of that thing." "Nathan-" Keith began. "I''m all for it," Ichtvar said. "Its power is no doubt reduced somewhat as a result of the light, and if you''re in an alert state and aware of its presence, it will have a much more difficult time influencing your minds." "Alright, then," Keith said. "If Ichtvar believes we can handle it, then let''s do it. We need to do that bondage thing, right?" Nathan snorted. "Get your head out of the gutter," Keith told him. "Don''t make that comment," Ichtvar told Nathan, who glared back. "Also, you''ll need to remove your shirts." "I just put it back on." "It works best naked." Nathan removed his shirt without further pushing, and Keith removed his own as well. The phoenix had them sit with their backs pressed against each other, then walked them through the process, which was similar to the process for contracting a familiar. They felt their magic cycling into the other and opened the link between them through it, and then they felt the connection, and understood what Ichtvar had meant about it being a more emotional one. Even if their emotions were different, they could fully sense the other''s in ways that went beyond words could describe. "I want to try this with Samantha," Nathan muttered, resulting in Keith and Ichtvar laughing. "What?" "That was your first thought?" Keith chuckled, then looked at Ichtvar as the teens stood and pulled their shirts back on, the warrior leaving his unbuttoned. "It seemed to work just fine with pants on." "Normally, it would take maybe one or two minutes," Ichtvar told him. "You two took nearly an hour. Mana had to flow from every part of your body into every part of the other''s. Clothes blocked that, so it took longer. It works the same, though."This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. "You mentioned," Nathan said. "That we could handle the nightmare, but that we could only handle a dragon or nightmare on the same level of power as you. Does that mean you''re on the same level of power as the nightmare?" "At the moment," Ichtvar nodded. "Are you in me or out of me for the fight?" He asked. "I''ll be in you," Ichtvar said. "To boost your recoveries and senses." "Then get in me," Nathan told him, and the phoenix flew into his chest. The heavenly storm elemental flew into Keith''s back after the mage lifted his shirt up, then they looked at each other. "You''re the mage, so you focus on killing the nightmare. Draw on my mana and magical power to do so." Keith nodded, aware that Nathan would act as a backup hitter. The warrior didn''t have the fine skill with mana manipulation necessary to draw from Keith properly, though he could do it if he needed to. However, Keith was the one with the stronger magical attacks, so it was better for the mage than the warrior. The pair waited for Breezy to return with the naviglobe, then made their way to the beach with a boat for them to take, spending several hours rowing to reach the island they had begun their quest on. As soon as they set foot on the island, they received the Dungeon notice.
Dungeon Entered: Nightmare''s Lair
Challenge Type: Journey
Difficulty: Advanced
Encounter the nightmare.
Dungeon Entered: Lair of the Nightmare
Challenge Type: Survival
Difficulty: Advanced
Survive against the nightmare.
Dungeon Entered: Nightmare''s Hostility
Challenge Type: Slaughter
Difficulty: Advanced
Kill the nightmare.
The pair of them paused when they saw the notices, but immediately understood why there were three separate Dungeons just for the nightmare. The System probably had a formula for determining rewards, even if it was beyond Nathan and Keith and seemed random. Giving three Dungeons for it meant it would double the total reward due to the multi-Dungeon bonus. In addition, it would potentially grant access to another streak bonus. That last part was not necessarily because they were in a multi-Dungeon Dungeon, but an extra thing in case players were. The extra two Dungeons could put someone from eight completed Dungeons to ten, which would give them that mysterious bonus the teens had to leave to learn. They had another for reaching twenty completed Dungeons as well. "Nice and straightforward," Nathan muttered, then raised his voice. "Breezy, scout." The wind elemental took off, and the pair waited until they received the location of the nightmare, then began walking towards it, changing path every time it moved. It didn''t take them long to realize that the wind elemental was harassing it, which was the reason it was moving. The nightmare''s power wasn''t much against a sentient, sapient force of air. As they drew closer, they began to sense the unease it caused in people, the sense of paranoia and fear that should have been filling them only a light annoyance. Nathan wanted to draw his gun and shoot, but knew that without drawing on Keith''s power for that, it probably wouldn''t do much. And drawing on Keith''s power for a bullet would probably result in the gun exploding more than anything useful, so that was not an option. "There it is," the teens said in unison as they spotted the nightmare. A stallion with a pure-black coat, a silver mane, and silver eyes, the creature was skipping around the paths, jumping from side to side as it did its best to avoid the elemental''s attacks. "Here we go," Keith said, raising his hands and summoning lightning. As soon as he began the spell, the nightmare turned and looked at them, the elemental slamming into its side, doing no damage to it that the teens could see. The creature let out a whinny, and Keith let loose a bolt of lightning, which the nightmare dodged. "Tch!" The mage aimed his staff at the nightmare, sending spikes of air charged with lightning at the nightmare, changing to weaker, but more numerous spells with a quicker cast. As he did that, Nathan took in information from the elemental and fed more back to it and some to Keith. Rather than attempting to attack them physically, the nightmare attempted a mental assault on the two, who found that having their familiars inside of them granted them some level of shielding against that. Realizing that it couldn''t win that way, the nightmare began to leave, but the teens pursued, Keith attacking with Nathan''s magical power added on to his own, until they Keith finally managed to deal enough strikes to remove all of its Health and began injuring its flesh directly. Then, the nightmare attacked, charging towards them. "Nope!" Keith gestured with his staff, and a line formed between them and the beast, a barrier of compressed wind forming. In addition to being compressed, it was quick-moving, giving it a shimmering appearance. It was a spell he created on the fourth island as a counter to boars. The compressed state created a solid wall the boars would charge into, while the speed of the moving air in the magically-compressed state resulted in damage to their Health ¨C or bodies, if they had no Health. A feat only able to be accomplished through magic. The nightmare suffered the same fate, the little bit of Health it had regenerated disappearing immediately as it slammed into it. Momentum kept its body moving, resulting in its hindquarters traveling forward and slamming into the barrier, the entire side of the creature filling with cuts before the nightmare managed to move away from the barrier. Nathan noted Keith''s amazement and excitement, aware that it was because of how much more power he could pour into the spells. It was only a moment later the mage was using his magical power again, blasting the nightmare with lightning as it moved away from the barrier, which had faded away. The bolt caught the nightmare in the side, and Nathan watched as Keith summoned up another as the beast was thrown back. Two more bolts struck the nightmare before it lay still. "It''s death," Keith told him. "That was a fair bit more drawn-out than I''d expected." Nathan nodded. The fight had been less dangerous and more time-consuming. He knew that without the bond, Keith likely would not have dealt much damage, if any at all, to the nightmare. He probably would not have managed much. "That brings us up to a times-twelve bonus," Nathan said as they dismissed their notices. "When it pops up, let''s head out." "Can we fight the dragon?" Keith asked, and Nathan gave him an incredulous look. He had sensed something strange in the mage a moment prior to that, and was not happy with what it turned out to be. "Okay, I know, that''s probably not the best of ideas, but I''m pretty sure we can succeed, Nathan. We did kill a nightmare, after all." "Dragons are offensive creatures," Nathan said. "In combat. The nightmare only failed to do stuff to us because of Icthvar and Splashy being within us. It couldn''t get past the shields their presences boosted." "I know," Keith said. "But I really do think we can succeed. With my greater magical power when I tap into yours, I should be able to punch through its Health." "And I''ll stand there, useless." "No," Keith said. "Your force punches are actually pretty strong, since they use quite a lot of magical power. So what you would do is protect me ¨C if the dragon got too close, you just punch it." Nathan gave him an unamused look. "With your force punches." The look turned to annoyance. "Use Spatial Mobility and Warp Step if you need to," Keith told him. "You should be able to get behind it with that, or to its side. A force punch should be enough to knock it off-course." Nathan grumbled, but gave in to Keith''s desire after consulting Ichtvar, who supported the idea. "Let''s get back to the damn boat, then," Nathan said. "The naviglobe didn''t dissolve away this time." 00082
Dungeon Entered: Isles of Darkness
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Advanced
Place all seven Talismans of Light on their respective Altars of Light. The Altars will activate if the correct talisman is placed upon them.
Dungeon Entered: Dragon''s Lair
Challenge Type: Journey
Difficulty: Advanced
Encounter the dragon.
Dungeon Entered: Lair of the Dragon
Challenge Type: Survival
Difficulty: Advanced
Survive against the dragon.
Dungeon Entered: Dragon''s Hostility
Challenge Type: Slaughter
Difficulty: Advanced
Kill the dragon.
"Now that I think about it," Keith said. "It no longer gives that ''you may take as long as needed'' message. I suppose we''ve seen it enough, huh?" "Yeah," Nathan responded, dismissing those four notices only to receive a fifth. "Hm. Looks like only the dragon is on the island." "What?" Keith asked. "Dismiss the Dungeon Entry notices."
Do not worry about other monsters, as they are not present on this island. Only the dragon is.
"Ah," Keith said, then looked out across the island. They could see for up to forty feet at that point. "I didn''t fully think this through, Nathan. How are we supposed to see the dragon?" "Find the first Altar of Light," Nathan responded. "Put a talisman in it. It''ll come to us, no doubt." "Right," Keith nodded. He knew it was unlikely the dragon could damage the Altars of Light, or the Dungeon for that wouldn''t exist. That meant they only had to worry about the talismans, but they doubted the dragon''s flames could damage those to an irreparable state. So the odds of losing their light once they turned it on was slim. "Breezy," Nathan handed two talismans to his elemental. "Figure out which ones those go to and give us a layout of the island." The wind elemental wiggled, then disappeared from their sight. "While we''re waiting on that," Keith pulled out a crystal orb and handed it to Nathan. "Don''t look at it with your magic sight, Nathan. Just try to activate it." "Why?" Nathan used his magic sight anyway. "When did you make that?" "Could you please just do what I ask sometimes?" "If there''s a good reason for it." "I had a good reason!" Keith said. "Just try to use it, okay?" "When did you make it?" "While you were sleeping," Keith told him. "Over the last few weeks. And the last few days, while we were preparing the other stuff for the fight against the dragon." When they had reached the boat, Keith suggested that they take a few days to plan out their fight and prepare a few enchantments. Going into the battle with the dragon, they had a few more weapons at their disposal, and a plan for if things went south. Nathan took the orb, wondering why Keith had worked on that there, and attempted to use it. Nothing happened. "Try thinking of Samantha," Keith rolled his eyes. "Right," Nathan muttered, then activated the orb while thinking about Samantha. It took him a few minutes to get the hang of turning the orb on properly, but when he succeeded, he was greeted with the sight of Samantha, right where he had left her in reality, frozen in time as he went through the Dungeon. The pair waited several minutes for information to come in about the island. It was arranged similarly to the one they suspected to be a farming island, except that the Illuminaters formed rings a little more than ten feet in diameter. The Altars of Light themselves were in the center of a ring of them, but the familiar said there was something different about those rings'' enchantments, something it couldn''t quite identify. The land between the rings consisted of stone paths, while inside of the rings had one of three surfaces: solid stone, sand, or dirt. At the very center of the island, where the dragon rested, stood a ring fifty feet in diameter, with Illuminaters twice as tall. "And the dragon isn''t doing anything?" Keith asked. "According to Breezy, it clearly knows he''s there, but is just looking at him," Nathan shook his head. "Breezy thinks he knows we''re here, too. He says the dragon is probably the same size as the one we fought in the Tutorial." "How does he know how big that is?" Nathan asked. "I told him." "So it''s a juvenile dragon?" Keith asked, then received an answer from his familiar. "My familiar says that dragon sizes vary by species, so I guess that''s different. The one in the Tutorial must be a massive species to be that size as a juvenile." "Breezy says this is a black dragon," Nathan said. "Probably around a century and a half old." "He knows dragons?" Keith asked. "Earth doesn''t have very many." "Erm," Nathan frowned as he communicated with his familiar. "Apparently, he''s taken a vacation to a world filled with dragons. Spent around a decade there before coming back." "I thought you were forcibly returned to your home world by the universe long before such a time?" Keith asked. "Didn''t Ichtvar say that?" Nathan nodded, asking his familiar how that was possible.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "He doesn''t know how Breezy managed to do that," Nathan informed Keith. "But says he''s fully-aware of Breezy having done that a few decades ago. Breezy responded in gibberish." Keith snorted at that. If Nathan didn''t understand what Breezy said, either it was made-up words, or it was real words, but Nathan didn''t have the capacity to understand what they meant when strung together the way which they were. They returned to waiting for the wind elemental, which made two more trips out to finish lighting up the island. Once it finished and they completed the main Dungeon, the pair began walking towards where the dragon was, cards and marbles in hand. Their last few days of preparation amounted to enchantments on those, creating more bomb-type items. With Keith being able to draw on Nathan''s mana, he was able to set even stronger enchantments, and the two were hoping it was enough. When they finally reached the dragon, it just stared at them, which was not what they were expecting. It seemed to be lacking aggression entirely, in fact. The creature seemed both resigned and relieved. "Finally," it muttered, and Keith frowned and looked at Nathan. "What was that?" He whispered as Nathan began to answer the question. "He said ''finally''," Nathan said, then cleared his throat. "Is that ''finally'' as in ''finally, those annoying pests are here''?" "No," the dragon grunted, fixing its gaze firmly on Nathan. "I was not aware you could understand my tongue, but I see now you''re a demigod." The dragon stood and stretched, before taking several steps around, and Nathan glanced at the center ring of the island, which was a grassy patch. It reminded him of something else, which annoyed him. "Yes," Nathan turned his gaze back to the dragon. "I am a demigod. And you are a dragon, yet you seem¡­ passive." "I was born into this world of darkness long after it began to die," the dragon chuckled. "It is not possible for me to simply die, though." The dragon stretched, raising its head into the air as high as it could with its hindquarters on the ground, tail stretching out behind it. "But I am too prideful to simply allow you to kill me," the dragon told them. "As much as I would like to die now. The food is poor or nonexistent, creatures born from the System rather than actual beasts. My father told me tales passed from his father and his before him, back to the disaster. Tales of meat that smelled and tasted beyond anything we have here." "The disaster?" Nathan asked. "Enough talking," the dragon stretched out its wings. "Prepare to fight me until we are dead!" It inhaled, and as it opened its mouth to not doubt exhale flames, Nathan threw his hand forward, throwing a handful of marbles right into the dragon''s maw before it could react to the sudden movement. Nathan grabbed Keith and jumped back just in time for the marbles'' enchantments to trigger, exploding. "Word of advice," Nathan said as the dragon choked, its Health completely gone. "Since you''ve probably never had a real fight before, but don''t open your fucking mouth right in front of your enemies. It''s a fucking obvious weak point." The dragon continued to hack and choke, writhing on the ground from the damage inflicted upon its insides. "Not that it would matter that much," Nathan grunted as Keith finished his spell, raising his staff into the sky. "Since it''s hard to recover when a bomb goes off in your throat. Consider yourself lucky dragons are as resilient as they are." Keith brought his staff down, slamming its butt into the ground, and when he did, a thunderclap echoed out. At the same time, a fist of wind and lightning slammed onto the dragon''s head, and Nathan threw another trio of bombs at it. The dragon, still suffering from the first bomb, did not see the attacks coming. The trio of bombs blew up along its side as the fist of wind and lightning slammed into its head, and as the dragon opened its maw again to wail a raspy song of pain, Nathan threw a quartet of cards into its mouth, both of which blew up moments later. "It''s dead," Keith said as Nathan went to throw another couple of cards. "Why did you-" They blew up. "Oh," Keith snorted. "You already activated them." "I should''ve punched it once, shouldn''t I have?" Nathan asked the mage. "I only received the completion notices." "Probably," Keith shrugged. "If that dragon hadn''t let us get so close and opened its mouth with us right there, that fight probably would have gone a lot differently." "Yeah," Nathan examined the remaining marbles. "We probably would have needed to go through all of these. We only had four cards, though." "Yeah," Keith said as Nathan safely stored the bombs back into a storage card, which he slipped into his back pocket. "Did you see the new notice?" "Yeah," Nathan rolled his eyes.
There is one final Dungeon that can be completed in the Isles of Darkness: Isles of Darkness. It involves searching for and planting a Seed of Life. Do you wish to undertake this Dungeon? If not, you will be returned to the Fields of Choice after fifteen minutes. A unanimous vote must occur in order to undertake it.
Yes No
"Should we?" Keith asked. "The Seed of Life will no doubt be on this island, and we already know where to plant it." He gestured to the gassy patch, the only thing that could possibly match up with the known locations for planting a Seed of Life. "Let''s," Nathan said. "It''s an extra fifty-percent, and we''re at twenty-nine Dungeons, so it will give us that third bonus, if it exists." Keith nodded, then they accepted the Dungeon.
Dungeon Entered: Isles of Darkness
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Advanced
Located the Seed of Life.
Nathan unbuttoned his shirt and let Ichtvar out, sending the phoenix off to locate the Seed of Life with the wind elemental. An hour later, they returned with it, and Nathan took it, the stage change notice appearing. He walked over to the center of the grassy patch and dug a small hole, dropping the seed in. As per the instructions, he damaged himself until he lost all of his Health, then he cut into his arm and bleed into the hole until the Dungeon Complete notification appeared. "Huh," Nathan said. "No monsters this time." He was rather relieved about that, due to the horde that attacked during the Sandcastle Kingdom Dungeon. They could take it on, he just appreciated not needing to. "Probably because there weren''t any here," Keith said. "There were a lot more invading than I''d thought would fit into the Sandcastle Kingdom," Nathan shrugged. "Finally. We can leave and go back to Samantha." "Extended Survival Challenge first." "But you already made the orb." "I made one that works in an alternate dimension," Keith said. "Not one that works in a fabricated dimension. We don''t know if there''s a difference. And there''s other stuff we want to create, remember?" "But we''ll be coming back with Katie, and again after-" "Nathan," Keith said firmly. "We are going into an extended Survival Challenge. And I''m going to teach you stuff while we''re in it." "You''re already teaching me magic and enchanting," Nathan told Keith. "It''s nothing new. And don''t try teaching me academics, you''ll just get a headache." "You''re average," Keith rolled his eyes. "And that''s not what I was going to teach you." "Then what?" Nathan asked, then called his familiars back into him, in preparation of returning to the Fields of Choice. "You need at least a few lessons," Keith said. "On human interactions." "But I''m not human." "You live among them," Keith rolled his eyes. "It''ll help you piss off less people and get more to like you." "I''m liked by more people than I want to be," Nathan muttered. Keith snorted at that comment, but said nothing else as they waited for the time to pass. When it did, Nathan watched as Keith disappeared. While he remained behind. "Dammit," he muttered, checking his Item Box and Card Box. The green pearl he had stored in his Item Box was missing, and when he pulled out his storage cards and activated the one that had a green pearl in it, the pearl pulled out. "This is your fault, isn''t it?" He asked. Nathan sensed something behind him and turned, finding himself face to face with a winged, naked demon resembling those of the Tutorial and extended Survival Challenges, the demon ranked at ***-1, which he assumed meant it was very powerful, its tail flicking to the side a couple of times. Guessing that it was sent to kill him for fucking up the System, designed at a stronger level and power than they knew he could handle, Nathan attacked as the demon opened its mouth, probably to spew flames or acid or something. He didn''t care. If he was dying, he was dying fighting. 00083 Nathan breathed heavily as he stared at the demon. It hadn''t moved at all, other than to close its mouth once he had attacked. Two hours of attacks, and he had not taken out even 1 Health from the beast. He used up all of his bombs, shot at it with even the magic guns, and nothing worked. His force punches hurt him with their rebound. "Are you done?" He supposed it was only natural a demon that powerful could talk, but it was speaking in what was probably the native tongue of the Overseers or something, rather than English. Rather than answering back in that language, Nathan answered with another force punch, then dropped to his knees, before quickly allowing himself to fall backwards so that he was staring up at the darkness above. "Yeah, I think you''re done," the demon chuckled. "Forgive me for not speaking in your language, Nathan Hunter, but my accent would be quite thick, and a demigod can speak fluently, without an unnatural accent." "So they make the stronger ones intelligent?" "I''m not a forged demon," the demon told Nathan. "I am what you know as an Overseer. Those demons are based on the lesser versions of my species." Nathan snorted, then frowned. "If you are an Overseer," he said. "Why are you here, if not to kill me?" "Are you sure you don''t want me to come out? I could probably distract him long enough for you to escape?" "Hush, Ichtvar," Nathan said. "We both know he''d track me down after killing you." "Sure, sure." "Because of your experiment," the demon responded. "It caused the System to glitch. It cannot directly interact with your special cards, only store them and allow you to retrieve them. As a result, storing an item from this dimension within one resulted in it acting up, trapping you here. This has never occurred before." "And so you came to kill me." "No," the demon chuckled. "You are too valuable, Nathan Hunter. The creations you and Keith Ingram have created are useful. Once we are able to replicate them, we will be able to increase the rate at which we recover." "Recover?" Nathan sat up, scooting back several feet. "So this place is your former home?" "Yes," the demon nodded. "The dragon mentioned it. The disaster. There aren''t many of our kind left, and our reproductive rate is low. The disaster truly was one, and it affected this entire dimension. The purpose of the System is as you suspect ¨C to find and train up beings capable of completing the tasks necessary to eliminate the foul beasts that form and fix the situations we ourselves cannot handle alone." "Despite being so powerful?" "Despite being so powerful," the demon nodded, gesturing to the place where Nathan had planted the Seed of Life. "Without the Trees of Life on these worlds, we are not able to last for very long. Even now, I am drawing on a large amount of power to resist the disease that wishes to claim me. The Trees of Life both return life to these worlds and purge away the curse. It is a curse targeted at my species alone." "You know we''re looking for a way to destroy the System, don''t you?" Nathan asked as he stood up. The demon laughed. "Of course we know!" He said. "We observe everything that occurs within this dimension or the ones generated by the System. As there is only ever one group within at a time, it is quite easy. What little we''ve heard of your plans from our observations of you here was enough to inform us of your goals. We honestly don''t care, Nathan." "Why not?" He folded his arms across his chest. "I will succeed." "The engine that powers the System," the demon told him. "Spans an entire dimension, Nathan Hunter. It is designed to repair itself from any damage that could possibly come to it. Short of destroying a dimension, which is something even we cannot manage, it would be only an inconvenience so minor, it wouldn''t be observable. Not even the gods can destroy dimensions, even if the entire council of High Gods united their powers. "In terms of magical power in the System," the demon said. "A being just-ascended to the Divine Realm has around five hundred thousand Magic. A High God has at least one hundred million. There are twenty High Gods." Two billion Magic wasn''t enough to destroy an entire dimension, if Lie Detection worked on an Overseer. "Do you see now why we aren''t bothered?" The demon asked. "Because it is impossible. The System is older than what you humans believe the universe''s age to be, as is the engine within it. It is too old and too well-developed for you to mess with." Nathan nodded. "My son is not to be initiated." "We do not control who the System enters," the demon told him. "And by the time your boy is of age, the System will enter everyone from Earth. Even if you bring him to another world, he will be forced into it. Alone." "Then I will find a way to destroy it," Nathan said. "It is a foolish venture," the demon shrugged. "We know not why the Well of Souls decided to attempt it."If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "You know why it wants the game destroyed," Nathan growled. "What?" "Would you like the answer?" The demon smiled. "Or would you like to leave the Isles of Darkness? Because I can leave you here with the answer, unable to tell anyone if you want. It is something only we Overseers and our Guardians know." Nathan didn''t respond. "That''s what I thought," the demon said. "Now, it truly is impossible for you to destroy the engine ¨C and the dimension ¨C running the game. Not even a black hole would hamper it for long." "Tch!" "Once they inform me the patch has been made," the demon told Nathan. "I will take you to the Fields of Choice." "If I tell Keith, are you going to kill me?" Nathan asked. "No," the demon chuckled. "We couldn''t care less if Keith knew, and again, you''re a little more valuable to us than some secrets. But we''ll still kill anyone you reveal restricted information to. The System is already initiated for your world, just not activated on everyone." Nathan frowned. "It''s how the System checks to see if those who aren''t allowed receive information they shouldn''t," the demon said. "We can''t monitor everyone, so we let the System run it automatically." "So you don''t actually pay attention to what we do or say outside of the game?" "Correct," the demon told him. "We let the System determine if it violates the rules or not. The Administrators, the five of our kind assigned to each world, have their hands full enough as it is, and we need to have others ready for when we initiate new worlds." "You really think highly of yourselves, don''t you?" Nathan stretched. "Acting like gods, controlling those of other worlds and dimensions to deal with your problems. Forcing us into slavery, killing us, and more." "We are the gods of this realm!" The demon laughed. "All other species are beneath us, Nathan Hunter. Only those of the Divine Realm could do a thing to us, and they ignore us. We are superior, and it is the nature of the strong to abuse the weak." "And it is the nature of the smart," Nathan chuckled. "To destroy the strong. Just wait, ''Overseer'', because Keith and I will find a way to take you down." "I look forward to your attempts," the demon smiled in amusement. "As you won''t have been the first to try, nor the first to fail." "We''ll succeed." "You won''t," the demon gestured with his hand, and the pearl floated up, hovering for a few moments before landing on the demon''s palm. "But I can assure you that you may, one day, succeed in taking items from this dimension out. You already meet the first requirement to unlocking the Special Skill for it: twenty-five or more consecutive Dungeons. You may meet the other requirements in the future. The item rewards that you can take out have a status in the System as ''Artifact''. This Skill will allow you to turn many items into Artifacts." The demon''s gaze shifted to the side for a moment, before it looked back at Nathan. "It is time to return you to your friend." The demon stepped forward and placed a hand on Nathan''s shoulder, and a moment later, the pair were in the Fields of Choice. Keith reacted immediately, sending a slice of air at the demon, only for the demon to disappear, the attack passing through the space where it had been. "What the fuck?" Keith asked. "That," Nathan told him. "Was apparently an Overseer." Nathan told Keith everything the Overseer had told him, leaving out the part about when they were watched. That would be mentioned once they were out of the game and back at his house. "Alright," Keith said. "Let''s rest a bit, then go into the-" "I want to go home now." "Nathan," Keith said firmly. "We are going to take advantage of already being in the game to do more research and to work on your social skills a little." "I want to see Samantha. Now." "She''ll be exactly where she is right now when we finish the challenges," Keith told him. "Now read your notices and set up the next run." "But-" "Or I will not be Cyrus''s godfather." Nathan grumbled under his breath, then looked at the notices.
Dungeon Completion Rewards:
(With 14.5x bonus for 30-completion Streak)
217,500 Points 2,175 Stat Points 2,175 Skill Points
Bonus Completion Rewards:
For completing 10 consecutive Dungeons: You are exempt from the next 1 (one) Mandatory Challenge
For completing 20 consecutive Dungeons: You are exempt from an additional 2 (two) Mandatory Challenges
For completing 30 consecutive Dungeons: You are exempt from an additional 3 (three) Mandatory Challenges
Nathan gave Keith an inquisitive look. "500 Points per Dungeon," the mage said. "And 5 Stat Points and Skill Points each per Dungeon." Nathan nodded, then went to pull up the Challenge Creation menu. "And our next Mandatory Challenge," Keith said. "Is in almost two years, which means that after the first three, they remain at six months. We only knew that the fourth was at six months before." Nathan checked his and confirmed it. Two whole years without being required to go through the game, but it was also a Level 350 suggested minimum, which meant it was still the seventh one ¨C they went up 25 Levels each one. "That gives us time," Nathan said. "But the others-" "We can try to find a multi-Dungeon Dungeon with them later," Keith said. "After we power them up a bit, so that we aren''t as helpless. While I was waiting for you, I was checking every Dungeon in this strip. I found myself yanked back here when you arrived, actually." "How was the banana?" Nathan looked around. "Delicious," Keith answered, causing Nathan to snort. "Our theory that time didn''t pass in here was correct. It''s probably intended on acting as a sort of storage for while players are in a Dungeon or Challenge ¨C if they''re planning on doing several, they might bring gear for several with them, but only want to take a few. The same could be true for food." Nathan nodded. That was their initial theory regarding the Fields of Choice after the marble experiment worked, and the banana surviving confirmed it. Thinking about the banana caused Nathan to give Keith a sly look. "You really couldn''t wait to eat a banana, could you?" "Nathan!" Keith exclaimed, then shook his head. "Get some rest, Nathan, if you want. I''m going to return to logging the Dungeons available, so we know what we can handle once the others are powered up a bit more." Nathan shucked off his backpack, then removed his tie and shirt and laid down, using his backpack as a pillow as Ichtvar and the wind elemental exited him. Closing his eyes, he pulled up his Stat Points and added as much as he could into Speed before receiving a notice.
Stat: Speed has reached its cap. It will no longer increase.
Odd, Nathan thought, then he looked through his memories of what he put into it. If I''m right, then it has a cap of 2,000 Points. He then dumped the rest of his Stat Points into Endurance to raise it up further. If it had a cap, he didn''t reach it, and by his math, it was nearing 4,000 Points. The warrior made a mental note to tell Keith about that, then increased Item Box and Card Box up to Level 20 each, before allowing himself to fall asleep, where he dreamed he was the slave once more. 00084 The slave was in a lot of pain, and his vision continued to fade in and out, and the few times he managed to see something, it was blurry. He wasn''t sure what was going on, other than there were people around him. All he knew was pain, and that time was passing, though he wasn''t sure how much time. When he finally stopped feeling the torture, the slave slept the days away, finally waking and finding Kenrul, one of the few people he believed could be trusted as his mistress''s ally, sitting in the room. The slave himself was resting on a bed, covered by a comfortable blanket that he could tell was imbued with healing properties. "You''ve woken," the High Noble and clan-head of the Rul Clan said as the slave sat up. "Take it easy, you were poisoned with manariss." The slave frowned at that. He had served his mistress for nearly twenty years at that point, yet he doubted she liked him enough to spend the money needed to treat someone infected with manariss if that someone were a slave, even him. He knew for a fact she had let slaves under her care for a century die to manariss, having been the one to dispose of their bodies on more than one occasion. A desire to ask why she had put in the effort to allow him to survive a poison that fed on mana itself rose to his mind, but he wouldn''t ask that in private with his mistress, much less ask someone she had kept at arm''s length for twenty years. Yes, she trusted Kenrul, especially as she found grounding for the slave''s own trust of him, but she was still wary of those around her, lest her father influence them. At least, that was the public view. The slave had a feeling she had secret meetings with him ¨C meetings even he, her most trusted slave, was not privy to. Forcibly, the slave kept a frown from forming as he realized the clan markings on Kenrul were wrong. They weren''t the Rul Clan''s markings, of which no trace existed. They only way for that to happen was if he founded a new clan and it was approved by the Silver Grace, which rarely approved anything. From what the slave knew, the last time the Silver Grace approved a new clan''s foundation was nearly fifty thousand years prior. It had approved other things in that time, but not many. A brand-new clan under its approval, however, was both rare and an extreme honor. "You noticed my markings," the High Noble smiled. "Yes, I am no longer a Rul. Your mistress and I took those loyal to us and joined them together as a new clan. We are now the Nol Clan, and the Silver Grace bestowed upon us full approval when we performed the marking ceremony. "If you''re wondering why we did that," the High Noble said. "Her father had slipped his spies in among my forces when he realized that she and I were drawing close, converted many. After the attack, she and I decided to merge our forces together. She became the Icth after a duel between us." An Icht was the first of their clan, either a new clan or one formed with the approval of the Silver Grace. His mistress was no longer Eralen, but Ichtnol. She might still go by Era, though, as it would not tie her to a clan. Most Ichts went by the first part of their former name. "And if you''re wondering why you were allowed to live," the High Noble told the slave, before gesturing to a mirror the slave had missed. "You can see it there." The slave hesitated, but looked into the mirror, his hands shooting to his neck immediately. The crimson collar marked upon his neck was still there, but it possessed a series of violet swirls as well. Freedom swirls, and if he compared them to the High Noble''s, it was freedom given by the Nol Clan. "Era released you as you suffered," the High Noble informed the slave. "A lowborn now, rather than a slave. Over the last two decades, you served her more loyally than any other slave had ever done so. Do you remember how you became infected with the manariss poison?" The lowborn shook his head. The last thing he remembered was fuzzy, but it was not eating or being attacked, so he was uncertain as to how he could have been infected with manariss. "We expected that," Kennol told him. "Era was eating dinner one day during a small party, and an assassin attempted to take her life. Having yet to be allowed to learn magic, you threw yourself in front of the blade. While patching you up would normally take no time at all, and your body would have healed on its own, the manariss coating the blade changed that. It has been four months since you were poisoned. For your loyalty to Era, your service to her, and your willingness to sacrifice your life, you were granted freedom." The lowborn frowned. He wanted to question how he could have survived manariss for four months, even with treatment ¨C how it could have even affected him that long without killing him. His past as a slave, however, was still fresh, so he kept silent, even as he corrected his frown to a neutral expression. He knew he would fix his slipping expressions once he finished recovering. "You are wondering why it affected you so long," Kennol said. "Manariss draws on the mana to affect you. The more mana you have, the longer it will affect you. Though you might be a red, you have a large amount of mana. That is one of the reasons Era took an interest in you. "When she first saw you," Kennol told him. "She noticed the immense amount of mana within you. It rivaled many Grand Nobles, even a few High Nobles. Without training, without mana expansion meditations and training, you held an immense amount of mana. Purify that mana and increase your pool, and you could easily reach Royal Noble status in terms of power. And now that you are a lowborn, you are free to learn magic as you wish." The former slave''s eyes lit up a little at the realization of just what his freedom meant. No one would stop him from learning magic ¨C he could do it without fear of punishment. And if what Kennol said, it explained why he still looked young, his appearance being similar to a noble''s, despite his status. The more mana someone had, and the more purified it was, affected when they stopped aging. He looked only nineteen because of his immense pool of mana, and that meant that, with training, he could be a truly great warrior. Then, his expression quickly dropped as he realized the downsides to not being a slave anymore. Freedom meant no clan, unless his former mistress took him in. It also meant he would have to build connections and allies on his own, and it might take him centuries to find a mate, having been a slave. Possibly even thousands of years, if he lived that long.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Do not look down," Kennol said. "Era said that if you wish to join her Nol Clan, you are more than welcome to. We only did not brand you as one of ours as you recovered on the chance you chose to seek out another clan. "If you wish to join our clan," Kennol continued. "There are two possibilities. The first is you act as a normal lowborn, which means seeking out employment on your own, hoping someone accepts you. The second is that you go into Era''s employ as a servant. In the latter situation, you will act much the same as you did before. What would you like to do?" "I wish to continue to serve Lady Era," the lowborn responded. "Then come with me," Kennol stood. The lowborn climbed off the bed and followed the High Noble out of the room. They walked through Lady Era''s castle until they reached a chamber, where the clan-head awaited with several slaves, guards, and nobles, a small table beside her with a red stone resting upon it. Her former slave realized immediately that they had expected that response, and felt relieved that they expected him to continue to serve her. He wasn''t sure why, but he did. "Welcome," Era smiled at the lowborn. "Have you chosen a name for yourself, now?" The lowborn hesitated, as he had not even considered the fact that he could take on a name. "No?" She asked. "That is fine if you have not. If you wish, I can assign one to you." The slave dipped his head slightly in response. "Very well, then," she said. "Step forward." He approached her, and she picked up the red stone. The lowborn identified it immediately as a Marking Stone. It was used to give someone the markings which denoted their status and affiliation. Only a clan-head could use them, as far as he knew. Lady Ichtnol, clan-head of Nol Clan, pressed the stone against the lowborn''s chest, beginning to create the markings on his upper chest, back, and his shoulders that denoted him as a member of her clan. When she finished, Era placed the Marking Stone back upon the table and smiled. "Welcome to the clan, Varnol," she said. "Thank you for accepting me," the lowborn managed to speak, though the fear of punishment remained. "Come," she beckoned. "Let us feast to celebrate your recovery, Varnol." "I am not worthy of a feast," he lowered his head. "Had you not stepped in the way," she said. "That knife would have killed me, Varnol. You may be a lowborn and a former slave, but you were willing to sacrifice yourself for me. Few slaves would do that. Come." Varnol followed Era out, Kennol walking alongside them until they reached the Great Hall, where a feast was set out. What followed were hours of feasting and dancing, the former slave feeling, for the first time, what it meant to be free, though a slight fear of it all being a dream did rise within him at times. Deep into the night, Era led Varnol back to her private chambers, where a slave had already prepared a bath. Kennol accompanied them, and the slave washed the trio before exiting. As the three soaked, Varnol still nervous, Era explained the course of events that occurred after he took the knife. Lady Elmel, who Varnol had not trusted from the moment he first laid eyes upon her his first day as a slave, turned out to be behind the assassination. After receiving that response from the chain of people they tortured starting with the assassin, Era personally went after Lady Elmel, only for the clan-head to have escaped upon hearing of Era''s trip. Kennol, having own suspicions about Elmel, had befriended her over the years. While he had been unaware of her plans for Era, he had managed to gain her near-absolute trust. When she fled, she fled to him in the belief that he would help her fight Era, unaware of his own loyalty to the furious noble. When she arrived, he ''celebrated'' her attack on Era with her, wished her luck next time, and watched as the poison in her drink knocked her unconscious. After that happened, he bound her with binding runes and brought her to Era''s castle. Now, she occupied the same cell which Varnol did upon his arrival there. The rest of her clan was either scattered, absorbed into another clan, or had died when Era obliterated Elmel''s mansion. "I am glad that you are well," Varnol told Era. "And that she was captured swiftly." "I am glad that you have recovered, Varnol," she smiled. "As you have no doubt suspected, Kennol and I have declared ourselves as mates." "Congratulations, milady," Varnol dipped his head. "And I am pregnant," she added, and Varnol''s gaze snapped up to meet her, his crimson eyes wide with shock. "The markings have already appeared, but I have concealed them with magic." Varnol frowned. Their people''s pregnancies lasted for eighteen months, and the markings appeared after six months, while the other signs began to show after nine. As far as he had seen, she did not bear the other signs yet, which meant she was somewhere in that range. That would mean she had been sleeping with someone other than a sex slave or a slave before the attempted assassination, and if she was taking on Kennol as her mate, then their alliance had formed before the assassination. "The child is not Kennol''s," Era informed Varnol, who realized his gaze had turned to the other man. He looked back to his mistress. "It seems that one of the slaves I slept with impregnated me." If Varnol could feel even greater shock, he was sure that he would have. A red, impregnating a violet? It wasn''t illegal, just highly improbable. The odds of it were so low, it was nearly unheard of. One in ten billion odds, nearly. He wasn''t sure how many slaves she had slept with, but the father would never be identified. The baby would be branded a slave immediately, and even though it would be treated as a baby initially, it would begin being trained for its future as a slave the moment it could be. "Congratulations," Varnol said hesitantly, deciding to pretend that he believed the baby''s to be Kennol''s due to her other announcement. It would make it seem like he had come to the obvious conclusion of their unison before and hadn''t quite heard what she said about the actual father. It was possible she was mistaken, after all. Violets could have children between each other quite early, even if the odds of a child between them was low. "A child between you and Lord Kennol would be quite the gifted child." "The child is not Kennol''s," she told him. "As we did not have sex until after the assassination." That certainly changed things, but Varnol could continue to pretend he did not initially realize what she had said, too shocked by the news of her pregnancy to properly understand it. "So the child belongs to one of your slaves," Varnol said. "Would you like me to-" "-stop pretending that you hadn''t already come to that conclusion?" She smiled. "Thank you, Varnol, but you have been my personal slave long enough for me to know how intelligent you are. As for the child, lowborns are permitted to have children with the permission of their clan-head." "Oh," Varnol realized that the child might be his. "So you will check upon his birth to see if I am the father, milady? I thank you for the honor of your mercy." "The check is not required," Era told him. "As you are the only I have slept with in more than a year. You are the father, Varnol. If you wish to raise the child, then I will permit it. If not, then he will be entered into my clan as a slave." "Do not decide immediately," Kennol told Varnol. "You have only just recovered, and will take some time to adjust to your new status and settle in. You have eleven months before your son will be born." "So it is a boy?" Varnol asked. "Yes," Era answered, moving her hand down to her stomach, and a moment later, the spell concealing the markings faded, revealing them. "You can see for yourself." Varnol nodded, identifying the markings around her stomach as being the ones for a boy, a single child. "I see," he said. "If it is okay with your ladyship and your lordship, I would like time to think it over. I do not believe I will be able to raise him in my service to you, but cannot make a decision just yet on if I should take him or allow him to be collared." "That is fine," Era told him. "You have until his birth to decide. If you haven''t decided by then, he will be collared." Varnol nodded, and after a few moments, he realized what they were discussing. He was going to be a father. He passed out from shock. 00085 "So let me get this straight," Keith said as they appeared in the cafeteria of the extended Survival Challenge''s school. "They have markings that appear when they get pregnant, and the markings say which sex the baby is and how many babies there are?" "Yeah," Nathan unbuttoned his shirt, allowing his familiars to pull out of him as Keith pulled off his shirt, allowing his own familiar to release. "I haven''t had a dream sequence of Ichtvar''s shitty BDSM fantasies where they''ve had more than one baby in a pregnancy, so I''m not sure how the sex-tell works for that, but-" "Those are not my BDSM fantasies," Ichtvar told Nathan. "Those are dreams of your own design." "We all know that''s not true," Nathan told the phoenix. "Why do you get off on being a slave?" "I don''t," Ichtvar huffed. "I assure you, Nathan, that those are not my fantasies. They''re dreams onset by the nightmare, though it seems they''re going to persist." "Uh-huh," Nathan folded his arms across his chest. "I''m going to go kill some monsters," Ichtvar began to fly away. "You two have fun with your stuff." "He''s running away," Keith told Nathan as the trio of familiars exited the cafeteria. "Yeah," Nathan said. "Definitely running away." "So you woke up after Varnol passed out?" Keith asked. "I guess that dream sequence ran closer to real time than the others," Nathan shrugged as he buttoned his shirt back up. "My estimate puts it around then. Shame, I''m pretty sure sex was going to happen, and I''m glad we disconnected, because I know you just got horny even without that." Keith snorted. "Alright," he said. "Magic training, muscle training, or enchanting?" "Orb," Nathan held out a hand. "I want to test it now." Keith nodded, then pulled out his enchanted orb, which Nathan attempted to use, receiving a view of Samantha, right as he left her. "It seems it works the same in artificial dimensions," Nathan told Keith. "I''m going to go do martial arts." "Let''s get our stuff set up first," Keith told Nathan, who huffed, but helped set up their air mattresses. Nathan changed out of his clothes and into a white martial arts gi with a black belt, then tossed another gi to Keith. Rather than being the lighter gis, it was a thicker one, meant to hold up to any grappling that might occur. "Get changed," Nathan ordered. "If I''m doing martial arts training," Keith told him. "You''re doing magic training." Nathan swore under his breath. "We''re in here for five months," Keith told Nathan. "And if you do a second one with me after, it''ll be ten months. That''s plenty of time for you to actually get the grasp of at least the basics." "I''ve already trained for-" "Seven months, yeah," Keith said. "I''m aware of this, Nathan. I helped you, remember? You still have issues, though. You should at least be able to manifest a barrier to protect yourself immediately. It still takes you a couple of seconds to form a decent-sized one, and that''s if you aren''t controlling its edges." "I use weapons and my body," Nathan said. "My force punches are enough magic." "And I use magic," Keith held up the gi. "If I''m cross-training, you''re cross-training." He stared at Nathan expectantly. "I''ll teach you how to do the belt after you get changed." Nathan turned and began moving more tables, creating a space for training in. He pulled out a few of his storage cards and activated them, pulling out boxes with training mats in them. He opened them and laid out the mats, then turned around as Keith approached, giving the proper bow before stepping onto them. The mage''s gi top was open, showing off his slender frame. It wasn''t as lacking in meat as it had been when the game began, mostly because of Nathan''s insistence on him learning martial arts during the two previous Survival Challenges. Seven months of physical training every day or two was enough to build up a little bit of muscle for the mage. It wasn''t much, but the change was noticeable. "At least you don''t look like a twig stripped of its bark," Nathan muttered. "You know I can hear you muttering, right?" Keith asked. "You know I don''t care, right?" "Alright, amoeba-shield," Keith said. "Let''s get this over with." Nathan glared at Keith, then began the lesson, first teaching Keith how to put on the belt properly, then teaching and correcting moves, practicing as he went. When Keith finally stopped, he sat on the side and watched as Nathan continued to practice on his own. The warrior''s solo training was a lot more intense than Keith''s training, and by the time the mage had recovered from the lesson, Nathan was soaked in sweat and breathing heavy.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "I''m making lunch," Nathan stripped off the gi and changed into his usual outfit. "Magic lesson after," Keith said. "I''d rather not," Nathan muttered as he made his way to the kitchen. "I can''t wait for Day Five and have some real ingredients to work with." "You told me to train, you agreed to the deal." "Whatever," Nathan muttered. As Nathan worked on lunch, Keith began putting into place the protective and restorative runes around the cafeteria. When lunch finished, Nathan cleaned the dishes, then Keith set him to work creating strings of force magic. "Why?" Nathan asked. "Just do it," Keith told him. "No." Keith held up his hands, pressed his palms together, then pulled them apart, fingers splayed. Five strings of force magic were strung between his fingers, the rich violet of his mana in color and roughly a half-inch in thickness. A moment later, they turned into strings of water, then light, then fire, then back to force magic. "You''ll probably only manage one," Keith said. "And it''ll probably be an inch in thickness. Try to reduce it down to the half-inch you saw me do, and only three inches in length. It''s a technique for controlling mana and force magic and branching out into other forms of magic. Once you have it down to half an inch in thickness, try to extend it out to six inches in length." "What about two and a half in thickness and nine-" "Stop," Keith rolled his eyes. "Do you remember Madeline''s whip of flames?" Nathan nodded. "It''s a fire magic based on this technique," Keith told him. "Same with my wind whip." "I don''t like whips." "Just do it!" Keith said. "I''ll be working on the wards, so you work on that. That''s your magic training." Nathan grumbled under his breath, but worked on the spell anyway. Occasionally, when he got bored, he began shooting small amounts of force shots at Keith, but a glare from the mage stopped him before the fifth shot. An hour and a half of magic training later, Nathan grew too bored and sat at a table, pulling out several cards of enchanting supplies, then began working. Since they had already worked on all the guns they could, he worked on enchanting an orb to imitate the Black Orb''s namesake. When Keith finished enchanting the cafeteria and kitchen, he found Nathan sitting at a table, a crystal orb resting on a stand in front of him. The warrior was leaning back in his chair, head hanging back, eyes closed, and a pen in his right hand, tapping the inside of his wrist. Deciding to leave the warrior to his thoughts, Keith sat down and began working on improving the enchanted storage cards. "Keith?" Nathan said after nearly an hour. "What?" Keith asked as Nathan sat upright and looked at him. "Mana can turn into nothing, right?" "Yeah," Keith responded. "That''s what happens to mana after it''s used ¨C it dissipates into nothing. This happens quicker for things like mana crystals. Ichtvar mentioned it with Merlin''s mana seed things." "Doesn''t that mean that mana can form from nothing?" Nathana asked. "If mana can defy the ''you can''t turn something into absolutely nothing'' rule, doesn''t that mean it can also defy the ''you can''t make something from absolutely nothing'' rule?" "I guess it would," Keith answered. "But all the research into the subject I''ve seen has come up with a dead end. There were even theories that mana was actually drawn from an other dimension, and returned to it, but no one could ever prove it ¨C they always came up to another dead-end." Nathan''s expression changed to concentrated, and a moment later, he shook his head. "Ichtvar says that''s true in some universes, but not this one," Nathan told Keith. "According to him, he doesn''t know of any universe where ambient mana exists along with a dimension of mana ¨C the dimension draws into it all would-be ambient mana. Only things that store mana, like animals and plants, would have it." Nathan tapped his pen against his wrist several times in rapid succession, then shook his head and set the pen down. "I''m going and taking a shower." "You''re not taking the orb with you," Keith told him. "Tch!" "And it''s closer to three than two and a half, isn''t it?" "Yeah," Nathan nodded. "Give me the orb." "You''re not perving on some random women until you find one who''s naked," Keith told him. "Just use your memories of not-pregnant Samantha. Or Katie, I know you''ve seen her naked. Or those other ladies you had sex with. Eralen, too. Speaking of Eralen, her new name is ''Ichtnol'', right?" "Yeah." "Think Ichtvar''s projecting?" Keith asked. "Her new name starts with ''Icht'', while the slave''s name starts with ''Var''?" "Pretty sure Ichtvar isn''t desiring to be a woman who gets off on torturing others," Nathan said. "But those are definitely his fantasies about getting tortured. That reminds me, I still need to kill him. How long does it take for a phoenix to go through puberty?" Keith shrugged. "Whatever," Nathan said. "I''m going and taking a shower." Nathan made his way to the showers in the school, stripped off his clothes in the changing room and moved them into his Clothing Box, then entered the showers and began washing. As he did, he thought about Samantha, with her soft breasts and firm build. He did miss her, and it bothered him. He also regretted going into the extended Survival Challenge because it meant taking longer to see her again. See her in-person. He missed her kisses and her touch, and he hated himself for it, even though he didn''t understand why. Well, he knew why. Because the Well of Souls designed him to. It didn''t change how he felt, though. After her initial rejection of him, he preferred to be alone and had grown used to it. Then she admitted her feelings for him, and it seemed that things went out of control from there. Keith entered into his circle of friends, as well as Michael, William, and the others. Nathan let his mind return to what it was like to have sex with Samantha. He wasn''t sure if it was them being soul-forged together, or having his senses awakened, or whatever, but he enjoyed sex with her more than others. Not that he was going to stay exclusive to her, since he was going to sleep with Katie, too, and he was glad that Samantha didn''t care about that. When Nathan finally came, he cleaned up, then finished his shower and dried off, pulling on his pants and shoes, before returning to the cafeteria and setting across from Keith. "Not putting on your shirt?" Keith asked. "I''m a nudist when I''m alone." "Got it," Keith responded, then tapped the card in front of him. "Hey, for this storage card, I was looking at how we could simply the enchantment while increasing its power ¨C its storage space and uses. I was thinking we could try to turn one of the orbs into a storage orb using a bigger version of the spell matrix, then reduce it in size once we have that down. Thoughts?" "We can devote half of all sizes to that," Nathan nodded. "I want to work on this power orb, too, but storage is important as well." 00086 "Wait," Keith said in shock as he came to a realization during another session of attempting to help Nathan learn how to interact with people a little more appropriate in various scenarios. "So you really don''t like oral at all?" "Yeah." "But what if that''s what Samantha wants?" "Then I''ll say ''no''." "I can''t believe this," Keith sat back in his seat. "You don''t like oral either way. That''s¡­ a new one to me." "Is it really that weird?" "Yes," Keith said. "I mean, I guess I can see why it wouldn''t be weird to dislike giving oral for some, but receiving it? You really don''t like that?" "Yeah." "Okay," Keith said. "I guess that explains your responses. So if Samantha really wanted you to give her oral, you''d say ''no''?" "Yes." "What if she told you that if you didn''t give her oral, she wasn''t going to sleep with you that night?" "Ask her if she lost her fucking mind," Nathan answered. Keith sighed. "Okay, Nathan," Keith said. "We talked about this. Be nicer." "It''s Samantha," Nathan said. "If she insisted on me doing something she knows I don''t like, she''s lost her fucking mind." Keith sighed again. "Fine," he said. "What if Katie was begging you to pleasure her orally?" "Go to her boobs." "And she was clear it was down low she wanted you to pleasure." "Tell her ''no''." "And if she kept begging?" "Tell her to shut the fuck up because I''m not doing it." Keith rubbed his temples. "Okay," he said. "We''re not getting anywhere in this situation, so let''s move on to a different one. You''re out grocery shopping, and as you''re putting your purchases in the trunk, you see a ten-year-old boy struggling to carry his purchases out of the store. It''s obvious the groceries are too much for him, but he''s doing his best. What do you do?" "Look to see where he''s taking them." "He starts walking on the sidewalk, clearly heading home or something." "I''d approach and ask where he''s going." "He says he''s going home." "I ask why he''s shopping alone." "His mom''s dead and his dad''s unable to leave the house very often due to an injury and illness." "I offer him a ride to his house." "He rejects because you''re a stranger." "I ask if he''d be fine with me buying him a wagon to make it easier to bring his stuff home." "He rejects." "I tell him it wouldn''t be much trouble," Nathan told Keith. "And that it would save his back and arms. And that he can keep it when he''s done using it, so that it''s easier in the future when he needs to go shopping." "He accepts it then," Keith said. "Now let''s go back to the start, and it''s an old woman, maybe around sixty, but the rest is the same." "I finish packing my groceries and leave." "What do you have against old women?" Nathan stared at Keith in confusion, and Keith sighed. "Why do you treat her differently than the boy?" "What difference does it make?" Nathan asked. "I don''t see how this is supposed to be a lesson, Keith." "Answer the question," Keith told him. "It''ll help me figure out why you act the way you do, which will help me guide you on how to appropriately respond." "She''s sixty," Nathan said. "If she''s too stupid to know to use a wagon or have someone help her or something if she doesn''t have a ride, she deserves to suffer. Maybe then she''ll learn to use a wagon or something." "The boy''s ten," Keith said. "Why not make him learn the same lesson?" "He''s still a kid," Nathan explained. "Give him the experience of a thought he probably didn''t have. The woman''s six times his age. It would be like you and me facing the same white-belt opponent who''s been training for only six months, two hours twice a week. I''ve been doing martial arts for five-sixths of my life. Longer if you include time spent in the game. You''ve only been doing it a month. I lose, that''s on me, because I have fifteen years of experience in martial arts with nearly-daily training for one to three hours. That''s more than most police officers and entry-level Seals, Special Forces, et cetera, even if some might argue they went through more training for a shorter time. I still went through thousands of hours of it. If you lose, you need advice on what you did wrong." Keith wanted to argue with Nathan on that, but knew it wouldn''t go anywhere. While most people would see it as a case of helping the elders, Nathan viewed the world differently. To him, an elder had the experience needed to know when to get help, and simply ''giving respect'' or ''giving help'' because she was an elder didn''t apply. "Alright," Keith decided on how to approach the correction. "Nathan, the generally-accepted response would be to help her." "Why?" "Because she''s old." "And that matters why?" "I-" Keith began. "That''s just how society views it, Nathan." "Society is stupid, then." Keith wanted to argue, he really did, but ''respect your elders'' and ''that''s how society views it'' weren''t valid arguments to Nathan. He''d learned that well enough since the first attempt at teaching Nathan how to interact better with people.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. After a few moments of thought, he decided to change scenarios again. "Let''s say you''re at a party," Keith said. "A guy comes up to you and asks what your favorite football team is." "I don''t watch football." "No, how do you answer." "That''s my fucking answer." "Okay," Keith said. "Nathan, it would be ''that is my answer''. The swearing annoys people." "They can fucking deal." "Okay, Nathan," Keith said. "The whole purpose of these sessions? It''s to help you handle people better. That demigod attitude won''t help you much." "Am I supposed to care?" Nathan asked. "Yes, you are." "But I don''t." Keith sighed. That was part of the problem with talking with a demigod, he head learned. "We''ve been at this for an hour," he said. "Why don''t we give it a rest for today? We can pick back up tomorrow." Not that we''ll make much progress, he thought to himself. "Okay," Nathan slid back his seat as he stood. "I''m going and making dinner." "Speaking of dinner," Keith stood as well. "I have another-" "No." "Dealing with food?" "As I work." Nathan went to the kitchen, Keith following, and began preparing their dinner. "You''re sitting at home," Keith began. "Watching T.V. Samantha comes in after a long day and sits on the couch, then complains about being hungry." "I tell her to go make something to eat or shut up." "Why not make it for her?" "Because she has two functional legs." "What if she''s too tired to make something to eat?" "There''s a microwave and snacks, and she can still get them." "The courteous thing to do would be to get it for her." "She has the energy to complain, she has the energy to get it." "Not necessarily," Keith said. "And it''s not a matter of energy. When your significant other is exhausted-" "That has to do with energy." "Okay, Nathan, stop!" Keith nearly shouted in frustration. "Listen. When your significant other ¨C or others ¨C is exhausted, it''s courteous to help them out. What if you were exhausted and didn''t want to move, but were hungry?" "I''d get a snack." "Nathan," Keith said. "The appropriate response is to help the other out. That''s what''s socially acceptable. There are those who would say only the man should help the woman and not the other way around, but that''s a toxic, sexist viewpoint. Both parties should do so, as that''s what''s fair and equal. Samantha probably won''t care much, but the others who join you might." "Then they can deal or leave." "And if they leave?" "There are plenty of other women out there." "Nathan, just¡­ do this, okay?" Keith asked. "It''ll make them happier. I''m sure you''ll come to appreciate it as well." "What I''m going to do is make dinner," Nathan said as he began pulling out ingredients. "That''s not what I-" Keith began, then stopped and shook his head. Over the weeks they had been in the Challenge already, he had realized part of why Nathan acted the way he did, and both his familiar and both of Nathan''s had confirmed it to him. Nathan was a demigod. Their entire mindset was completely different. He didn''t view others as beneath him so much as he was simply above them was a basic fact that he didn''t even consciously realize he accepted. His entire mindset wasn''t a superiority one, but a factual one. Divine blood and power ran through Nathan. He had innate abilities that didn''t require any training, simply desire. He could command divine things. Nathan had the actual, honest-to-gods ability to command the divine. The Divine Authority was something all gods and their children had. Any divine thing beneath them was affected by it. It made several things make sense. Such as the heavenly storm familiar obeying anytime Nathan gave it a command out of frustration or anger. The demigod was subconsciously using the Divine Authority. He had even used it on Evala, the familiars had revealed, which told Keith, based on their explanation, that Nathan''s father was more powerful than her own godly parent in the divine hierarchy. Apparently, having the Divine Authority also created the ¨C quite true ¨C mindset of being superior, but not in an arrogant way. It was purely factual in mentality, which caused a different way of treatment than one would ordinarily expect from someone who believed themselves superior. Such as Nathan''s ''this is how it is'' approach to things. Or his ''do it yourself'' mindset for everything. Keith suspected it had to do with Nathan''s pickiness when it came to food as well ¨C his body was trying to compare things to how they were in the heavenly realm, even if he had never tasted such food before. The familiars had revealed all of this to Keith a few days prior, while Nathan was showering, to avoid him overhearing. They had known it upon first sight, but never said anything. However, with Keith trying to teach Nathan to interact with people a little better, they felt it necessary to warn him that Nathan''s mindset was not a human mindset, but a demigod''s. One wouldn''t expect a god to be benevolent to everyone, after all. It was a part of who they were, and that trickled into their children. Even Nathan''s son would have it, but to a much lesser degree. That meant it could take a lot more work to help Nathan stop trying to dominate everyone ¨C he was above them. Deciding to truly end their lessons for the day, Keith returned to working on enchantments. He entered the cafeteria and sat at the table with the mana orb. Nathan had worked on it last, dealing with it while Keith sorted out some stuff on another enchantment. When he picked it up to see what had changed since he had worked on it a couple of days ago, Keith nearly dropped the orb. Not that it would break ¨C they had already learned that lesson and enchanted the orbs for durability. "I''m going and testing something," Keith told Nathan. "No punching holes in the building." "I''m going to be very careful about that." Keith took the orb and made his way to the gymnasium, which was around the size of the Dome at their high school. He made his way to the upper level and walked so that his back was nearly against the wall. He would have backed against the wall, except that it had blood splatters from a demon the familiars had killed. The teens weren''t there to kill, and they hadn''t slain a single monster since they began the session. They left that to their familiars. Holding up the orb, Keith drew on the mana within it and channeled it into his other hand. A jet of flames burst out, and Keith continued casting until he ran out of mana, yet continued to draw on the mana in the orb. And draw. And draw. Yet no matter how much he drew from the orb, he never ran out. Almost twenty minutes of constantly casting the flames, increasing their power and reach until they covered nearly the entire gym and made him sweat so badly from the heat his clothes were soaked, yet he didn''t sense a dip in the orb''s power. Canceling the spell, Keith returned to the cafeteria and walked straight into the kitchen, only briefly registering that Nathan was making lasagna again as he approached the warrior. "I can''t properly sense the mana stored in here," Keith told Nathan. "And it doesn''t seem to fluctuate. How did you solve the issue?" "I watched you with my magic sight as you used magic," Nathan answered. "And watched myself. And the familiars. The elementals, especially. I may not have the anatomical knowledge you have, but I do have an anatomy book." "And?" "It doesn''t give anything on elemental anatomy." "It wouldn''t," Keith said. "And I meant about the mana issue." "Oh, that," Nathan said. "I don''t know." "You¡­ don''t know." "No." "What do you mean, you don''t know?" "It was an accident." Of course it was, Keith thought to himself. All great discoveries have to be. It''s a law of the universe. "What were you thinking about when you did it, and what runes were you implanting into it?" "Unlimited mana," Nathan answered. "And for runes¡­ I think I did a did an ''unlimited'' linked with ''mana'' out of frustration, plus ''production'', ''mana'', and ''continue''? Maybe ''infinite'' or ''unlimited''? I was frustrated and trying not to strangle Icthvar." "I''ll try to reverse engineer it," Keith said. "What was Ichtvar doing?" "Trying to get strangled." "Alright," Keith returned to their workstation and set the orb back on its stands, then changed into shorts and a tee. He would take a shower then, except he wanted to try to reverse engineer the formula for the mana orb. If Nathan didn''t perfectly recall what he had put into it, then he wasn''t even paying attention to what he was doing, which meant that the demigod had been extremely distracted. The shower could wait. By the time Nathan finished dinner, Keith had mostly finished reverse engineering the enchantment. While he appreciated that Nathan had put in the blocks for reading the enchantment, as it let them know if it would work or not, it made it a lot more difficult to figure out how it was made for the creators. Having worked on the various iterations of the orbs over the last several weeks also helped Keith figure out what Nathan had done. The pair ate dinner, then Nathan cleaned the dishes as Keith finished reverse-engineering the orb. "I''m going to take a shower," Keith told Nathan once he finished. "I made pie," Nathan held up the pie, and Keith frowned. "They sent us a bunch of peaches." "I got that," Keith said. "It''s just that you don''t usually make dessert." "We''ve been throwing away a lot of extra food," Nathan said. "Which I don''t like. So I made peach pie." "Alright," Keith said. "I''ll have it before the shower, but only because the pie''s still hot." "I made ice cream, too." 00087 "What did you just do?" Keith asked. "Shuffled the deck," Nathan held up the deck of cards. "You''re not even paying attention to what I''m saying," Keith shook his head. "We''re playing Go Fish." "We''re not playing Go Fish," Keith rolled his eyes. "We''re playing Gin Rummy. And yes, Nathan, we can ignore the points." "Good," Nathan said. He had a hard time keeping track of points with the cards, especially once something that wasn''t a number card came up. "Nathan, what were you doing while I was talking?" "Shuffling the cards." "And?" "Tuning you out." "And?" "Realizing I could turn off Charisma''s effects." Keith snorted. He had noticed the sudden change in its effect on Nathan and got confused, and then realized that Nathan''s eyes had taken on the look they always did whenever he was tuning out the psychic, which told him the demigod had begun focusing on either random or personal thoughts or on something with the System. He decided to give up on talking about what he was trying to talk with Nathan about and focus on the game, which became difficult as the demigod turned Charisma''s effects on and off. "I know you found a new toy, Nathan," Keith finally gave up after a few games. "But could you please stop turning it off and on?" Nathan turned it back off, satisfied that he had gotten Keith to react. They played a few more games, then Keith went to the kitchen to cook as Nathan moved back to their work area, where he began examining the enchantments he and Keith had been working on. Eating Keith''s cooking was supposed to be a test for him, one the demigod wasn''t a fan of. He''d rather make food he knew would taste good, rather than eat food he knew would be awful. It wasn''t that Keith was a bad cook, it was that Keith was intentionally making food he knew Nathan would rate as a one. According to Keith, it would help the demigod learn to refrain from insulting and bitching about the bad quality of food once they left the game. So the demigod decided to focus on the orb enchanting instead of the torture he knew he would soon be greeted with. That particular orb was meant to filter air in a space around it. Due to the properties it held of pushing air, that meant that if the orb were placed somewhere with contaminated air, such air would continue to enter into its range. The contamination would lessen as the air became more and more refined, but that meant the orb was doing its job. That also meant, unfortunately, that it could take a long time just to purify a single room of bad air, as it would receive less of the contamination to magically purify the more it worked. Keith had come up with the idea for the orb after Nathan accidentally solved the issue of mana generation. One of the main issues with the world the governments used to harvest materials was the air. It was full of stuff that would kill humans just by coming into contact with, so thick suits were needed, as well as enchanted gear. Even then, the air would erode at it, which limited their time present. Having an actual building there was difficult for similar reasons. But if they set up a bunch of the purification orbs, once a space became much lighter in the toxins, or even completely rid of them, then they could set up a facility. According to Keith, they would have to triple the amount of orbs needed to cover the space, and likely include them on top of the facility, but that wouldn''t be a problem once they finished solving the issues they were currently having. That wasn''t Nathan''s concern, however. He wanted to figure out how to make it produce air on its own, just like he had figured out how to make one produce mana on its own. Though Keith had doubted Nathan''s ability to do that, he had given Nathan the formula for what would be necessary for a human to breathe, what the typical ratio of gases in the air was, when stripped of most of its pollutants. Nathan snorted. They could use their purification orbs to start purifying Earth''s atmosphere, and their main thought had been for another world. He supposed that both of them had been thinking of how to make money with the orbs over saving Earth''s atmosphere. "Keith," Nathan said as the psychic began setting food down. "One, the fuck did you do to the macaroni and cheese, and two, do you think the governments would have an issue with putting the purification orbs out in places where pollution is heavy?" "That might encourage people to just keep polluting." "We can add on a pollution tax." "The fact that the orbs generate its own mana and don''t need recharging will make people question why we''re doing that." "To encourage people not to pollute as much just because they exist. If the orbs are needed to make the air cleaner, then the tax exists. Aren''t there places where the air is basically toxic to breathe on some days already?" Keith sighed, then sat down across from Nathan.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. "What the fuck-" "Nathan, we talked about this." "And?" "And treat this like in one of those situations," Keith told him. "Remember, try to be tactful." "Your macaroni and cheese looks like someone crumbled up some bad cheese and tried to melt it in, then failed." "Nathan, we talked about insulting the food," Keith said. "Remember? Just eat the food while pretending it''s mediocre. No comments, no disgusting faces, no trying to force Ichtvar to eat it under the table." "Ichtvar''s not even in here right now," Nathan muttered. "Probably because of you attempting to force-feed him yesterday''s lunch." Nathan grunted, then dug into the macaroni-and-cheese he wanted to avoid even touching while working on resisting spitting it back out and complaining about it. Anytime he tried, Keith glared at him, so he stopped. After lunch, Keith cleaned up the dishes as Nathan returned to assessing the orb while attempting to figure out what he wanted to do. Keith warned that generating air could pose problematic, as it would affect the world''s ecosystem, and Nathan told him that such a thing was exactly why he let Keith help him ¨C to deal with the issues that would arise as a result of things. Even though Keith knew Nathan was only saying that and not actually meaning it, he still reprimanded Nathan and told him to at least be considerate of stuff like that. "Why do you even want to generate air?" Keith asked as he returned to the work area. "There''s plenty enough as it is already. And if you''re thinking of something like the Moon or-" "Because air is thinner the higher you go." "Are you wanting a mountain base or something?" Keith sat across from him. "Or something." "We can add in something artificial to the building." "What creates the most oxygen?" "You mean for Earth?" Keith asked, and Nathan nodded. "Algae, from the ocean." "That would work," Nathan muttered. "Plus lots of trees and other plants for food. Could do with some golems, too. Ichtvar said he knows of a world where golems are commonplace, so we need to go there to see how they do it, since it''s probably done in an optimal way." "Nathan," Keith said. "What are you wanting to make?" "A floating island." Keith turned his attention to a Lego boat that was flying around the cafeteria, and had been for hours, powered by a mana orb made with a marble, then sighed. That explained Nathan''s fascination with floating things. The male and female Lego people standing on it, ''embracing'' each other showed that Nathan was still dealing with other complicated emotions the demigod wasn''t used to. At least he had given up ¨C for then ¨C trying to figure out how to animate them to do the deed. "And why do you want a floating island?" "So that Cyrus doesn''t have to be governed by any law," Nathan answered. "It''ll be my own little mobile land. I plan on seeing if there''s a smaller dragon around I can ask to guard it, too." "And how do you plan on making an island?" "I had my father buy it already." "You''re talking a literal island." "Yes," Nathan gave the psychic an expression which called him stupid. "How else would I get an island up there? There''s plenty of ocean around, so I can take some of that with me. That should help with the oxygen problem. But that might not be enough. Maybe if we made the orb perform photosynthesis?" "Okay, Nathan," Keith rolled his eyes. "Let''s make a deal. You focus on the stuff that we came here to work on, such as the cards and things that might help the government enforce magical law and deal with creatures, with minimal looks at things like your desire to have a floating island, and the entire next extended Survival Challenge, we can work on your personal projects for the entire thing, devoting everything to it." "Why not we do that this one?" Nathan asked. "Then-" "Because," Keith interrupted him. "Of the same thing you were about to argue, Nathan. Everything required for that will be a massive undertaking, okay? We can work on the stuff we came here for, use what''s needed, then see what''s left. While we''re working on this, we may figure out stuff that will make your stuff easier. Then our next visit into here, whether we decided to do the third run with this session or when we come with Katie, we can work on more fed stuff and training." "We need to train," Nathan slid back his chair. "We already did the martial arts training," Keith said. "You''ve been having me do it once you wake up." "We didn''t do the magic training," Nathan said. "I want to do that before taking a shower." Keith nearly told Nathan the reason he hadn''t tried to get the demigod to practice magic that morning was because Nathan was difficult and resistant to being taught over long periods of time, and the agreement was ninety minutes of each. When Nathan had been extra grumpy for whatever reason ¨C which Keith suspected had to do with Nathan waking two hours earlier than he normally did ever since they began the Challenge due to Ichtvar ¨C Keith decided to not push the subject with him. But he wasn''t stupid, and so decided to say something else. "I just thought you could use a break this morning," the psychic explained. "Since I know magic isn''t your thing." "And martial arts isn''t your thing," Nathan countered. "We have an agreement." "Alright," Keith said. "You seemed somewhat eager to start. Have an issue if I ask why?" "No," Nathan answered. "What got you eager to practice magic when you think all you need are barriers and your force punches for direct spells?" Keith asked. "If it was improving those, you can do that just by training and getting used to them, experimenting with them." "I want to learn light magic," Nathan answered. "Aaaaaand why do you want to do that?" Keith asked in confusion. "Ichtvar said light magic can be used to make illusions," Nathan answered, and Keith realized that the demigod''s sudden decision to learn magic had to do with a conversation he''d been having with the phoenix at the time. "And that the children of demigods can be entertained by their parent''s magic." "In other words," Keith said. "You want to learn how to use light magic so you can weave illusions to entertain Cyrus." "Yes." "It might take more than an hour and a half a day, every day, for several sessions this long, Nathan," Keith told him. "It would first require you branching out from force magic into light magic, then training that first spell until you get a feel for light magic. From there, you''ll need to-" I know," Nathan interrupted him. "How do I change force magic into light magic?" "Alright," Keith snorted, wondering how long Nathan''s interest in that would last. A long time, if what the familiars had told him held true. He knew that Nathan rarely gave up on something once he started it, and they told the psychic that such dedication and persistence stemmed from Nathan having divine blood in him. Apparently, that came with a tendency to have no desire on giving up learning something once they made their mind up to learn it, no matter how frustrating it might become. "First," Keith said. "You need to learn how to turn your force magic into either a different color, or to make it invisible. The latter will come second. You see, doing that isn''t actually a ''color'' thing, but a ''light'' thing. What I do when making my force pushes invisible is simply making them cause light to pass through perfectly, which is how I was already branching out into light magics, making it easier to learn it while in the Dungeon." "So how do I do that?" Nathan asked. "We''ll work on that second," Keith told him. "First, we''ll work on you adjusting the color of your barrier, as that will make it easier to learn how to make light pass through something perfectly. What you''re doing is manipulating light, to change its color." "So how do I do that?" Nathan asked. 00088 "I made an orb of light." "I can see that," Keith groaned. "Nathan, could you please answer the question?" "But I made an orb of light." "And it''s a very nice one," Keith said. "Nathan, you''re eighteen and have spent over an extra year of life in the game. Please start acting a little bit more like it." "What was the question?" Keith groaned. "Oh, right," Nathan said as he dismissed the orb of light. The demigod broke off a piece of chocolate and fed it to Ichtvar. "A wolf boy." "And that is not what I was expecting," Keith let his head fall forward, slamming into the table. "And Lie Detector said you were being honest." "What did you expect?" "A martial arts instructor and hero," Keith looked up at Nathan, who was forcefully shoving the piece of chocolate into the phoenix chick''s mouth. "Nathan, he''s going to bite you." "Yeah, right," Nathan got the piece in, then clamped the phoenix chick''s beak shut. "What else would you want to be, if you could pick what you were in future incarnations?" "A monkey boy." "You''re already a monkey boy," Keith muttered, then felt the blood drain out of his face when he noticed the demigod''s appraising look. "Nathan, don''t-" "You''d look nice as a wolf boy," Nathan nodded. "Maybe a fox boy, too. Or a cat boy. Probably not a monkey boy. Too lanky." "I''m filling out," Keith rolled his eyes. "And my body will be different in every universe, don''t forget. Your desire to be a beastkin aside, what else would you like to be, if-" "Samantha would be nice as a cat girl," Nathan nodded. "Or a wolf girl, too. A fox girl wouldn''t be off the table, either." "Nathan, focus," Keith snorted. "What else would you be, if you got to pick what you reincarnated as in future universes?" "An exiled prince." "Why would you want to be an exiled prince?" Keith asked in utter confusion as Ichtvar slipped away and moved to the other end of the table. "So that I can meet the beautiful princess of an isolationist kingdom, who''s actually Samantha, while in my exile, and then we''d marry." Keith let his head hit the table again. "And you would be my right-hand wizard," Nathan said. "And you''d help me conquer the world, helping me to become the emperor." "Anything else?" "A god-killer." "And why would you want to be a god-killer?" "Because Ichtvar says that in some universes, gods are just plain assholes." "Okay," Keith looked up. "Anything else?" "An exiled prince." "We just covered that." "With you as my right-hand wizard." "And that." "And Samantha as my right-hand witch and wife." "Okay, that''s different." "And then I conquer the world so that I can live in peace." Keith let his head hit the table again. "You have weird fantasies." "Says the guy who likes taking dick up the ass." "I like putting it up the ass, too," Keith rolled his eyes before looking at Nathan. "What else would you be? And don''t say prince this time." "A powerful wizard who slaughters demon armies and marries the princess." "Okay," Keith says. "That sounds¡­ actually like a regular fantasy there." "With you as my right-hand wizard." "Okay!" Keith exclaimed. "You want me to be your right-hand wizard in every future incarnation, Nathan. I get it. We''ll just have that as included by default. I''ll be your right-hand wizard and enchanter every life there''s magic, okay? I mean, that''s probably how it''ll end up being, since we''re bound to each other due to the Well of Souls forging us that way." "Yeah," Nathan nodded. "So I don''t have to worry about my future self not knowing about Samantha. We''ll meet and get married and have babies again. Every time." Keith snorted. "What else?" He asked. "A vampire hunter," Nathan said. "With you as my wingman." "I don''t think you know what ''wingman'' means," Keith said. "You help me pick up ladies." "Okay, maybe you do," Keith snorted. "And what about Samantha?" "She''s a fellow vampire hunter," Nathan says. "You''re the enchanter who makes my gear. I meet her. We fuck. Realize we''re meant for each other. Slaughter the vampire lords." "Aaaand moving on!" Keith decided that one was enough detail already. "What else?"Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "A vampire." "Same incarnation as you hunting vampires?" "Maybe." Keith rolled his eyes. "Anything else?" "A god of life." "Not a god of sex?" "Ichtvar says that most gods of life are also gods of sex," Nathan said. "So being a god of sex will accompany that. Ah, but I''m not a god at first." "Gods rarely are," Keith reminded him. "Usually, they ascend from mortalhood. Isn''t that what Icthvar said?" The pair of them looked at the phoenix chick, who gave them annoyed looks. "I''m preening," Icthvar said. "I have chocolate." "You always have chocolate," the phoenix rolled its eyes, but walked over to the demigod and took the offered bar of chocolate in its beak, setting it in front of himself. "Yes, gods start off as mortals, in most universes. Very, very rarely, from what I know, are gods simply born as gods." "Alright," Nathan pat him on the head before looking at Keith. "In that one, we piss off some gods and they curse us because we became immortal and they couldn''t kill us. So they curse us instead. And in the end, that results in us becoming gods and destroying the ones who cursed us. Before that, Samantha is a sex slave I rescue and you''re my best friend and right-hand warrior." "Did you just say ''friend''?" Keith asked. "No." "Yes, you did," Keith said as the demigod''s face reddened. "You do think of me as a friend!" "¡­I do not." "I have Lie Detector active, Nathan," Keith said. "I know you''re lying. Don''t worry, I won''t tell anyone who doesn''t already know." "You better not!" Keith grinned, causing Nathan''s embarrassed blush to deepen. "What would you want to be?" Nathan decided to turn the question around to take the focus off of him. "If you got to choose what you''d be in future incarnations?" "What I would be?" Keith began fiddling the cards on the table, avoiding Nathan''s gaze. "Honestly? The way I feel? Just being your friend and a magician sounds good to me. Whatever adventures you get up to, I''d probably just enjoy helping you out with them, just as a supporter or creator of equipment. Maybe do more adventurous things in a few incarnations. I''m not sure how I''d feel in future incarnations, though. I know that the three of us will always be drawn to each other as lovers and friends, but what if my next ten lives are adventurous ones? Wouldn''t that put an imprint for adventurous desires into my soul, since we''re forged? So that''s what I want right now. Just to be your friend, supporter, and creator of your gear, with only the occasional adventure. That''s how I''m forged to feel." "Like right now," Nathan said. "Yeah," Keith nodded. "I just wish there was a way we could retain our memories and everything. Being able to know we''re with old friends, and use our old knowledge, would be amazing." Both teens noticed Icthvar''s sudden freeze immediately, and they turned their gaze to the phoenix. "I don''t know of any possible way you could do that," the phoenix chick said in as neutral of a tone as it could, using its poker face. "How long would it take you to hatch again?" Nathan asked, and the phoenix began to fly away, only to slam into a purple barrier that wrapped around it. "Thank you, Keith." As Ichtvar began to break through the barrier, Nathan''s own barrier of white light enveloped the purple barrier. It still took him a few moments to cast the barrier, but it was overall more powerful than the psychic''s. "Fine," Ichtvar grumbled as he found himself trapped in a stronger barrier that he would need to risk harming the teens to break out of. "I''ll tell you, but only if you put me in the kiln for the next three days." "How about for a pound of chocolate?" Nathan asked. "No." "Two pounds?" "Is one of them a pound of chocolate-covered blueberries?" "It can be," they had received blueberries in their latest food drop from the game. "What is it, Icthvar?" The phoenix sighed, then looked at Nathan, who released the barrier. The phoenix chick flew back onto the table and waited until he received a pound of chocolate to begin speaking. "Every so many universes," he told them. "There is what is known as a ''rest'' universe. It consists of a single realm, and the only souls within it are forged souls. Every forged soul to ever exist is reincarnated into that universe¡­ with all of their past lives. Some of the rest universes, they have all of their past lives from the start, though in the majority, their past lives return over time, usually ending around the end of puberty." "In other words," Keith said. "Every now and then, the three of us will meet up, and we''ll remember each other from all of our past lives?" "Exactly," Ichtvar said. "From all of your past lives, starting with this one, your first. We phoenixes are present as well, from what I know. That likely has to do with our special circumstances." "I see," Keith said. "And our power?" "You''ll have all of that as well," Ichtvar responded. "The full power and knowledge of all of your past lives, bundled into a single being." "And since we''re the newest," Keith said. "And there have been many before us, when the next one comes around, we''ll probably be among the weakest." "Actually," Ichtvar thought it over for a moment. "The three of you would likely be among the strongest. You see, the Well of Souls is serious about destroying the game. The three of you were forged to be the most powerful souls it ever created. Your souls are designed for bodies with power. Well, yours and Nathan''s. Nathan is also only one of three to have ever been a demigod within the first fifty lives, according to one of the phoenixes I know ¨C one of the first phoenixes. "As the last rest universe was only twelve ago," the phoenix chick continued. "It is unlikely another will happen for several dozen. That is several dozen lives where Nathan will most likely be a demigod and you will most likely be a potent mage on-par with demigods. It is quite possible that by the time the next rest universe comes around, the two of you will be in the upper half of all forged souls in terms of power. As I said ¨C the Well of Souls forged the three of you to be the most powerful souls it ever forged. That should tell you just how seriously it wants this game destroyed." Keith and Nathan looked at each other, coming to a mutual agreement before they turned their gaze back to the phoenix chick. "You know why the Well of Souls wants the game destroyed, don''t you?" Nathan asked, making sure Lie Detector was on. He usually kept it off when in the game with just those he saw as on his team. "Ichtvar, answer me." "The Divine Authority doesn''t work on me." "I wasn''t trying to," Nathan said, and the phoenix scoffed. "Ichtvar¡­" "Alright," the phoenix said. "It''s a theory I have. Lately, I''ve been doing some thinking, and¡­ one of the phoenixes I keep in touch with mentioned something to me, oh¡­ twenty thousand years ago? Recent stuff made me realize he was talking about the game. I noticed something off when the nightmare and the dragon, the only creatures in the Isles of Darkness with souls, died. "Their souls didn''t move on to the afterlife realm, but they also didn''t return to the Well of Souls. They were sucked into another dimension." "Let me get this straight," Keith said as Nathan frowned, obviously confused by that. "The System is pulling the souls somewhere else?" "Yes," Ichtvar said as Nathan realized what Keith and Ichtvar were talking about. "Souls that haven''t moved on to the Well of Souls," Nathan said. "Haven''t had their memories or power stripped yet. The demon Overseer said that the engine that powered the System couldn''t be shut off. It''s using the power in the souls to power the game." "Yes," Ichtvar said. "That is my current theory." "What did the other phoenix say?" Keith asked. "That made you theorize this?" "That it had once sensed a dimension full of souls in agony," Ichtvar answered. "Yet it was unable to enter it, and when it tried, it was forcibly pushed back with what felt to be the force of billions of souls. Then when he tried to locate the dimension again, it was as if the area he had sensed it in had been sealed over, to prevent it from being sensed or touched again." The Well of Souls wanted them to destroy the System and the game because it ran off the power of souls. That was why it seemed as if few souls were returning to the Well of Souls to Master Torzin. Because few were, and not because people were living longer ¨C their souls were being stolen and drained. And with what Icthvar said, it sounded like the souls were in agony over it, too, able to feel all of that. It was no wonder a force outside of the universe wanted to see the destruction of the System, going so far as creating the three most powerful souls it had ever forged for the purpose of it. Why it created three rather than the usual one. The Well of Souls was serious about getting things done, and no doubt had fail-safes implemented in case one of them died. "Enough talking," Nathan stood up quickly enough his chair shot back, slamming into the table behind them. "Let''s test out those combat cards, Keith. The sooner we figure out how to destroy this fucking game, the better." 00089 Nathan fumbled the banana for a moment, before tossing it to Keith. "Having issues?" Samantha asked. "No," Nathan answered. "I just wasn''t hold that a moment ago." "And you went into the game without warning," she rolled her eyes. "How was it?" "I fucked a catgirl." "O¡­kay?" She frowned. "What kind of dreams were you having?" "Icthvar''s BDSM fantasies," Nathan answered. "But the catgirl was real. Her name is Evala, and we''ll be going to her world at some point once we have the gates created so that I can introduce you and Keith can have sex with a catboy." Samantha and Katie gave Keith confused looks, so he explained about Evala while Nathan walked off, muttering under his breath about bitches. "What was that about?" Samantha asked. "He wants you to punch Evala." "Why does he want me to punch her?" Samantha asked. "Because he feels guilty," Keith answered, then explained about what happened with him having sex with her, immediately blushing when he saw her sly look. "Samantha, don''t-" "So did Nathan keep feeding you after that so you could keep using holy magic?" She asked. "No!" He exclaimed. "All of my holy magic after that was done purely through the staff, which is currently in my Weapon Box. I can show you in a bit. And what the fuck was up with that box, Samantha? Did you really think Nathan ¨C who is dense as fuck ¨C would even get your implication?" "Aw," she made a face at him. "I was hoping something would happen." "As if," Keith''s face turned even redder. "Don''t do that again, Samantha. While I did appreciate the flavor, just give it to me directly, don''t expect Nathan to give it to me with an offer," he thought of something that could quickly change the topic into something more comfortable for him. "Though speaking of dense things, and Nathan made me promise not to tell anyone who didn''t already know¡­ but he sees me as a friend." "He admitted that?" Samantha asked, and Keith nodded. "When?" "In our first extended Survival Challenge," Keith answered. "I also found out the source of his obsession with floating enchantments." "Does it have anything to do with the secret facility he''s having built on the island he secretly had his father buy?" "I don''t think it''s actually a facility," Keith responded. "But it does have to do with that island. Nathan intends on lifting it out of the ocean and having it float around the world." "Why?" "Because he thinks that will enable Cyrus to live outside the law," Keith rolled his eyes. "Nathan can be so odd," she said. "And we aren''t done on that other topic, Keith. The two of you would be cute as a couple-" "Which will never happen." "-and if you two ever kiss," she said. "I need a picture of it. Where did Nathan go?" "I have no idea," Keith shrugged. "He wants to get more things before our next run, though, so I should probably go catch up with him." "Remind him he still has his backpack on," Samantha told Keith, who nodded and walked off to find Nathan, who was already at his SUV. "You didn''t even give Samantha a kiss," he said. "I''ll get to that in a minute," Nathan tossed his backpack into the truck, then pulled Keith''s off the psychic and tossed it into the trunk. "After all that bitching about wanting to be with her?" "Yes," Nathan stepped into the driver seat and opened the garage door as he turned on his car. "Did you bring the keys into the game with you?" "I swiped them before coming over here," Nathan said. "Good, I did refill the gas. Stay here." Nathan went back inside, and Keith stood there, staring dumbfounded, until Nathan returned with Katie and Samantha and declared they were going out. "And me?" Keith asked. "Yes." "Where?" Samantha asked. "Out," Nathan helped her into the backseat. "Keith, you have passenger." "Al¡­right," Keith said. Everyone climbed into the SUV, and once they were all buckled, Nathan pulled out and hit the button for the garage door. He pulled out into the street and began driving, refusing to answer for where they were going, though Keith and Samantha noticed his route avoided going near their high school.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. After twenty minutes, he pulled into the parking lot of a toy store, sending the other three teens into laughter. Ignoring that, Nathan got out and helped Samantha out, then the four of them made their way inside. "What are we doing here?" Samantha asked. "You already bought plenty of toys for Cyrus." "I want more Legos," Nathan answered as he pulled a cart away from the others, and the three of them laughed. "So you brought all of us here?" Samantha asked. "Yes." "He missed you," Keith told her. "You should have heard his whining about not wanting to do the Survival Challenges. I think the only reason he even did the third one was so that he could keep learning light magics to entertain Cyrus." Samantha raised an eyebrow as they began walking. "Ichtvar told Nathan that his son would probably be entertained by that," Keith shrugged. "We did manage to get a lot of work done, though. We''ll do more when we go in tomorrow with Katie." "Okay," Samantha said, then looked at Katie. "The only thing you need to worry about is making sure they eat if they get absorbed into their work. Otherwise, train." "We train for three hours a day," Keith said. "An hour and a half of martial arts, and an hour and a half of magic. We''ll teach Katie both. Nathan and I agreed on that, to see what works for her best." "I did some martial arts and some swords training," Katie told him. "While in the Tutorial. That seemed to work for me." "We can do that," Keith told her. "But that won''t be all that works for you. You''re in the starter stages. By the time you leave tomorrow, you''ll definitely be able to keep up with the rest of us. That sounds so weird." "Probably because the rest of us have years of experience," Samantha snorted. "And ''tomorrow'' sounds absurdly short to catch up to that." "Samantha?" A voice called out, and they looked over to see one of the seniors who wasn''t caught in the game with them staring at her in shock. "You know, I was trying to hook up with you, but if I knew you were just some slut, I never would have. How did you even hide that belly at school?" "Nathan," Keith said firmly as the demigod glared death at them. "We talked about this." "Fine," Nathan muttered as the women in the group realized that he had taken a step forward, n even more hostile glare on his face. "Nathan?" The teen snorted. "I never would have expected you to be a faggot, but it looks like Keith has you whipped, huh? How often do you-" "Nathan, no ripping off his head," Keith said. "Remember what we talked about. And don''t forget that there are children around." Nathan let out an angry breath, then glared at their former classmate. "Samantha is my girlfriend," Nathan told him. "And I told her four years ago that I loved her. Long before you ever did. You were never worthy of a woman as fine, strong, and intelligent as her, and deserve nothing more than your hand for the rest of your life. And if you can''t appreciate that she is going to be the mother of another man''s son, then you aren''t deserving of ever having children. And the fact that you jumped to the conclusion about my sexuality just because Keith calmed me down is likely an indication of your own desires. Now, if you harass my girlfriend again over her pregnancy again, I will call the police on you for sexual harassment, and if you make one more comment about me and Keith, I will call them for hate speech. And considering you have no cousins or siblings and aren''t a babysitter, one might wonder what you''re doing in a section of a toy store that''s purely for toys for little kids. The video games are on the other end." Samantha covered her mouth as she choked back a laugh, and Keith smacked his forehead. Their former classmate sputtered, looked at the moms and dads staring at him, then marched off in anger. "Why are we in this section?" Katie asked. "I thought you said you needed more Legos?" "More importantly," Samantha looked at Keith. "How did you get him to do that?" "Lots, and lots of headaches," Keith answered. "Apparently, demigods have extremely different mindsets from us puny mortals. At least he didn''t just go to ripping into him, like he would have before. I had to spend a fourteen months of daily training, and he''s still difficult." "You''re difficult," Nathan muttered as he picked a toy off the shelf and held it up for Samantha to see. "Do we need learning toys for Cyrus? Keith said I shouldn''t try to teach him using the textbooks." "I said don''t try when he''s a newborn," Keith said. "He''ll be way too young, Nathan. You can start teaching him to read and write in two or three years. When he''s actually able to learn that stuff." "But-" "Did you read the book on infant and child development I gave you?" "No." "Do it," Keith told him, and Nathan put the box back on the shelf. "Let''s go to the Legos," Nathan muttered, pushing the cart. When they got to the aisle, Nathan began looking at things while the others fell back a little, and Samantha nudged Keith. "How did you get that influence on him?" She asked. "I''ve never seen him back down before." "I think," Keith answered. "That it has to do with him feeling guilty over the Evala thing. That, and he sees me as a partner in magitech development and a mentor in magic ¨C you''ve seen how he interacted with Master Torzin, his mindset changed." "Master Torzin''s a demigod," she said. "You said something about demigods viewing things differently?" "True," Keith nodded, looking at Nathan. "It could be that Master Torzin''s father is a higher god than Nathan''s, and my familiar just said ''that''s not even close to possible''." "Did he say why?" "Because Nathan''s father is the Godking," Keith answered. "I forgot that they told me that." "His father is who?" She asked. "The Godking," Nathan looked at her, and they remembered that with his awakened senses, he could hear them. "King of the gods. The big shot. Dino or dragon?" He held up two boxes of Lego sets, and the three of them stared at him. "I''ll get both," he set them in the cart, then placed four more of each into it. "Nice thing about being rich, I don''t have to give a-" "Kids are nearby," Keith said. "-care about not being able to afford it." He picked out several more Lego sets while they watched, then the four of them went to the checkouts so he could pay. With his shopping done, Nathan drove them back to his house and brought everything into the dining room, his family in the living room. "When are you going into the game?" Allan asked his son. "You said you were going to go into it today." "I already went," Nathan answered. "When?" His father asked. "Earlier," Nathan answered. "Before we left." "We don''t look any different when we leave," Samantha explained to the confused-looking family. "Even if time passes to us, it doesn''t to you. It''s¡­ honestly confusing, and we''re not even sure how everything works." "Speaking of that," Keith said as Nathan began pulling supplies out, writing out a note. "We found out several very important things. The first is that, once you''re recovered from the delivery, you, and anyone else Nathan likes as a person and teammate, is going into the game with us, and we''re hunting Dungeons until we find one that has a bunch of them. After ten, twenty, thirty, and so on completed in a row, the next Mandatory Challenge you have, you''re exempted from. Nathan and I became exempted from the next six. We''ll then spend that time researching and advancing things." "Why?" Samantha asked. "I understand wanting to be exempt, but-" "Because of what the Well of Souls created us for," Keith interrupted. "It''s bad. Very, very bad." 00090 Samantha and Katie digested what Nathan and Keith had revealed, neither quite sure what to make of it. The psychic and demigod had to emphasize multiple times that they were completely sure, and had even pulled Ichtvar our to confirm it as well. The two didn''t blame them for needing to process what they found out, the pair of them had realized just how sever things were after the knowledge had fully processed in them. Nathan, Keith, and Samantha were designed to be the most powerful souls ever to exist, the Well of Souls violating its norm in order to ensure the destruction of the System. "Any idea what the fail-safe is?" Samantha finally asked. "That you two said might exist?" "No," Nathan answered, looking out the window. They had moved up stairs to talk, and his cousins were out back, Luke swimming in the pool. "I''m going swimming." Nathan left the room, pulling Katie with him, and Samantha stared at Keith. "You have a suspicion?" She asked. "No," Keith answered, then frowned. "Ichtvar, why did you just create a sound barrier?" "Because," Ichtvar said. "It is going to eat at you two until you know." "So there is a fail-safe?" Keith asked. "You told us there wasn''t! And you didn''t have that usual-" "I had to try very hard," Ichtvar sighed, floating over to the window and looking out it. "Because Nathan might go ballistic if he found out what it was." "What is it?" Samantha asked. "It''s the two of you." "What does that mean?" She asked, and Ichtvar turned around to face them. "The reason the Well of Souls created three souls," Ichtvar said. "Each more powerful than any other created in the past, each one tied to the others to guarantee friendship? That was part of the fail-safe, not just to ensure it happened. Not just to give Nathan powerful allies to help him." "What''s the fail-safe?" Samantha asked. "Death," Keith realized. "Correct," Ichtvar said. "Nathan is protected by a force outside this universe. He himself cannot die until the goal is complete. That is a guarantee. The two of you, however? You''re fair game." "What force outside of the universe?" Samantha asked, and Ichtvar hesitated. "Ichtvar, answer me. Why is Nathan protected, but us going to be killed so that-" "You won''t be killed," Ichtvar shook his head. "Not by the force outside. The Guild wouldn''t do that." "The Guild?" Keith asked. "It goes by many names," Ichtvar flew over to the bed and landed on it, stretching out his wings. "Its current name is the Guild. The previous was the Soul Order. It changes every universe or two. Or two or three times a universe. It''s random. "Anyway," the phoenix said. "They will guarantee Nathan survives. The Well of Souls marked him for survival until his goal is achieved, and the mark is a guarantee. Any of you three can destroy the System, but he is the main one for it." "That still doesn''t explain what the fail-safe is," Samantha said. "Nathan''s protectiveness," Keith realized. "If one of us dies, he will go ballistic to an absurd level." "Exactly," Ichtvar said. "The Well of Souls put you two in as a fail-safe in addition to his allies. If one of you two were to die inside of the game, Nathan will spiral downwards in his attempt to destroy it. He will seek out every possible avenue, going to extremes he ordinarily wouldn''t. The surviving one of you two would be necessary to keep him balanced. To keep him from destroying everything else in the process. You two are his allies ¨C and his balance." The pair of teens processed their destinies. Icthvar made it clear they wouldn''t be killed, but their very lives were tied to Nathan''s sanity. Should the game kill them, he would turn insane. More insane than he already was. "Okay," Keith said after several minutes of silence. "What is the Guild? You said it''s a force outside the universe?" "Yes," Ichtvar nodded. "It''s¡­ akin to a permanent universe, one that persists through all. See, the universes are only one aspect of existence. The Well of Souls is another aspect of existence, and the Guild is yet another. There are also the Chroniclers, a fourth aspect of existence, which records all events to ever occur within the universes. Even this conversation is recorded." "If that''s true," Samantha said. "Couldn''t the Guild or something destroy the System to save those souls?" "No," Ichtvar answered. "Interactions with a universe is very, very limited to the point that only the Well of Souls can truly authorize it." "Such as with the mark on Nathan''s soul," Keith said. "Exactly," Ichtvar said. "Without that mark, they wouldn''t be able to interfere to ensure his survival."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "Is that why he survived against the siren and the wolf?" Keith asked. "Because they interfered?" "No," Ichtvar answered. "Their power wasn''t involved in that, those were truly as those events seemed. A forged soul isn''t an easy thing to kill, especially not one forged as powerful as the three of yours. It would take a lot more than something that weak to kill one of you three." "That weak?" Keith asked. "But Nathan genuinely almost died!" "And yet he didn''t," Ichtvar said. "Without the Guild''s interference. Forged souls already have other inherent traits to make them stronger and more resilient. You''ve been told this before. Anyway, the Well of Souls is essentially the link between the outside aspects and the universe, and it is the only force which can authorize interactions into the universe from outside." "So the Guild can''t destroy the System," Keith said. "What prevents it from doing that?" "The Codex," Ichtvar answered. "And don''t ask me for more than that. All I know of the Codex is that it''s an ancient set of codes and laws that predate all parts of existence I know of outside of itself. What created it and how it enforces its rules is unknown to me. However, I do know that the Guild could destroy the System. Under the condition that the Well of Souls has already sent a champion or champions to do it and failed." "And we''re those champions," Keith said. "Yes," Ichtvar said. "But the Well of Souls could send more, if the three of you fail. In order for the Guild to act, the Well of Souls must consider itself unable to create a champion who will succeed. Only then can the Guild take action. And it isn''t as simple as destroying the System." "Why not?" Keith asked. "Because what the Guild would be able to do," Ichtvar said. "Is destroy the universe. They wouldn''t be destroying the System so much as destroying this universe, causing the next one to form. That is why they must wait for the Well of Souls." The two of them thought over the phoenix''s words. In order for a force outside the universe to truly interfere, they would have to destroy the universe, causing the next to begin prematurely. It was no wonder the Well of Souls was trying to solve things without that. Especially if the damaged, twisted souls needed recovery time. "Does the Guild determine when the rest universes happen?" Keith asked as he thought about the souls needing to rest. "I don''t know," Ichtvar shrugged. "All of the information I''m giving you, I have second-hand. This is all stuff I heard from another phoenix. I, myself, have never actually sensed or interacted with the Guild. Only exceptionally old phoenixes can." Samantha looked at the window as she thought about Ichtvar''s words. She rubbed her stomach a little, feeling very, very small at the moment. Knowing that the Well of Souls wasn''t the only source outside the universe put things into perspective to her. There was an entire society, it seemed. "Why does everything exist?" She looked at Ichtvar. "The various aspects to existence? The universes, the Guild, the Codex, the Chroniclers? Why does it exist?" "Who knows?" The phoenix shrugged. "Maybe one day, we''ll discover the answer to this. Hm. Strange." "What?" The pair of teens asked. "Katie went outside and is playing in the pool," he answered. "But Nathan is still inside." "I''ll go check on him," Keith left the room. "I''ve been wondering," Samantha told Ichtvar. "But how did you die? Nothing you three said mentioned you getting into danger, even if you did talk about fighting a nightmare and a dragon." Ichtvar wasn''t yet back to his full height, which would take him another few months to reach, so it had been obvious to Samantha something had happened, yet none of them had mentioned it, which made her want the story behind his death. "Oh, that was Nathan," Ichtvar told her. "He held me in a pot of water until I drowned." "Why?" She asked. "Because I let him," Ichtvar answered. "I did feel he had some justification for it." "What was his reason?" She asked. "I didn''t tell him," Ichtvar explained. "That as the son of a sex god, he could control whether or not the person he slept with got pregnant. Honestly? You getting pregnant was probably the subconscious desire he held for having a child with you. But the main reason he''d been putting off having sex with Katie was because he didn''t want to use condoms anymore, since it felt better without, but he didn''t to risk getting her pregnant. So finding out that I knew all along he could prevent that on his own-what''s that look for?" "Nathan''s the son of a sex god?" Samantha did her best not to laugh. "Yes," Ichtvar said. "Right, I said that in the game, not here." "That explains a lot!" Samantha laughed. "Is Nathan upstairs or downstairs? I want to tease him a bit." "He''s in his room," Ichtvar answered. "Alright," she said, then left the room, the phoenix flying behind her. When Samantha entered Nathan''s room, she found Keith sitting on his bed, looking exasperated with Nathan''s board shorts on his lap, and Nathan sitting on the floor, butt-naked, as he worked on assembling the crib for their coming son. Samantha gave Keith a curious look. "He was changing into his swim trunks," Keith held up the shorts. "But then decided to work on the crib instead, so that it was ready when Cyrus was born, just in case he came early. And so he''s naked while building his crib." "I''m a nudist when I''m alone," Nathan said. "And I didn''t realize I''d not put my shorts on. Where are they?" "Right here," Keith tossed them to him, and Nathan quickly pulled them on, then returned to building the crib. "I thought you were going outside to play with your cousin?" "I can do that in a bit," Nathan answered as Samantha''s gaze moved to his side. "I want to get this built first." "Is that familiar mark," Samantha said. "The one for the wind elemental you''ve had ''secretly'' helping me?" "You knew?" Nathan gave her a horrified look. "Yes," Samantha laughed, moving to sit beside Keith. "It''s not that hard to notice when a light wind keeps fixing your balance, Nathan. I suspected you somehow found a wind elemental while we were in the game to progress my pregnancies, but never could see it." "His name is Breezy," Nathan said as the marks on his side pulled off, turning into a slightly-visible ripple in the air. "And you weren''t supposed to know." "I''m not mad," she told him. "I understand why you did it, Nathan. You were just concerned I''d fall or bump into something and hurt our son." "Yeah," Nathan muttered, his cheeks flushing a little. "So Cyrus is sleeping in here?" Samantha asked. "Of course," Nathan answered. "Where else would he sleep?" "With his mama." "She can sleep in here, too," Nathan turned his attention back to the crib. "After I finish this, Keith, we''re enchanting a couple of orbs. Our power orb, plus a viewing orb. I also want to get more cards made ¨C we can do the improved versions for some of them, as they''ll be more useful." "Make sure to play with Luke, too," Samantha told him. "Not just video games this evening. I''m sure he''d love to play Marco Polo or something with you." "Fine, fine," Nathan muttered. "I''ll go out there for a couple of hours. But we need to get our arsenal built up. Crib first, though." 00091 "Remember," Samantha told Katie. "Make sure they actually eat. I''m not sure what their eating habits were before, but don''t let them get too absorbed into their research to actually eat." "Samantha acts like we can''t hear her," Nathan muttered. "I know for a fact you can hear me," she told him. "I just don''t care. I''ll believe you two take care of yourselves if Katie tells me you did." Nathan rolled his eyes as he resumed checking his cards, Keith beside him doing the same. They were pulling items out of the storage cards, then moving them back inside. After that, they would stack the cards into various decks, slipping them into card boxes once the decks were full. "I still don''t get why she has to come along," Nathan muttered. "Because," Samantha stared at him. "You want her to be a part of your harem, and you barely know her. If you tried to get to know her with me around, you and I both know that wouldn''t happen." "And you aren''t worried I''m going to lose interest in you?" "As if that would happen," Samantha rolled her eyes. "And you know it. You''re head-over for me. We could probably be separated for centuries, and the first time you saw me after, you''d probably try to at least kiss me, if not outright get me in bed again." "We''re getting in bed again once you''ve recovered," Nathan muttered. "Are you preparing to go into the game?" His father asked from the living room. "Yes," Nathan answered. "Keith, done checking?" "Yes," Keith answered. "Let''s pack everything up." They packed everything into their backpacks, then pulled them on. "I''ve noticed," Alan said. "That you all wear backpacks, other than Samantha. I''m guessing you do, too, when not pregnant that heavily?" "Yeah," Samantha answered. "During the Tutorial, we had them on us at all times. They contained supplies, and we were basically forced to keep them near us during it. Most of us don''t feel safe without the packs, now." "It has supplies in it," Nathan commented. "What does it look like, when you go in?" Alan asked. "Like this," Nathan answered, finding himself in the Fields of Choice, having already pulled up the menu and sent Keith and Katie the invites. "I didn''t give Samantha a kiss." Katie snorted as Keith laughed at Nathan''s depressed expression. "Don''t worry," Keith put a hand on Nathan''s back. "When you see her again, no time at all will have passed, and you can give her a kiss then." "We have months until then," he sighed. "Hundred days or hundred-fifty?" "I thought we could only go up to a hundred days?" Katie asked. "We can?" Nathan frowned as he dropped several playing cards onto the ground. "Right, I did have that limitation when I was first playing around with it. I can set it up to two hundred days right now." "Really?" She asked. "Yeah." "Do a hundred and fifty," Keith told Nathan. "I want to get back to Samantha ASAP." "You''ll see her again in no time at all," Keith told him, and Nathan glared at him. "What? I can''t make jokes?" "Do you want the Ichtvar treatment?" "What''s that?" Katie asked. "He strangled Ichtvar while holding him underwater," Keith said. "And that would kill me. Who else would be Cyrus''s godfather, if it wasn''t me?" Nathan thought for a few moments. "Luke''s too young," he muttered. "Fine, hundred-fifty." "Put it on Beginner," Keith said, then noticed Nathan''s pause. "Katie''s fighting a few monsters, remember?" "¡­I know that," Nathan said quickly. Keith rolled his eyes, then confirmed the setup. Katie did a moment later, and the trio found themselves in the cafeteria of the neutral instance. Immediately, Nathan and Keith got to work setting up the protective runes and their living space, the two of them ignoring Katie''s presence until they were finished setting up. "I can see why Samantha wanted me to be here," Katie told them. "You two¡­ just got into that. I didn''t even know what to do. And what are those runes for?" "They''re multi-purpose," Keith told her. "And we didn''t ''just get into that'', we always set that up first, then do other things. Nathan, there are only two beds." "Yeah," Nathan pointed at one. "For you," he pointed at the other. "For me and Katie." "Don''t just assume she''ll want to sleep with you every night." "Should I set up a third?" Nathan looked at Katie. "It''s fine," she told him. "Okay," Nathan made his way to the kitchen. "Is there¡­ anything I should be aware of?" Katie asked Keith. "Regarding Nathan, I mean. I do like him, from what I''ve seen of him so far." "How did you two end up getting together?" Keith asked. "You seem¡­ a lot more passive than the girls he usually goes for." "I do?" She asked. "He''s been with girls other than Samantha?" "He had a hookup with one of four or five women before the Tutorial," Keith told her. "And none of them were as-as passive as you. Sorry if that offends. I''m honestly surprised you actually managed to survive the Tutorial, actually." "I shouldn''t have," she sat at one of the tables, sighing. "I didn''t even fight the dragon ¨C I just stared at it, frozen up in terror. I''m only even Level 53, you know."This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "How did you make it through?" Keith asked. "Luck," she shrugged. "And others. I suppose I survived the dragon without fighting because there were only a few others who survived. Everyone else died against it, so I guess that there was an open slot. I know there''s a maximum of ten allowed." "And the rest of the game?" Keith asked. "Luck," she answered. "I had¡­ a team. Four guys and another gal. They basically protected me up until the end. Worked with me whenever they could until a little before the Final Challenge." "And then they abandoned you?" Keith asked. "No," she snorted. "They raped me. I''m just grateful the System waited until after they finished to blow them up. I don''t know how I''d have dealt with it if the guys physically exploded in me instead of sexually. It was the other girl in the group who started it, too. She encouraged it, egging them on. She led the whole thing, and the four of them got into it. It was¡­ awful. And part of my nightmares. Getting into Nathan''s bed at the hotel when we met took a lot for me, and I was kind of grateful he just wanted to snuggle. There was something just relaxing and enticing about him, though I think that might have come from his Charisma and being the son of a god of sex." "He did?" Keith asked. "Nathan, the Master of Horndogs, just wanted to snuggle?" They heard crashing from the kitchen, and looked in there to find Nathan acting innocent. "We know you can hear us," Keith said. "I wasn''t listening," Nathan said. "Icthvar was making inappropriate comments." The demigod unbuttoned his shirt and moved his tie to the side so that his familiars could pull out, and the two of them flew off into the hall. Keith lifted up his shirt so that his own familiar could do the same, and it chased after them. "They''ll keep the halls clear," Keith explained to a confused Katie. "If you go to fight something, we''ll have them leave some. The more monsters that are cleared, though, the better and more food we get on the supply days. Those are every fifth day we''re in here." Keith closed his eyes to prevent her from noticing they were glowing as he focused his psychic power, opening up the mental connection he had grown familiar with, having practiced his telepathy many times with Nathan during their last three Survival Challenges. "I know you were listening, and I know that wasn''t because of my comment." He sensed Nathan''s annoyance, but could tell it was directed at something other than him. The answer came immediately after that, even without Nathan intending for the psychic to notice. "You''re pissed about them raping her," Keith said. "Rape isn''t something anyone should do, man or woman," the psychic could feel Nathan''s concentration as he focused on the words he wanted heard over his pure thoughts. "Her old team was full of assholes and a bitch. No matter how much I want sex, they aren''t having it unless they want it. I''ve got a fucking hand. If their souls weren''t ripped into that dimension to power the System, I''d track down a necromancer as soon as we were out of here and force them to pull their souls out of purgatory so that I could punish them for it." Keith almost asked Nathan what that punishment would be, but decided against it. Knowing Nathan, it wouldn''t be pleasant, especially if he considered his own punishment to be worse than what they were currently going through. "Why did you just sleep, that night?" Keith asked. "I''d have expected you to try to do something." "I could tell she wasn''t in the mood for it," Nathan told him. "And I was exhausted, too. I''d just contracted with Ichtvar, and it made me pretty sleepy. If she were in the mood for it, Maybe I''d have tried. Now shut up, it''s hard to focus with you in my head like this." Keith suddenly found himself seeing the nude memories Nathan had of a few of his past friends-with-benefits, and pulled out. He knew the demigod brought those memories up on purpose, as it happened whenever Nathan got irritated for having his concentration pulled away for a mental conversation. When Keith asked Nathan how those women would feel about their naked bodies being shared with him, Nathan responded that each of them had told him they didn''t mind if he shared nudes of them with a trusted friend. The demigod didn''t use the word ''friend'', but Keith was able to figure that part out on his own. They were all people who seemed to know Nathan pretty well for one reason or another, which meant they all probably really had no issue with Nathan doing that. If Nathan actually saw someone as a trusted friend, then that person was probably pretty trustworthy. "Alright," Keith looked at Katie. "Sorry, my familiar went on for a bit. Now, you asked if there''s anything you should know? Nathan didn''t turn on the Optional Challenges for this run, but he might for the next. At the latest, the third. You''ll still be killing monsters, though, but under supervision of one of us. In addition to that, you''ll be training with us hopefully every time we train. I help Nathan with learning magic, while he helps me with learning martial arts and other weapons. "Our goal," Keith said. "With our training with you, is to get you more up-to-par, even more so now that we know you are way behind. As far as we knew, I was the only person under Level 100 to survive the Tutorials, and that was because of my raw magical power. The only reason I ranked under Nathan was because of both his fifteen years of martial arts and combat training and my helping others who needed it, which delayed me." "Alright," she said. "Thanks. I''ll do my best to make sure you two actually eat, too-" "Don''t bother," Keith snorted. "Nathan never forgets a meal, as much as Samantha might worry over that. He might have a hyperfocus on things, but food comes first. Oh, but don''t mind his attitude in the mornings, he''s not a morning person. If he sleeps until eleven, he''s usually decent upon waking. Otherwise, he''s rather cranky." "I''ll show you cranky," Keith heard Nathan mutter. "You already have," Keith snorted, then chuckled at Katie''s confused look. "You''ve been explained to about awakening magic awakening senses, right?" "Yes," she answered. "Nathan''s listening to our conversation," Keith told her. "And he''s given some commentary on it, especially when I called him cranky. I was just responding to it." "So then he knows-" her face flushed. "There''s a good chance he already knew." "I did," Nathan responded, loudly enough for Katie to hear. Katie stood and walked to the kitchen, Keith pulled her back out as soon as she entered, keeping her at its entrance. "Kitchen rules," Keith said. "Unless you''re helping cook, you don''t enter." "Oh," she said. "Is that a Nathan-rule?" "It''s a courtesy rule," Keith told her. "Nathan, what the fuck are you making?" Nathan looked at his work, then at Keith. "I brought some fresh ingredients with us so that we didn''t have to wait until Day 5," Nathan told him. "I have ice cream going in the machine, chicken breasts cooking on the-" "No," Keith said. "I meant that." He pointed at the thing directly in front of Nathan, which looked like a chocolate tower the demigod was working on. "Ichtvar annoyed me, so I''m using his chocolate to make a tower." "He''ll probably eat it anyway, you know." "I know," Nathan said. "That''s why I coated the insides in hot sauce." Keith rolled his eyes. "Nathan," Katie said. "How did you¡­ how did you know? I didn''t tell anyone." "Ichtvar says it''s a sense I have because of my sex-god father," Nathan answered. "I can tell how long ago someone had sex, and whether or not it was consensual. It was extremely faint with you, and I only realized it later, after Ichtvar told me about being the son of a sex god and that I had a few inherent traits. Then I thought back to a feeling I had about you, a very faint feeling, and realized that was that ability, though still weak. It only really worked when we were physically close or touching, but I can tell from a little further away, after training my magic some. So I''ve known since sometime while Keith and I were in our runs." "And you didn''t say anything?" She asked. "And ruin the chances of getting to sleep with a beautiful woman like you?" "¡­I''m not sure if I should be disgusted or happy." "That was a compliment." "I see." "We need to work on your compliments." "Fuck you." "Please?" "Fuck off." "What he means," Keith told Katie. "Is that he didn''t bring it up because he felt it was your place to do that, not his, and that if he pried, it might decrease your attachment to and interest in him. Nathan does see you as a pretty face, but he also sees past that, too. Otherwise, he''d probably have had sex with a lot more people than he has. Nathan''s father''s not just a god of sex, but of love as well, so there''s always some actual attraction and desire when he''s interested in someone sexually, even if he has a bad way of showing it for anyone but Samantha." "You don''t know that." "I''m going to trust Ichtvar on this," Keith told him. "And Master Torzin, who I spoke to about you being the son of a sex god after you went to bed yesterday, and he told me this as well." "Go away, I''m cooking." "He doesn''t like it when I''m right about stuff like this," Keith told Katie. "Come on, let''s have you meditate some while we''re waiting. It can take a few days to a few months to succeed in your awakening safely." Or if you''re one of Nathan''s team, like Michael, William, and Samantha, he thought to himself. You''ll succeed absurdly fast. Just like Nathan. 00092 Katie awoke in the same position she had fallen asleep, with Nathan spooning her. His boner pressed against her, but as long as she didn''t think about it too much, she was fine. She did, however, need to use the restroom, but an attempt as escaping Nathan''s hold proved futile, causing her to sigh. That sigh alerted Keith that she was stuck and trying to get up, and the psychic gave her an amused look from where he was already working for the day. "Five days in a row," he told her. "You''ve woken up stuck in his grip." "Yeah," she sighed, closing her eyes. "And I really need to use the restroom right now." Keith held out a hand, and she opened her eyes and watched as Nathan''s arm shifted, then lifted up. Katie quickly moved off the bed, but carefully enough not to wake Nathan. She learned from his grumpiness three days ago that wasn''t the best of ideas. The psychic had not been joking when he said Nathan wasn''t a morning person nor someone who appreciated being woken. "How do you even manage that?" She asked as Nathan''s arm dropped back down. "To do that without waking him?" Keith asked as he approached, Katie dressing. "Yeah," she answered. "I would expect something like that to wake him easily." "Nah," Keith said. "You can get away with some movement, you just have to be careful. Nathan''s body isn''t as tense as you realize, and it''s easy to move his limbs when he''s sleeping. You have the strength for it, you just don''t have the willpower to use it because you''re scared of waking him." "When I try," she told him. "His arms are stiff, his grip tight." "Trust me," Keith said. "If you actually start moving them, then loosen up. It''s definitely his sleeping body allowing you to escape." "I''ve tried that," she told him. "It''s definitely something to do with you." "No," Keith said. "Samantha''s managed it on her own, so definitely not. Come on, I''ll escort you to the restrooms." "Aren''t the familiars taking care of the monsters?" "We have to pass by several portal locations," Keith said. "There''s the possibility one might spawn out, and your skills are¡­ less than impressive. I''m amazed you actually managed to get the kills required to pass." "Yeah," Katie said. The pair of them left the cafeteria, and Nathan sat up, glaring in their direction, before laying back down and covering himself with the blanket once more. When the pair returned, Keith indicated the kitchen. "If you''re hungry, you can fix yourself something," he told her. "I did mix up some pancake mix, the supplies came in about an hour ago. They generally arrive at eight. I put all of the food away already" "Alright," Katie went into the kitchen, and Keith returned to work. Then he looked at the crate which remained in the cafeteria, the others already broken down and moved into another room. Then he looked at Katie, then she shrugged. Either she didn''t notice it, or she didn''t wonder what it was. He knew she probably didn''t realize it was supplies other than food, though, since she was pretty naive about the whole thing. "I know you''re awake," he projected to Nathan as he worked on a card. "No thanks to you," came the demigod''s annoyed response. "You did respond when I poked your mind." Katie hadn''t been looking at Keith when he did, so she didn''t notice his eyes turned violet for the brief telepathic communication. "I woke up because of your poke." "Liar," Keith responded. "My poke won''t wake you, it''s to see if you''re awake or asleep. How long had you been awake?" "Katie got horny," Nathan said. "I could feel it and that woke me up." Keith snorted. "That''s why you were gripping her tightly." "I didn''t realize she had to pee, and she started squirming a little." Keith rolled his eyes. "Are you going to just lay there and be grumpy?" "Would you like me to get up and be grumpy?" "Considering Katie''s cooking is worse than what you said Samantha''s was like, years ago?" Nathan grumbled and got up, changed his underwear, then went into the kitchen, shooing Katie out of it as he pulled on his apron to make pancakes, bacon, and eggs. After they ate and dealt with the dishes, Nathan began his martial arts training, walking Katie through a few things while Keith did some practice. Following that was magic training, where Keith had Katie meditate as he trained several of his spells. During that, Nathan trained as well, though his training consisted of creating three orbs of light the sizes of tennis balls and spinning them in a circle over his right hand. That confused Katie a little, as they were supposed to be training in combat, but she had decided not to ask Nathan about that, even though he had done it the last four days as well.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Keith, on the other hand, decided to ask. "Nathan," he said. "Why are you doing that? You already got down a few tricks for Cyrus, and all you''re really doing is adjusting your magical familiarity with that so it costs less Mana." Nathan thought for a few moments, then inhaled deeply, and as he did, the orbs shrank and darkened. When he exhaled, the orbs expanded, spreading apart as they grew even brighter. He inhaled again, and they dimmed while remaining the same size. When he exhaled that time, the orbs shifted, turning from yellow to green. Another breath, and the orbs turned blue, and another turned them purple. The psychic frowned at the orbs. One of them disappeared during that pattern, and the two remaining ones where lined up. After a few moments, he shook in his head. "You''re a nut, Nathan." "You want my nuts," Nathan said. "I''m just thinking about the orbs and how else I can adjust them for Cyrus." Keith rolled his eyes as Nathan converted the orbs back to how they had been and resummoned the third, circling them once more. Katie looked between the two men with a slight frown on her lips. "I don''t get it," she said. "What was weird about that?" "Other than it being Nathan?" Keith asked. "He turned the orbs of light to the same shade of purple my eyes glow when I use my psychic powers and paired them together as if they were eyes. It probably would''ve been more obvious if he could''ve made dark spots in the centers." "So he''s not even working on combat spells?" "He could," Keith told her. "But he''d rather focus on martial arts combat. He does actually have a couple of combat spells, though, but they go with his martial arts. He can also generate barriers, he spent a lot of time on that before. We can spar later so you can see them." "Won''t that ping you guys for attacking other players?" Katie asked, brows furrowed in confusion. "No," Keith answered. "Because it''ll count as sparring. The System checks for hostile intent. Otherwise, accidentally stepping on a foot could count as attacking a player, especially if you''re wearing work or combat boots and they''re barefoot." "Oh," she said. "So it''s safe to spar with others?" "Yeah," Nathan said. "And I''m not sparring with you, Keith." "A demonstration spar," Keith rolled his eyes. "Not an actual combat spar, Nathan. Just to show her your force punches and your barrier." Nathan shot one of his orbs at Keith, the spell fading after hitting the psychic. He did that over and over again, creating new orbs each time. "Okay," Keith snorted as he looked at Katie once more. "We''ll do the spar later." "I can demonstrate without the sparring," Nathan said. "Why don''t you want to spar with him?" Katie asked. "Because he''ll win," Nathan answered. "I thought you were the best from your batch?" "I''m the most dangerous," Nathan corrected. "Keith''s magic can stop me before I can reach him, and it will take him three to four minutes to punch through my barriers. I can use Warp Step to reach him, but he has magical shields up at all times during combat, even if he doesn''t look like he does. He worked on creating invisible ones in our last run." "Your force punches punch through those easily," Keith pointed out. "I still barely even hurt you," Nathan said. "And you always react quickly. We''re both at the Speed Cap. And your attacks hurt." "So do yours." "Your spells are able to hold me back," Nathan said. "Unless I constantly use Warp Step, which is annoying to use repeatedly. I''m not sparring with you." "Then demonstrate them on your own later," Keith said. "So that she can see them." Nathan shrugged, then canceled his light orbs and stood, stretching. "It''s been an hour and a half," he said. "I''m taking a shower, then making lunch. Are you going to join me, Katie? Or take Keith as your escort to the showers?" They discovered quickly that it was best if Katie showered alone, and that she didn''t have a fear of being raped if the gay guy there was the one who was outside the showers rather than the straight one. That didn''t mean Nathan didn''t try, though. After they talked more, they learned that the rape had occurred in the showers, which caused a few problems with taking a shower with guys. Nathan still hoped, though, so he asked every time. "Not today," Katie smiled at him sadly. "Sorry, Nathan." "Are you sure?" Nathan asked, and the other two could see the hope clear in his eyes. "She said ''no'', Nathan," Keith said. "We talked about this." "I''m not trying to rape her," Nathan looked at Keith. "I''m giving her a second chance to decide before I go." "You''re just horny," Keith said. "Now get going, before I summon Breezy to cool you off." "I''m cool," Nathan muttered. "I''ll be gone for probably an hour. Or more." Nathan made his way down to the showers and stripped before entering, turning on the hot water. As he lathered himself up with soap, preparing to jack off to thoughts of Samantha, he heard two pairs of footsteps entering the changing room. "I thought you weren''t coming?" He raised his voice to ensure he was heard. "She wanted to give it a try," Keith responded, his voice normal, as the rustle of their clothes reached Nathan''s ears. "Said that she''d prefer it if I were here, too, though." Nathan could understand that. If she were trying to overcome her phobia of taking showers with me, having a man around she knew had no interest in women would help her. The part he didn''t understand was why she would take the shower with him while she still had that phobia and was only then starting to work on it. He watched as they both entered the showers, Katie pausing a little in the doorway before entering. Her gaze was fixed on him, and he wasn''t sure how to react to that. "Can I wash you?" He decided, then glared at Keith, who had choked back a snort. "Um," Katie hesitated, and Nathan noticed the fear in her eyes. "I don''t like sex with audiences," he pointed at Keith. "And he would count as an audience. I do want to wash you, though." As he watched her try to decide, another thought came to him. "And it might help you overcome that faster." "Nathan-" Keith began. "No," Katie took a deep breath. "He''s right. And if I can''t take a shower with another guy, or with one washing me, then how can I hope to deal with some of the more horrifying things that are bound to happen with the game itself?" Katie walked over to Nathan, who promptly began washing her hair from behind. He had to resist standing too close to her, however, because he knew he''d poke her if he did. After making sure her hair was nice and clean, Nathan began scrubbing at her body, and it took every ounce of his willpower to not play with her sensitive spots like he would Samantha or the others he had hooked up with. By the time he finished washing her, Nathan was breathing heavily from the stimulation, wondering how she was feeling at the same time. He could tell she was horny, but could also tell she was still scared. "Rinse off," he told her, and she began to turn her head. "Don''t look that way, Keith''s a bit stimulated right now, even if he''s trying to be quiet about it." Katie looked over, then quickly looked back. "I''m going to notice stuff like that once I''m awakened, aren''t I?" She asked as she stepped back under the shower to rinse off the soap. "Probably," Nathan told her. "I can have Breezy escort you back if you want some alone time, to¡­ deal with this." Nathan wasn''t sure why he offered that, just that it felt like she might want to be alone for a bit after having a guy touch her so much in the showers. "Yeah, thanks," she finished rinsing off, then left. Nathan called his familiar and told it to escort her back, then waited until she was gone, then began stroking himself, leaning against the shower with one arm, his eyes closed. He hadn''t actually expected her to let him wash her, not on the first time in the shower with her. He had definitely enjoyed it, though. 00093 "Are you okay?" Nathan asked, crouching beside Katie, who was collapsed on an air mattress after her shower. "Yeah," she answered. "I''m just really sore." "I can tone back your training," Nathan told her. "You told me to push you as hard as I could." "I know," she told him. "I want to improve my skills so I''m not as useless. Seeing you and Keith spar was¡­ yeah. I''m behind." "A lot of people are behind," Nathan said. "They''re going up a demigod and a prodigy, both of whom were forged by an outside-the-universe force to be superior. Are you too sore to come do something else with me?" "What?" She asked. "You aren''t awakened," Nathan said. "Keith and I are. We want to make a gun that draws on mana, even in the unawakened. Everyone has some mana, even if only a little bit. We managed to get the magically-made bullets down to costing 1 Mana at the base, which everyone has, even an infant. We''re hoping the tweaks we did over the last couple of weeks allow it to work for someone who doesn''t have their magic awakened. You''re here. So we wanted to test that." "It''s not going to blow a hole in the wall, is it?" She asked. Nathan and Keith had told her about their first successes, and how they could shoot through solid, durable stone from another dimension. "No," Nathan answered. "That was because that gun''s magical bullet power was dependent on the shooter''s magical power. This one uses a magic crystal to control that. It''ll supply magical power if needed, but the enchantments also control how much magical power can be fed into it." "I see," she sat up, groaning. "Yeah, that hurts. I can help you." "Excellent," Nathan helped her to her feet. "Come on, we''re going down to the gym so you can shoot straight across. Keith created a magical barrier for you to shoot at. Also, the bullets that break walls don''t cause a breaking of our dimensional space. Keith and I think the Overseers adjusted the dimensions for this to factor in powers that can do that." Which disappointed the pair. They had wanted to see what would happen if they broke the wall, confident that the Overseers would prevent them from dying, especially after the one''s comments to Nathan. When they tried, however, they found that even though the wall did break open and there was a blackness beyond¡­ the bullet came back out behind them. Their dimension was looped, so that when it ended, it began again on the exact opposite side of that section. Which caused Nathan to be struck by his own bullet, but he had managed to put up a barrier in time to prevent himself from actually being hurt. That was done in their last run with just the two of them, not their current run, so the damage was gone, Katie unaware of it. Because of the looped state of their alternate dimension, Nathan and Keith decided to speak telepathically about plans to damage the fabricated dimensions rather than vocally. And if that proved futile, they would do it telepathically outside of the game. Nathan led Katie to the gym for the testing, then pulled a gun out of one of his storage cards, causing Katie to frown. "I''ve been wondering," she said. "But what does that symbol mean?" "Which symbol?" Nathan asked, examining the front of the card. "There are several that can be found on the various cards. "The one on the back." Nathan flipped the card over. All of their ''ready'' cards, the ones they had improved to a point they were comfortable with the enchantments of, had a black back with a white circle on it. The same emblem as on the chill card they had given to the agent of the Black Orb, with its diamond on it, split into three sections. "It''s a pair of A''s," Nathan showed her, covering the bottom half of it, then flipped the card over and did the same. "See?" "Okay¡­" she frowned, staring at it. "Your name starts with ''N'', and Keith''s starts with a ''K''. Your last names start with ''H'' and ''I''. I''m not sure what your company name will be, but-" "Hunter-Ingram Magitech," Nathan informed her. "And that doesn''t have it, either," she said. "Why do you have an A as your emblem?" "It''s what I am," Nathan told her. "Keith came up with it." "With what?" Keith approached them. "The ''A'' on his emblem," Katie answered. "There are two A''s," Nathan told her. "It''s not a mirror image." "What''s it mean?" She asked. "Agent of the Alternates," Keith answered. "Which is, essentially, what Nathan is. What I am, too, actually." "I don''t get it," Katie told him. "Nathan," Keith explained. "Is the Agent of the Alternates. He exists to act on behalf of everyone within every world and dimension of this realm. Every alternate dimension that exists within it, he''s meant to be the agent of, the person who acts on their behalf to save their souls. It''s a simple design, but why make it complex just because the mission is?" "Oh," Katie looked at the back of the card with a new understanding. "I think it''s stupid," Nathan said. "You think a lot of things are stupid," Keith rolled his eyes. "Ready to test the gun?" "Yeah," Nathan held the gun out. "Katie? If you would, please?" "Okay," she held the gun up, aiming at the far wall. "I just pull the trigger, right?" "First, you turn off the safety," Nathan indicated it. "The gun won''t shoot if the safety''s on. That''s why it''s called a ''safety''. It''s also something that''s logical for a gun to have."Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "Nathan, that was rude," Keith said. "It''s also true." "Forgive him, he''s still working on his issues." "They aren''t issues," Nathan said. "Katie," Keith looked back to her. "If you would?" Katie made sure to switch off the safety, then aimed the gun once more. "You''re holding it wrong," Nathan stepped behind her and grabbed her hands. "Here, like this." He adjusted her position to a better shooting stance, then stepped back. "There isn''t a bang like with normal guns," Nathan told her. "It''s purely magical. There''s also no kickback, either, so don''t expect either of those. Don''t tense up, don''t flinch, just aim and pull the trigger." Katie nodded, then took a deep breath before pulling the trigger. A small burst of blue light shot out, a bullet forged of pure mana soaring across the gym, crashing into a shimmering purple barrier that formed a few feet from the far wall. "Good job," Nathan said. "Can you do that until you run out of bullets?" "Yeah," Katie fired again, watching as the bullet impacted the barrier, before pulling the trigger once more. She fired until she could no more, then looked at Nathan. "That''s it, I suppose." "Shame," Nathan sighed. "Only 8 Mana as your base." "We expected that," Keith said. "But even 1 Mana might be enough to stop someone. These guns are more for the people who are already awakened and have mana training. Most will just be using the ones that make their own bullets through magic crystals or using enchanted bullets." "Katie," Nathan said, and the other two looked at him, finding the demigod frowning. "Didn''t you know what your Mana Energy was? You were able to shoot a hundred and two bullets with a Stat Increase of zero-point-four and at Level 53." "You do the math on the weirdest things," Keith told Nathan. "I did forget that she was in the System, though, which meant she had more Mana than she actually has in mana." "What does that mean?" Katie asked. "Your Mana Energy," Keith said. "Is a multiplication of your Mana Stat. You have 10 Mana Energy for every 1 Mana Stat you have, and the Mana Stat is the measure of your actual mana. In reality, you only have 8 Mana, but the System is bolstering this. We can actually see the ''artificial mana'', as we call it, when we use our magic sight to look at your mana. Same with the Health shield everyone has, if we bother looking at that. If the System was stripped from you, you''d not be able to do those hundred-something bullets, but only eight." "Which won''t matter in the end," Nathan said. "The System is getting destroyed, so you''ll have to adjust to that. Everyone in it will have to. It might cause chaos across the realm, but everyone will adjust in the end. Everyone will lose its boosts." "I''m sorry," Katie said. "Let me get this straight for a second before we continue. I only have 8 Mana in actuality?" "Yea," Keith said. "You told us you had 80 Mana when the System gave you access. That''s your base with the System. However, that''s not actually your real mana. Here, we can show you. Nathan?" Nathan pulled a card out and touched it to Katie''s forehead as he activated it, startling the young woman. She jumped back as he pulled it away, a screen of magic forming above the card to display the number eight in blue. "Blue," Keith explained. "Means you''re normal. Not a demigod, necromancer, or psychic. The eight is your mana, valued the same way the System measures it. Your raw mana, not just your stat. It strips away what the System adds on." The display faded, and Nathan touched the card to his own forehead and activated it. A white 4,246 appeared. "My current Mana Stat is actually a little higher than that," Nathan said. "Because I put 1 Stat Point into it at the start to see if Mana Energy was the same as Mana Stat, or if there was a difference. However, that 1 Stat Point came from the System, and my actual Mana, when looked at it through the System, is ten times as high." "You actually showed someone how much mana you have?" Keith asked. "That''s¡­ odd." Nathan shrugged. "It''s not like it''ll stay there," he told the pyschic. "It''ll just keep growing, since my training makes it grow at least one point every day. More if I push myself." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "And the more you train, the more you''ll be able to manage, anyway. So, Katie ¨C do you understand, now?" "I think?" She asked. "But why are you making guns that run off pure mana as if others are going to be using them, too? Won''t that mean that their users would have to train in their magic regularly?" "No," Keith answered. "Simply using mana is enough to build it, even if it''s slower. Regenerating mana means you need more of it, and your mana pool thus expands as your regeneration increases. It''s a slow process, but it happens." "And as for why," Nathan said. "We mostly just want to make them. The other guns are part of our deal with the government." "The one you guys said you were still waiting to hear back on?" "We already heard back," Keith shook his head. "The morning we left for this, I got a response. We were cleared for it, with the contracts to be delivered soon. And some people have naturally larger mana pools. They can use these guns. And our magic cards majorly cut down on the need to train specific spells as well." He pulled out a fireball card, held it up, and threw it after activating it. It turned into a fireball the size of a basketball, which flew across the room. "Which means," Keith said as the spell slammed into the barrier. "That people can focus less on training spells and more on just magical training as a whole. It would also leave people more open to learning what spells they want to learn and being okay." "And this is all for when the world finds out magic is real and there really are monsters which go bump in the night?" Katie asked. "Correct," Keith answered as Nathan began using the gun to shoot at the barrier. Keith gave the demigod an odd look, rolled his eyes, and looked back to Katie. "Since the System will continue to activate on people and force them into the game, it''s inevitable word''s going to get out about it and magic. That will cause panic, chaos, and riots, and we''re contracting with the government to help deal with the situation. If the truth isn''t out in two years, that''s when we''ll publicly announce it." "Once the truth gets out," Nathan said as he continued to shoot. "The governments of the world won''t be able to hide magical beasts anymore. This tech is also going to help with some of the situations that will arise as a result of that." "Some people will try to hunt magical beasts," Keith said. "Others will try to turn them into pets, others will be scared of them. Some magical beasts will no longer follow the original codes given, and new ones will have to be drafted, as well as new arrangements. You can expect to see monsters attacking people." "The most important beasts to be scared of," Nathan increased his firing speed. "Are humans. And that''s why the government wants defenses in place. Ways to deal with it in advance. We design the tech, they purchase the rights to produce it." "Though all of the tech," Keith said. "Will have anti-read enchantments on it, we''ll need to give them the actual blueprints for the enchantments so that they work, as Nathan and I can''t just make every single thing by ourselves." "There will, however," Nathan said. "Be some things which we will keep secret the enchantments to, like our orbs." "The scrying orb?" Katie asked. "Not just that," Keith shook his head. "We''ve worked on several different types of orbs. One of them is a mana orb, which is essentially a limitless mana storage device, which can be used to power permanent gates elsewhere. That''s definitely going to be a secret blueprint." "Oh," Katie said. "So with that card, will that-" "Be a government-known enchantment," Keith said. "Okay," she said. "Do you have any that can read my Status? Or does that not work since it''s through the System and not ''real'', as you said." "Erm," Keith said. "Yes, and we can also look at your Stats, and we can also see your Skills and available Skills." "Really?" She asked in surprise. "Yeah," Keith answered. "Nathan and I worked on that for awhile, when we were in as a group with the others, then again while we were in the Isles of Darkness Dungeon we told you and Samantha about." "Have you used it on me?" She asked. The gun in Nathan''s hand exploded, startling the two of them, and they looked at the demigod, who looked a bit sheepish. "We need to make sure the users can''t forcefully override the magical power limitation." 00094 "What''s that?" Katie asked Keith. "Remember Evala''s brother''s journal?" Keith asked. "The one you said she lent you?" Katie asked. "Didn''t that disappear when you guys left the Isles of Darkness?" "It did," Keith said. "Despite Nathan being somewhat of a moron academically, he has a pretty decent memory. He copied the entire journal down from memory¡­ and this is in English." "Right," her cheeks flushed. "The beastkin have a different native tongue than us." "Yeah," Keith said. "When Nathan translated it, he wrote it down in English so that I could understand it as well." Keith left out that Nathan had translated both parts of the journal ¨C the part written by ink and the part written by magic. The latter didn''t come into the game with them, however, as they didn''t want the Overseers to learn its contents if they didn''t already see it. It contained the demigod beastkin''s own research into the game and the System. One of the things he had discovered even allowed him to check if he was being observed or not, and Keith knew that Nathan was planning on making a ring with that enchantment, though the demigod hadn''t managed to get the time to do it yet. It was being made before they entered the game again, though. That much was a guarantee. "This journal," Keith tapped the one in front of him. "Is how we managed to create the magically-made bullets. There''s a sword enchantment in here that creates a blade of pure magic, and we adjusted that enchantment to create bullets instead. There were a few other tweaks we had to make, but he had the basis for it." "Okay," she said. "So what kind of research do you guys do? I''ve been trying to watch you, but the two of you¡­ have a tendency to speak without words or telepathic communication. It''s like you know what the other''s thinking without any magic." "We often do," Keith told her. "When looking at the same problem, we tend to come up with the same solutions, and when we don''t, if we put our different thoughts together, we end up coming to the same conclusion. "But in short," he said. "We look at what we need to enchant, what magical runes we know, and then put them together. Then, we experiment with them until we can create an enchantment formula that works for what we need. We have three decent sources of enchantment runes ¨C human knowledge on Earth, the demigod beastkin''s, and Ichtvar. "In addition to that," Keith drew a rune on the air using his light magic. "This rune is one that Nathan and I figured out ourselves. It means ''unlimited'', and we figured out by looking at other runes that had similar-meaning parts." "Okay," she said. "And then you just¡­ draw them onto the items you''re enchanting?" "Sort of," Keith twirled the enchanting pen. "We have to use our magic to imbue it. A pen like this helps do it with more fine control, but we can use really anything. Hell, I could use a needle or my finger, if I wanted." "And the cards?" She asked. "You seem to use a different pen for that." "That''s not a pen," Keith shook his head. "That''s a mithril ''pencil''. It''s really just a mithril rod with some phoenix down woven into the tip, and we channel our magic through it to create the patterns that we''re drawing on. Don''t ask how Nathan got that, because I''ve no fucking clue." "Ichtvar had it," Nathan approached them and sat beside Keith. "He decided to give it to me to help with this. I''m not sure where he got it, but I think the down used for the tip might have been his." "Probably," Keith nodded in agreement. "So," Katie said. "With you two creating these enchantments. How much work goes into it? I''ve seen you two do some for a few days each, one for a couple of weeks, and some for maybe an hour, at most. It doesn''t seem consistent." "Depends on the complexity of the enchantment," Keith answered and Nathan begin inspecting the small orb he had been working on before leaving to use the restroom. "With the cards, we basically have the knowledge down because of how long we spent studying them. We could probably create dozens more types of cards on the first try, since we put a lot of research into them." "What are you working on?" She asked Keith. "A new card type?" "No," Keith answered. "I''m actually trying to create a way for us to simply mass-produce the cards. They''ll probably end up being weaker than if made by a person directly, but the mass-production of them will enable us to sell more of them to the government. It''ll also allow us to keep more of them secret." "It''ll take a lot of mana crystals, though," Nathan said. "Yeah," Keith said. "We''ll need to sort out a supply of that. The Enchanters'' Shop doesn''t really carry enough of them. Then again, most people don''t burn through them as quickly as we do." Nathan shrugged, then returned to enchanting the orb. "And what are you working on?" Katie asked. "A spy orb."This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "No, you aren''t," Keith said. "Yes, I am." "Are you done with the enchantment yet?" Keith asked, and Nathan contemplated it, then nodded. "All I have left is the protective one to increase its resiliency," Nathan informed Keith. "And the anti-read enchantments." "Alright," Keith said. "I''ll be right back." Keith went into the kitchen and filled a large pot with water, before carrying it back to their work station. Without the System, he knew he''d not have been able to carry that pot unless he had been through Nathan''s training. With the System, however, that didn''t matter, as even without Nathan''s training, the Strength increases would have been enough. With the reality of the end of the System in his mind, he had begun to think about things like that. How different things would have been without the System and its granted Stats, and how he''d handle a situation he was in. With the pot, he would have used air or force magic to help carry it, much like with the statues from the Isles of Darkness. The psychic set the pot down on the table, then pulled out a card and reached into it, pulling out several fistfuls of dirt. He dumped that into the pot, along with some vegetable oil and gasoline, before dumping nearly a cup of salt and another of sugar into the pot. Force magic was used to stir it, and then he took the orb from Nathan. "Look inside the pot," Keith told Katie. "Why do you have dirt in a card?" She asked. "So that we could test this," Keith answered. "Look inside." Katie did as Keith activated the orb, then gently dropped it into the pot, using force magic to create barriers around his hands and arms to keep them clean and free of the dirt, oil, and gas. At first, Katie wasn''t able to see anything change, and continued to not be able to for several minutes, then sat down. "Nothing happened," she said. "Look again in about ten minutes," Keith told her. "But if you look now, you''ll see that the water is moving on its own ¨C that''s why nothing''s settling." "The orb is used to stir the pot?" She asked in confusion. "No," Nathan stood. "It''s almost time for dinner. Since that''s working, I''m going to go cook. I''m making lasagna." "He really likes lasagna, doesn''t he?" Katie asked after Nathan left. "It was Cyrus''s favorite food," Keith told her. "And with his real-world day of death coming up, Nathan''s eating it a lot. Part of the reason he doesn''t want to be in the game right now is to get to the day of his brother''s death and the day of the funeral faster." While Keith knew Nathan had initially wanted to do longer runs to delay that, he also knew that Nathan had become resistant to it partly because of the day coming up. Suddenly faced with having to endure a metaphorical eternity before passing by those dates made the demigod rethink things. "Oh," Katie looked in the direction of the kitchen. "I didn''t realize." "Easy not to," Keith shrugged. "It''s not really come up, and you weren''t really ''in the know'' on that to start with. But yeah, Nathan always consumes a lot of lasagna up through the day of the funeral. Lasagna and bread sticks." "Okay," Katie said. "Can you teach me some enchanting? Or do I have to wait until I''m awakened for that?" "You have to wait until you''re awakened," Keith answered. "And the enchanting Nathan and I do is technically classified. We''ve actually been working on lighter stuff while you''re looking. That, and we know you can''t actually keep up with what we''re doing or remember it." "Yeah," Katie admitted. "It''s a bit beyond me. What was the purpose of the orb?" "I''ll show you in a few," Keith told her. "Mind if I work on this a bit more? I want to try to get this done in the next week. Nathan and I actually have a pretty heavy schedule for this run, on top of our training each other, ourselves, and you." "Alright," she said. "Sorry." "Don''t apologize," Keith smiled. "Part of the reason Nathan agreed to bring you here was so we could train you so that you''d be able to keep up with the rest of us." "Okay," she said. Keith returned to working, and when Nathan finally brought over their lunch, he looked in the pot. "Success." "Only took an hour or so," Keith said. "Impressive. I did a pretty high density of that." "Yeah," Nathan fished the orb out, and Katie looked at the sludge inside of it. The orb itself was glowing with a faint green light. "As I said, I just needed to do the protective and anti-read enchantments." "What''s that?" Katie asked. "Look inside the pot," Keith told her. Katie looked inside the pot, finding the water clear once more. "Did that purify the water?" She asked. "Yep," Keith answered. "Now that we have the freshwater version made, we''ll work on a saltwater version. We were working on it in the last run, too, but ran into a few issues with it." "Saltwater," she said. "Wait, saltwater, like the ocean?" "Exactly," Nathan said. "We can drain the sludge out ourselves. The green glow is there because it''s in contact with water that''s not contaminated with any of the ''forbidden substances''." "We can adjust the programming of the enchantments," Keith said. "After taking samples of a water source and seeing what''s natural and what its contaminants are. This way, we can also purify natural springs that end up contaminated, too. Waters with minerals in them naturally that shouldn''t be pulled out." "That would make oil spill cleanups so much easier," she said. "And cleaning the ocean back up, too." "Yeah," Nathan said. "And we''ll charge oil companies millions of dollars each time we use it to ensure they know they''re still paying for their fuckups, because this isn''t a free ride to do whatever they want, especially since the oil is recoverable." Katie examined the orb, then looked at one of the others sitting on the table, picking it up and turning it over in her hands. "I thought these were solid," she said. "They''re heavy. "They are," Keith told her. "I''m using my magic on smaller ones to alter them into larger sizes. An application of heat and force magics allows me to reshape them with ease, even resealing them back up better than without magic would allow. This allows me to create a hollow orb with no creases. It takes me about two minutes to do, which is probably why you haven''t noticed." "So what will this one be used for?" She asked. "It''s a larger one already, and still solid." "That one won''t be expanded," Keith told her. "We can use solid ones, too, such as my scrying orbs." Nathan also liked using them to refract his light magic, but Keith wasn''t going to comment on that, because he technically wasn''t aware of it, as the demigod would only do it when alone. "Alright," she set the orb down, and Nathan set the purifying orb on a stand, before he sat down and began eating. "It smells good, Nathan." "Then start eating," he said. "Or it''ll go cold and taste off. I''m making pecan pie for dessert, too." "Why pecan pie?" She asked. "You''ve been making a lot of peach pies." "They didn''t send us very many peaches this time," he answered. "The supplies vary from run to run. Didn''t you catch that already?" "I did," she answered. "I didn''t realize they sent us fewer peaches this time." "They did," he told her, then shoved a forkful of food into his mouth, ending any conversation with himself until he finished eating. 00095 Nathan watched as Katie meditated and attempted to access her magic. She was slower than the rest of his team, which bothered him a little, but he had to remind himself that not everyone was gifted. Katie herself was remarkably ungifted. She was beautiful, yes, but that was most of what was going for her. She was easily pushed into doing thing, which is why her team during her Tutorial had been able to take advantage of her. That bothered him a lot more than her being slower than them. His interest in her was mostly to sleep with her, but he couldn''t help but also care about her a little bit more than that. He supposed it was Samantha''s influence on him, and Keith''s. Actually, when he thought over it, it was probably mostly Keith''s attempts at helping him feel the ''proper'' emotions, which meant Keith was more to blame than Samantha. It was strange to him, actually wanting to see someone improve. Someone other than Samantha, Keith, or Cyrus, that was. What he felt was most important, when he thought about how Katie should improve, was that she stopped being a pushover. But first, she needed to awaken her magic and decide if she wanted to be a witch or just a warrior with a bit of extra mana at her disposal. After that, he would work on her not being a pushover. It would make her more likely to survive. When he noticed a slight shift in her magics, Nathan sighed. He had suggested before that she strip to her underwear while trying to awaken her magic, but she refused because of what had happened to her. It didn''t matter that she let him wash her in the showers, she still wanted to be fully dressed outside of there. It was probably the only thing he had found her to not be a pushover on, and in his opinion, it was the wrong thing to be firm on. Katie''s magic awakened a moment after the shift that made her magic visible to Nathan, a slight, but steady trickle of mana flowing out of her. Her eyes remained closed as she focused on controlling her mana, pulling it back into her and cutting off the leak. When she finished, she fell over. Keith pulled out a plastic bucket from a playing card and set it beside Katie. "She''s going to puke when she wakes up," Keith told Nathan when the demigod looked at him. "Since she wouldn''t take off her clothes." "I was trying to find that before we entered the game." "Oh," Keith said. "Sorry, guess I didn''t realize you were looking for it." "I was." "Sorry?" Keith offered. "She''ll probably only be out for a few minutes. Want to play Go Fish?" "Going to cheat again?" "I wasn''t cheating." "You counted cards." "I was not counting cards," Keith rolled his eyes. "I was playing normally, Nathan. Just like you." "I''d rather play chess over Go Fish." "Even though you''ll lose?" "Against Katie." "You''ll still lose." Nathan grunted in annoyance. He''d lost to Katie two out of their three games so far. Playing against Keith was a nightmare, because the psychic was simply that much better than him. He had much better luck with Monopoly. The pair of them watched as Katie went through her awakening sleep, waking after nearly an hour. She promptly began puking into the bucket, and when she finished, she gave Nathan an uneasy look. "Now I now why you were insisted on that," she told him. "So are you going to strip?" He asked. She nodded, shuddering as she stripped. He tried to sympathize with her, but found it difficult. He knew she had it worse than he had when he awakened, due to how long he had been unconscious allowing his body to acclimate more, but being able to sympathize with her just didn''t happen. Indifference was what he felt. "Also," Katie whispered. "Do you think we can whisper?" "Sorry," he whispered, though he was tempted to speak normally. Katie finished stripping, then closed her eyes and rested, doing her best to handle how she felt with her enhanced senses. Over the next week and a half, Katie did her best to adjust to her higher senses, and Nathan missed washing her, aware that his touch for that would overwhelm her in several ways. When she was finally ready for training again, she joined Nathan and Keith for their morning practice. After the martial arts training finished, Nathan sat Katie down and stared at her. "Yes?" She asked after several minutes of silence, Keith practicing off to the side. "You received a six-times boost, right?" He asked. "Yes," she answered.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Do you want to be a witch?" He asked. "Learning spells and spending your time focusing on that? Or do you want to be a warrior like Samantha?" "How viable is fighting as a witch?" She asked. "I''d rather focus on the one that will help me best." "You have over 500 Mana now," Nathan said. "Which means that using just a basic force push spell, you can do some damage. Your Magic is over your Strength, so that would probably be optimal. You''d need to train your magical stamina a bit, but that''s part of what these extended Survival Challenges are for ¨C training." "We only have another week until this session ends," she says. "Will I be able to start combat next session, as we had planned?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "You''ll start off with your body and knife as you train your magic, then you''ll move on to magic once you''re able to use force push enough to kill the monsters. Our goal, by the time you leave these things this run of Challenges, is for you to be on-par with others in our group." "Also," Keith said. "Do not put any Stat Points into Mana." "Why not?" Katie asked. "Familiars," Nathan said. "Cannot be contracted here, only outside. If you draw too close to 1,000 Mana, you''ll need a familiar. If you train in magic every day here, you may draw close to needing a familiar before we leave, possibly even reach that threshold." "Which means," Keith added. "That you''ll need to stop training. We recommend that if you reach close to 80 Mana Stat, or 800 Mana Energy." "Okay," she said. "So how do I perform a force push? You''ve both demonstrated it for me before." "I''ll teach," Nathan moved to sit beside Katie, and Keith shrugged. The demigod held out his right hand, palm facing away from him. "Hold out your hand like this. Feel for your mana, and draw upon it. Visualize a force of magic pushing out of your hand, and as you do, draw upon that power within you. When you succeed, you''ll do this." A small ripple of white energy flowed out of his hand, soaring several yards across the cafeteria before fading away. "Yours probably won''t go as far," he told her. "You''re using what''s essentially a new muscle to you. Once you grow used to the spell, it''ll cost less mana, and you''ll have more control over it and how much power you can put into it. Don''t worry about altering it yet, just focus on generating it. Once you grow familiar with it, you can start to alter it, change its dimensions and strength." "You can work on that in about a week," Keith said. "You don''t have to be too familiar with it." "Okay," Katie held out her hand, and Nathan watched as she concentrated. Several minutes passed, and during that, Nathan created strings of magic between the related tips of fingers between his two hands. At first, they were white, then he began to change them between various colors. When Katie managed to create a small force push of blue magic, he congratulated her. "Thanks," she said. "It only traveled a few inches, though." "You''ll be able to do more the more you practice," he said. "And remember, your regeneration isn''t too high, so don''t drop under half in the next session." "Alright," she said, then looked at the strings between his fingers. "Is that some sort of training exercise?" "Cut it," he held his hands up. "With your hand. Just chop it." She did, and her hand passed through all five strings. "They''re made of light," he told her. "I''m working on getting familiar with the strings of light, to make it easier to summon them directly rather than strings of magic, then change them into strings of light." "That''s the first time his strings have actually been fully light," Keith snorted, and Nathan glared at him. "What? It''s true. Normally, they''re still partially force magic after your transition. You''re getting better at that." "Not good enough for a whip yet," Nathan muttered, then frowned at Katie''s amused look. "What?" "Just the thought of you using a whip is¡­ an odd image," she told him. "I can''t see you doing that." "Keith has a whip," Nathan told her. "Which is made up of lightning. He also has another made up of swift-moving wind. Both are extremely damaging to that which they touch." "Nathan just wants to be able to whip light around," Keith told Katie. "Ignore it. It''s just something he wants to do, and nothing more." "I know what you want to do," Nathan muttered. "I want to finish today''s training session so we can get back to working on that enchantment," Keith told Nathan. "That one''s something we''re working on simultaneously, which means I have to wait for you, too." "Yeah, yeah," Nathan said. "I''ll finish up in a bit. Try it again, Katie. This time, aim at-" Keith raised an eyebrow. "-the wall." Katie snorted and moved her hand to aim at the wall, practicing the spell over and over until she had run down to half of her mana. When she finished, she looked at the two men with her. Keith was looking exasperated while Nathan had¡­ A figure of light above his palm, shaped into a woman''s form. It was made up of yellow light, and was completely nude. Nathan himself was focusing on it, and when she looked at it, she realized that its form was changing a little at a time as Nathan reshaped the spell. He glanced at her, then back to the figure and made more adjustments. After the third time she saw him do that, she realized what he was doing. "Is that supposed to be me?" She asked. "Yes," he answered. "Why am I naked?" "I tried doing clothes," he told her. "But that got complicated, so I just started doing you naked. I''m fixing your hair right now." "Why are you making a small figure of me out of light?" "Keith suggested," Nathan told her. "That to entertain Cyrus, I should learn to make various shapes and figures. He said I should practice it now so that I can do a variety of them for him by the time we leave here." "And so you''re doing me?" She asked. "It''s easier to practice shaped light spells," Nathan said. "By using a model that''s right here. I''m doing the nude form based off what I remember from the showers. I''ll do some practice with my memories of the stuffed animals I got for Cyrus once I can do models of you and Keith easily, since you''re both here and are a better visual aid than memories." "Yeah," Keith said. "He was doing me first, but stopped when I shot it with a bit of force magic. Then he decided to do you instead." "You shot it with magic?" Katie asked. "He was having trouble with my clothes," Keith said. "So he was making it off his memories of me in the showers." "And?" She asked. "I was hard," Keith told her, face red. "It''s nothing to be ashamed of," she told him. "You have a very nice package." "Thanks," Keith stood up. "Nathan, training session is over, and has been for awhile. Let''s get to work on the project." "I''m almost done," Nathan told him. "Give me a few more minutes." "What is your project, anyway?" Katie asked. "You two suddenly started working on something new a week ago, but it seemed like you''d already worked on it before." "We''re making a bomb," Keith told her. "A magical bomb. We''ve been doing it the last few extended Survival Challenges, then setting it off in the gymnasium shortly before the Challenge ends. We can''t make the really big ones we want to here, but we''ll do that the next time we go into a Dungeon, since those are, well, not artificial." "Why are you making bombs?" She asked. "As a fail-safe," Nathan answered. "In case negotiations with Endariv goes wrong." 00096 "That was unexpected," Nathan said. "You guys weren''t expecting that?" Katie asked, pale and trembling. "Nope," Keith answered. "But you destroyed the gym!" "The bomb was a little bit stronger than we expected," Keith told her. "We don''t normally have a blast radius bigger than twenty feet. That was¡­ definitely not expected." "Maybe it was that extra rune formula we put in?" Nathan suggested. "Probably," Keith responded, then looked around the Fields of Choice. "That was definitely unexpected." After setting off the bomb, Nathan and Keith had both quickly erected barriers to protect them from the blast, realizing that standing at the edge of the gym wouldn''t protect them the moment it went off. As the explosion destroyed the gym, they suddenly found themselves in the Fields of Choice, a message in their visions in addition to the normal one stating their reward for surviving the Challenge.
Due to the destruction of the gymnasium and resulting instability of the artificial dimension, you have been returned to the Fields of Choice for your safety.
The speed of it led to the enchanters deciding that the System was probably already designed to do that. It wasn''t unreasonable to expect that others had damaged the artificial dimension''s exterior walls enough to result in it become unstable before. Not when they knew that there were worlds and dimensions where using them to train was normal, and that Nathan wasn''t the only demigod in existence. "Take a few minutes to rest," Nathan told Katie. "We''ll go in again after a resource check." Nathan and Keith began taking stock of their resources and what they had left. After finishing that, they stretched a little, then Nathan took a nap as Keith walked off. Katie looked at Nathan, then followed after Keith. "What are you doing?" She asked. "Checking the Dungeons," he answered. "They change after every run to account for the party''s abilities. While you won''t actually affect it much right now due to your lower stats, Nathan and I both increased our Magic and Mana Stat a bit with our training. As a result, it''s possible new Dungeons are available for us. Even just a few stats'' difference can be a major difference in ability to handle things, and we can increase our Magic and Mana Stat by one per day if we actually try. More if we push harder." "I see," she said. "So you do this every time?" "Well, I only recently started this," Keith told her. "But basically, yes. By the way, have you done the Tower Dungeon yet?" "Yes," she answered. "Just one run. You?" "Yeah," he answered. "I went up to Floor Five before quitting. Nathan hasn''t done it yet. When I asked him if he knows when he''s going to, he said he''s not interested. He''d rather get this research done and do some Dungeons. Stuff that will help in our quest to destroy the game and the System overall." "Ah," she said, then looked at the Dungeon archways. "It seems like you''re just barely looking at them before moving on." "I sort-of am," he told her. "I can quickly and easily memorize their information, so I do that, then move on. We have hundreds of them to look at. Nathan''ll get started on this in a few minutes, too. We''ll then compare differences and make a note of what''s new, if any, then head into the game." "You didn''t do this before we went in before," she said. "Yeah," he nodded. "You being with us threw us off and we forgot. We''ll also compare what''s missing when we compare our lists, to see which ones were completed by others. You should get some rest, Katie. I think Nathan wants you to fight soon after we reenter." "I don''t think I''m ready for that," she told him. "There will be weaker monsters," Keith said. "At the start. After five days, there will be a slight difference. After twenty days, it''ll be almost impossible to find the weakest monsters. After a month, there won''t be any. So it''s best if you do at least one to five kills a day, minimum. Nathan''s plan for if you''re still a bit too hesitant to fight is to throw you in a room with a weaker monster and prevent you from exiting." "But wouldn''t that-" "Either you fight, or you die," Keith told her. "Simple as that. To Nathan, that''s the most effective way to get you to go from not wanting to fight and having issues with it to actually fighting. If you go with him once we''re in there to do the first fight, he''ll be right there for it, watching you." "Can I ask you something?" She asked. "Something seriously, Keith?" "I''m not Nathan," he told her. "You can ask, and I''ll probably actually answer rather than fuck around." "Why does Nathan care so much about me?" She asked. Keith contemplated his answer as he looked at several more Dungeons, then answered as he continued looking.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "He wants to sleep with you," Keith said. "But is conflicted on that. You''re attractive, and fit into his preferences, but at the same time, your personality is a bit¡­ wrong for that. You''re too passive and timid." "But shouldn''t that turn him off to me?" She asked. "From what Samantha''s told me, everyone he''s slept with ¨C her included ¨C has had much stronger personalities than me. It doesn''t make sense." "It does," Keith said. "When you factor in that the blood of a god flows through your veins." "I think my magic being blue disproves that." "Not as a first-generation descendant," Keith shook his head. "According to my familiar, one of your grandparents was a demigod. I''d mentioned to him one night that I found Nathan''s fascination with you strange because of your personality, and he''d mentioned that you''re two generations beneath a demigod." Katie thought that over. "So Nathan is sensing the divine ancestry," she said. "And that''s why he actually cares," Keith nodded. "Even if it confuses him. I mentioned it to him, and he just shrugged and said ''well, if she couraged up a bit, it wouldn''t matter''. He wants to help you, and is trying to do it in his own way, and part of that stems from him caring about you even though you don''t have the strength in your personality that he usually gets with. It''s weird." "Do you think Master Torzin knows?" She asked. "That I''m descended of a god, I mean?" "It''s possible," Keith answered. "It''s also possible he doesn''t know. He might have known about your grandparent, though. They''re unawakened, no doubt. That, or died before awakening." "All four of my grandparents are still alive," she told him. "Can you be sure of that?" He asked. "Are you sure all four of them are related to you by blood? Anyway, demigods are extremely rare, and from what Master Torzin''s said, it doesn''t seem like there''d been one between Nathan and Merlin." She fell silent, and Keith continued checking the Dungeons. "So," Katie said after several minutes. "Nathan wants to change me just so he can sleep with me comfortably?" "No," Keith said. "Nathan would fuck you now, if you let him. He wants to change you because he cares about you, and the change he wants you to make will help you survive in the game. And I do agree with him on that ¨C you need to courage up and be ready to fight when necessary, especially if you''re to be a part of Nathan''s team." "Why?" She asked. "Because," Keith said. "He''s got this new rule. If you''re a part of his harem, you have to be willing to kick ass as a member of his team. Samantha doesn''t need to courage up because she''s already a badass chick. Michael, William, and I are all fighters, even if we aren''t harem members. Elise is a pretty decent fighter as well, and she''s Michael''s girlfriend. You''d be the odd-one out, and Nathan won''t want to lag behind in a fight or Challenge just to cater to you for being so much weaker and more hesitant than us. He''d also not be happy leaving you behind or going to weaker things just because of you. He also doesn''t want a harem member who can''t also be a part of his team." "Oh," she said. "Yeah," he said. "And I don''t blame him. I''d hate having to lag behind because a member of our team is significantly weaker than the rest of us and hesitant to fight." Katie thought over that as Keith continued checking Dungeons. She could understand where they were coming from. She did feel useless because she was weaker than everyone else. Then there was the issue that she was hesitant to fight. When it came down to it, she just wasn''t a fighter. But she was a player against her will, and that meant she needed to fight. The best chances for survival was to join a team and be a part of it, and Nathan''s team was the best available option for her. The other survivors in her group didn''t want her because she was weaker, and the rest of the players at the facility didn''t know her that well. That left her with Nathan''s team, which had higher standards than the others. "What if I didn''t want to be a part of his harem?" She asked Keith. "He wouldn''t be too bothered," Keith answered. "And before you get offended, Nathan doesn''t see it as you owing him sex, even after all the help he''s given you and interest you''ve shown in him. The only person he feels owes him sex is Samantha, and that''s because of stuff she did to him. Sexual stuff. Long story, don''t ask. But he''ll also take ''no'' from her, allowing her to give him the ''owed'' sex when she decides to and isn''t pregnant." She thought some more as they continued walking, Keith checking the Dungeons. As confusing as Nathan was ¨C and as much of an ass as he could be at times ¨C he wasn''t truly a bad person. Blunt, direct, and without a filter for the most part, but it got his point across and the job done. He did seem interested in helping her survive in the game and become a stronger player. "What do you think I should do?" She asked Keith. "In regards to fighting and your timidness with it?" He asked. "Yes." "Fight," he answered. "Fight one or two monsters a day at first. Get used to fighting. The more you get used to it, the less it will bother you. Not everyone can be as ruthless and heartless as Nathan. Some people will charge in head-first and push down their fears, only to let it to bother them once things settle down. Others? They have to get used to it over time or be forced to jump into the deep end." "And I''m in the latter category." "Correct," he said. "And I advocate going the route of getting used to it over time. That would be the best option for you, in my opinion. It''s also why we''re not doing Optional Challenges in the next run, though we will in the one after if we feel you still need an added boost. Our goal is to get you up to Level 150 and not having an issue with fighting the monsters and various other things you''ll have to face in the Challenges before we leave here. That way, if you decide to not be a part of Nathan''s team, you shouldn''t have too much of an issue joining up with another, including the other survivors from your own batch." "Thanks," she told him. "You''re welcome," he said. "I hope everything is clear to you, now?" "Let me just make sure I understand things correctly," she told him. "Nathan wants to sleep with me, despite me not having a ''strong'' personality. That probably stems from me having a god for a great-grandparent and him being a demigod. He wants to help me get over my issues and be willing to fight when needed, partly to strengthen me, partly because he prefers women with that sort of personality. Even if I decide I don''t want to be a part of his harem or his team, he''s still wanting to help me so that I can stand on my own two feet after we leave here." "Yeah," Keith responded. "That does sum it up pretty well. That said, he does think you''re nice, even without a stronger personality. He thinks you have a nice personality, it''s just not one he finds attractive. If he looked for friends, your personality wouldn''t be an issue at all." "All of his friends are pretty different from me." "He has two friends," Keith said. "Me and Samantha, and Samantha''s his girlfriend, so she technically doesn''t count. The others are teammates. People he trusts to hold their own in a fight and in the game. People he''ll tolerate being on his team. I know him well enough to know that he''d actually be okay with you as just a friend, even if you decide to never sleep with him." Keith paused for a moment. "Well," he had to add. "He''d be okay with having you as just a friend once he decided that having friends was something he didn''t want to avoid anymore." 00097 "Why am I wrapping my fists?" Katie asked. "You aren''t," Nathan held up the wrap. "I am, and you''re going to watch so you know how to do it properly." "Why are my fists being wrapped?" Katie decided to rephrase her question. "To protect them," Nathan answered. "When you punch things, you risk damaging your knuckles, and-" "Nathan," Keith spoke up from where he was applying his barrier runes. "She''s asking why that''s necessary when Endurance and Health means she won''t really get damaged." Nathan looked at the bandages, then at Katie, then at the bandages, then tossed the bandages onto a nearby table. "It''s the principle of the matter." "By that," Keith told Katie. "He means that it''s force of habit and he forgot about Endurance and Health." "Got it," she said. "Are we going now?" "Yes," Nathan led her out of the cafeteria and into the halls, which were already cleared of monsters. "Come on, Icthvar says he left a few this way." They walked through the halls until reaching an H-3 demon, which stared at the two of them, then began to run towards them. "Don''t just defend, fight!" Nathan told Katie as she held up her hands. Katie nodded, taking a few shaky breaths as the demon came towards them. As the demon struck at her, she did her best to defend herself, and Nathan groaned. "Katie! Fight back, or it''s going to keep hitting you!" Katie nodded, then punched forward at the first opening she saw. Her fist struck it in the chest and the demon snarled in response, clawing at her. She blocked the attack with her right forearm, then punched again, before kicking up with her foot, connecting to the side of its head. A few more punches, and its Health was gone, then a few more, and it lay on the ground, dead and fading. Nathan groaned as he looked at her clothes. "They''re torn up," he pointed at her clothes. "Because you spent so much time just defending, and it managed to get you with its claws a lot. And that kick should have been a little higher up. You also hesitated on your strikes a lot. Were you not a part of the System, that demon would have killed you." "Sorry, Nathan," she said. "Don''t say sorry," he snapped. "It''s you who''d be dead, not me." He paused for a few moments, thinking over stuff Keith had told him. "That was your first serious time fighting," he told her. "Based on what you told us. Most of your Experience came from you tag-teaming things or being a decoy. It''s natural you''d be hesitant, because you''re used to getting hurt. That''s part of why we''re starting you off with things we know you can handle, especially as it will help build up your Experience and Levels a bit. "Just remember," Nathan told her. "That it''s better to strike first than to let the monsters strike first. In nearly all cases, this holds true. Think about what you did wrong in each fight, and use that to improve." Katie narrowed her gaze at him. "That''s not like you," she said. "That mentorly talk isn''t like you at all. That came from Keith, didn''t it?" "It came from me," Nathan said quickly, then paused for a moment. "Though maybe he did have some influence on it." She snorted at that, and he grunted. "Want to fight another?" He asked. "Or no?" "Let me try another," she answered. "Okay," Nathan responded. "Itchver said there''s another around the corner." Nathan helped Katie through three more fights, each one slightly better than the last, Katie doing her best to not flinch at attacks and do nothing but defend. During her fourth fight, one of her kicks connected with the side of the demon''s head, and she yelped, falling backwards. As the demon closed in on Katie, who was holding her right ankle in pain, Nathan jumped in front of her and punched the monster square in the chest. With his System-enhanced Strength, his strike punched through the demon''s chest, his fist protruding out the other side. The difference in his Strength and Endurance was simply too high for its Health to handle. Nathanpulled his arm back, then knelt by Katie. "Let me see your ankle," he began gingerly poking at it with his left hand, rotating it slightly without removing her shoe. She winced. "It''s probably strained from the impact, but not broken. I don''t remember teaching you to kick like that." "I''ve seen it a lot in shows." "Yeah, that''s your problem," he told her as he helped her up with his clean hand. "Lean on me. You want to kick with your heel, like I taught you. You can kick the way you were, but you''re more likely to hurt yourself doing so. Come on, let''s return to the cafeteria. Keith might be able to fix you up, and if not, I can bribe Icthvar with chocolate." "Thanks," she leaned on him. The pair made their way back to the cafeteria, where Keith gave them a curious look. "She hurt her ankle," Nathan answered simply. "Can you fix it?"The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "I can mend cuts and bruises," Keith told him. "If that''s what she has, then yes." "I''ll summon Ichtvar." Nathan helped Katie onto a seat, then made his way to the kitchen as he stripped off his tie and shirt. He cleaned off his arm, then dried it and pulled on a new shirt and tie. When he returned to the cafeteria, Ichtvar was sitting on the table beside Katie, her ankle mended. "I''m taking my-" "Stuff to the laundry room," Katie finished for him. "I know. You''re a bit of a clean freak when it comes to clothes. I''ll be fine, Ichtvar already mended my ankle." "Good," Nathan left, and Keith looked at her. "So how did your first real fighting go?" Keith asked. "Other than the ankle, anyway?" "It went well, I think," she answered. "I really don''t like getting that close to monsters, though. How long do you think before I can use force magic as an attack?" "In maybe a month," Keith answered. "Until then, you''ll need to keep training this way. How much Mana are you at?" "A little more than sixty percent," she answered. "Practice your force pushes," he told her. "Get yourself down to none." "Shouldn''t I wait until our session tomorrow?" She asked. "And why go all the way down to zero? I only recover around a hundred and forty-four per day, and with our training-" "New training," Keith told her. "We didn''t factor in your low regeneration. You''re still at one point every six hundred seconds. The best way to boost this, outside of the boosters you can buy when you meet the requirements to unlock them, is by burning up your Mana as much as possible. By keeping your Mana low or at none, it forces your magic to adapt, forces your mana pool to adjust. This will affect both how much you have and how quickly you regenerate it, so you''ll need to be careful, but it will increase your regeneration much faster than how you''re going now ¨C which is vital." "Okay," she said. "And I should just use the force push for that?" "Yes," he answered. "Your basic spell. The more you use it, the more familiar with it you''ll become, and the easier and cheaper it''ll be to cast. Once you''re ready for your next spell, which will be probably around the end of this session, we''ll either work on a barrier or a different type of magic. Both spells will be an extension of what you''re already casting." Katie frowned as she tried to piece that together. "How can using a different type of magic be an extension of the force push?" She asked. "I can see a barrier, as they''re both force magics, but a different type altogether?" "Force," Keith held up his right hand, a ball of raw, violet force magic forming above it. "Is the most basic of magics. It is nearly a pure form of magic itself, of your will and power. It sets the basis for all things. "Now," he held up his left hand, a ball of fire forming above it. "I have a fireball. Do you notice a similarity between the two spells?" "They''re both balls," she said. "But beyond that-" "Exactly," he said. "They''re both balls. With force magic, the most basic of magics, I can learn to shape a ball easier. Once I have the feel for creating a ball down, I can then move on to drawing on the pool of power in the form of a flaming ball, rather than simply a ball of pure magic. Of a different type of magic. "Now," he said, both spells disappearing. "I could have gone straight to learning the fireball spell at my first spell. However, magic is easier to learn when you already have a foundation for it. It takes most magicians four to six months to be able to competently cast a spell to the point where it''s safe for them to start learning another spell branching off of it. If you want to cast a spell that doesn''t have any similarities to one you already know or are familiar with, that timeframe extends because you must find a new feel to it. Meanwhile, force magic is the most basic and natural of magics. It is simply drawing upon your pool of power and pushing it out. That''s why pretty much everyone starts with learning that." "Okay," she said. "I can understand that, now." "Also," he held up his right hand once more. "Even once you''re learning other types of magic and aren''t focusing on force magic anymore, you can still always move back to force magic for the first steps towards a new spell." Above his palm, his violet force magic began to take shape, quickly forming up into a nude figure, a copy of Katie only six inches tall. The magical figure then began to perform a few martial arts moves over his palm, before returning to a neutral position. After that, the figure then changed from force magic into yellow light, and began performing several martial arts moves again, before returning to a neutral position. "Nathan tries to brute-force his way on a few things," Keith told her as her miniature disappeared in an explosion of golden sparkles. "But if he went back to force magics with that figure spell, he''d be able to cast it much more fluidly, even if he''d still take him a few weeks to a month to acquire the familiarity with it that would be considered ''proficient''. Then he''d be able to do the light version of it more easily." Katie pondered as she stared at where her miniature had been, before meeting Keith''s gaze. "How do you think Nathan will react," she said. "If he knows you made a naked me?" "Probably by doing his best to make a naked me," Keith indicated Nathan, who had returned and was standing behind Katie. She turned and jumped, then stared at Nathan''s attempt at making Keith out of light magic. "And that was my first time doing the spell, Katie." "That was his first time," Nathan''s imitation of Keith faded. "Doing you. He learned the spell to teach me how to perform finer details. He''s done me and him a few times. And he tried doing Ichtvar yesterday."" "Ichtvar," Keith explained when Katie gave him a confused look. "Has a lot more detail to him than a person, clothed or not. He has hundreds of feathers covering his entire body, and to do him means not skimping or cheating on those, like we can with the hair."" "Ah," she said. "That makes sense. Wait, you''ve been doing naked Nathans?" "He asked me to." It was Nathan''s turn to receive a confused look from Katie. "I wanted to see what his visual image of me was," Nathan answered simply. "He''s not a good artist, even if he''s good at visualizing his spells and shaping them into the desired forms. It was the logical way to do it. And Keith, her boobs are a little bigger than the ones you made on her figure." "Yeah, yeah," Keith said. "I wanted to make sure I wasn''t making them too big. Guess I made them a bit small by accident." "They were half as big as they really are," Nathan told him. "Get it right. You can get dicks right, why not boobs?" "Nathan, I pay less attention to boobs than I do to dicks," Keith said. "Most of the time I''ve seen hers, she''s wearing a bra or a shirt or gi top." "You''ve seen her naked." "I wasn''t looking at her in the showers," Keith told Nathan. "I''m not interested in her, Nathan, so it''s quite easy to not look." Nathan frowned. "You don''t look when I''m washing her?" "Are you upset by that?" Keith asked in shock. Never, in a million years, would Keith have thought that Nathan would actually want him to watch while the demigod cleaned a lover ¨C or future lover ¨C because of how private Nathan was when it came to things. He might tolerate Keith''s desires for him, but he didn''t tolerate others watching or being around when something sensual or sexual was going on. Nathan barely tolerated Keith being in the showers with the two of them if he was washing Katie the few times the psychic was in there for that. "No." "I think he is," Katie said, then blushed when they both looked at her. "Sorry." "Don''t apologize," Keith said. "That was actually pretty good. Yeah, he''s definitely upset that I don''t watch when he washes you. Nathan, why does that bother you?" "I lost a bet with Ichtvar," he muttered. "How do you even give a flaming bird a massage?" "I won''t be on fire for it," Ichtvar told him, reminding the trio of his presence. "How do you even give a bird a massage?" Nathan asked. 00098 "It''s a good thing you aren''t pregnant." Katie gave Nathan an unamused look. "What?" He asked. "That punched you in the stomach. What if you were pregnant? You might have lost the baby, then. So it''s a good thing you weren''t pregnant." "You''re ridiculous sometimes," Katie looked at her fifth kill of the day. "You woke up early today." "Food supply day," Nathan grumbled. "Ichtvar woke me up asking me to place a bet on where I thought the food would be." "That explains why he was avoiding you after bringing the food in." "I promised to shoot him." "I don''t blame you," she snorted. "Think you''re done fighting for today?" He asked. "Yeah," she nodded. "Showers, then lunch, or lunch, then showers?" Katie looked at her clothes and fists, then at Nathan. "Showers," she answered. "Then lunch." "Good choice," he said, and they made their way to the shower rooms. "Want me to wash you today?" He watched as she began to undress in the changing rooms, his question left unanswered at first. Ever since her awakening, Katie had yet to allow Nathan to wash her again, her body still sensitive as she continued to adjust to it. They were fifteen days into their second run, and she still refused every time because she still wasn''t sure she could handle the stimulation. Which is why her response stunned Nathan. "Only if it leads to more," she told him as they entered the changing room sin front of the showers. "Are you talking about sex?" He asked as he began to undress. "I am," her face reddened. "I didn''t know how else to say that, and then that just came out as I tried to think of something." "Okay," Nathan said. "Are you sure you want to have sex? You aren''t just saying this because I''ve been asking you and you know I want to sleep with you?" "I''m ready," she told him. "I''ve gotten to know you better, Nathan, and I know that it''ll still be weeks away before I''m ready enough for you to wash me again if we aren''t having sex, and I''d really like to feel your hands on me once more. I kind of missed it." "Then let''s hurry up and finish undressing," Nathan quickly stripped down. Katie did the same and they entered the showers to wash the blood off of her. Nathan carefully, but sensually, scrubbed her body, making sure to fondle her breasts and pleasure her nethers. Katie shuddered in pleasure at his touch, moaning heavily with his ministrations. After he cleaned the blood off of her, Nathan nuzzled her neck, pulling her against him from behind as he bent her forward. "Ooh!" Katie exclaimed as he penetrated her. Nathan began fucking Katie, doing his best to tune out her louder moans. As he thrust in her, his hands wandered around her stomach, breasts, and chest as he savored the feel of her soft flesh. When he climaxed, he stayed inside of her for a few moments, then pulled out and began scrubbing himself down. "That was¡­ not what I expected," Katie told Nathan, turning around and sliding down the shower wall so that she was sitting facing him. "You were noisy," he told her, and she stared at him in shock. "What?" "I don''t like it when it''s noisy during sex," he told her. "You were really noisy." "I''ll¡­ try not to be, next time?" She offered. "That was far, far different from the last time I had sex." "Probably because you were willing, I gave you some foreplay, and your senses are awakened." Katie stared at Nathan, her high from her orgasm quickly fading at his tone and words. "You really know how to kill a good feeling, don''t you?" She asked. "That wasn''t my intention," he finished scrubbing himself down, then rinsed off. "I was just stating the facts in response to what you said. When trying to be quieter during sex, try to turn your moans into exhales instead. There will still be some noise, but it won''t be as much." "I''ll keep that in mind," she said as he finished rinsing off. "Want to practice it now?" He asked. "There are a few other positions we can do in here, too." Thirty minutes later, Nathan and Katie returned to the cafeteria, where Keith was working on one of their projects. Nathan sat beside him as Katie sat at another table and began reading. She had tried learning enchanting, but couldn''t keep up with the two enchanting geniuses, and didn''t want to interfere with their work. As she did that, Nathan began examining the progress Keith had made. "Katie and I are now having sex," he told the psychic. "But don''t worry, you can still give me blowjobs." Keith gave him an incredulous look. "I haven''t been in the first place," Keith said. "And you don''t like blowjobs. You established that a long time ago." "It''s okay," Nathan patted Keith on the back. "You can still fantasize about giving me blowjobs." "¡­you''re just doing this to see if Katie''s paying attention, aren''t you?" "I am." "You know I can erect a privacy barrier, right?" Keith asked, glancing to their comrade. "Oh, right," Nathan said, and Keith snorted, then erected the barrier. "What did you want to talk about?" Keith asked. "And congratulations, I guess?" "Thanks." "So?" Keith asked. "What did you want to discuss?" "The island." "What about it?" Keith asked as Nathan set down the crystal and pulled out a box of Legos. "Nathan¡­" "How feasible is it to make that Point Zero?" "For the-" Keith began, then frowned. "It wouldn''t be easy, especially as it would be moving. That''s why we wanted it underground."Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. "But if our estimations are correct," Nathan opened up the box and began pulling out the bags of pieces. "Then we''d need to add some pretty potent wards to it. We''d need to enchant the chamber heavily, beyond what we''d have to for the island." "With the island moving around," Keith told him. "It would require a fuckton of other things. Additional research and resources put into it. And we''d only really be able to do that study here, where we know we''ll be watched." Nathan opened up the packages and began to assemble the kit as he thought it over. "Is that really a bad thing?" He asked as he flipped the page of the instruction booklet. "It''s not like they wouldn''t figure it out, and with the Soul Engine backing them, they''d be able to punch through. Its purpose is for after I die." "Right," Keith sighed. "And we still need that soul mage, too." "A powerful necromancer," Nathan said. "Who is also of a forged soul. That way, we can tie it into my death as one of its possible triggers. Since I''m dying after we destroy the Soul Engine, it won''t matter if our overlords know what we''re doing." "Alright," Keith said. "But we''re not researching that while others are with us. At all. We have to minimize chances that anyone not our overlords finds out about it." Nathan agreed on that. They had discussed things while Katie was in the cafeteria and they weren''t, and had come to the conclusion that if Nathan destroyed the Soul Engine, it would destabilize the universe. That theory came from what happened when they set off the bomb in the gym their last run, and from them being evicted from the run a few minutes early because the dimension destabilized. While neither were completely sure what would happen if an actual dimension was destroyed ¨C which is what it would take to destroy the Soul Engine ¨C both knew it might affect the rest of the universe. If the effects became negative, then it was likely that the universe''s citizens would seek out the source of that. And they would find it on Earth. Because of that, Nathan and Keith wanted to create a form of shield around Earth, sealing off the passageways in and out and preventing new ones from being forced open. An enchantment similar to the one which protected the dimension housing the Soul Engine. The enchantment would have two triggers for it, the first being a manual trigger, the second being Nathan''s death. The first trigger would be so that Nathan or Keith could turn it on if they became aware of a threat to Earth from outside, the second would be in case someone from outside ¨C or inside ¨C Earth managed to kill Nathan. Whoever did that would also hunt down anyone else part of the project, and possibly his son as well. While the pair of teens couldn''t be too sure, they suspected the universe would instantly force anyone on Earth who didn''t belong off of Earth as soon as the enchantment turned live. Their main issue with the enchantment was powering it. Even the mana orbs had their limits, and the enchantment would require several of them. It would also require them to succeed in raising the limit of how much mana could be drawn out at once. "The main problem with researching it," Nathan said. "Is that it''s virtually impossible in here, yet this is the only place we can really research it." "We can do bits and pieces here," Keith told Nathan. "Other bits outside. Don''t forget the government will be supplying us with a fair bit of what we want, too, and we''ll be able to acquire more from elsewhere." "Yeah," Nathan rubbed his temples. "By the way, do you think Katie figured out what we''re working on right now yet?" "No," Keith snorted. "If she did, she''d probably kick up a fuss. Samantha''s probably in the minority of women who''d not have an issue with it." Nathan looked at the orb Keith was enchanting, thinking that Samantha would probably want to use it, herself. "Shouldn''t that be ''define'', not ''defined''?" He asked. "I did ''defined'' because I thought it might work better," Keith told him. "If it fails, we can probably adjust it to ''define'' and see if that works. Don''t worry, I''m taking meticulous notes on what I''m doing." "Okay," Nathan indicated another section of the enchantment. "I thought we agreed to nix that?" "We did," Keith said. "But then I realized we needed something similar there. That''s a placeholder until I can figure out a better sequence." "What do we need that section for?" Nathan asked. "It''s just about defining colors. Also, you used ''define'' there instead of ''defined''." "The actual formula won''t have a section for defining colors," Keith told him. "That''s actually going to read colors, but defining colors was similar enough to work." "Read colors?" Nathan asked, then realized the purpose. "Ah." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "Actually, I''m nearly finished with the enchantment. Want me to try it?" "We''re still on the orb version," Nathan glanced at Katie, who was absorbed into her book. He looked back to Keith. "How will it display the results?" "It should display it in a sequence in the orb," Keith told him. "Much like it does when I use my scrying orb." "Okay," Nathan said. "Let me know when you''ve finished. We can test it on both of us." "Will do," Keith said, and they returned to work. A few times, Keith interrupted Nathan to ask for his input, or Nathan stopped to make a comment about Keith''s choices, and an hour later, Keith declared it ready for testing. "If this works properly," Keith told him. "We can move on to condensing it down to a card version." "Yeah," Nathan glanced at Katie. "Let''s test it in another room." "Katie," Keith stood and called out to her, and she looked up from her book. He held up the orb. "Nathan and I are taking this to another room to test, we should be back in a bit, but stay here." "You two forgot to eat lunch," she said. "We didn''t forget," Nathan picked up an empty package off the table. "We snacked on crackers, gummies, and other stuff. I''m making an early dinner. You should know this by now." Katie sighed, but nodded, and the two enchanters left, making their way to another section of school. In a classroom Keith had painted enchantments on to prevent monsters from spawning in, the psychic stripped naked and Nathan pulled out a storage card. From that, he removed a measuring strip, a pad, and a pencil, then began taking Keith''s measurements, making sure to miss nothing, not even the smallest of measurements. There were the normal sizes, such as leg height, arm length, chest, and such, but he also took more finer details, such as the sizes of Keith''s eyes and irises, nostrils, nose, mouth, ears, and more. Each measurement he took, he noted down in his notebook, making sure to include what he had measured. He worked in a specific order, so that his notes would match up with the displayed results in the same order. When he finished, he held the orb forward, and Keith touched it. Nathan pushed his magic into it to activate the orb, and a string of numbers appeared inside, wrapping around into several layers. "Argh!" Keith exclaimed. "Seriously? I thought I sorted that! We can do you after I fix that, Nathan." "I want to get measured now." "You just want to make sure your dick is still bigger than mine," Keith said. "And it is, considering mine hasn''t grown since I measured it in the Tutorial. We can retry the enchantment after you make dinner. I''ll work on fixing it doing a string rather than listing while you do that. It didn''t even list what each measurement is for." "What is it measuring in?" Nathan asked. "It''s supposed to be the Imperial system," Keith told him. "But it looks like random gibberish to me." "Hm," Nathan thought for a few moments, then called Ichtvar to the room. When the phoenix arrived, he indicated the orb. "Do you recognize those runes?" "I''m more interested in why you''re a room with a naked Keith," Ichtvar said. "Are you two getting it on in here?" "This is the measuring orb," Nathan held up the orb. "It measures the sizes of the person who touches it. We had to take down all of Keith''s measurements to make sure it''s accurate. If it''s accurate for both of us, then we can move on to condensing it to a card. If Samantha were here, we''d use her a guinea pig, but we have Katie. She''d have an issue with it. So we were using Keith. He just didn''t get dressed again after I summoned you." Keith began dressing as Ichtvar examined the orb. "I''d say that''s the First Language," Ichtvar said, and the enchanters stared at him. "The First Language, also known as the Language of Magic, is the first language to exist within a universe. It exists even before life did, and is the defining point of all magic. I actually only suspect it, because I only recognize one of the runes. However, if you''re using magic to discern sizes, then it makes sense it would respond in magic." "But our measurements for someone''s natural mana doesn''t," Keith said as he resumed dressing. "That''s because you''ve defined the values in the enchantment," Ichtvar told him. "You regularly tested it and adjusted it, telling it what to respond with, and so the enchantment has a set list of definitions to use and respond with. Here, you didn''t give it that. You probably did teach it to measure, so it might actually be giving you the appropriate responses, but the enchantment doesn''t know English, doesn''t know Arabic numerals, so it''s not displaying them." "That makes sense," Keith sighed. "Okay, so we need to sort that out, too. Would you be able to help me sort that out while Nathan cooks?" "I can try," Ichtvar responded. "But I''ve never tried doing an enchantment like that before, nor have I seen one like that before. I also don''t know the First Language." "Thanks," Keith said. "I have a question, though," Icthvar said. "Why are you two making an enchantment which can register, read, and display someone''s measurements?" "Once we do that," Nathan said. "We can then strip away the unnecessary parts of it, modify it a little into a device, and then sell the readers to clothing stores, which would decrease the time needed to fit someone properly to the outfit. They can use the reader in an instant, rather than taking however long it normally takes to measure someone out." Ichtvar stared at Nathan. "Also," Nathan said. "Because it might help with fitting uniforms for soldiers, police, et cetera. It can also help with the outfits needed for that world the government farms resources from, since those are custom-made to fit the people." "Naturally," Keith said. "We''ll keep this enchantment secret. A talented enough enchanter will be able to reverse-engineer it once they know it''s possible, but that would still probably take a little time, and chances are, someone doing that would probably be doing it for perverted reasons." "Like noting a woman''s sizes," Nathan nodded. 00099 "Are you ready for this?" Nathan asked. "I am," Katie answered. "Alright," Nathan said. "Remember, now that you''re going to be fighting with magic, you should keep your distance from the monsters. Move back if you need to, but most importantly, do your best to keep them from getting close in the first place. If you can''t just take them out immediately, aim for the legs. Knock them off-balance so they fall to the ground, then take them out while they''re down." Katie nodded, then the two of them left the cafeteria, Nathan leading the way to where his familiars said a monster awaited. They were nearing the end of their run, so the monsters were stronger there, but Nathan had assured Katie that her Magic was high enough to defeat them, as long as she didn''t waste too many shots. For the last few days, they told her not to practice her magic at all, to allow her Mana to restore to full for her first session using it as the method to kill. That would allow them a better estimate of how much she could do and handle. Since she had decided weeks before that fighting physically was not her thing, knowing sooner was better. When they reached the monster, Katie held out her right hand, manifested a push of force, and shot it at the demon. The last two weeks of training had consisted of her practicing not just shooting them, but giving them a more condensed form, creating miniature force bolts. Her first shot hit the demon in the left breast as it began to run towards her, and she followed Nathan''s advice, aiming at its legs. Her first shot connected with its left leg, her second missed, and her third and fourth shot hit it in the right leg, just above its ankle. The impact knocked its leg back, sending the demon to the ground. Katie shot at it several more times, wearing out the rest of its Health and hitting its legs anytime it tried to stand back up. Once she no longer received Health notifications and her attacks were piercing its skin, she shot at its back, aiming for the heart. It took her three tries before she succeeded in killing it, and then she sighed. "That was a lot of work," she said. "Maybe," Nathan said. "But you still killed it, and you did it a bit better than when fighting with martial arts. Magic is definitely your suit. Want to face a couple of more that don''t use magic before going up against one with magic?" Even though it was nearing the end of the run, there were still a few F-1 demons which spawned. Nathan and Keith suggested to Katie that it was the game''s way of providing a slight ''relief'' from the magic attacks they would face normally at that point. When they played on Normal Difficulty, the F''s stopped after four months rather than going up through the end, but they were on Beginner, which allowed a few to still spawn even towards the end. "No," Katie responded. "I want to go up against a G-3, now. If it''s casting magic-" "Ah," Nathan said. "You should go up against at least one more F-1, first. Get used to actually fighting with magic. Your aim was a little worse than when you practice because you were in a combat situation. Give it another round to adjust to using spells on a living, attacking target, then go up against something that''s going to throw magic back." Katie thought for a moment, then realized that made sense. "Okay," she said. "Where''s the next one?" Nathan led her to a classroom, where an F-1 lurked in a back corner. As soon as it saw her, it bared its teeth, and she raised her hand, releasing force attacks as quickly as she could. Since she couldn''t aim at its legs, she aimed for its chest, her attacks barely slowing it. To keep her distance, she moved around the room, keeping desks between it and her until she''d taken out its Health, then killed it. "That one was more frustrating," she said. "Because you couldn''t get it on the ground," Nathan said. "But did manage to kill it anyway. It took you more attacks." "Yeah," she nodded. "I should have increased the strength behind them, too, shouldn''t I have?" "There''s always room for improvement," he told her. "You can work on being able to do that quickly in the next run we do. Remember, this session is for you to get a taste of fighting with magic rather than might." She nodded. "Ready for a spell-casting demon?" He asked. "I am," she answered. "Come on," Nathan led her through the school to the gymnasium, where a G-3 waited, flying lazily through the air. "Uh, Nathan," she said as the demon looked at her. "There''s enough space in here for it to fly." "You still have more than half of your mana," he told her as he pushed her forward. "I''ll step in if needed, but you should be fine." She nodded, then raised her hand up and shot a force push at the demon. The creature moved to the side, then raised a hand, a ball of flames forming above it. The demon tossed the fireball at Katie, who dodged it as Nathan moved to the side as well, avoiding being set aflame. Katie began walking slowly, evading another fireball before sending an attack of her own towards it. The demon dodged once more, and Katie released another force attack as she continued moving. With another flick of its wrist, the demon sent another fireball her way, and she jumped to the side, sending another force attack its way. They began sparring like that, both attacking and missing, or barely-striking the other. A few times, the demon erected a barrier in front of itself to protect itself, other times, it took the hit. Neither made much headway on the other, Katie unable to get a good strike against the flying monster and the demon seemingly unwilling to give up its distance to fight close-range.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. As Katie began to wear down, her mana almost completely spent, a flash of fire seemed to come from nowhere, a streak of flames that ripped through the demon. "And that''s a match," Nathan told Katie, who looked at the end of the trail of fire, finding Ichtvar flying towards his master. "We didn''t actually expect you to win that one. Once you''re mana''s restored, we can face you off against one in a hall or classroom, where there really isn''t a way it can get that aerial advantage." "What was the purpose of me fighting that, then?" Katie asked. "Experience," Nathan answered. "You probably gained a Level when Ichtvar killed it, right?" "Yeah," she answered. "It''s basically the same thing your old team used to do," he told her. "But this time, you actually got to fight, not just be a punching bag. Come on, let''s go take a shower and get you cleaned up and into clothes that aren''t burned." Nathan rubbed Ichtvar''s head, then the phoenix left and the demigod led Katie to the showers. Half an hour later, they joined Keith in the cafeteria, where the psychic was busy writing what appeared to be gibberish on a sheet of paper. "Don''t question it," Nathan told Katie as she gave the psychic a confused look. "How did it go?" Keith asked. "She can handle herself somewhat competently," Nathan answered as he sat beside Keith and examined the paper and its notes. Katie sat across from them and watched. "As long as she doesn''t get overwhelmed or doesn''t face something that has something like an aerial advantage, she''ll manage just fine on her own in the next round." "Alright," Keith looked at Katie. "So in the next run, do you want to do Optional Challenges? Or do you think you''ll be fine just killing things normally?" "The Challenges are just for Points, Stat Points, and Skill Points, right?" She asked. "Yeah," Keith answered. "We were looking at it mostly to boost your Stats." "I think I''ll be fine without," she answered. "I just need to practice my spell a bit more, and learn to adjust its strength from its norm while casting it repeatedly." "Good idea," Keith told her. "Do you know what you want your second spell to be?" "Barrier," she answered. "I haven''t decided what other type of magic I want to learn yet, but I do know I want to learn to cast a barrier, to defend against attacks with." "Good idea," Keith said. "We can work on that next run. It''s a little different from a force push, but you already have the basics for it, especially with you shaping your force push into a form." "Alright," she responded. "I know Nathan said not to ask, but what are you enchanting onto the paper?" "It''s¡­" Keith stared at the paper for a few moments, then looked at Nathan, then looked at Katie. "Yeah, Nathan has the right idea. I''m not telling you." She frowned, but decided not to press it. Keith didn''t seem like he wasn''t answering because of Nathan, but because he agreed with Nathan on not revealing. "Alright," she stood. "I''m going to go read some more. You two¡­ do whatever it is you''re doing, I guess." They nodded, and she walked off. The pair of enchanters looked at the paper as Keith erected a magic barrier around them. Without a word or thought towards it, the two had managed to develop their own code while there, a code which used several events from their lives as reference points, and it hadn''t been easy for them to convey it to each other when first developing the code without revealing things to those who might be observing. However, the result meant that only the two of them could crack it. When Nathan saw the first few things written down, he realized what Keith was planning. If it worked, everything would change. The entire state of the game for them would become different. An incident like the siren king and his spear would become a laughable incident. "How sure are you that you can make this?" Nathan asked. "I need to do more experimentation," Keith answered. "And study the catkin''s notebook even more. But give me a year, maybe two, of solid research on this, and I can probably get it to work. From his notes, it was clear he''d spent a lot of time in the runs doing research." Nathan traced several lines of the code with a finger. "This part here would be the start," he said. "Right?" "Yeah," Keith nodded. "I think that would be the start of how to put this into action. If we can properly develop this enchantment¡­ we''ll have a remedy to many of our problems." "When we leave here," Nathan said. "I''ll contact Master Torzin and have him follow Ichtvar to Evala''s world. I want to see if he has any other notes she didn''t keep on her. Once they''re there and have returned, I''ll have them help us guide a permanent gate there. Ichtvar shouldn''t have an issue locating Evala''s home, since he''s met her." "Going to try to go before Samantha gives birth?" "No," Nathan said. "You said she''ll give birth within a few days of our return, right?" "As far as my check said," Keith answered. "The most likely time of birth will be the day after we return, on¡­ well¡­" "The anniversary of his namesake''s death," Nathan nodded, tracing another line on the paper as he read it. "The permanent gate will take time to build, a few days, from what you said. I want both of us to oversee at least part of that. The orb doesn''t get placed without our presence, anyway. We''ll head over there once the gate''s finished, and that should give us time for Cyrus to be born and us to adjust a little. Enough time for him to leave the hospital and everything. Then we''ll head over there with him, and-" "Would that be a good idea?" "I''d like to see someone stop me," Nathan said. "It''ll also give me time to make the amulets." "Amulets?" Keith asked. "Yeah," Nathan leaned back in his seat. "Breezy finally revealed how he managed to stay in another world without the universe ripping him back to his native world. I can work it into an amulet. I''ll see if I can''t use Master Torzin''s forge. Hopefully, he has some mithril, and if not, I''ll have to find some." "I know how you can get some," Keith told him. "Though I suppose it''ll be only you going? Since you''ll be the only one who can communicate with them?" "Ichtvar made a suggestion," Nathan tapped his skull. "That you try to copy down my knowledge of their language and create a sort of translation orb, so that you can at least understand them. Possibly a device which also shows you how to say what you want to say in their language, after inputting what you want. With your psychic powers, knowledge of enchanting, and knowledge of computer programming, that should be feasible in just one or two more runs, right?" "If I devote everything to it," Keith told him. "Then do that," Nathan said. "It''ll be useful for when we start having guests from other worlds here on Earth, too." "Wait," Keith said. "Won''t having the permanent gate now mean we''ll start having people over?" "We''ll do our best to control that," Nathan said. "Even shutting down the gate if necessary. But seeing if Evala''s brother had more notes is more important than anything else. If it gives us the ability to create this remedy, then we need it. Now." "Okay," Keith folded up the paper. "I''ll get started. Want me to try to do the copying with Katie''s knowledge rather than yours?" "If she''ll let you," Nathan said. "But I''d rather you try me. That way, when you go to do the full copy of my knowledge of her language, I know how it feels while you''re in my head. That should help me to guide you to the right language." "Got it," Keith said. "Thanks for trusting me, Nathan." "You''ve proven yourself trustworthy," Nathan told him. "But do know that if I suspect you''re tampering with my mind, I will cut off your dick and feed it to your own ass. Understand?" "Understood," Keith hastily responded. 00100 "Like what?" Alan asked as Nathan gave Samantha a kiss. "Like that," Nathan told his father. "We just returned," Keith informed Alan. "If you''ll notice, Katie has a little more muscle and a little less fat on her now. That''s from six hundred days where she trained in martial arts for an hour and a half each day." "You three really just left?" Alan asked. "Yep," Keith answered, then looked at Nathan, who was still kissing Samantha. "And Nathan really missed Samantha. And was upset he forgot to kiss her before leaving." Nathan aimed a hand in Keith''s direction and shot off a force push, which the psychic stopped with a barrier. "Don''t forget to call Master Torzin," Keith said. "So that we can get started on that." Nathan pulled away from Samantha, then gave her another quick kiss before pulling out his phone and calling his martial arts instructor. Their last two runs went by quickly for them as they pushed themselves into their project even more heavily. The only breaks they took were to eat, sleep, train, and other necessary things. Katie had felt like a third wheel to them, though Nathan made sure to pay attention to her in the showers and at night. "Why is he calling Master Torzin?" Samantha asked as Nathan walked away. "Something that came up while we were in the run," Keith told her. "He wants to use the mentor''s forge. While he''s on that call, Mr. Hunter, I wanted to know about the, ah, progress on buying a location to use as Hunter-Ingram Magitech?" "You''re one of its founders," Alan said. "You can ask that. There''s an old factory and warehouse complex outside of town that is up for sale. If you two want me to own part of the company, I can buy it now. Otherwise, Nathan will have to purchase it with his funds." "How long will it take for everything to come together for us?" Keith asked. "For us to be able to move into it with our business? We need the space pronto." "Its owner is one of my clients," Alan told him. "And I can pull some strings to have things done a little quicker. Normally, arrangements for a large business to set up shop can take years, and your business is going to end up rather large." "Yeah," Keith said. "We''ll have the federal government backing us. With some at the state and local level aware of what''s necessary to keep the secret, we can probably get some of the negotiations as well, but we really need the property now." "Why?" Alan asked. "We''re going to build a permanent gate," Keith told him. "And we need to get started on that pronto. Hunter-Ingram Magitech''s main facility is where the gates are being built, and we need to get started on that now." "Why?" Alan asked. "Master Torzin said he has some mithril in his separate storage," Nathan returned. "I''m going to head over there and get started. Keith, you''re coming with me. Katie, you gossip with Samantha." "That''s an incredibly sexist thing to say," Samantha said. "Why is it sexist?" Nathan frowned. "I''m just telling my girlfriend and other harem member to gossip. Isn''t that what you were going to do, since Katie spent so much time with me?" "You probably should have used a different word," Keith told him. "And why am I coming with you?" "I might need your help." "Right," Keith said. "I suppose we''re leaving without getting some rest. See you guys¡­ whenever we return." "The rings will probably take a couple of hours to make," Nathan said. "I''ll try to get the amulets done as well. We should be back by midnight at the latest, dinner at the earliest." Nathan grabbed a banana from the bowl on one of the kitchen counters on his way to the garage, and Keith followed, grabbing a banana as well. In Nathan''s car, they ate the bananas on their way through town. "Where is Master Torzin''s forge?" Keith asked. "At his house," Nathan answered. "It''s a little outside of the main part of town. Rich country." "And you aren''t in rich country?" "The other one." "Ah," Keith said, then his eyes widened as he realized where Nathan was referring to. "Wait, the one where-" "Yup," Nathan said. "I''ll handle the police when they show up," Keith sighed. "Thanks," Nathan responded. "He said we can have whatever''s in the house, by the way. For food. You''ll probably have to make something yourself. He might be three hundred thousand years old, but he''s a terrible cook." "So does he have food?" Keith asked. "Or is it just freezer stuff?" "He has food," Nathan stated. "I sometimes ate after training, and I wasn''t eating that frozen crap he did for himself." "Okay," Keith said. "Wait, they''d call the police even with having seen you there multiple times?" "Yep." Keith sighed again. They finished the drive to Master Torzin''s house, a two-story building spanning a quarter of a city block with an even larger yard surrounding it. "I do not envy the groundskeeper." "I''ve never met them," Nathan admitted. "It was always just Master Torzin and me." "And your parents weren''t worried about him being a pedo?" "My father was the one who made my kills disappear or look¡­ different." "Right," Keith said. "And since you guys didn''t know he was an ancient demigod, that was enough for you guys."Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. He didn''t voice that Nathan probably also thought before finding out the truth he could manage to kill Master Torzin, should the man do something wrong. They knew that was wrong now, but it was still what the demigod had likely thought. Nathan pulled up to the gate and rolled down his window, reaching out to punch in a code and swipe a card. The gates opened, and he pulled forward, parking in front of the house. "Not in the garage?" Keith asked. "He has a four-car garage," Nathan told the psychic. "And the car he drives around doesn''t fit in it." "He has five cars?" "He has a couple hundred," Nathan told him. "Master Torzin really likes his cars. He keeps four in his garage and parks the fifth out front. Or out back, depending on his mood. Also, the gate won''t close until after I leave and swipe my card again. Master Torzin has some way to close it after entering, but I don''t. It''s annoying." They exited the car and made their way up the steps to the front door, and Nathan looked down at the pair of keys he pulled out, then back to the knob and deadbolt. "Use your magic sight." Keith did, and saw that the keys and locks were enchanted. "I guess that''s part of why he''s not too concerned about security," Nathan said. "Despite having mithril on-hand. His vault for it must be enchanted as well." "He must have paid someone to do this," Keith said. "Since he''s not that good at enchanting, by his own admission." "Yeah," Nathan unlocked the house, and they entered Nathan made his way to the security alarm and deactivated it, then looked at Keith. "Make yourself at home, I can handle the forging. There''s a bathroom down that hall, and the room he trained me in is a few doors past it. His bedroom''s upstairs, third door on the left-hand side. His office is across from that. Feel free to raid his porn stash, though I don''t think there''s anything gay in it. There are a few toys, though. "I''m heading out back," Nathan said as Keith snorted. "His forge is a separate building. I''ll be back for something to eat once I finish the rings, then I''ll work on the amulets." "Give me the keys and keycard," Keith told him, and Nathan frowned. "For when I deal with the police." "Here," Nathan handed them over. "Don''t lose them." "I won''t," Keith said. "Good luck." Nathan nodded, then left, and Keith made his way upstairs and to one of the guest bedrooms. In there, he stripped naked, then stretched with a grin before returning downstairs to explore the place while waiting for the police to show up. As Nathan had promised, there was food in the kitchen, so he fixed himself a quick meal of ice cream and waffles, then proceeded to eat it as he wandered around. The house, he noticed, was enchanted heavily against damage. When he looked out the windows at the wall and fence surrounding the property, he noticed more enchantments, but they were too far to properly make it. Further exploration revealed the purpose of the wall''s enchantment ¨C and the reason Nathan didn''t have a way to lock the gate back up. There was a total seal enchantment on the property. The moment the gate locked, it went into effect. A total seal enchantment bound the property, making it impossible to enter or exit without a key. Nathan''s keycard was likely a key for it, and the keypad an additional key. Enchanted technology, which impressed Keith. He made a note to examine it some other time or ask the ancient demigod for how he acquired it. No doubt the magitech mage who created it came from another world. If so, the pair of enchanters would want to locate that world quickly and build a permanent gate to it. A total seal enchantment bound a property completely to the point that only its master was at full power. Anyone else, it acted upon to suppress the power of. Master Torzin didn''t allow Nathan to lock the gate because such a spell being placed upon Nathan would have likely awakened the younger demigod. As Keith continued to explore the house, the doorbell buzzed, so he made his way to the front, sticking his spoon back into the bowl of ice cream as he answered the door. "Hello, officers," Keith greeted the pair of officers standing on the other side. "Can I help you?" "We received a call," the officer said. "That a couple of suspicious boys were entering this house, which belonged to someone else. We-" "Yeah, that''s Gabe," Keith took a bite of his ice cream. "He''s my cousin and my boyfriend''s martial arts instructor. He''s out of town for awhile, and asked us to check on the house. Also said Nate could use his forge, so he''s there right now. Also, this house requires a keycard, a nine-digit code, and two keys to get into. In addition, there''s a security alarm, which you also need a code to. Nate punched in the code before heading to the forge, so I know it was just a neighbor who decided that since someone who was here at least three times a week until a month or so ago showed up, it was time to call you. Now, if you don''t mind, I was busy snooping through my cuz''s porn collection when you showed up, and I want to go back to it. It was full of lesbians, but it''s a rather large collection, so I want to see if there''s any gay that randomly got added to it." The officer opened his mouth to speak. "See," Keith continued, his eyes beginning to glow. "My babe is a real twink, but also a real stud. He''s pretty damn hot, but he''s also real particular about the guys he''ll sleep with. He''s also real particular about the porn he''ll look at, but he likes twinks, especially blond ones. Being here while my cuz is gone is my first chance to ever try and sleep with him, as our parents are homophobic, so neither of us can do it at our homes because of the risk, and if we rented a hotel room, well, that''d show up on our accounts." He picked up the keys from the table by the door, then demonstrated they worked for the door. "As you can see," he continued, his eyes still glowing. "I have keys to the house. Actual keys, not lockpicks. And this keycard," he picked it up and showed it to them. "Goes to the gate you passed by. Nate must have forgotten to lock it behind him. So there''s really nothing to worry about. Gabe ¨C the owner of this house ¨C is my cousin, and Nate is his student, he takes private martial arts lessons. I can show you a picture of us if you want? Nate''s pictures are posted up in the martial arts room. Every time he advanced a belt, Gabe took a picture of him in his gi with his new belt and posted it." Which Keith thought was amusing, considering how difficult it must have been to convince Nathan into the pictures. Just getting Nathan to let him take the selfie of them during their ''training'' for Nathan''s interactions with people was a pain. A picture for what Nathan would have definitely considered pointless was a miracle, and Keith held a new level of respect for the ancient demigod for managing it several times. "No," the officer looked at his partner. "I think that''s enough." "Yeah," his partner responded. "That''s enough. Sorry for the misunderstanding, sir." "Thank you," Keith smiled. "No problem," the first officer said. "Have a good day, and good luck with¡­ your plans. Make sure to be safe." "Always," Keith told him. "But would mind keeping it a bit secret? Everyone just thinks we''re friends, and we''d rather keep it that way until we can get away." "No problem," the officers responded. They wished him a good day and good luck once more, then left, and Keith closed the door. He sighed as his eyes stopped glowing, then he slumped down, staring at his bowl of ice cream. "Fuck," he swore as hard as he could. "And there''s the killer headache." He grimaced as he set the bowl beside him so that he could rub his temples, his eyes squeezed shut as tightly as he could. He hated using magic to manipulate and influence the minds of others because it always resulted in a killer headache for him. At least with the officers, after the spell wore off, they wouldn''t question things too much and just assume it was correct, especially since Keith was naked and did have keys to the house. They noticed the keypad on their way out, too, and would probably contact Master Torzin to ask about his ''cousin'', who would ¨C he hoped ¨C verify the story. The pain in his skull and his mind itself continued for some time, and at one point, his cell rang, but he ignored it. He wished his spells were more permanent, but doing that caused even greater pain for him. The one and only time he had succeeded in a permanent alteration, it was a minor affair. A slight change. A bully who felt guilty about it. A slight manipulation to increase the feelings of guilt over hurting others, putting an end to the bully''s nature. It didn''t work on everything, and a more serious ¨C and less regretful ¨C bully wouldn''t have been affected by it for very long. When he performed a permanent alteration that time, Keith had nearly gone into a coma. He vomited for a few days while in constant agony. His father just let him feel the pain, claiming he couldn''t waste money on the medical bills. That man was the one Keith really wanted to do a permanent alteration to. None of his tech was at home because of his father. He''d built up a secret base for himself, where he locked himself away most of the time to avoid that man. Footsteps approached Keith, and the psychic did his best to push down the pounding in his head as he looked up at a bewildered Nathan. "Why the fuck are you naked?" 00101 Nathan listened as Keith explained what had happened with the cops and what his plan had been for dealing with them. "You can control people with your magic?" Once the psychic finished. "Yeah," Keith answered. "It''s not easy, and it''s painful after. I feel like shit, now, and probably will for awhile. I''ve a nasty headache, too." "Okay," Nathan said. "Master Torzin doesn''t like being called ''Gabe'', by the way. Where''s your clothes and stuff?" Keith gestured into the family room, so Nathan walked over and looked through it, then pulled up the voicemail left on the psychic''s phone and listened to it. He returned to Keith. "Master Torzin says you''d better never call him that again," Nathan set the phone down beside his friend. "Are you doing okay?" "Yeah," Keith responded. "I just need to rest a bit." Nathan nodded and walked off, and Keith returned to rubbing his head and trying to manage the pain. When Nathan returned, he was carrying a pillow and blanket, which he placed beside Keith. "Thanks," Keith said. "Get some rest while I make us something to eat," Nathan said as the psychic wrapped himself up in the blanket and lay his head on the pillow. "Why''d you tell them I''m a twink?" "A twink is a slender, fit or toned guy," Keith said. "With little or no body hair. You''re muscled, but you''re also lean. Definitely a twink." "Don''t you have to be gay to be a twink?" "Or bi." "I''m not bi, either." "Right," Keith said. "Well, don''t worry about it too much, Nathan. It was done just to get rid of them, and they''re unlikely to say anything to anyone because of my spell." "You made sure they know I''m the top, right?" Nathan asked, and Keith gave him a bewildered look. "Also, that would make you a twink." Nathan walked off, that time to prepare dinner. He made lasagna, then served it to Keith and ate some himself before returning to the forge to work, confused by why Keith would do that when he knew it obviously wasn''t true. Deciding that it was Keith deciding to play to one of his personal fantasies, he decided to ignore it unless it affected him later on. At least, after punching Keith at least once, but that had to wait until the psychic had recovered from the effects of using mind control magics. He spent the rest of the evening and a fair portion of the night creating five amulets, each using some of his blood, something he lacked desire of adding. It required negating his Health and wounding himself, and Nathan was no fan of injuries. But the design his familiar gave him required the blood of a demigod from their homeworld. When he finished, Nathan made his way back to the main building and found Keith sleeping, though the psychic had moved to the couch. He walked over and punched Keith in the face as hard as he could. "Ow!" Keith exclaimed. "Nathan! Seriously? Punches can still hurt, even if they don''t damage my body!" "That''s for calling me your boyfriend," Nathan said, then held out one of the amulets. "I finished the amulets. This one is yours." Keith examined the mithril amulet hanging from a mithril chain. It had been shaped into fox with a man standing behind it. A naked man, whose privates were covered by the fox''s body. Keith marveled at the craftsmanship, especially as he could tell the man was supposed to be him. He wasn''t sure the purpose of the design, but it was still beautiful to him. The man and fox combo were surrounded by a ring with a set of runes etched into it, and it was to that which the chain was fixed. "Which one''s yours?" He asked Nathan as he pulled the amulet on. "This one," Nathan pulled one free from the rest and pulled it on. Much like with Keith''s amulet, that one had a naked man on it, only it was quite obviously meant to represent Nathan. In front of him, a phoenix stretched its wings, its head blocking the privates, its wingtips touching the ring. "Why are there animals on them?" Keith asked. "I started making them to look like us," Nathan said. "Then realized that I probably shouldn''t, but still wanted to. But we can''t exactly go around wearing naked people around our necks. Your training said that nudity shouldn''t be displayed in art around our necks. Ancient art, maybe, but not modern art or jewelry. So I covered them up with animals and creatures. You get a fox, I get a phoenix, Samantha gets a wolf." "And the other two?" Keith looked at them. "Don''t have people on them," Nathan answered, holding the amulets up. "One has a bear, and the other has a fish." "¡­why?" "Because I couldn''t think of something else," Nathan told him. "Now get dressed. We''re heading out."Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Alright," Keith said. "Let''s head back to your place." "No," Nathan said. "We''re heading to yours." "No," Keith said. "Absolutely not." "Yes," Nathan said. "Absolutely. You told me about how much of an asshole your father is while explaining things. We''re going to force you to confront him." "I''d rather not," Keith said, and Nathan cracked his knuckles. "Alright, let''s go." Nathan nodded, then waited for Keith to get dressed. They went to his car, where he stored the amulets in his glove box. Then, he drove, following Keith''s direction. "It''s late," Keith muttered. "Past midnight." "We can go to your secret stash later," Nathan told him. "We''ll confront your father now, head back to my place, get some sleep, eat, then head to your secret stash to grab what you need. And don''t bother trying to get in and change your computer''s wallpaper or whatever. I already know it''s probably a nude of me." "I don''t have any nudes of you." "So you claim," Nathan muttered. Nathan followed Keith''s directions to the psychic''s house and parked on the curb. As Keith got out, the demigod did as well, noting that while the house wasn''t a cheap one, its paint needed a new coat, its gutter needed cleaning, and its lawn needed more than a little care. "You don''t need to come in," Keith said. "The cracking of the knuckles wasn''t to intimidate you," Nathan stated as he began walking up to the front. "It was to let you know why I''m coming with you." Keith frowned for a moment, then his eyes widened and he hurried to the front door, unlocking it and allowing them inside. His father was sitting on the couch, watching T.V. When they entered, the man looked at them, then glared at Keith as he stood. "Where the fuck you been, boy?" He asked. "And who the fuck is this? You know you aren''t allowed to have anyone over. You disappear ever since that incident at school without a fucking word. I ought to-" "I''m the fucking boyfriend who''s going to break the fucking neck of yours, you say one more fucking word," Nathan glared, and Keith''s father stumbled back under the intensity of it. "Keith survived a fucking attack, he doesn''t need your fucking shit. Now shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down, before I break your fucking legs." Keith''s father sat. "Not one more fucking word," Nathan said. "Got it, you fucking asshole?" The man nodded. "My room''s upstairs," Keith led Nathan to the stairs, and the demigod looked back. "And he likes it when I pound his ass with my cock and pump him full of my cum!" Nathan followed Keith up the stairs as the psychic did his best to not laugh or stare in shock. As soon as they entered Keith''s room, the psychic started laughing, staring at Nathan while shaking his head. "Wow," he said. "And I thought you had an issue with that!" "I do," Nathan grumbled. "But you told me before that your father hates you for being gay and claims you''ll never manage to get with anyone. You also said he thinks you''ll only ever manage to find someone to suck off, and that no one would want to ever touch that ass of yours like a lover would. You also said he said you''d never find someone hot, attractive, or rich, and that you''d probably get an STD the first time you ever had sex. You also said-" "I thought you tuned me out whenever I talked about my father?" Keith asked in shock. Nathan thought for a few moments, then shrugged. Keith sometimes talked about his father, mostly when he thought Nathan wasn''t listening, because it acted as a form of catharsis for the mage. It helped him with his issues. "I sometimes listened," Nathan said. "He hurt my friend." "His face when you glared," Keith snorted. "I''m glad I''ve never been on that side of your anger before. That look made it clear you weren''t human and judgment day was here." "What is it you need from here?" Nathan asked. "Just a couple of things," Keith answered. As the psychic went through a few things, Nathan looked around the room. It was relatively plain, with just a single computer, some electronic toys spread out across a desk in various states of assembly or disassembly, and a few anime posters, in addition to a dresser and the bed. When Keith finished packing things into a bag, he beckoned for Nathan to follow, and the pair made their way downstairs, where the psychic''s father was waiting with a shotgun. "Seriously?" Nathan asked. "Pull that trigger and I will fucking kill you." "I told that faggot to never bring another one into my house," Keith''s father said. "I told him I''d kill both of them. Both of you." He pulled the trigger, then stared with wide eyes as his bullets impacted a white barrier. "You obviously had to face that terror," Nathan took a step forward, and the man fell backwards. "To pull a trigger against me. I made it clear with a single look I wasn''t human. My father is life¡­ and I am revoking yours." He took another step forward, that time moving as quickly as he could to make it seem as if he''d teleported from beside Keith to right in front of the man. "Go to fucking hell," he held out a hand, then blasted the man''s head with force magic, the attack destroying the head and the floor beneath, breaking the foundation below as well. He turned to Keith. "Come on." He left and Keith followed, and they made their way to his care, where Nathan called his father as he began driving. "It''s two in the morning," his father complained. "Keith''s father is no longer with us," Nathan said. "He thought it was a good idea to pull a gun on us. So I blew off his head. Get someone out here to clean it up?" "What''s the address?" His father sighed, and Keith gave it. "I''ll contact someone. Why did he pull a gun on you two?" "He hates gays," Nathan said. "And Keith told him I was his boyfriend. Is Samantha up? I want to kiss her in front of Keith to remind him what I''m into." "She''s waiting for you," his father told him. "You''re on speakerphone, actually. She can hear this." "Samantha," Nathan said. "Get your ass in bed and go to sleep. You are carrying a baby. You need to get some fucking sleep." "I''ll go to bed when you''re back home," she said. "And how did you react, to Keith claiming you were his boyfriend?" "I punched him," Nathan answered. "Hard. He swore at me. I don''t think he''s a masochist. We''ll be there in about fifteen minutes. At least be in bed when I get there. It''s not good to miss sleep while you''re pregnant. I read you that book." "I know," she said. "I''ll make up for it by sleeping in." "Okay," he grunted. "We''ll be there in around fifteen minutes. Good night." He ended the call. "You''re the one who told my father that." "It''s not true," Nathan said. "You know that. I know that. Your father obviously didn''t. I can''t wait until Samantha''s recovered from her pregnancy. We have a lot to make up on." "That''s your fault," Keith said, then stared out the window. "I''d forgotten how easily killing people came to you. You just up and blasted his head to bits." "What else was I supposed to do?" Nathan asked. "He shot me and my friend. If he''d shot Samantha, I''d have tortured him first." "I know," Keith snorted. "You definitely would have tortured him for shooting Samantha." 00102 "Okay," Keith said. "So I didn''t actually catch what he said to you when we got in last night, but what were you laughing about, Samantha? You were laughing pretty hard." "Don''t say it," Nathan''s grip on his steering wheel tightened. "He told me what really happened," Samantha chuckled. "Sleep deprivation caused him to not think it through entirely." "I can''t believe you two are okay with Nathan just cold-blooded killing people," Katie said. "I mean, I know your dad wasn''t the nicest of people and had shot at you two, but still." "It''s how Nathan is," Keith said. "I''ve known about it for years, and so has Samantha." "It''s our soul-forging," Nathan said. "The three of us are less-inclined for stupid shit like feeling bad over the death of some insignificant person. Doesn''t bother me one bit. The less I have to deal with that stuff, the better." "Pretty sure part of that comes from you being a demigod," Keith said. "Where are we going?" Katie asked as Nathan made another turn. "If you and Keith left to pick up his equipment earlier, should we just-" "Nathan wanted to go do laser tag," Samantha answered. "I''ll be watching from-" "HOSPITAL, NOW!" Keith nearly yelled, and Nathan pressed on the gas. "What''s wrong?" Katie asked as Nathan sped past cars, ignoring the lanes. "Samantha''s about to go into rapid labor," Keith said. "Cyrus is coming, and he''s not going to be patient about it." As Nathan sped, a cop car began following, lights and siren on. Nathan ignored it, he''d deal with them later. Only a couple of minutes passed before Samantha felt the contractions coming on. "Oh, you''re right," she gasped. "Nathan, hurry up!" "Going as fast as possible," he muttered. Another minute passed, and Nathan pulled into the hospital, parking by the emergency room. "Keith, park it," Nathan said as he hopped out of the car, then ran around to Samantha''s door and opened it as she unbuckled. "Take care of the cops, too." Nathan pulled Samantha out and carried her inside. "I can walk!" Samantha protested. "You''re about to give birth!" Nathan exclaimed, then looked at a nearby man in scrubs. "She''s giving birth in a minute!" "We''ll-" "SHE''S LITERALLY ABOUT TO POP A BABY OUT OF HER!" Nathan yelled. "SHE''S IN LABOR AND MY SON IS ABOUT TO COME OUT!" The nurse had Nathan moved Samantha onto a wheelchair and they quickly moved her to a room. Nathan helped Samantha into a gown, and as he did, he looked at the nurse. "I can see Cyrus''s head." "What?" The nurse looked. "I''ll be right back, the doctor''s right around the corner." When the nurse arrived with the doctor, Nathan was shirtless and holding Cyrus. "Babies aren''t normally born that fast, are they?" He asked. "Nathan, give them the baby," Samantha said. "I''m cleaning him," Nathan said. Samantha convinced Nathan to let them cut the cord, then the doctor to allow Nathan clean his son off, the demigod refusing to let anyone handle his son. As Nathan was clearing the gunk from his son''s nose, mouth, and throat, Keith and Katie showed up. "Whoa," the doctor held up his hands. "You can''t-" "That''s my other harem member and my best friend," Nathan interrupted as he cleaned himself and his baby off. "And the latter''s Cyrus''s godfather." Keith and Katie entered the room and looked at Cyrus. "He''s so quiet," Katie said after the doctor ran Nathan through the checks, then Nathan climbed onto the bed and held Cyrus against his mother''s breast. "What are you doing?" "Cyrus has to breastfeed a little," Nathan said. "I read about it in one of the manuals. Newborns are usually given to the mother to breastfeed for a minute. Cyrus, come on. Eat." Samantha snorted as their son looked around a little, then began sucking for milk. He drank only a little before stopping, and Nathan pulled him back against his chest. "I''m not even sure what happened here," the doctor said. "That was the fastest birth I''ve known. We don''t normally let the dad do all the work, though." "You touch my son, I break your neck," Nathan said. "Sorry," Keith said. "He''s a bit¡­ protective. He wouldn''t even sleep with her out of fear of hurting Cyrus." "No sex for at least four to six weeks," the doctor said. "Or-" "We know," Samantha said. "Nathan''s already resigned to not sleeping with me that much longer." "Yeah," Nathan muttered. "Cyrus, who''s your dad? That''s me." "Most women I deal with aren''t like you after giving birth," the doctor said. "Most are tired. A few are cranky. You seem alert and okay. Without the post-birth happiness caused by-" "I''m special," Samantha smiled. "Nathan, he''s following your finger because it''s a moving object." "Just making sure his eyes are functioning," Nathan said, then frowned a little. "He has mine." "He has your hair, too," she chuckled, rubbing Cyrus''s white-blond fuzz. She paused. "Nathan, what are you doing?" "Trying to see if he can read my thoughts." "I doubt he can," Keith said. "But you''re his godfather?" Nathan gave Keith a confused look. "That''s¡­ not what that means," Keith looked at the confused doctor. "Do you need anything else for the birth certificate? I noticed Nathan didn''t quite answer everything."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "What''s Cyrus''s full name?" "Cyrus Keith Hunter," Nathan answered immediately as he moved off the hospital bed and onto a chair, keeping hold of his son. "And he gets my middle name," Keith sighed, and the doctor looked at Samantha. "Nathan picks the name," she told him, then noticed what Nathan was doing. "Nathan, are you trying to see if he''s ticklish?" "Yes." "He''s not even thirty minutes old," she said. "You''ll have to wait a little bit." "Why is he so quiet?" Katie asked. "Don''t babies normally cry?" "Does this look like the face of a crier?" Nathan held up Cyrus so that she could see him. "And the parents'' names?" The doctor asked. Samantha looked at Nathan, who had returned to see if his son was ticklish, their son just staring at his father. She looked at the doctor. "The father is Nathan Alexander Hunter," she told him. "And I''m Samantha Ophelia Baxter. That''s O-P-H-E-L-I-A, like the one from Shakespeare''s Hamlet. B-A-X-T-E-R." "Wait," Katie gave her an amused look. "Nathan''s initial spell out ''NAH'' and yours spells out ''SOB''?" "I wouldn''t recommend making a joke about that," Nathan said. "If you want to stay a part of my harem." Katie gave him a confused look as Samantha mouthed for her to not question it. "Wait," the doctor looked at Samantha. "Are your parents Amy and Sean Baxter?" "Ah, crap," Samantha looked at Nathan. "Hey, Nathan? We forgot to let my parents know." "Hm?" Nathan looked at her. "Ah, right. This is their hospital, isn''t it?" "Yeah," she said. "Samantha''s parents are surgeons," Keith informed the confused Katie. "Very expensive surgeons. And as far as they know, Samantha wasn''t pregnant. Or back in town." "Let''s pretend to be asleep," Nathan whispered to Cyrus. "Okay?" Nathan closed his eyes and pretended to sleep as he cradled Cyrus, his son resting his head against his father''s chest and closing his eyes. "This is definitely the strangest birth I''ve ever dealt with," the doctor said. "I still want to check him over myself." "Nathan probably will hurt you," Samantha told him. "But you at least got the information you needed, right?" The doctor nodded. "I''m going to get cleaned up and changed back into my clothes," she said. "I suppose you should probably let my parents know I''m here¡­ and with a baby." The doctor left with his paperwork, and Samantha looked at Nathan, then at their son, who possessed a green magical aura already. Just as she had been informed, he was born with his magic awakened. Based on its intensity, there was a large amount of mana within him, too. Green? "Keith?" She asked. "Yeah, he has a lot of mana," the psychic said. "Just be grateful he probably won''t be the smartass his father is." She snorted, then got cleaned up and changed. With that response, he likely had as little clue as she did about her son''s aura, which meant the discussion needed to be tabled for later. A nurse changed the bedding, and Samantha lay back down, settling back onto the bed just as her parents entered the room, confused looks on their faces. Her mother looked like an older version of herself, while her father had salt-and-pepper hair and dark brown eyes. Both wore hospital scrubs and doctor''s IDs. "Samantha," her mother said. "Rich said you gave birth?" "Keith," Samantha said. "Katie, would you mind ensuring no one comes in here until we finish?" Keith took Katie out of the room as the Baxters looked at Nathan, who still appeared to be sleeping. "Nathan?" Amy asked, then looked at her daughter. "How long have you two been seeing each other in secret?" "We haven''t been," Samantha thought for a few moments. "It''s actually rather complicated, but has to do with the attack at the school." "And that made you go through nine months of pregnancy in a month?" Her father asked. "No," Samantha answered. "Well, sort of, but¡­ Nathan, help me out here. It''s not like with your parents. Mine are likely to freak at the truth." An opaque white barrier formed around Nathan. "Well, that''s one way to do it," Samantha muttered as her parents stared at the manifestation. "Nathan, I know you can hear me. Don''t avoid the problem by-wait. Your barrier skill is a lot better, that was pretty fast." "Keith and I worked on it," Nathan said from within his barrier. "Keith was the other guy who was in here." "Were you talking to Cyrus?" Samantha asked. "Yes." "Anyway," Samantha looked at her parents as she indicated the barrier. "Magic. It''s real. We use it. Nathan more than me. The attacks at the schools are magical in nature, by a force outside of this dimension. They freeze the universe in time to force people to play this horrid death game, the Tutorial, in an alternate dimension. After that, the survivors are effectively slaves to them until they die, being forced to play more of these ''games'', which are designed to fix things in the home dimension of the people forcing us through it." "They''re demons." "Literally, apparently," Samantha said. "Nathan met one of the actual ones who designed the full thing. I got pregnant during the Tutorial, then went through several more games in order to advance my pregnancy. The whole thing is complicated. How much time do you have?" Her parents had little to do at the moment, so they sat and listened as Samantha explained things, Nathan occasionally giving input. It was clear to Samantha her parents weren''t quite sure what to make of things, but they listened anyway. Nathan eventually pulled down the barrier, having pulled on a shirt and tie at some point. He was cradling Cyrus against his chest, playing with light magics to entertain his son. "Samantha," Sean stood and walked over to her, leaning down. "That is Nathan Hunter, right?" "Yeah," she gave her boyfriend an amused look. "When it comes to being a dad, he''s pretty different than the attitude-filled man he normally is. He spent a lot of time learning light magics just to entertain Cyrus." "I spent a lot of time learning how to make magical guns, too," Nathan commented. "Also, it''s illegal to reveal the information we just revealed to you. So think on it, but don''t discuss it." "Don''t threaten my parents," Samantha said. "I texted my father to bring us some food," Nathan said. "He should be here in around ten minutes. I''m hungry, and you''re probably hungry. Cyrus is hungry, too." Nathan climbed back onto the hospital bed and held Cyrus up to Samantha, who lifted up her shirt so their son could feed. "How did you know he was hungry?" She asked. "He told me." "He''s not even an hour and a half old," Samantha said. "He''s psychic, like his godfather." "That''s not how-" she cut off, then stared down at Cyrus with wide eyes. "I just got a huge mental impression of hunger from him." "Told you so." "He was just born!" "It was a very exhausting ordeal," Nathan nodded. "I think he wants to sleep once he finishes feeding." "Can I hold him?" She asked. "No." "He''s my son, too!" "He''ll start crying." "You just don''t want to part with him." "Your parents are still processing things," Nathan said. "You should get back to explaining things to them." "You''re the one who actually knows magic," she said. "I just know one spell." "You know two." "That counts as one." "Then I only know one, too." "That''s not how that works!" She exclaimed, then looked at Cyrus. "Really?" Nathan grinned. "He''s smart." "He''s a newborn!" Nathan''s phone rang, and he carefully pulled it out of his pocket while still holding Cyrus. "I should probably let my parents know he''s born sooner," he told Samantha. "They were expecting us at Cyrus''s grave. Father wants to know where to bring the food." "Your parents were expecting you at your son''s grave?" Amy asked, and Nathan looked at her. "Even though he wasn''t born yet?" "Cyrus was my identical twin," Nathan grunted, then answered his phone, setting it to speakerphone. "We''re at the hospital.. Samantha had an emergency." "What kind of emergency?" His father asked. "Is she okay?" "Yes," Nathan answered, then gave Samantha a curious look before looking at his phone again. "Though she seems exasperated by something, she is otherwise okay. Her parents are in the room." "And Keith and Katie?" "In the hall," Nathan answered. "We were just explaining to Samantha''s parents how she could have gotten pregnant and gone through all of her pregnancy in just a month. They''re still processing things." He pulled Cyrus away and cradled the baby against his chest, the infant drifting off to sleep. "He really is quiet, isn''t he?" Samantha asked. "What kind of emergency?" Alan asked. "The kind where Cyrus popped out before the doctor got in the room," Nathan answered. "He said it''s the strangest birth he''s ever dealt with." "I think he was mostly referring to you," Samantha said. "Can I please hold Cyrus?" "No." "He''s my son, too!" "Sh!" Nathan quietly shushed her. "He''s sleeping!" "We''re on our way," Alan said. "Samantha, good luck with that." "Thanks," she sighed. "I get the feeling he''s not letting go for awhile." 00103 "This is your uncle Cyrus''s grave," Nathan told his son, sitting on the blanket Samantha had spread out. "He died a long time ago." Cyrus looked at the grave, then up at his father, then nestled his head against his father''s chest. "Yeah," Nathan said. "We were on our way here yesterday when you decided you wanted to come out." "You do realize he can''t understand you, right?" Samantha sat beside him. "Ichtvar says that the children of demigods can always understand their demigod parent." "No," she said. "He said they can always recognize their demigod parent." "I just got off the phone with one of my contacts," Keith approached, then sat on the other side of Nathan and looked at his godson. "They''ve never heard of a green aura before. Ever. Green magical power doesn''t exist in their records. They actually got pretty upset at me, thinking I was just pranking them. I didn''t tell them I actually found someone with a green magical aura." "We''ll have to wait for Ichtvar and Master Torzin to return, then," Samantha said. "Do you know how long they''ll be gone for?" "They''re already back," Nathan answered. "Master Torzin''s on his way back down here right now, and Ichtvar is visiting his home at Yellowstone for a bit, then is returning to me." "Have you asked Ichtvar on the matter?" Keith asked. "No," Nathan answered. "I was waiting for him to return. Same with Master Torzin. Things from the divine realm have silver and gold auras, according to them, and there are four known types of aura for the mortal realm. That means Cyrus has a magic type that''s even rarer than a demigod. Something that''s not well-known at all." "Did you tell Keith what happened?" Samantha asked. "What happened?" Keith asked. "Cyrus can do magic," she answered. "He''s barely a day old," Keith said. "They only released you two a few hours ago." "Yeah," Nathan nodded. "I was doing a light trick, and Cyrus imitated it. He needs work on his control and the finer details, but he did imitate it." "A day old, and already doing magic," Keith sighed. "And he''s even giving you two impressions to let you know he''s hungry, tired, poopy, and so on. Are you sure eating here is a good idea?" "Cyrus wouldn''t mind it," Nathan said as Samantha started pulling food from a backpack. Sandwiches and a few other things Nathan prepared. "My brother, not my son." They ate in silence, Nathan with Cyrus in a baby carrier pouch strapped to his chest. Samantha gave him an amused look. She barely managed to receive an hour of holding her son before they were released from the hospital, and she knew the wind elemental was already guarding the baby. "Cyrus was born earlier than expected," she said. "What''s going to happen with you going to the other world?" "He''ll come with us," Nathan answered, and she frowned. "Better for him to be with a powerful mage and his demigod father in an unknown world than the light protection of his mother." She knew that most would probably be offended by that, but Nathan had a point. If Ichtvar was truthful, then Nathan had protection outside of the universe. Not only that, but Nathan and Keith were designed to be the most powerful souls ever forged. Herself as well, but those two even more so. Keith''s magical power was nearly on-par with a demigod''s natural magical power, and he had just as much mana as a demigod''s awakening level of mana. Both possessed familiars of the highest levels of power. Wherever those two were was the safest place for Cyrus. "Then I''m coming with you," she said. "Okay," Nathan said. "But you can''t watch as Keith sleeps with a catboy. That would be rude." "Let''s change topics," Keith looked at Samantha. "How are your parents taking it? They seemed¡­ well. How are they handling it?" "They were talking to Nathan''s parents, last I checked," she answered as she checked Cyrus, who seemed to be sleeping in the baby carrier strapped to Nathan''s torso, his head resting against his father''s chest. "I think having me suddenly have a baby just a month after they last saw me and Nathan''s blatant displays of magic were rather convincing." Before conversation could continue, a flash of fire appeared in front of them, and Ichtvar stretched his wings, then stared at the trio as he hovered above Cyrus''s grave. "Oh," he said. "Strange. "I wasn''t aware you three would be waiting for me at the ley line." "There''s a ley line here?" Keith asked. "A very convenient one," the phoenix nodded. "I use it sometimes. This is the best place to leave because multiple-what is that?" The three looked at what Ichtvar was staring at, which happened to be Cyrus. Keith and Samantha noticed Nathan''s rage immediately.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "That''s Cyrus," Keith said before Nathan could explode. "A ''who'', not a ''what''. Ichtvar, use your common sense." "That''s Cyrus?" Ichtvar looked at Samantha. "I''ll be back." The phoenix disappeared in a flash of fire, and the trio stared at each other in confusion, Nathan''s friend and girlfriend both aware of the rage that was building in the demigod. "Nathan," Samantha said. "Ichtvar probably noticed the green magic in our son and didn''t connect us having an infant and that infant being my baby." Cyrus opened his eyes and looked at his mother, then his godfather, then at Nathan, before holding up a hand. A ball of red light formed above his palm, which he then shot into his father''s cheek. "Who''s advancing with their magic?" Nathan looked down. "It''s you, isn''t it?" "This is frightening," Keith whispered to Samantha as Nathan ignored them and continued talking to Cyrus. "Very," she said. "What''s even scarier is the fact that he''s probably going to still be his old self with others." "Can you make it into your uncle Ichtvar?" Nathan asked. "Like this, Cyrus?" "Uncle?" Keith asked as Nathan made a rough appearance of Ichtvar out of light. Cyrus stared at it. "Nathan, even if he could understand you, I don''t think he''d understand how a bird was his uncle." "Ignore your godfather," Nathan whispered. "He might be a genius beyond human capability, but he can be an idiot sometimes." Cyrus nodded. "His thoughts are scary," Keith whispered to Samantha. "I thought you didn''t like reading Nathan''s mind?" She whispered back. "Stop reading my son''s mind," Nathan grabbed Keith''s ear and yanked. "Ow!" Keith exclaimed. "Nathan! Stop! That hurts!" "You were reading Cyrus''s mind?" Samantha asked in disapproval. "Just to see what he was thinking when he nodded!" Keith exclaimed. "Nathan, that hurts!" "Don''t ever read my son''s mind again." "Okay!" Nathan released Keith''s ear, then gave him a curious look. "Just so I know," he said. "What was Cyrus thinking?" "Well, he doesn''t exactly have ''words'' yet," Keith said. "Since, y''know, he was only just born a day ago. So he hasn''t developed the thinking pattern of humans. He thinks in impressions, images, sounds, smells, and so on. And¡­" Keith frowned. "Essentially," Keith said. "He thinks of you as ''the great father'', me as ''purple-boy'', and Samantha as ''milk-maker''. He also wants to know where ''fire-streaker'' went. And he can see ley lines. OW! NATHAN!" "You''re in his head again," Nathan yanked on Keith''s ear even harder. "Fuck the System and preventing me from actually ripping that ear off until I get rid of your Health." He pulled out a gun. "Nathan," Samantha put a hand on his arm. "No shooting Cyrus''s godfather." "Thank you," Keith said. "While Cyrus is watching," she added, and Keith groaned. "Don''t worry, Keith ¨C Nathan wouldn''t actually kill you, and Ichtvar could probably fix your ear." The trio resumed eating, falling silent once more, apart from Nathan occasionally talking to Cyrus as the infant played with light. Keith and Samantha made sure to keep an eye out in case someone saw them, but the only person around was the necromancer who tended to the cemetery. When they finished eating, they packed their stuff up and left, returning to Nathan''s house, where Katie was waiting with Michael and William. "Where''s Elise?" Nathan asked. "Dead," Michael answered. "She, William, a few of the others at the facility, and I went into the game yesterday morning. We did a Dungeon, a Challenge, and then decided to try a Tower run, and she never returned from the last. When we left, her body was¡­ well, she''s gone." "Speaking of the game," Nathan pulled Cyrus out of the carrier and waited for Samantha to remove the carrier so he could sit on the couch. "We found a way to delay Mandatory Challenges. Keith and I are exempt from the next six." Michael and William stared at him in shock. "We already told Samantha and Katie about this," Keith said. "But once we''re ready, the six of us are heading back in. It would''ve been seven, but¡­ looks like we''re down one. Anyway, you know about multi-Dungeon Dungeons?" "Yeah," William answered as Nathan sat down, creating three small orbs of blue light above his son, rotating them slowly. "If you complete ten Dungeons during a Dungeon run," Keith explained. "You become exempt from the next Mandatory Challenge. If you complete twenty, you become exempt from another two. Thirty, another three. We believe the pattern continues. The first three Mandatory Challenges take up six months, then they occur every six months after. If you manage to complete thirty Dungeons in a single Dungeon run, you become exempt from six, meaning you have two and half years before you have to do another Mandatory Dungeon." "They also confirmed," Samantha sat beside Nathan, who indicated that Cyrus was hungry, so she lifted up her shirt and undid her bra so their son could eat. "There there''s a limit to how many extended Survival Challenges in a run you can do. It hasn''t applied to Earth yet, but eventually will." "How was this confirmed?" William asked, and Keith explained about Evala and what she had said, including that extended Survival Challenges were used for training. "I don''t get it," Michael sat down as Keith sat on Nathan''s other side. Cyrus began hitting Nathan in the face with balls of red light as he ate. "Why would we become exempt from Mandatory Challenges for doing Dungeons?" "Think about it," William said. "We know from Ichtvar and Keith''s familiar that Dungeons are all in the same dimension. We suspect that we''re being used to fix things, and that''s why the Mandatory Challenges exist ¨C to ensure that every player who survives puts in effort to fix the stuff for the people running the game. If you''re doing Dungeons, then you''re fixing issues. If you do a lot at once, then it makes sense they''d want to reward you by not requiring you for awhile." "William is mostly correct," Keith said. "But we no longer suspect this. Nathan has met one of the Overseers, the people who created the System." Michael and William turned their gaze to Nathan, and Nathan explained about the meeting and the cause of it. "You didn''t tell me it was because of a pearl," Samantha told him when he finished. "I thought you''d like it," he said as he pulled Cyrus away, and she fixed her clothes. "It made me think of your eyes." "Why was he doing that?" William asked as Cyrus shot Nathan with a ball of light again. "I know we expected him to have his magic awakened already, but he''s already using it, and he seems to be-" "He finds it entertaining," Samantha said. "We think. His magic dissipates when it hits Nathan." "It might against Samantha," Nathan said. "But we don''t know. He won''t hit her with magic, just me. And no, you cannot hold him. He''s mine." "Got it," Michael and William responded in unison. A moment later, a flash of fire formed, leaving Ichtvar behind. "Let''s go," Ichtvar said. "The government is allowing us to temporarily repurpose their gate. Cyrus is coming with us." "Why?" Nathan asked, his expression and tone hostile. "Because Nuenar wants to see him." "Who?" Nathan asked. "The oldest of all phoenixes," Ichtvar answered. "A being more powerful than any god. And he''s not traveling to see you. You''re traveling to see him. There are no exemptions here. If he comes to Earth, everyone will know about magic. Immediately." 00104 The trio of teens examined the gate with curiosity. It stood fifteen feet in height and stretched ten in width, built of a mix of stone and metal and enchanted heavily. A magical circle spanned fifty feet in diameter around it, various nodes full of mana crystals to power it. In the opening of the gate itself, plains could be seen, a stone pillar ten feet in height in the distance, what looked like a phoenix three times Ichtvar''s height sitting atop it, glowing orange and red with flames. "We have one day of Earth time," Ichtvar said. "Thankfully, Nuenar is in this dimension, so time will pass evenly. I had Torzin help them relocate the arrival point so that we can show up near his current nest. Thankfully, he''s met the old bird since the current nest was built, so he knew where to go and didn''t need me to lead him there through the pathways of the universe and that world." "Is that the phoenix?" Nathan indicated the pillar. "Yes," Ichtvar answered without looking. "As I said, we opened the gate near his nest. Are you all ready?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "Where are the workers who are normally here?" "I asked them to not be here while you were around," Ichtvar said. "It didn''t seem like a good idea." Nathan grunted, then fixed the beanie on his son''s head to make sure it covered the baby''s ears. Then he checked to make sure he and Cyrus were wearing their amulets, then walked straight for the gate, passing through without another word. Keith, Samantha, and Ichtvar quickly followed, and they crossed the fifty feet to the pillar. As they drew near it, the phoenix atop turned its head and looked down at them. "Hello again, Ichtvar," it said, then turned its gaze to the infant. "I see why you were curious about such things." "Why exactly are we meeting you?" Nathan asked, and the phoenix looked at him, finding the demigod holding up a gun aimed at the creature. "Fascinating enchantment," the creature said, then looked at Ichtvar. "You did not tell them?" "No," Ichtvar answered. "I wanted to check with you first, then you requested to meet the boy." "Hm," the phoenix assessed Cyrus, what little of the infant he could see directly. "This is most interesting. I have never heard of a creature like him before." The three teens stared at the phoenix. "What do you mean," Nathan said. "A ''creature like him''? And think over your answer carefully, bird." "Your gun does not bother me," the phoenix said. "It would not affect me, as powerful as it might be. And I am referring to your son." "Demigods have children with mortals all the time." "Forged souls in their first incarnation don''t have children with forged souls in their first incarnation," Nuenar stated. "They are always far enough apart, both in distance and time, that they never meet. When they do, they are often the same sex. It isn''t often the Well of Souls forges a soul, then places it into a female. The majority of those times, it is in the rare universe where women have a higher rate of birth than men by many times." The phoenix looked at Keith, then at Samantha. "One to restrain him through love," the phoenix said, then looked at Keith. "One to restrain him through magic," the phoenix looked at Nathan. "In case he breaches the threshold to insanity. It seems the Well of Souls is quite serious about destroying the Sealed Dimensions." "You know about them?" Ichtvar asked. "I once traveled into them," the phoenix stated. "Before they sealed it. Now, however, the power which seals them is far too great for me to surpass. Based on your explanation earlier of what they are doing, Ichtvar, I can understand it. I can also understand the rage of the Well of Souls, and the reason behind it forging the three of them. I cannot understand why you did not tell them the truth about the Guild and the Chroniclers. Are you pranking them?" "What is he saying?" Samantha asked Nathan as Ichtvar gave the teens a nervous look, reminding Nathan that neither she nor Keith could actually understand Nuenar, and he had instinctively spoken in the phoenix''s language. "He just said that Ichtvar lied about the Guild and the Chroniclers," Nathan responded. "And he also called Cyrus a ''creature''." "I was not far from the truth," Ichtvar muttered. "You were quite far, in some ways," the phoenix said. "The Guild and the Chroniclers are beyond our reach, Ichtvar. You are aware of this. And you, son of Ulmant, are a creature. All animals and beasts are. Do not take offense to my plain words." "How badly do you think the bullet would bother you?" Nathan asked. "Nathan, don''t," Ichtvar sighed. "You might have the protection of the Well of Souls, but that doesn''t mean he can''t flip your switch in other ways. Nuenar, you are saying that Cyrus is a first?"This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "Yes," Nuenar answered. "Nathan and Samantha are the first occurrence where a forged soul mated with another forged soul while both were in their first incarnation. Their first iteration and universe. It appears to have created an anomaly. The Well of Souls likely knew this might happen, but dismissed it as an acceptable outcome." "Are you saying there''s something wrong with my son?" Nathan growled. "No," Neunar looked at him. "Quite different, actually. Your son is a forged soul. Or more accurately, a soul which drew upon the Well of Souls to form, but without the Well of Souls'' power. There is no design in his soul giving him tendencies or habits or personalities, unlike forged souls. He is¡­ a crafted soul. A blank slate. Everything he does will imprint upon him, just as with the three of you. It will carry over into future incarnations, into future universes." Nathan stared. His son was like him, only without actual designs already. A blank slate, free to shape how he wanted to be in future lives in a way even Nathan, Samantha, and Keith couldn''t do. Even his personality would be fully free to mold for future incarnations, and the more he matched that in each life, the more ingrained it would be into him. "A crafted soul," he said. "And what about his mana? Why is it green? Ichtvar says he''s never heard of that before. Not in this universe, anyway." "There are four types of mana in this universe," Nuenar stood and stretched before turning his gaze back to them. "Blue, or ordinary. Gray, or necromancer. Purple, or psychic, and white, or demigod. Six if you include the silver and gold of creatures of the divine realm. "Your son," the great phoenix indicated Cyrus with the tip of one wing. "Has green. This is not a type of mana which exists in this universe. It never has been. As with his soul, he is a first." "Do you know what it means?" Ichtvar asked. "I do not," the great phoenix responded. "I have been in this universe since nearly its dawn, and I have never seen green mana before. Your son is quite unique in that regard. However, an absolute truth of this universe is that at least one, and possibly both, of his parents are capable of managing anything he throws your way. It is a fail-safe to ensure a child does not accidentally destroy everything around them¡­ even if most of the time, the fail-safe fails because mortals are morons and do not use their power over their offspring. Now, I believe the reason you came here is finished, yes?" "We came here because Ichtvar said you''d make the world aware sooner than we intended if you came to Earth." "I do not come to worlds where magic is hidden," Nuenar said. "If I visit it and magic is hidden, I will reveal it to all. Magic should never be hidden, that is my opinion." Nathan put his gun away. "Then I believe we are done here." "Ichtvar said some of your inventions use what might be the First Language," Nuenar said, then runes began to glow in the air between them. "He showed me some of the ones which formed." "Aren''t those from when we made the measuring orb?" Keith asked Nathan. "Yeah," Nathan said. "Ichtvar mentioned it to him." "These," the great phoenix said. "Are indeed from the First Language. Using its runes to enchant will greatly increase the power of the enchantments created. Perhaps your son''s existence may have been for more than your own joy, Nathan. Ichtvar would have continued to avoid me without him, and I am perhaps one of three entities in all the universe who know it. I also support the decision the Well of Souls made to create you three. The Sealed Dimensions must be destroyed. At the very least, the one with the Soul Engine must be destroyed. "Therefore," the great phoenix told him. "I will grant upon you and your friends the knowledge of the First Language. In its entirety. Use it in your quest to destroy the Soul Engine. Free those souls. You will no doubt need something this powerful in order to do so." Before Nathan could respond, he felt the knowledge flooding into him, a complete awareness of all of the runes and words of the First Language. Just thinking them gave him a sense of their power, of what they could do and how they worked. "Is that the First Language," Keith asked. "Yeah," Nathan answered. "It seems Nuenar supports us in destroying the Soul Engine and wants us to use as powerful of enchantments as we can make." "Makes sense," Keith said as Cyrus turned his head, trying to look at the great phoenix. Nathan moved so that his son could look. "Tell him ''thank you'', would you?" "Thank you," Nathan told Nuenar as Cyrus stared at the pair of phoenixes. "You are welcome," Nuenar told him. "Now, is there anything else you wish to know? Or will you be leaving, to return to your designs and planning?" "Yes," Nathan said. "You called me a son of Ulmant? Is that the god who sired me?" "Yes," the great phoenix answered. "All Ichtvar will tell me is that he''s a god of love and sex." "He''s also the king of the gods," the great phoenix answered. "Most powerful of them all, and the one who authorizes any god to enter the mortal realm." The demigod stared at Nuenar, unsure if the great phoenix was screwing with him or being honest. "Yeah," Ichtvar looked at Nathan. "I didn''t say that because I didn''t want it going to your head. Basically, it means that you are above pretty much everyone in the universe. Other than your father and his wife. Your divine authority will work even on high gods, the ones who can move throughout the universe. You are literally a divine prince." "Don''t shoot your familiar in front of our son," Samantha said, and Nathan sighed, then lowered the gun he had raised. "Nathan''s a prince?" Ichtvar had spoken in English then, which allowed Nathan''s friends to learn of the demigod''s true inheritance. "Yes," Ichtvar stated. "Which effectively makes you a princess, when you think about it." "We aren''t married," Nathan said. "Don''t have to be for some cultures," Icthvar indicated Cyrus. "In many cultures, a child between you two is enough to make her your princess. This includes in the divine realm." "Is there anything else the three of you wished to discuss?" Nuenar asked. "If not, you should leave. I believe Ichtvar said your time was limited." "He got us a day," Nathan said. "Can we explore this place a little?" "No!" Ichtvar hastily answered. "No, no! You are leaving here! You are not staying here!" "Why not?" Nathan asked. "This is probably one of the most hostile dimensions out there," Ichtvar explained. "Exempting the ones the Dungeons are in. There are probably fifty dragons within a hundred-mile radius just from here. The only reason we haven''t been attacked is because despite being a phoenix, Nuenar is capable of incinerating them! That''s why I had the gate opened so close to his nest!" "Speaking of dragons," Nathan looked at Keith before beginning to walk back to the gate. "If we make that today or tomorrow, we could probably visit Endariv the day after." "We''re making the actual offering," Keith dipped his head to Nuenar before following Nathan. "Not the one you want to make." "Can we make both?" 00105 "I''m Agent Kendall," one of the men introduced himself to Nathan as the demigod pulled his backpack from his car and pulled it on, then Angel Kendall gestured to the other agent. "This is Agent Smalls. We''ll be escorting you to Endariv''s lair. We were informed that you had a phoenix who would be accompanying us as well?" "He''s hiding," Nathan looked at the mountain as he closed the door to his car. "He left on the drive up. He''ll only reveal himself if he believes Endariv will refuse to negotiate with me. He''s nearby." "Understood," Agent Kendall said. "Do you have the offering?" "Hidden," Nathan said. "How long of a walk is it?" "It takes around an hour and a half from here," the agent answered. "This is our base camp, where the enchanters do their work." Nathan glanced at the cluster of ten buildings, then to the small path leading onto the mountain. He wanted to get it over with and return to his son, who was safe at home, being watched by both Keith and Samantha. His cousin, too. It had taken Nathan a lot of effort to part with Cyrus, but it was for the best. His son was hundreds of miles away, making it less likely for him to be injured or killed if Endariv went on a rampage for some reason. The demigod frowned a little. Ichtvar seemed quite confident Nathan would succeed without the phoenix''s intervention, but refused to elaborate on why. It wasn''t the sort of confidence where Ichtvar was bluffing, but the sort where the creature was attempting to hide it. The kind which told Nathan it was true. "Let''s go," Nathan began walking. The agents quickly followed. "Normally," Agent Kendall said. "We''ll see him poking his head out of his cave once it''s in sight. He watches as we ascend. You won''t be able to see his den from here, but you''ll be able to spot it a few times as we pass through the woods. He waits for us to reach his cave, then inspects our offerings. He-" "Is coming towards us," Nathan said flatly as he stopped walking, the agents stopping in confusion. "Quite quickly." The demigod frowned as he noticed that. With his enhanced sight from his awakening and being a demigod, he was able to spot the dragon sooner, the small speck turning into a larger speck. By his estimates, the dragon was was over three hundred feet in height and at twice that more in length, when including the tail. It had dark red scales and a pair of crimson horns atop its head, its golden eyes fixed on the demigod. "Fuck," he muttered. "It''s moving too fast." He pulled off his backpack, threw it to Agent Smalls, then held out his hands and shoved the agents to the side with force magic, only to be pinned to the ground a moment later by the dragon''s front right claws. "FATHER!" The dragon wailed, its voice booming through the air. "YOU''RE ALIVE!" As Nathan attempted to figure out how in the hell the dragon could mistake him for a demigod who died fourteen or fifteen centuries prior, the dragon picked him up and held him against its chest. "Everyone told me you were dead, but I knew that couldn''t be true," the dragon cried, making Nathan wonder if it was okay in the head. "Nothing could kill you! Not even that horrid witch Morgana! The horrid, evil demigod who tried to take over Earth! Before I could do anything, you''d already destroyed her magics and killed her!" The dragon rambled, talking about its search for him and how everyone insisted he was dead when he really wasn''t. It asked Nathan several times where he''d been and what he''d been up to, but never gave the demigod a chance to answer. This went on for nearly an hour, and by the time the dragon actually allowed Nathan a chance to speak, the demigod was confused beyond belief. Here was the oldest dragon on Earth, the most powerful creature living on Earth, something which even Master Torzin feared the power of, and it seemed like a little kid who''d just reunited with his father after being separated a few days. "Is everything alright?" Endariv asked Nathan, pulling the demigod away. "You aren''t normally so silent." "I''m just trying to figure out how the fuck you mistook me for a wizard who died more than a thousand years ago." The dragon stared at Nathan, frowning a little. "Your magic is weaker," the dragon said. "Weaker than even when I hatched, Father. You don''t remember me? Did you hit your head or something?" "I was born eighteen years ago," Nathan said. "As of this past February. I''m not fourteen hundred or so. Trust me. I''d know if I was that old. I''d probably be an ancestor to everyone on this planet." "Hm," the dragon said. "Oh. I see your soul is different," the dragon sighed. "My mistake. You''re my uncle. But¡­ where is Merlin?" "Your uncle?" Nathan asked. "Yes," the dragon said. "My uncle. You look so much like him, and you have the same father. That makes you my uncle." Nathan wanted to strangle Ichtvar to death again. And again. And again. "I''m going to kill that fucking bird!" "My apologies," the dragon set Nathan down carefully, and Nathan marveled at the gentleness the dragon had, as soon as his panic began to subside. "I made a mistake. Do you know where your brother is?"The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "You''re talking about Merlin, right?" Nathan asked. "Yes," Endariv answered. "He''s dead," Nathan said. "At least, according to Ichtvar. Died more than a thousand years before I was born." "Everyone says that," the dragon sighed. "Because it''s true, Endariv," Ichtvar spoke, appearing with a flash of fire, then hovering beside Nathan. "I was there when he died, Endariv. And no, you''re not killing me again, Nathan." "He''s killed you before?" Endariv gave Ichtvar an amused look. "You know, I distinctly remember Father killing you on three separate occasions." "Don''t remind me," Ichtvar grumbled. "That''s what you get for screwing with demigods with tempers," Endariv said. "You know he wiped out Morgana''s world and turned it into a hostile wasteland that kills nigh anything that enters it, right?" "I know," Ichtvar said. "The governments of this world have been tapping it for resources to make their offerings to you so that you''d keep things a secret. They''ll probably have a little issue with your flight an hour ago, but I don''t think many saw it, so it shouldn''t be too much of an issue." Nathan filed away the knowledge of that world to mention to Keith at some point. He wasn''t sure if it was useful for something, but it was a lot easier to think about than what was going on at the moment. "I thought I saw Father," Endariv sighed, then looked at Nathan. "But it was just his brother. They look remarkably alike. I had to look at his soul to realize he was different." "I nearly pissed fire when I saw him," Ichtvar admitted. "Especially since I was there when Merlin died. How Nathan could look so much like him is a mystery to me, but then again, Torzin looks like a normal human from this time despite being three hundred thousand years old." "Yeah," Endariv nodded. "Sometimes, I wonder about Gabriel. He tries to avoid me." "You tried to eat him the last time he was here." "He insulted me!" Endariv huffed. "Ichtvar, I''m not happy with my current offerings. I want more. They''re obviously just putting in enough effort to make them. I''m even seeing patterns, now." "What a coincidence!" Ichtvar extended a wing and patted Nathan on the back. "Nathan came here because he wanted to negotiate the offerings with you!" "He just said he wants more," Nathan told Ichtvar. "Show him what you made," Ichtvar told Nathan. Nathan looked at the dragon, which was looking at him expectantly. "I came here to negotiate a lower offering," Nathan said. "I''m not going to bother if you''re going to insist on a higher one." "I can see the enchanting in your soul," the dragon told him. "The forging meant for it. If what you make is interesting enough, I might be willing to accept some of your enchanted items in exchange for a lower cost. But monthly." Nathan looked at Agent Smalls, then gestured for the agent to bring him his backpack. When he received it, he opened it up and pulled out a crystal orb tinged with blue. "Shiny!" The dragon said, and Nathan gave it a confused look. "Is that really bigger on the inside than it is on the outside?" "You can read the enchantment?" Nathan asked. "Partially," the dragon stepped forward and moved its head to look at the orb. "I can make out that it''s some sort of storage orb with a spatial increase enchantment. That''s it. I can tell there''s more to it, but your enchantments to prevent me from reading it are pretty decent. A few improvements could be made, but otherwise, it''s good. The air inside of it doesn''t look bigger, though." "There''s a dimensional space inside of it," Nathan told the dragon. "It has two insides, and we''re only seeing the one that came with the orb." "And it''s for me?" "Uh, no," Nathan placed his left hand against the orb and activated a spell set into it, causing it to hover in the air. He then held his right hand out and activated another spell, ran through the mental list of items contained within it, and selected the one he wanted. It manifested in his right hand. "This, on the other hand, is meant to be a part of our negotiations." The dragon examined the object in Nathan''s hand. At first look, it was simply a black coin with Nathan''s emblem on each side, the white ring making up the edge of each side. When viewed with magical sight, however, it was impossible to read the enchantments without studying hard, Nathan had so thoroughly protected it against reading. "That doesn''t look special at all," Endariv said. "This coin possesses the ability to level everything within a hundred miles," Nathan said, and he heard the two agents gasp as they stared at it. "Ichtvar and I alone will be capable of surviving the blast. It was generated using more than one hundred times the mana Ichtvar possesses, and according to him, he has six times as much as you, even if you are currently magically superior." The dragon frowned at the coin. "If it is damaged in any way," Nathan said. "The spell will activate. If any mana other than mine is put into it or attempts to touch its enchantments, it will activate." "Didn''t you say you weren''t making a bomb?" Ichtvar asked Nathan in horror. "I made an exploding coin," Nathan stated. "It''s a bit different from a bomb. Endariv, I will not hesitate to level this entire place, including killing you, if I sense for even a moment you will get hostile or refuse to negotiate the price down. The department and shit can deal with the result of that, but they will be able to explain it away as a mundane attack with an experimental weapon by someone else, possibly put the blame on the people who are killing students." The demigod stopped talking, and everyone stared at him. Ichtvar became reminded of why demigods were frightening by themselves. They truly held little care for others, and Nathan''s nonchalant willingness to kill everyone nearby just to put down the dragon only served as a reminder of that. As the son of the king of the gods, Nathan held even less care for beings of the mortal realm. Even Endariv seemed hesitant after Nathan''s revelation, and the phoenix didn''t blame the dragon. Anyone who read into the runes ¨C what little could be read, as it took serious effort for even the phoenix to read just one of them ¨C could tell than it was enchanted for an explosion. "In less than two years," Nathan finally spoke again. "The law of secrecy will be lifted. When that happens, you will no longer be asked to conceal yourself from the public, free to stretch your wings as you please without anyone begging you to stay hidden like the pathetic mortals they are. However, your demands for the secrecy are too great a cost for the governments of the world, especially with the equipment they will need to develop and produce in order to deal with the world at large knowing magic exists. So we are going to lower that demand of yours, and there is nothing you can say which will change it. Either we drop it a bit, or we drop it to none." He flipped the coin up, then caught it. "And the ''none'' option involves the lack of your continued existence." Endariv stood, stretching his wings and tail out. "I am collecting enchanted items," the dragon spoke. "So that when my father returns, I may present them to him to study and improve. When he returns, he will-" "Merlin is dead," Nathan coldly stated. "Ichtvar was present for his death, unable to act in time to save him. Your ''father'' is dead. This is stated, this is fact. Accept it, Endariv. Mourn for him, rather than clinging on to the foolish belief of life when death is fact. This is an order from your uncle, Nathan Hunter, son of Ulmant, Prince of the Three Realms." Endariv moved his head closer to Nathan once more, staring deeply. "And get a fucking breath mint," Nathan said. "Or five thousand." 00106 "Your boyfriend is beyond insane," Ichtvar told Samantha as Nathan took Cyrus from her. "Way, way beyond insane." "What did he do?" She asked as Nathan sat down and Keith pulled the storage orb out of his discarded backpack. "He threatened Endariv with a bomb." "It wasn''t a bomb," Nathan said as Keith began pulling items out of the orb. "It was a coin enchanted to level the area." "It was an explosive enchantment," Ichtvar said. "Designed to level everything within a hundred miles. I still want to know how you would survive that." "You still have everything," Keith indicated all of the items he had pulled out, the items they had intended on using to negotiate with Endariv. "In fact, you came back with more, Nathan." "Endariv cried like a baby." "What?" Samantha asked. "Nathan forced him to accept the fact that Merlin was dead," Ichtvar explained. "Endariv cried for almost two hours before Nathan got fed up and shot him." "You did what?" Samantha exclaimed as Keith sighed, and Cyrus began hitting his father with balls of purple light. "You shot the dragon? Nathan! Are you insane!" "He went full-on demigod, too," Ichtvar sighed, landing on the table beside the orb. "The other items are things Endariv gave to Nathan. Most of them are past offerings as part of the deal, some are¡­ research he did on his own. For you two to study and adjust, if you wish to. He was pretty depressed when we left." "He''ll get over it," Nathan said. "Nathan!" Samantha exclaimed. "What were you thinking?" "Endariv agreed to a lower tribute," Nathan stated, and Ichtvar stared at him. "Don''t give me that look, Ichtvar." "What else did he do?" Keith asked. "Attempted suicide, that''s what," Ichtvar said. "If it weren''t for that coin, he would be dead, and Endariv would have gone on a rampage. Instead, it forced the dragon to listen. Even I never managed to do such a thing before. Well, not the way Nathan did. Merlin would probably have been proud of Nathan." "Merlin was apparently my half-brother," Nathan told them. "Seems we have the same godly father. And Endariv mistook me for him. Cyrus, could you stop that?" Cyrus stopped shooting balls of purple light at Nathan. "Thank you," Nathan said. "I also found out something about the world the governments harvest items from." "Really?" Keith asked. "Yeah," Nathan said. "Morgana was apparently from it. Then she came here. Then Merlin did that to it." "Sounds like something you''d do," Samantha muttered. "Nathan, please don''t go destroying worlds." "I''m planning on destroying a dimension." "I meant outside of that." "I''ll do what I do," Nathan said. "Anyway, the negotiations went well. Endariv won''t demand a tribute anymore as long as we get to reveal the truth to the public at his decision." "Uh," Keith said. "We''re revealing it in two years." "Endariv says it''ll be sooner than that," Nathan said. "So we should probably start focusing on the research more. Where is everyone else?" "Michael and William are visiting their families," Samantha answered. "Katie is off with Blake, Lucas is with your parents at the store, and your aunt and uncle are having some time to themselves." "I see," Nathan said. "You aren''t bothered by Katie being with your cousin?" Ichtvar asked. "She''s a grown woman," Nathan said. "If she wants to sleep with him, she can. She''s a part of my harem, she''s not my bitch." "So does that mean you''ll stop cock-blocking William when it comes to me?" Samantha asked. "I don''t mind if you sleep with Keith," he muttered. "Keith is gay," Samantha said. "Am I going to be the only woman who sleeps with you who''s not allowed to sleep with other guys?" "I don''t want you sleeping with William," Nathan said. "I don''t trust him." "You let him be a part of the team," she said. "I trust his skills," Nathan said. "Same as Michael. He can be relied on in a fight. He also hurt you during training. Several times. Don''t think I didn''t notice the bruises." "You gave me bruises, too." "Yeah, but he''s not me," Nathan grunted. "I don''t trust him. I wouldn''t care if you slept with someone like Nick, but not William or Michael or Blake." "You don''t care if Katie sleeps with Blake, but you do me?" She asked. "I actually like you," Nathan said. "Not just sex with you or find an attraction to a divine heritage you have." "Who''s Nick?" Keith asked. "Wait, yeah," Samantha said. "Who''s Nick?" "Neighbor." "Is he ugly?" "Keith would probably want him deep inside." "So he''s a blond twink?" Keith asked, and Nathan thought for a moment. "He has black hair," Nathan said. "Cyrus was friends with him, I think. They talked a lot. Hung out a lot." Samantha thought it over for a few moments, then frowned at Nathan. "What''s wrong with him?" "Why do you think there''s something wrong with him?" He asked. "Because you''d have no issue with him sleeping with me." "That doesn''t mean there''s something wrong with him." "Nathan¡­" "I don''t think there''s anything wrong with him," Nathan gave her an uncertain look.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Okay," she sighed. "We''ll table that topic for later, especially since you wouldn''t be willing for me to sleep with someone until after I recover from the pregnancy." "Yeah." "Why don''t you trust William?" She asked. "Even if you trust his abilities?" "He has a tattoo." "He does?" Keith asked in surprise. "I''ve given that body of his more than one look over, and I''ve never seen a tattoo on him." "He has some sort of waterproof makeup he uses to conceal it," Nathan touched his right forearm. "On the back of his forearm." He adjusted Cyrus, then rolled up his sleeve and traced a pattern on his arm, using light magic to create an imitation of the tattoo. The mark was black, and represented three rings linked in a line, each one resembling a serpent eating its own tail. A red, five-pointed star rested behind the center one, stretching past its edges a quarter of an inch. In the outer two rings, a crimson cross was patterned. "I have never seen that before," Samantha said. "And I''ve been in the showers with him more than once, Nathan." "And there''s what I said," Keith said, though his friends noticed he seemed rather stiff, both in body and in his words. "You know the mark?" Samantha asked. "Yes," Keith answered. "He comes from a clan of mages, but they don''t awaken until after high school ¨C intentionally. Until they graduate high school, they''re taught a mix of martial arts, staff combat, sword combat, and alchemy. After high school, that continues with magic mixed in. They''re just as nasty and foul as the Black Orb. You''re absolutely certain William has that on his arm?" "Yes," Nathan answered. "Yeah," Keith looked at Samantha. "It''s good he''s been cock-blocking William when it comes to you. Until we know for sure how he stands within his clan, it''s best to¡­ just treat him the way we have been." "I was planning on it," Nathan said, causing Samantha to snort. "I can investigate William more easily than either of you," Keith said. "So leave that up to me. Now, Ichtvar, could you kindly tell me exactly what happened at the negotiations?" "I''d rather not," the phoenix sighed. "It''s a headache just to think about it." "Ichtvar neglected to inform me I look like Merlin," Nathan said. "Endariv tackled me to the ground after mistaking me for Merlin. Ichtvar cleared things up. I pulled out the coin. Endariv put his face in mine. I told him to have a breath mint. Negotiations commenced. Endariv said he''ll wait as long as he chooses, then he''s flying to us. In exchange, we get those items and his own research. The stone tablets and blocks are imbued with his magic, with the research written out on them." "Got it," Keith said. "They seem rather¡­ heavy." "They were made by a dragon," Nathan shrugged. "We can also effectively ignore Enchanter''s Shop now, too. One of his researches was into improving Merlin''s mana seeds. With our mana orbs and his improved version, we can create them dozens at a time, in roughly a day. Of any of the standard sizes. We just need a lot of rocks." "That''s nice," Keith said. "And with magic, that won''t be much of an issue." Nathan twisted the ring around his finger, one of the mithril rings he''d created using the catkin''s research. He pushed some of his mana into it as he rocked Cyrus, then looked at Keith. "We''re not being observed," he said. "With what we have now, how much longer do you think it will take?" "For the first big project," Keith though for a moment. "Maybe two months of real-world time, factoring in our research in the Challenges? It might speed up if Evala''s brother had more notes regarding this, and we''re able to locate them sooner. Do you know how soon we can expect the gate to her world to be opened?" "Ichtvar?" Nathan looked at the phoenix as he began to tickle his son''s belly, causing the infant to giggle. "I''m taking Torzin out tomorrow," Ichtvar informed him. "He''ll be ready to direct a gate as soon as you''re able to get it built." "Father said," Nathan said. "That we should be able to begin using the facility tomorrow. We''ll build the gates in the first one. Contact whoever you need to in order to have some guards stationed, in case someone tries to pass through forcibly. The place will need to be enchanted to guard against people who are amped up by the System, too." "I''ll have that arranged," Keith nodded. "With our research, we can do some of that protection. The gate''s guard should work, though." "Just in case," Nathan said. "Just in case," Keith nodded. "What of Cyrus during that?" "You, me, and Ichtvar will be there," Nathan said. "He will be coming with us. Samantha as well, if she wants to." "I want to meet the first catkin you''ve ever slept with," Samantha smiled at him. "As well as the first one to ever piss you off." "I hope she dies unpleasantly," Nathan muttered, then looked at Keith again. "And on the second big project?" "We''ll need to test some stuff first," Keith said. "Which we can use the deadly world for without an issue. A few things will need a place with life in it to test, but we can find something that doesn''t have civilization to test that. Honestly, that''s all we really need. A few improvements and checks based on that, and then all we''ll need is to find a way into the dimension with the Soul Engine. Our mana orbs can produce a lot of mana, but they can''t make up for the power we''ll need in order to punch through the seal, if what the overlord told you is true." "We''ll need to make adjustments for the First Language, too," Nathan said. "Yeah," Keith nodded. "Neunar gave us not just the knowledge of it, but the understanding of it as well, so that part shouldn''t be too hard to do. At most, I''d say maybe two months, excluding the testing? A few weeks, possibly. We put a lot of research into both of those in the last two runs we did." "Okay," Nathan said. "Which of those," Samantha said. "Is the floating island?" "Neither," Keith answered. "Both of those relate to us destroying the System." "Didn''t the part about finding our way into the dimension with the Soul Engine make that obvious?" Nathan asked her. "Right," she said as he began playing with light to entertain Cyrus. "So the first one isn''t the floating island, either?" "No," Nathan answered. "Wait," Keith said. "She knew about it already?" "Yeah," Nathan looked at Samantha. "You knew about it already?" "It wasn''t hard to figure out," she said. "With you wanting an island and doing all those enchantments for floating things." "Oh," Nathan said, then looked at Keith. "Speaking of the floating island, what about the third big project?" "That''s where Ichtvar and Master Torzin come in," Keith said. "Once we can figure out how to seal the pathways leading into and out of Earth, we can put at least two parts of that into action." "What about the gates?" Samantha asked. "They''ll be rendered inert," Keith said. "But this won''t be until after we destroy the dimension. We''re discussing the setup." "As for the actual floating," Nathan said. "All I need to do is put the enchantments into the island, create the power chamber, create and set the magic orbs, and it will be ready for me to lift into the sky. That would take me maybe a week." "Are you having a home built there?" Keith asked. "Duh," Nathan said. "Would you enchant it for protection, durability, resiliency, longevity, and all that?" "I can do that," Keith nodded. "The mana orb will make it easier, too." "Alright," Nathan said. "So in theory, we can have almost everything done in the next two or three real months." "Correct," Keith said. "Once we get the second big project finished, it really will just be us waiting to find a way into that dimension." "The main thing is getting Earth''s protections up, first," Nathan said. "Nathan," Samantha said. "It just occurred to me, but was the comment about us not being observed relating to the administrators, overseers, or whatever?" "Yeah," Keith said. "Nathan made the two of us rings we can use to detect it. Evala''s brother ¨C the dead one ¨C had done a fair bit of research into the System. Far more than Nathan and I managed, and far more thoroughly. He possibly did it without getting caught, or he might have gotten discovered ¨C which would explain why they killed him, if they were actually directly responsible for his death. He kept it secret, including going far enough to write in magic rather than ink his notes on it. The rings were made with an enchantment he''d created through his research." "According to the explanation he gave," Nathan said. "There''s a sign that someone is about to look at you or is looking at you. It covers not just you, but anything around you, and only sounds originating in that space count ¨C so if their observation range extends only a foot past me from the wall behind me, nothing Keith says would be heard, even if I can hear him." "The rings," Keith said. "With a little bit of mana, look for those signs of observation. For around an hour, they let the wearer know if they''re in a state of observation or not." "The reason we believe he had more research than what''s in the journal," Nathan said. "Is because of the ring''s formula and information. It''s using information that wasn''t in the journal, so either he kept it in his head, or he had more." "Makes sense," Samantha said. "Can I hold him again?" Nathan looked at Cyrus, then handed their son to her. "So those rings let you know if you''re under observation or not," she said. "Which allows you to talk more freely about your plans." "Correct," Nathan said. "Though Keith and I are still going to discuss the two projects with minimal words. We even came up with a code. It has some flaws, but Keith said we can debug as it we work. He has technology on the mind." "I can''t help it," Keith shrugged. "Anyway, let''s focus on what we can do for now. I''ll let our contact in the department know some stuff and ask them to hurry on creating the facility in the toxic world so that we can do stuff and start harvesting more resources. With Endariv no longer requiring things for now, we can probably divert a fair bit to us, too. As payment for our services. We''ll just need to make sure they don''t get upset with how much we''re asking." "You do all that," Nathan said. "I''m going to go swimming out back. I think that''s everything we were discussing, and if there''s anything I forgot about, we can talk about it later. Samantha, you might want to change Cyrus''s diaper, he was getting ready to poop when I handed him to you." 00107 "Will you stop grumbling?" Samantha asked Nathan. "You are literally handing him off to his cousin for just a few minutes." Nathan muttered something incomprehensible under his breath, then carefully handed Cyrus to Lucas. After triple-checking his son was okay, Nathan looked at Samantha, Keith, Katie, William, and Michael. "Come on," he mumbled. "Let''s head in now." He looked at Cyrus again, then tore his gaze away as he pulled up the System interface for entering the game. After sending the other five players invites, he found himself in the Fields of Choice with them. Samantha rubbed his back. "To him, no time will have passed," she said. "It''ll be forever," he muttered, then looked at Keith. "Can-" "No," Keith said. "You are not getting the scry ball literally right after we enter the game." "I can just make another one," Nathan grumbled, then looked at Samantha, before addressing everyone. "We''ll do at least one extended Survival Challenge, partly so that Samantha can finish recovering from the pregnancy. From what we know, it won''t affect her ability to breastfeed Cyrus ¨C once we leave here, she''ll still be producing as if she just gave birth three days ago, even if her body''s already recovered from the pregnancy. "We''ll also," he continued. "Be in there to train the three of you, and for Keith and I to train a bit more as well. Depending on how it goes, either we''ll stop there, or we''ll do another run. Time is almost up for the four of you for the first Mandatory Challenge. Our goal is to find a Dungeon either with this set of runs or the next one that has enough Dungeons inside of it that none of you will need to perform a single Mandatory Challenge ever again. If we can''t find that, we will just run Dungeons again and again until we''ve completed enough multi-Dungeon Dungeons with high Dungeon counts to meet that goal. For now, our goal is six exempted Mandatory Challenges. Any questions?" "Do you really think five months is enough time for us to become strong enough to handle that?" Michael asked. "Didn''t you and Keith say that you nearly died on at least two separate occasions and had to deal with two separate Ultimate Trinity monsters?" "Keith and I will be handling most of the powerful stuff," Nathan said. "Based on my knowledge of the skills and abilities of each of you, five months of daily or near-daily training will make you at least somewhat competent in the runs. Only if it''s not will we perform a second run." "Nathan and I," Keith said. "Are going to perform a check of all of the Dungeons available, then we''ll head into the Survival Challenge and start setting things up. You four just relax for now." "I want-" "Nathan," Keith shot him a look. "It''s not even been five minutes. You have Samantha and Katie here. Focus on what''s available to you rather than-" "-to check something out while we''re here," Nathan rolled his eyes. "So I''ll be a little longer than normal. I''m going to do it after I check the Dungeons available." "Oh," Keith said. "But I do want to return to Cyrus as soon as possible, too." "Don''t worry, Nathan," Samantha rubbed his back again. "He''ll be waiting in Lucas''s arms when we leave here." "That''s not comforting," Nathan walked off towards the Dungeon archways to the east, and Samantha looked at Keith. "How did you convince him to start this now?" She asked. "I reminded him that the rest of you were almost to a month from the Tutorial," Keith said. "Keeping you from having to do a Mandatory Challenge ¨C where he wouldn''t be able to help you if it was too hard for you for some reason ¨C is high on his priority list. Since we''re exempt, we''re literally unable to join others on the same Mandatory Challenge we''d be doing. I''m going to go check the Dungeon arches over this way, you guys relax. It''ll take us about two hours to finish, most likely. I''m not sure what Nathan''s planning on doing, so it might take longer." Keith walked off and began checking the Dungeon arches. The rest of the team relaxed in the grass as they waited for the pair of enchanters to finish, and when they returned, Nathan''s clothes were ruffled and his hair was unkempt, though he was in the process of fixing his hair with a comb as he returned. "What did you do?" Samantha asked. "I checked the Dungeon arches." "Keith didn''t return looking like you do." "That''s because he''s a twink." Keith groaned as the others gave Nathan a bewildered look. "You''re not going to let that go, are you?" The psychic asked. "No," Nathan answered as he finished fixing his hair. "I''m not. Before we go into the Challenge, let''s make a few things clear. Samantha, you are not having sex until after you''ve recovered from the pregnancy. The doctor recommends four to six weeks. That gives us enough time that if we only do one run, we can still get you the permanent blessing we told you about. Michael, Elise being gone doesn''t mean you can fuck the nearest girl. If Katie wants you to fuck her, she''ll come to you. That said, William is bisexual, so he''d probably be willing to fuck you instead if you''d rather give up women while we''re in this run together."Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "I forgot you liked making us uncomfortable in that way," William sighed. "I did find out why Nathan says that," Keith told William. "Because we''re into guys and Michael''s a man-whore?" "Nathan''s a man-whore, too," Keith said. "Did you forget that he''s slept with something like six or seven women, and has sex pretty much every day?" William frowned at Keith. "Apparently," Keith smiled a little. "Nathan found out a secret of Michael''s back in March, and Michael offered to let Nathan fuck him whenever he wanted, to basically just use him in exchange for keeping the secret, thinking Nathan would take it up because he was a horny loner who couldn''t get anyone. He wasn''t aware Nathan was getting ready to meet up with one of the ladies he sleeps with." "You said you weren''t going to tell anyone!" Michael said. "Even without the sex!" "I said I wouldn''t tell anyone the secret," Nathan said. "You never asked me not to tell anyone you wanted me up your ass. Oh. Samantha. If Keith decides he wants to give sleeping with a woman another try, just to see if he won''t absolutely hate it like with Evala, I might be okay with that." "He''s gay, Nathan," Samantha said. "It''s doubtful he''d ever want to sleep with a woman." Nathan shrugged. "If there''s nothing further," Nathan said. "Let''s head into the game. One hundred and fifty days. Optional Challenges on. It''s going to be a lot of training for those of you with lesser skills. A lot of boring monotony. Keith and I will be working on a project as well." "Does it have anything to do with all the clay you had delivered, then moved into a storage orb?" Samantha asked. "He wants to try making a golem," Keith said. "There''s no records of any sort of successful golem spell on Earth, so it might take us more than this one session to figure it out." "Accept the invites," Nathan huffed. "I already sent them." Everyone accepted the invites, then found themselves in the cafeteria of the extend Survival Challenge''s location. Immediately, Nathan disappeared. "Did he just run away?" Samantha asked. "Yes," Keith snorted as he removed his shirt. His familiar''s runes began to glow, then stretched out of his back like wings, before pulling away completely, turning into the heavenly storm elemental. "Halls," Keith instructed. "There''s no hunting today, no one will benefit from that." His familiar took off, then Keith began creating the protective and restorative runes around the cafeteria. The other four teens began setting up their beds and living spaces, pulling items from the storage orb Keith left out. He and Nathan had taught them how to use it before entering the game, so they needed no help with that. "Keith," Samantha called to the psychic as they were setting things up. "Is that box of lube seriously in the orb?" "Talk to your boyfriend," he told her. "He never gave it to me outside of the game, so if it''s in there, he stuck it there." "So that you can use it if you want," Nathan said as he entered the cafeteria. "Or William and Michael. Or Samantha and Katie with the dildos." "Where''d you go?" Samantha asked. "Restroom," he answered. "I had to crap. I let Ichtvar and Breezy loose. Breezy is playing tag with Splashy right now, while Ichtvar is just flying around. Oh, good, you set up our bed." He walked over to the queen-sized mattress set out on top of a boxspring. After their discussion with Samantha the day before, he and Keith had gone mattress shopping so that they''d have proper beds during the Survival Challenges. With the storage capacity of the orbs, it wasn''t an issue. "Will it really be safe to leave the orbs in the Fields of Choice while we''re running Dungeons?" Michael asked as he finished setting up his own bed. "Yes," Nathan answered as he pulled out wall dividers from the orb and began setting them up to create small ''rooms'' for the beds without elaborating on his response. "Nathan and Keith tested things," Katie explained when she realized Nathan wasn''t going to say anything and Keith had returned to focusing on the enchantments. "And determined that things placed in the Fields of Choice are frozen in time while in a Challenge or Dungeon, and that they''ll be there when we return. As long as it''s in the central area where we spawn, anyway. Outside of there, it disappears." "Plus," Samantha said. "We''d have the ''original'' ones when we leave the game. I don''t blame them for not wanting to take the storage orbs into the Dungeons with us." "We''ll be taking one," Nathan said. "It''s not as large, though, and has less space. But it has resources, nonetheless." "There''s a smaller one?" Samantha asked. "I didn''t see you put it into your backpack." "Because it''s not in there," he reached under his collar and pulled out a mithril chain, hanging from which was a marble-sized crystal orb, tinted blue. "It''s here. Keith has a second one in his pack, I believe, though he should be wearing it." "I''m not going to put it on just yet," Keith rolled his eyes. "I''ll do that once we''re going to start the Dungeons. It''s not necessary to keep it on us here." Nathan opened his mouth to respond, then shook his head. Keith wasn''t entirely wrong, even with their suspicions of William. The two smaller storage orbs were enchanted so that only Keith and Nathan could use them, among the six teens there. They required either being a psychic or a demigod to activate, and William was neither. "Let''s just finish setting up our spaces," Nathan said. After separating the sleeping areas with divider walls, Nathan pulled out several thick blankets and stretched them across the top of his, stapling them to the divider walls, blocking out any light from reaching from above. Another thick blanket was added to the front of their section, the only side of his sleeping space not blocked with a wall divider. That blanket was stapled at the top, allowing for them to enter, but still have privacy. "There we go," Nathan said. "A private room. I''m going to enchant it for durability, too." "And soundproofing," Keith said. "Probably so that he won''t have to hear others having sex¡­ or others hearing him." "I don''t want you jacking off to me having sex with someone," Nathan said, earning an amused look from Keith, though the demigod didn''t notice, his back turned. "Enchanting for durability?" Samantha asked as Nathan pulled out a jug of enchanting paint. "To prevent the walls from falling at all," he explained. "It will effectively turn the entire thing into a room with stable walls. It''ll take someone intentionally attacking it to knock them over. Once I finish this, we''ll set up the training area, I brought equipment for that." "I''ll set that up," she gave him a hug and a kiss. "I know you''re probably wanting to use Keith''s orb to watch Cyrus." "Yeah," Nathan said. "And don''t forget we''ll be in here for a long time, doing the training, so make sure it''s set up good, or we''ll just have to rearrange it again later." "Will do," she walked over to the orb. "Good luck with the enchanting." "Thanks," he muttered, then began painting runes onto his room. 00108 "Hey, Nathan," Keith poked his head past the blanket that acted as a door to Nathan''s room, then froze up. "Uh¡­ I can come back." Nathan, Samantha, and Katie were laying on Nathan''s queen-sized mattress, with Nathan on his back, Samantha laying on her left side snuggling Nathan''s right, and Katie laying on her right side snuggling Nathan''s left. All three of the teens were as naked as the day they were born, with Nathan having slid his arms under his girlfriends, his hands resting on their backs. An orb of pale yellow light floated just beneath the center of their ceiling, lightning the space for them. "Want to join us?" Nathan asked. "Uh, no," Keith answered. "I can ask when you''re finished." "Okay," Nathan said, and Keith stepped back, letting the blanket to fall back into place. "Nathan," Samantha said. "I think Keith misunderstood what we were doing." "How?" Nathan asked. "We''re just telling stories." "We''re also naked," she says. "In your room." "So?" He asked, confusion clear on his face. "Nathan," she said. "Normally, in a situation like this, sex is going on or about to happen. Or has just finished, but Keith''s perceptive enough to have noticed the lack of sweat and signs of exhaustion that comes with sex on us, as well as the lack of the smell of it." "But I don''t do three-ways," Nathan said. "He knows that." "He probably didn''t realize it immediately," Katie told him. "He just saw us naked and came to the ''normal'' conclusion." "Oh," Nathan said, then shrugged. "So back to the stories. You were saying something about Mrs. Kampf losing your class''s test?" "Yeah," Katie answered. "Seventh-grade History, we had a huge test we had just taken, and normally, our grades were in the book by the end of the day, and we''re going over the tests the next day so we know what we got wrong and what the correct answers were. Well, my parents checked the online gradebook every day and noticed that the grade for the test was marked with an asterisk, which usually meant something was going on with the grade. I get to class the next day, and Mrs. Kampf apologizes to us and revealed that she accidentally lost my class''s test. Not the other classes'' tests, just mine. "She still went over them with us," Katie continued. "So we at least knew what the right answers were after. A few days passed, and the tests were still missing. Midterm grades were supposed to be filed about a month later, and on the deadline day, she told my class that she was probably going to mark ours as an exception, so that we wouldn''t have to retake it. She had searched everywhere she could think of for the test, including having cleaned out our entire classroom. "Well, that evening, Mom was checking the grades," she told them. "And it showed I''d gotten an eighty-seven on the test. I''d already told them what Mrs. Kampf had said, so they were a bit confused. Parent-teacher conferences were the next week, and she''d told my parents when they sent her an email asking about it that she''d explain then. "I get to class on Monday," Katie said. "And she explains to our class that she did find our tests. She''d was at home going through some stuff, and found some documents she could have sworn she''d put in a safe deposit box at the bank." "No!" Samantha gasped. "She didn''t!" "Yeah," Katie laughed. "She found those, so she took them to the bank and opened the box to put them in, only to find our tests in there!" Nathan snorted as Katie and Samantha laughed. When they calmed down, Samantha applied a little pressure to Nathan''s stomach with her hand. "Tell Katie about the Baus incident," she said. "Which Baus incident?" He asked. "The bouncy balls," she answered. "I wasn''t there for that one, but heard about it from a friend in your class." "Bouncy balls?" Katie asked as Nathan snorted. "Back in January," Nathan said. "Mr. Baus, my math teacher, had brought a few bags of bouncy balls to school, as part of a project or something, I never did find out. He''d stored them in the cabinet his in classroom. All three bags had rips in them. We had a minor earthquake, and those rips caught on something and pulled bigger. During the passing period after that, he opened the cabinet to pull something out, and the balls fell out of the bags." "So his classroom had a few balls bouncing around it?" Katie asked. "No," Samantha chuckled. "Nathan left out the part where each bag had one hundred balls in them. We had three hundred bouncy balls falling out of the cabinets."This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "It had startled Mr. Baus," Nathan nodded. "And he jumped back in shock, a normal reaction for the inexperienced and easily-frightened. The classroom door was open, and the cabinet was on the back wall." "They shot out of the classroom?" Katie asked. "We had another minor earthquake at that time," Nathan nodded. "Just some slight shaking, nothing to panic over. Well, it caused the balls to bounce a bit more, so they took off into the hallway. During passing period. There were injuries." "Injuries?" Katie asked. "Ever been hit by a bouncy ball shooting off?" Nathan asked. "Lots of bruises." "Tell her how many of them you caught as they went by," Samantha told Nathan. "Forty-eight." "Yeah," Samantha told Katie. "Nathan''s just sitting there, already at his seat when this whole thing happens, and when it does, he just reach out and snatches any bouncy balls within his reach, then setting them on his desk. He always did have good reflexes and a decent reaction time. There''s actually a video one of his classmates took of the incident, I have it on my regular phone, but I don''t take that in with me." "I forgot about the video," Nathan admitted. "He just has this bored look on his face," Samantha told Katie. "As his hands shoot out, catching the balls. That''s honestly almost as amusing as the incident itself. It took awhile to catch all the balls, and some students kept them." "It wasn''t that hard," Nathan said. "In all the chaos and confusion, it was easy for some to just slip them into their pockets. I still want to know what Mr. Baus had them for. Do you think if we put on underwear, or just dressed, Keith would join us for the stories? But then we''d just get naked again once he left. Hm¡­" "I''m going to go train for a bit," Katie told Nathan. "The stories were nice, but I know you want to do stuff with Samantha, too." "Okay," Nathan said. "Thanks for entertaining us with your stories." "You''re welcome," Katie said. Nathan watched as she dressed, then left the room, and he looked at Samantha. "The light will probably go out if we have sex." Samantha laughed, then pulled Nathan onto her as she flipped onto her back, pressing her lips to his. The light went out instantly, causing Samantha to snort. "I lost control of the spell when I did my best not to reflexively defend myself at the flip." "I figured!" Samantha laughed, sliding her hands along his sides. "It''s safe now, Nathan. We''re past the range." "I know," Nathan lifted his hips up and found the spot, then pushed down, eliciting a soft moan from Samantha. Nathan let out a sigh of pleasure at the feel of her wrapped around him, the warmth and moistness of her squeezing him. "You feel much better than Katie." "Since when do you vocalize?" Samantha did her best not to snort at Nathan''s unexpected comment. "Never." "Then just fuck me," she wrapped her arms around his neck as he lowered himself the rest of the way, his chest pressed against hers, and with the slight wiggle he did, she knew he was enjoying the feel of her boobs against him. "Just like you used to." "Yeah," he whispered, then began thrusting. As Nathan slid back and forth inside of Samantha, he pressed his lips to her, wondering if she was thinking right when she made that comment. He usually fucked her from behind, so it wasn''t ''like he used to''. Though he''d do that next. He slid his hands under her head, elevating it just a little as he felt her hair. Only the sounds of their breathing and flesh slapping flesh filled the air of the small room he''d created as Nathan continued to slide back and forth inside of Samantha. Nathan sped up as he drew near his climax, thrusting deep inside when he reached it, letting out a soft moan of pleasure. Knowing Samantha hadn''t hit her own climax, he quickly pulled out of her and knelt, feeling her chest, boobs, and stomach as she got up, then onto her hands and knees in front of him. The demigod slid back inside of his girlfriend, holding her by the hips as he thrust into her. Samantha pushed back against him with every thrust, ensuring Nathan went as deep as possible. It took almost no time for her to reach her orgasm, tightening around Nathan, who reached his second climax, releasing more of his seed into her. When they finished, Nathan pulled out of Samantha and flipped her back onto her back, then lay on her, pressing his lips to hers as he held her hands. "I love you," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I love you, too, you big dolt," Samantha whispered back. "Dolt?" He asked, and Samantha didn''t need to see his face to know the look of utter confusion that filled it. "Yes," she said. "Don''t ever tell Katie you like sex with me better, or that I feel better to you." "Why?" Nathan asked. "Because not all women like being compared to other women," Samantha told him. "Most would actually hate it." "Oh," he said, then pulled off of her and lay beside her, holding her hand. "Icthvar taught me how to avoid getting you pregnant when we have sex. I''m making sure to use it from now on." "Alright," she chuckled. "Mr. Son-of-a-Sex-God. Who knows, maybe next time I get pregnant with your kid, it''s triplets rather than just a lone child." "Yeah," Nathan mumbled softly. "That would be nice. Triplets to teach and raise, looking up to their elder brother Cyrus as their papa teaches them how to be¡­" Nathan''s voice trailed off as his breathing became slow and rhythmic, and Samantha chuckled. As she traced a finger along his muscles, Samantha came to a horrified realization. Cyrus was already unique enough, and even at a few days old, was showing signs of potentially being as much of a handful as his father was. If they had triplets, that would be three more potentials for that. "Please don''t ever forget to use that ability," she whispered into Nathan''s ear. "I don''t think I could handle four children with you." Samantha kissed Nathan on the cheek, then pulled herself away from him and dressed, then exited his room, squinting a little at the bright lights of the cafeteria. Her gaze turned to Keith''s ''room'', which was designed the same way as Nathan''s, then looked around for the psychic, who was nowhere to be seen. She poked her head past the blanket to Keith''s room and found him sitting on his bed, using a laptop. "You brought a laptop in here?" She asked. "I always have," he answered. "It was in my Item Box before. I figured I could work on a program while we''re training all of you in here. Did Nathan pass out after you finished?" "Yeah," she answered. "What did you need him for? I can wake him if you need him." "Nah, he can sleep," Keith said. "I just wanted his input on something regarding our company, but it can wait." "Something private?" She asked. "Nah," Keith responded. "I just wanted to know what he wanted his office to look like. As I said, it can wait." 00109 "I think I might have figured out a solution to powering the golem," Keith said as he and Nathan checked yet another Dungeon archway, the other four teens waiting in the center area. "For once we figure out how to actually make them." "So we don''t need to find someone from another world?" Nathan asked. "We can still check with them," Keith replied. "But if we put in a miniature mana orb, that would work. All we''d need to do is put in regulation enchantments to ensure it doesn''t overload it, but is still able to draw on extra mana when needed, and it would work the same as mana crystals. Better, even, and it wouldn''t need replacing." Nathan contemplated that. He''d considered doing a mana orb, but wasn''t sure how they could make it work with the golems, as the golems would have some basic spells they could use, once completed. Mostly defensive spells, but there would also be golems designed for taking care of the island''s gardens and livestock. Regardless of how long Nathan would be there, he planned on the island being sustainable for Cyrus until the boy could take care of himself. That meant setting it up in such a way that it was a self-sufficient home, without any need of supplies coming from elsewhere. Normal enchantments wouldn''t work for those types of golems, as their mana usage would vary based on the spells they used. He hadn''t considered using enchantments to cause the adjustments to the regulations, which was what Keith had suggested. "We can try that," Nathan said. "Once we leave the game this round, we can make a mini-golem with some clay." "We still need to figure out how to animate it," Keith said. "The enchantments you used on the Lego figures aren''t working with the clay." "We''ll figure it out," Nathan said, then looked over to Keith. "How about ''Temple of Hell''? Difficulty is Adept." Keith sighed. They had seen that Dungeon several times, and Nathan was constantly asking if they could do it. He knew the reason the demigod wanted to do it, but wasn''t sure that was an appropriate reason to enter a Dungeon, especially when its name included ''Hell'' and every Dungeon had a very real possibility of killing them. "It showed up when it was just the two of us," Nathan said. "And we now have six of us, four of whom are decent fighters." "Yeah," Keith sighed. "I''m not sure it would have multiple Dungeons in it, though. It''s very clearly labeled as a ''temple''." "Right," Nathan shrugged. "Maybe after we get them exempted." Keith snorted, then moved on to the next archway, and Nathan did the same. "We can, right?" Nathan asked. "If they agree to it," Keith laughed. "Once they''re exempted from enough Dungeons for now, we can wait a little longer before doing Dungeons again in an attempt to get more exemptions. If we even need to." "With Nuenar''s gift and Endariv''s stuff," Nathan said after using his ring. "How long do you think is realistic for success?" "As said before," Keith said. "Maybe two or three months, especially if we''re able to get more research from the demigod catboy''s stuff. The real problem will be finding a way into the sealed dimension." "Nuenar said he''d help us with that," Nathan said. "Or at least, in attempting to find it so we could direct our attack at it, once we''ve created what we need to." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "That will probably take just as long to create as the other stuff we need." "How about ''Tower of Magic''?" Nathan asked. "That again," Keith sighed. "You just want to see what a tower of magic is made out of. As I said, it''s probably stone, and was probably a research center or a place for the demons to learn magic or something similar." "What if a Tower of Magic has a town around it?" Nathan asked. "With waterways beneath it? A temple or shrine, too? A library, maybe?" Keith sighed. "All of which could count as Dungeons on their own," Keith said. "Yeah, I know. I still doubt there will be enough to reach ten total Dungeons, even with side Dungeons." "Can you use your orb?" "No," Keith answered. "Remember, Nathan? It takes an immense amount of effort, mana, and power to look between dimensions in the game, especially through artificial ones. With my orb ¨C and the one we made to look at Cyrus ¨C we at least know the dimension and location being looked into. What you''re asking me to do is sort through all dimensions, then locate the specific world. That''s why gates are so difficult to make, too ¨C if you don''t know where you''re going, it''s hard to find it." "Right," Nathan sighed. "You''d be exhausted upon entry. You can''t just try your normal sight thingy?" "I could," Keith said. "But it''s doubtful that would do anything, since no official decision has been made." The psychic''s eyes began to glow, and after a few moments, he shook his head, his purple eyes returning to normal.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "I wasn''t able to see anything," he told the demigod. "That said, I did get a vibe." "A vibe?" Nathan asked. "Let''s run the Tower of Magic Dungeon," Keith said. "With the rest of the team. I don''t know what the vibe means, other than we should do it. We can try for a multi-Dungeon Dungeon that has at least ten after." "Okay," Nathan said. "I''ll be back." He turned towards the central zone, then took off running, reaching it in only a few moments. Katie and Samantha were sitting on the ground, their backpacks behind them as they talked, while Michael and William were seated off to the side, playing a game of Go Fish with cards, still wearing their backpacks. Another backpack rested to the side, apart from everyone else. That bag contained the larger storage orbs Nathan and Keith had, and would remain there during their runs into the Dungeons. "We found a Dungeon," Nathan told the relaxing teens. "It''s probably not a multi-Dungeon Dungeon, but Keith felt a vibe. I think it''s just gas, but he says we should do the Dungeon." The other four chuckled a little at Nathan''s comment, and the girls grabbed their bags as they stood. Once everyone was ready, they made their way to Keith, and Nathan approached the Dungeon archway and activated its information, then activated it. Immediately, the six teens found themselves standing in front of a large, round stone tower built of dark gray stone. It stretched more than one hundred feet into the air, and spanned forty feet in width. The doors themselves were made of a rich, brown wood that stood against the test of time, looking as new as they day they were installed. Nathan and Keith, with their magical sight active, were able to see the enchantments imbued into both the tower and the door. They were layered heavily, but the two could pick out enough to know their purposes: resiliency and strength. "You know," Keith said as Nathan looked around. "I bet this tower could resist Endariv''s might." "We didn''t get a notice for the town," Nathan said, and Keith looked, realizing that starting twenty yards away from the tower, a town of stone buildings had been built, a tall stone wall surrounding that. "We did for the tower, though."
Dungeon Entered: Tower of Magic
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Adept
Clear the tower of monsters.
"Maybe it only triggers if we''ve beaten the tower?" Keith asked. "Since they''re in two different locations?" "Maybe," Nathan shrugged. "It''s a Scavenger Hunt instead of a Slaughter." "So there are several parts to it," Samantha said. "Yeah," Nathan said. "The doors are shut, which means the monsters formed on their own over time." "What do you think they are?" Katie asked. "There are two possibilities," Keith said. "Based on our theories regarding these. Some monsters simply form ¨C this was basically confirmed with the Isles of Darkness. There was no plant life at all, yet there were herbivores, and the dragon had made a comment that basically said monsters were generated by the System. This may be an automatic thing, that is, without any set parameters. It simply happens. So we may be facing things that spawned inside the tower, which won''t need any food to survive." "And the other case?" Michael asked. "Normal vermin you''d find in a tower," Keith said. "Evolved or morphed into beasts. While we were on the Isles of Darkness, we were on a world without plant life, yet had oxygen. That was likely supplied by the System. Here, there are plants, so natural life could still exist." It was then that Samantha, Michael, Katie, and William noticed the grass they were standing on, something Nathan and Keith had both noticed immediately upon arrival. "I thought all of the worlds were dead?" Michael asked. "How does this one have plants?" "The Trees of Life," Samantha reminded him. "That grow from the Seeds of Life. Once the world''s been restored with that, it''s possible the admins put plants and animals native to it back on it. I doubt they''d have let them all just go extinct." "I was thinking that, too," Keith said. "Anyway, let''s head inside the tower now. Just because no monster has attacked yet, that doesn''t mean there aren''t any outside." "William goes first," Nathan said. "That way, if something attacks us immediately, he''s a meatshield." "Nathan, be nice," Samantha said. "He''s still upset about William eating the last piece of the peach cobbler a few days ago," Keith said. "William and Michael, you two head in first. Samantha and Katie, you''re next, and Nathan and I will bring up the rear. I''m expecting the more powerful stuff to be outside rather than inside." William approached the doors, and Michael pushed them opened, then the pair of teens entered. The ladies entered next, and Nathan and Keith heard the sound of fighting immediately. They looked inside and found the four battling large rats, with a giant, green slime shooting goop at them from the other side of the room. The four fighters managed to use barriers to block the slime, but they weren''t able to sustain that while also fighting the rats attempting to bite their legs. "I''ll handle the slime," Keith said as they entered. Immediately, he raised his hands and released fireballs, and Nathan kicked a rat, sending it flying across the room. It impacted the far wall with a crunch, and he turned his attention to the one Samantha was punching, having crouched slightly for a better advantage. Deciding she could handle that on her own, Nathan shot both of the rats attacking William, then returned his gun to his holster. The other rats were dying quickly, so there was no further need for his assistance. He turned his attention to the slime, which Keith was reducing to vapor with a jet of flames. Once nothing remained of it, the psychic stopped his spell, then looked at Nathan. "That was annoying," Keith said. "It looks like this is just one room." Nathan nodded, surveying the room. The stairs up started to the right of the door when facing it from inside, and the ceiling was eight feet above them. A single support post, two feet on each side, stretched from the center of the floor up to the roof, made of the same gray stone as the outer walls of the tower. The only furniture in the room was the fireplace and a stone oven that likely used wood for its heat. "This was probably a combination entrance, kitchen, and dining space," Keith commented. "If all of the floors are this tall, then the tower has probably fifteen floors, if we account for a foot of stone between each floor to act as the ceiling of the lower and floor of the upper. With magic, they could do that rather than wood, though I''m not sure the purpose of the support pillar ¨C the magics here, what I can read of them, make it so one isn''t necessary." "Let''s head upstairs," Nathan said. "This is a Scavenger Hunt Dungeon, so there''s going to be more to do, and not all floors will be this easy." "And we''ll wear down the more we fight," Keith said. "Especially as we''ll be ascending stairs the whole way up." "Same order as before?" William asked. "Yes," Keith answered. "Try not to alert the monsters you''re there. See what''s there, then report back to us. We''ll decide who fights them." "Got it," William nodded, then made his way to the stairs, Michael following. 00110 "Do they just use ''Scavenger Hunt'' for everything, then?" Nathan asked in disbelief. "It''s probably," Keith said. "Because there are other Dungeons for us to do, if we want." "So?" Nathan asked. "All we had to do was clear the tower of monsters! That''s very clearly a slaughter mission!" "Will you just look at the map," Keith told Nathan, who grunted, then spread out the map that he''d grabbed as soon as it had appeared. "Thank you." Up clearing the Tower of Magic Dungeon, they were informed that there were eight total Towers of Magic, each a separate Dungeon, each needing to be cleared of monsters. They had fifteen minutes to decide if they wanted to seek out another Tower of Magic, or if they wanted to leave. Unlike in the Isles of Darkness Dungeon, they would not receive the choice if any of them left the tower. If someone did, it would be counted as a decision to remain and complete another Tower of Magic Dungeon. Another difference between the Tower of Magic Dungeon and the Isles of Darkness Dungeon was that they were given a map which showed them every available Dungeon. "Black dots," Keith said. "Are Dungeons that are already completed, which puts us here." He pointed at the sole black dot on the map, ringed by brown. "Brown means a settlement," Keith said. "The ring around it means it''s around a Dungeon. The Towers of Magic, the Dungeons we have to complete to receive the exit choice, are green. There are nine of those dots, so we have eight more we can complete. We can also complete any Secondary Dungeons located on this map, but only as long as we have Towers of Magic left. If we complete all nine Towers of Magic, we''ll be removed automatically, without allowance to complete anymore Secondary Dungeons. Secondary Dungeons are the blue dots." "I count eighty-seven," Nathan said. "So ninety-six-four total Dungeons." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "I count eighty-seven Secondary Dungeons as well. As the Towers of Magic will probably be relatively easy due to how powerful our team is and how soon this became available to us, we can do those nine for sure. That leaves us with twenty-one more Dungeons to complete." "What''s the red dot with the golden ring?" Katie asked. It rested in the center of their map, in the center of the ring created by the Towers of Magic, and was something all six of them had been wondering. As soon as she asked, the answer was provided for them.
A Dungeon with a Difficulty rank of Impossible. It is protected by a golden barrier, and will not allow entry unless all present members confirm they wish to enter. Completion of any Dungeon with a Difficulty of Impossible will grant additional five exempted Mandatory Dungeons to your allowance.
"Considering we''d need to be at least Level 1,000 for that," Keith said. "Or Level 3,000¡­ let''s not agree to go in there." "Agreed," Nathan said. "Even if all five of you said ''yes'', I''m going to say ''no''." "At least they sealed it off," Keith said. "So that someone doesn''t accidentally enter its range. It would be nightmarish if we were forced to go through an Impossible Dungeon because we accidentally, barely entered it while traveling to another Dungeon." The group returned to looking over the map, until Michael spoke up. "I''m even more of an idiot than Nathan when it comes to reading stuff like this," the warrior said. "But based on the scale it gives, doesn''t that mean it''s over thirty miles between towers?" "They''re approximately thirty-two miles apart," Keith nodded. "Running, we could probably span that in under six or seven minutes, if we paced ourselves." "We won''t be moving that fast," Nathan told Michael. "Because we don''t know what we might encounter. Only in combat do we generally use the full speed, and for a reason." "Doing so elsewhere," Samantha said. "Risks running into a trap, spell, monster, or something else before you realize it''s there. Even if you can track everything, you''re doing so at a high speed, and you have less time to stop if you realize you''re about to hit a trap, yet need more distance to stop." "Which means we''re walking the whole way," Keith said. "Between each tower we are heading to. We will probably average nine miles per day, including stops for food and rest, setting up and taking down camp, and potential fights. This is excluding Dungeon expeditions." "Didn''t you guys say you sped across the oceans during the islands?" Michael asked. "Yes," Keith answered. "There were also only two of us and an assurance from the System there were no threats between islands. We don''t have an assurance of that here, and with more people, the risk is higher." "They''re also much more powerful than us," William added. "And more likely to be able to handle unexpected situations better." Keith realized Nathan was giving him a smug look and met the demigod''s gaze. "Nathan," Keith sighed. "You just wanted to find out what a Tower of Magic was made out of. I''m the one who had the gut feeling we should come here." Nathan looked at Samantha. "It''s made of stone." "We got that, Nathan," she said. "So? What do you two think we should do next? There are seven Dungeons between this one and the one to the east, and four between this one and the one to the west."Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Nathan returned his gaze to the map. The region spanned several hundred miles across and wide, with rivers, forests, a few lakes, and more than a few settlements. None of the Secondary Dungeons were labeled for what they were. Despite that, he could make a guess at what nine of the Dungeons were. "Keith," Nathan tapped a blue dot beside a brown dot to the south of their Tower of Magic, the furthest one south. "Did you notice that every Tower of Magic has a settlement in the direction of them opposite the Impossible Dungeon, accompanied by another Dungeon outside of it?" "I did," Keith noticed. "You''re thinking they''re possible some sort of temple or trial grounds?" Nathan nodded, and Keith''s eyes glowed. For several minutes, they waited for him to finished, and when his eyes dimmed, he nodded. "They''re temples," he told them. "Did you check these as well?" Nathan indicated green dots halfway between the Towers of Magic and the settlements with the temples. "Yes," Keith answered. "Those seem to be mazes, possible a trial ground of some sort, meant to test the mettle of the demons who had lived here." "That''s eighteen Dungeons," Samantha said. "If we did every temple and maze. Twenty-seven if we did every Tower of Magic, too." "So we''d only need to do three more," William said. "But that''s if we can manage the mazes and temples with ease." "Let''s at least try one of each," Keith pointed to the temple Nathan had. "We can do the maze on the way to here, then do here. That should give us a good gauge for how these are. There''s also another Dungeon near here we can do." "After we complete the maze and temple," Nathan said. "We can decide if we want to do those at the others or not. If so, then we''ll travel to the next temple on our path, complete it, then travel to the next Tower of Magic and clear the maze on the way. We can also do other Dungeons on the way here." "Chances are," William said. "We aren''t the first players to do the Towers of Magic, which means it probably isn''t a high priority for the Overseers for everything here to be completed." "If we do complete everything," Keith said. "It will take us months to perform, possibly a year or more in here, but we will have forty-five exempted Mandatory Challenges after. The first three take up half of a year, then they''re half of a year between them each after that. Total, you would all gain around twenty-one years'' worth of exemptions. That''s far beyond what Nathan and I currently have." "Twenty-one and a half," Nathan said. "Yeah, I got that," Keith said. "It''s called ''rounding for shorter say''. Our main goal is just the seven that would get the four of you two years'' exemption." "However," Samantha said. "The longer we''re in here, the more time you two and Icthvar have to study the seal on the dimension and pathways." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "So that''s going to be up to all of you to decide. We''re doing thirty for sure, and after awhile, we''ll probably be relying heavily and whatever food we manage to find as we travel. If this place has genuine life and not artificial, it might even be delicious." "It might take me a bit to adjust," Nathan said. "But if it''s good ingredients, I''ll make good food." "Yeah," Samantha snorted. "I''m sure you would, Nathan. With how easy the Tower Dungeons are probably going to be, based on this one, I''d say let''s just do every Dungeon we come across until we reach the Tower Dungeon after the thirtieth. Then decide from there if we continue or not." "I second that," William said. "Same here," Katie added. "Same," Michael said. "Then the vote is unanimous," Keith said. "And yes, Nathan, you can use the scry orb to look at Cyrus before we leave for the next Dungeon." "Good." "Alright," Keith began. "We still have a few minutes before the decision notice pops up. Should we just exit and not let it, or wait for it?" "Regardless of what we do," Nathan fixed his gaze on William. "If we''re going to be here for months with you in a situation where we might die, we need to know if you''re an ally or an enemy. Keith and I already checked your Skills and saw you have Player-Striker and Player Killer, which means you can act against us." "Why are you singling me out?" William asked. "Because I have a thing for Samantha?" "Because we know," Keith said. "That you''re from the Three Bitten Snakes, William. Nathan and I are more than willing to kill you if it means protecting the rest of us from you, and we aren''t leaving this tower until we know your stance." "Which means," Nathan said. "Keith is going to enter your mind and pick apart all of your secrets." The demigod and psychic had been holding a telepathic conversation throughout the discussion regarding that, because neither wanted to stick around with someone who could be an enemy without knowing for sure. Nathan had suggested simply the psychic his way into William''s mind and find out the truth, but Keith rejected that, saying it would be best if William agreed to it. The psychic had already been working his way to getting the answers from the warrior, and wanted to at least give a chance for honesty. When they decided to attempt to do thirty Dungeons, they had forgotten it would likely take them months. As a result, they entered into a place with actual risk of sabotage without confirming William''s intentions. "There is a magical bind in my mind," William told Keith. "Which prevents anyone from being able to look into it." Keith held out his hand, and William took it. The psychic''s eyes glowed for only a moment, but the effect of his spell became evident immediately. "Gah!" William screamed, face screwing up in pain as his knees gave out. "Not anymore," Keith said. "Don''t compare me to the hate-rate psychic your clan has, William. They''ll know once we''ve left the game that it broke, but we can deal with that¡­ if you''re still alive." "Alright," William pulled his hand away. "Yes, you can look through my mind, but please don''t do that again, Keith. That hurts." "So?" Nathan asked, and William collected himself, then sat against a wall. "Let''s wait for the notice." Nathan and Keith returned to looking over the map, plotting out their possible routes without a word said or thought between them. When the message came, the six teens voted to stay in the Dungeon and complete more, then Keith sat beside William and touched his arm, his violet eyes glowing once more. Several minutes passed, with Nathan still examining the map and the other three watching Keith and William. The latter squirmed several times, but Keith kept his hand firmly on his arm. When his eyes finally returned to normal, he looked at Nathan. "He''s clean," Keith said. "I had to break a few other binds they''d placed on his mind, deep within, but other than that, he''s not our enemy. It seems William actually wants to escape the clan. I found out why he moved to town, too." "Really?" Samantha asked. "From what you told us about the clan-" "Yeah," Keith stood. "It seems they knew about both a demigod and a psychic attending high school there, and William was supposed to find out who they were and keep an eye on them." "And then he found out they''re guys he wants to double-penetrate him," Nathan muttered. "Well, there is that, too," Keith said. "I have never said that!" William protested. "I was just in your mind," Keith said. "I''ve seen your fantasies. Nathan, what is your issue with the lakes and ponds on our path?" "Nathan has an issue with them?" Michael asked. "My first Survival Challenge," Nathan said, remembering the invisible monsters. "Right," Keith said. "Well, don''t worry about that, Nathan. With me here, we''ll be able to tell if there''s something invisible." "Okay," Nathan rolled up the map. "Let''s get going, then." 00111 "That is an ugly rabbit," Nathan commented. "Yes, it is," Samantha put a hand on his arm. "Why did you just shoot it?" "To kill it," he answered. "She meant," Keith said. "Why not let one of them get the Experience for it?" "Why bother with simpler things?" Nathan asked. "Save your energy for what might be difficult to fight." "Nathan!" Samantha exclaimed. "We were getting ready to set up camp! As far as we can tell, it would be extremely unlikely for something to attack us!" "So?" He asked. "The rabbit was weak. A single bullet took out all of its Health and killed it. It probably wouldn''t have given you much Experience in the first place. Come on, let''s set up camp." The demigod and the psychic pulled camping equipment out of their small storage orbs, and the six teens got to work setting everything up, Keith working on enchanting a defensive ward around the camp, Nathan working on setting up a place to cook, and the other four working on the tents. "These are pretty nice tents," Samantha said. "Who''s sleeping in which? I would have expected two ¨C one for Nathan, Katie, and me, and the other for the other three." "Keith and I get that one," Nathan pointed at a tent. "You and Katie get that one," he pointed at another, then to the last. "And Michael and William get that one." Everyone but Keith gave Nathan befuddled looks as the demigod resumed arranging the logs to cook over. While he did have a camp stove to use, he wanted to do a proper camp cookout, as they had several rabbits they had caught during their first day of traveling, in addition to some herbs, fruits, berries, and vegetables the group had found. Oblivious to the looks, Nathan ignited the logs. "Nathan," Samantha said. "Why are you sleeping with Keith?" "I''m not sleeping with him," Nathan responded. "I''m sharing a tent with him. There''s a difference. He will be on one side, and I will be on the other. And he will not be using me as a table if I sleep on my back or stomach again." Everyone decided to not ask about that incident, though Samantha noticed Keith snorting as his face turned a little red. "Why are you sharing a tent with Keith, then?" Samantha asked. "Because you two would want to have sex," Nathan said. "At least every now and then while we''re traveling, especially if we''re sharing a tent. I''m not doing a three-way, and not something with someone else present. I''d prefer it if you didn''t share a tent with anyone else, but that wouldn''t be fair to Katie if it was just me and you and I neglected her at night but not you. This way, it''s even for both." "What he means," Keith spoke up from where he was painting runes into the ground. "Is that he and I will probably be doing some enchanting work at night, and he''d rather not bother either of you. But that''s something he''s shy about, so he''s using the neglect thing as an excuse." "The tents are enchanted against sound," Nathan ignored his friend''s explanation as he put a grill over the fire. "As long as you''ve zippered it all the way, the enchantment will activate. Keith and I will probably need to reestablish the enchantments a few times while we''re here, but that shouldn''t be an issue as long as the weather is nice for a couple of days." "When did you do the enchantments?" Katie asked. "Haven''t you two been busy outside of the game?" "We didn''t," Keith answered. "Nathan ordered them shortly after the Tutorial and had me send them to an enchanter who could do that. Since the Tutorial had lasted that long, Nathan guessed that we might end up needing to camp out, so he asked me about soundproofing and such, mostly because he doesn''t like hearing snoring or other people having sex. I knew a gal, so had them sent to her." "You only have three?" Samantha asked. "I would have expected extras." "I have four," Nathan answered. "They''re six-person tents, which means we can realistically fit three or four people in them comfortably. Two for a full team." "So¡­ then couldn''t we just split the fourth one and have-" "No," Nathan interrupted. "It wouldn''t be fair even if we took turns being alone in a tent." "What he really means," Keith said. "Is that it''s necessary to have at least one other in the tent with you, in case of an emergency. Give me a few minutes to finish, and I''ll explain." Nathan waited for the fire to heat up as Keith finished, and as Nathan began cooking, spreading the logs for heat rather than flames, Keith approached the team and set up a couple of folding tables, pulling out folding chairs as well. Then, he pulled out four identical, neon green plastic whistles, which he handed to the other four members of the team. "These are emergency whistles," Keith told them. "They will penetrate the tents'' sound barriers, so only use them if you need to. If we get separated, stay put. I will use my sight to locate you, but if something comes up, use the whistle so I know it''s an emergency. The sound will travel pretty far, even in a forest."This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "They can penetrate enchantments?" Michael frowned. "How? These are normal plastic whistles. I can buy them for a dollar at the store." "Maybe," Keith said. "Or maybe Nathan and I carefully enchanted them specifically for that purpose." "Oh." "Yeah," Keith said. "It''s okay to use your brain a little, it won''t kill you." Nathan snorted, and Michael''s face flushed with embarrassment. The group sat down, and Samantha, Katie, William, and Michael played cards and Keith began working on an enchantment. To the others, it looked like a cube of some sort, while Nathan understood what the psychic was making after just a few glances at it. "Personally, I think it should be an orb," Nathan muttered. "It''ll probably end up as one," Keith responded, speaking normally. "Doing a crystal cube instead of a crystal orb might make it more difficult for most of the enchantments we''d do to stick. It''s more of an experiment that can help us find out a little more about the differences in doing the same enchantment on different shapes and forms." "You really just want to see if it will explode." "What?" Keith asked. "No, I don''t! You''re the one who likes seeing if enchantments will randomly explode on us!" The other four teens gave Nathan a horrified look. "Nothing has so far," Keith told them. "Mostly, the enchantment itself just fizzles apart. There was the one time when-" The psychic''s eyes widened, then he hastily set the cube aside and pulled out an orb, immediately beginning to work on it. Nathan finished preparing dinner, and as everyone else ate, Keith continued to work, barely stopping whenever Nathan or Samantha put food to his mouth in an attempt to get him to eat. "What is he doing?" Samantha asked. "Enchanting," Nathan answered. "I meant what is he enchanting?" "He''s working on a bomb." The other four teens flinched back, exiting their seats to take several steps away as they stared at the orb. "Don''t worry," Nathan said. "It won''t explode. The runes that would cause an explosion aren''t connected to each other." Which was for the best. When the final version of that particular bomb was created and finished, there would be no testing of it. It would be used exactly one time, and one time only. The bomb to destroy the dimension with the Soul Engine. Nathan understood why Keith wanted to try putting several enchantments together. The experiment which Keith had latched onto involved a dimensional rift Nathan had accidentally created. It lasted for only a moment, and they''d agreed not to try it again. The rift was minor, only a small tear which sealed back up immediately. After dinner, Nathan set William and Katie to cleaning the dishes, as he brainstormed with Keith over a few aspects of the enchantment. Samantha and Michael relaxed, watching Nathan and Keith at first, then playing cards. When William and Katie finished cleaning and drying the dishes, the four of them began roasting marshmallows for s''mores, which Nathan and Keith ignored in exchange for enchanting a metal rod eight inches long and rounded on both ends. "What in the world is that?" Samantha asked when she saw their new project. "Ear-breaker," Nathan answered. "A what?" She asked. "This rod," Keith told her. "Once it''s finished, should emit a powerful, continuous sonic boom. It would be akin to standing right beside lightning when it struck, only without the shock. Just the sound. Nathan wants to call it the ''boom rod'', but I''m nixing that idea." "Boom-stick?" "That''s something else." "Boom-beam?" "It''s not a beam." "Boom-" "Try something without ''boom'' in it." "Thunder dick." Keith appraised the rod, then sighed. "I can see that, but no." "Thunder rod?" "Sounds like something out of Final Fantasy." "Never played." "I''m aware," Keith told him. "And you''ve promised to play it with me at some point." "Lucas likes it." "Let''s just get back to work," Keith told him, and Nathan nodded. "Why are you two making that?" Samantha asked as they resumed enchanting the rod and writing down information. "Sirens," the enchanters answered together. "Sirens?" She asked. "I don''t think they''d have sirens here, and even if they did, why would you be adding more noise to it?" Nathan gave her a confused look, and Keith snorted. "She''s thinking an alarm type of siren," Keith told him. "We''re talking the mythological creature ''siren''. Our hope is that the¡­ the sonic rod is going to help us deal with them if we come across any here. Some of the Dungeons are located on or by bodies of water, so it''s a possibility, even if they aren''t connected to the ocean." "Wouldn''t it cripple us as well?" Samantha asked. "Yeah," Keith answered. "Especially since we''re all awakened. Sirens don''t actually work on Nathan, so they aren''t necessarily a threat to anyone who''s with him." "How does that work?" She asked. "They aren''t you." "Or Katie," Keith added. "I guess," Nathan shrugged, his response causing Samantha to laugh. "Okay," she said. "And-" "Also," Keith said. "I saw sirens as they truly were when they were female, and Nathan saw them as they truly were when they were male, so it seems their enchanting song doesn''t work at all if you aren''t attracted to that sex. You do have to hear the song in order for the appearance change to occur." "Okay," Samantha said. "There are male ones?" "Yes," Keith stopped enchanting. "And that''s what the sonic rod is for. We''ll make one for everyone, and if they come across a Siren Patriarch, use it." "They''re dangerous?" She asked. "Wait, that''s what nearly killed Nathan, isn''t it? You said that it was after a fight against a Siren Patriarch that Evala was entered in, and she was pulled in by the Overseers because of her healing ability." "Yeah," Nathan said. "One nearly killed me, but I''m stronger now. It''s abilities are able to bypass Keith''s mental defenses, and he had genuinely thought I was the siren and the siren was me. Without a song. It later put a spear of ice in me. I woke up to a catkin after. Keith, are you sure we should have done that rune and not this one?" Keith looked at the rune sequence Nathan had written on the paper in front of them, then to the matching set of enchantments on the rod. "Maybe," he answered. "We can check both. Anyway, Samantha, the purpose of the sonic rod is to disable both sides until Nathan and I can arrive. It''s doubtful even a Siren Patriarch would be able to withstand it, so you''d just need to deal with the pain." "What about earplugs?" She asked. "I''m assuming you two have them." "They don''t work on Siren Patriarchs," Keith said. "No song, remember?" "Right," she said. "We''re all heading to bed. Don''t stay up too late, we are in a Dungeon." "Yeah," Nathan kissed her. "We''ll go to bed at a reasonable time. Sleep well." 00112 "Only one person can enter?" Nathan grunted. "That''s stupid." The team of six examined the tall stone walls of the maze, a Dungeon which allowed only one to enter. Their mission was to complete the Dungeon and kill any monsters they came across, when possible. It was labeled as Maze Trial 1, which had surprised the team ¨C nothing else they had come across or heard of involved numbering the Dungeons. "It''s probably meant to be an individual thing," Keith said. "We may just be here to reduce the population of monsters inside it again. If they continue to build up and grow stronger, then eventually, it would become an extremely tough Dungeon to perform which could be disproportionate to others in this region. The Overseers likely want it to be kept reduced regularly in order to avoid needing to risk powerful people''s lives in order to deal with it." "I know," Nathan grunts. "I get the feeling, based on the Tower of Magic and that, that this region is one that becomes available for Dungeons anytime its monster population or power starts to rise high enough for that reason." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "We probably aren''t the first to come through here and do Dungeons. This theory will hold true if Dungeons further from the towers have higher actual difficulty levels than those closer ¨C most people would likely go from tower to tower and only go to other Dungeons if they were within a reasonable reach." "And if this is the first one everyone shows up at," Nathan said. "The furthest from here will likely be the most difficult tower." "We probably shouldn''t worry about that," Samantha said. "With how easy the one we did was, it would need to be an insane difficulty spike to actually pose a problem to us." "Yeah," Nathan said, then looked at Keith. "You''re going to do the maze, right?" "Why would we send in Keith?" Michael asked. "You seem to think that''s the natural choice." "Because it is," William said. "Keith is a psychic. He can use his powers to see the actual path through it." "Could someone just fly over it and-" "No," Keith answered. "If this was meant to be a trial of some sort for the people in this region, then the maze likely has enchantments designed to prevent aerial actions. A glamour would likely obscure vision from above while a barrier would no doubt shield it from air entry." "Don''t worry," Nathan put a hand on Michael''s shoulder. "One day, you will find your brain." He removed his hand from Michael''s shoulder and looked at the group. "Let''s set up camp while Keith is doing the Dungeon," he said. "Michael, William, you two set up the tents. Samantha, Katie, you two take care of the other stuff. I''m going to go do something away from all of you." Nathan pulled out the equipment they needed, then left, leaving everyone behind looking confused, then Keith shook his head. "I''m heading into the maze," he told the group. "There''s nothing nearby which can pose a threat to you, and no, I don''t know what Nathan''s doing." Keith entered the maze and the others got to work constructing their camp. As they did that, Nathan finished shooting the wolf he had spotted entering the woods. The wolf had a white pelt he thought was quite beautiful, so he made sure every shot hit its head, doing minimal damage to the pelt in the process. "There!" He said once the beast fell. "Now it''s dead." Feeling satisfied with himself that he managed to fight a wolf without taking damage, Nathan accessed his orb and pulled out the guide on how to skin and tan a hide, something Keith had insisted he put in it. By the time Keith tracked him down, long-since having finished the Dungeon, Nathan was still attempting to treat the hide. The psychic took over, using his sight to know how to fix what Nathan had done and how to finish preparing it. As soon as he finished, a message appeared in Nathan''s vision.
Would you like to complete the treatment process now for Points? It will not affect the quality of the product.
Leather: 5,000 Points
Pelt: 7,500 Points
No: Free
"The Overseers have been watching too many commercials," Nathan muttered. "What?" Keith asked. "Do you have a screen-reader?" Keith pulled a card out and touched it to Nathan''s cheek, one of the only spots on the demigod not coated in blood. He pushed magic into it, and a screen identical to Nathan''s appeared above it. The psychic pulled it back and read it, then snorted. "Yeah, they have," he said. "What did you want to do with it?" "I want to make a vest." "A vest?" Keith asked in confusion. "Yes," Nathan answered. "A vest. Maybe some boots. I figured if we were going to be here for months, I might as well have some fun while here."This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "Making a vest and boots is fun?" Keith asked. "No," Nathan answered. "But I like to think that if I became an exiled prince who ends up conquering the world, that while I''m in exile, I start making boots and vests from the hides of wolves. That''s all I wear. Oh, and pants." Keith snorted at the addition. "You''d probably wear gloves, coats, jackets, and whatever else was needed," he told Nathan. "What are you going to do?" "No fur." A moment later, the hide began to glow, then was wrapped in a black box similar to what surrounded food in the cafeteria during the Tutorial, whenever it ran out. A full minute passed as Nathan contemplated how he was going to clean up, then the box faded, leaving behind a hide of white leather. "I''ll put that in my orb," Keith told Nathan. "There''s a stream over there," he indicated a direction slightly to the northwest of them in the woods. "Meet us back at camp when you finish." Nathan nodded, then Keith placed the leather in his orb before returning to camp. "What was Nathan doing?" Samantha asked. "Venting against a wolf," Keith answered. "Though it seems the System actually gives some assistance when it comes to tanning leather. Once the hide was being treated properly, the System offered to finish it in exchange for some Points." "Why would it do that?" Katie asked. "Probably," Keith said. "Because in an extended Dungeon like this, where we might be here for months, they want to help players, and know that some players would prefer to make some clothes from things they found here. Sometimes, it might be more beneficial to make it from the hide of a beast in the area than with something you brought. With the wolf''s leather, Nathan can make a vest that might have a high resistance to damage. With some creatures, their hides might offer increased resistances to certain things, such as acid or heat." "That makes sense," Katie said. "Yeah," Keith nodded. "It also seems the one who''s offered the choice to finish it that way is the one who killed the beast." "But wouldn''t," Michael said. "The item stay behind once we left?" "Maybe," Samantha said. "Since it''s from here, and you know the rules about that. But if you''re going to be somewhere for months, you can still enjoy its benefits for that time. Who''s to say it''ll last through all of that?" "Right," Michael said. "Where''s Nathan?" "Washing the blood off," Keith answered. "He seems to have already stored the rest of the wolf in his orb, since it wasn''t present when I showed up, but he was rather bloody." Keith sat down and began enchanting, and Nathan returned a few minutes later, wearing a fresh outfit. He pulled out meat from the wolf and began cooking it, along with several herbs and vegetables he found during his trip back. "Are those eggs?" Katie asked at one point, and everyone looked over to find Nathan cracking eggs into a pile of flour. "Yes." He began kneading the flour and eggs into dough, and everyone just stared. "Nathan, where did the eggs come from?" Samantha asked. "I know you haven''t had those since we arrived." "I stole them from a bird." "Of course you did," everyone else muttered, then cracked up laughing. Nathan resumed cooking, and after they finished eating, Nathan asked Keith how the maze went. "Fairly easy," Keith answered. "There were some large rats, a few slimes, a few birds, and a fair few traps. With my magic sight active, I could spot the traps easily, even without my sight. When I reached the center of the maze, a path opened up allowing me to just walk straight out. It was rather boring, actually, but I can see a normal person struggling with it." "Interesting," Nathan muttered. "You don''t find it interesting at all," Keith said. "Correct," Nathan confirmed. "It sounds boring. Now shut up and let''s get some work done." They began working on enchantments once more, and everyone else relaxed. For the next four days, their routine remained the same as they traveled to the town halfway between the maze and the temple. The majority of each day was spent traveling, with their only stops being to relieve themselves or to eat during the day, and in time to set up camp before bed. When they finally arrived, the group stayed for only one day to rest from their training, using the well in the town''s square to draw up fresh water to drink, rather than the bottled water Nathan and Keith kept in their orbs or stream water when they passed one. While there, Nathan also worked on his leather-working skills with Keith''s assistance, in order to make the vest he wanted. After their day of rest, the group began traveling again, arriving at the temple after another four days of traveling. When the temple came into sight, the group looked at it in admiration. More than one hundred feet in height and built of stone, it impressed all six of them with its form. The pair of enchanters were further impressed by the enchantments, including the ones which kept the fires within the braziers and sconces blazing. Statues which resembled a cross between wolves and bears were positioned at the first of the ten pairs of pillars leading up to the temple on the path. Another pair of statues rested at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the great wooden doors of the temple, with another pair guarding the doors, seated to their sides. Behind the pair at the doors stood statues representing the demons, wings included, though tucked against their backs. "Every statue of the actual demons we''ve seen," Katie said. "Has been male." "Most renaissance and other medieval statues were male," Samantha said. "While I''m sure there were female ones, all I can think of for that were in paintings, not statues." "There''s also the fact," Keith said. "That all of the demons we faced in the Tutorial and find in the Tower Dungeon are male. Are there even any female demons? Or are they all male? If so, how did they reproduce?" "They''d fuck the women of other species," Nathan said absent-mindedly, and the others looked at him, noticing that as he spoke, Nathan seemed to be in a semi-trance state. "And the resulting offspring would be more demons. There were a few female demons, what we''d call queens, who could also procreate. They were the mothers of the winged ones, who were also the only ones allowed to sire winged ones and the only ones who had the ability to sire queens. In most cases, there was only one queen per world, and if she sired a child with any but a winged, they would be ordinary. "Because they could reproduce by fucking the females of other species, they would send a party of maybe ten to twenty males to a world with other humanoid species, and the group would rape nearly every woman they could. "Even if the natives," he continued, oblivious to the stares set upon him. "Killed the children as they were born, the demons were often too powerful, and not enough would be killed. In addition, giving birth to the demons killed the women. It took only two or three generations for them to be the majority species on the world, and by that point, the native species would have been enslaved, remaining that way until they died out. "On a few worlds," Nathan continued, still in his light trance. "The demons would even created breeding farms where they would force the humanoids to fuck against their wills in order to create more of them ¨C more mothers for the demons. Those worlds often lasted many generations until the breeding farms died out." Nathan blinked a few times, then looked at the others. "I have no idea how I know that." 00113 "That''s actually pretty amusing," Keith told Nathan, who gave him a confused look. "You being able to pluck out knowledge like that." "I don''t know how I know that." "I know," Keith told him. "And I think I do." "You do?" Nathan asked. "What is your father?" "Godking of sex." Keith stared at Nathan for a moment, and the demigod realized what the psychic was saying. "Ah," he said. "I don''t get it," Michael whispered to William. As everyone present was awakened, whispering did nothing to conceal what he said from the rest. "Nathan," Keith looked at Michael as he pointed at the demigod. "Is the son of a god of sex, who also has powers over life, conception, birth, and so on, as evidenced by some of the inherent magics Nathan has. It seems he''s also able to glean the information of how different species reproduce as a result of this." "Oooh!" Michael responded. "Yeah," Keith snorted. "That. Anyway, let''s rest here, then start the temple''s Dungeon tomorrow." The group agreed to that plan, then they began setting up camp, Keith creating the protective ring around them as Michael and William set up the tents and Katie and Samantha set up the eating and cleaning stations. Nathan, meanwhile, disappeared on everyone again. "Where did he go?" Katie asked when she realized he had disappeared. "There''s nothing here but the temple and fields, and he''s just gone!" "Probably off doing something," Samantha answered. "You know he disappears while we''re setting up camp. He''ll probably return with meat to cook and some veggies or something to eat with it." "Probably," Katie sighed. They returned to work, and an hour after everyone had camp set up and were snacking on food Keith had brought out of his orb, Nathan returned to camp. Without a word, he set up his cooking station over the fire they had prepared. He pulled out green potatoes, which he set Samantha to peeling so they could boil and mash them. As those boiled, Nathan began grilling rabbits and vegetables. "Nathan," William braved as Nathan worked. "Uh¡­ why are the rabbits without their pelts?" "Skinning practice." The rest of the evening went without incident, then everyone retired to their tents. Samantha slipped out in the hopes of sex with Nathan, and when she called into the tent for enchanters, Keith opened the zipper to the window on the door, allowing her to see inside. Keith was naked, a boner quite obvious, while Nathan was sleeping underneath a blanket to ward against the cold. While only his shoulders and up were visible, his girlfriend guessed that he was either naked or in just his underwear. "That answers that question," she muttered, then noticed that Keith had several crystals and tools sitting on Nathan''s chest. "Uh¡­ didn''t he tell you not to do that?" "Yeah," Keith answered. "He''ll probably smack me in the morning, Breezy tends to tell him if I''m doing this." "Speaking of the familiars," she said as Keith turned around to return to his spot. "You and Nathan seem to be keeping them inside." "He has Breezy out," Keith said. "And so far, that''s really all that''s needed. Everything here seems to be relatively easy for us to beat. Breezy''s just to keep an eye out and alert us to attacks incoming. If you''re wanting sex, I''d advise against having Nathan woken up for it." "You know what I''m here for?" She asked. "It''s not the first time you or Katie have slipped out to ask him for sex," Keith told her. "It just usually happens before we retire to the tent. Nathan was rather tired today, and told me to tell you ''no, as much as I want to''. His exact words. He could tell your horny levels were rather high." Samantha laughed a little in response to that, then looked at the crystal orb Keith was working with. "What are you making?" She asked. "A bomb." She froze, and he snorted. "You know we''ve been doing explosives," he said. "It''s nothing unusual for us. You don''t have to worry about it exploding, I''m being rather careful with it to avoid that." "And if it does explode?" She asked. "I''d be pretty damn impressed," he told her. "Since the runes which cause the actual explosion aren''t powered in any way, and nor are they connected." "Oh."If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Yeah," he chuckled. "Nathan really seems to be avoiding having sex while we''re here," Samantha told Keith. "Katie and I have only managed it once each." "Yeah," Keith shrugged. "Just chalk it up to Nathan being Nathan, yeah?" "You know why he''s refusing." "No, I don''t," Keith began focusing more on the orb. "Keith, so help me, you will regret not telling me why he''s refusing." Keith sighed, then set the orb on Nathan''s stomach, before rubbing his temples as he thought over the answer. "Alright," he finally said. "Nathan doesn''t like that everyone would know it was happening. He does prefer sex to be a more private thing, as much as he''s willing to talk about it or suggest certain people have it with certain other people. If you actually think about it, Nathan doesn''t usually say he''s going to have sex with someone. He usually just gets them alone and has sex with them. With you and Katie, here, the other would know what''s going on. The only way to really hide it would be for the two of you to be in a tent alone, too, which would also make it obvious." "Oh," she said. "Now that I think about it, Nathan really does prefer sex as a private thing. I mean, I knew that already, I just didn''t realize Nathan had that much issue with it." "Yeah," Keith shrugged. "Meanwhile, Michael and William don''t seem to have that issue." Samantha raised an eyebrow, and Keith pulled an orb out of his storage orb, then held it out. She thought for a moment, then opened the door to the tent and entered, zipping it back up as she sat beside Keith. "Is this a scrying orb?" She took it from him. "That one Nathan and I invented so that non-psychics can look," he told her. "Not the one you and Nathan use to look into our home dimension to look at Cyrus, but one for looking around her. If you want to see what I mean, just think of Michael or William as you push your mana into it." Samantha did as instructed, then laughed as a view of William drilling Michael appeared in the orb. "With the wind outside right now," she told Keith as she stopped feeding the orb her mana and the view disappeared. "I thought that was the reason their tent was moving. All three are." "Yeah," Keith said. "They screw for about two hours, then go to bed. Nathan, meanwhile, watches Cyrus for a few minutes, then falls asleep." "He watches Cyrus every night?" She asked in surprise. "Yeah," Keith answered. "He misses your son a lot. Nathan really wants to leave here and go home, but he also wants to make sure that you ¨C especially you ¨C never have to do another Dungeon again." "Can you guarantee," she said. "That if we''re exempt for two years, you and Nathan can destroy the System?" "Yes," Keith answered. "As long as several conditions are met. We could honestly manage it in maybe two or three months, if the conditions are met. Two years if the conditions aren''t met is our estimate, which is why we''re lucky we already had the exceptions for that long. This Dungeon series is only going to increase that." "And if the Overseers start to suspect you actually can?" She asked. "Right now, they believe you can''t." "Trust me," Keith smiled. "We can destroy the System. We just need certain conditions to be met for it to be easier." "Are you sure?" She asked. "Absolutely," he smiled. "Go get some sleep, Samantha. You''ll need it for tomorrow." Samantha returned to her tent, and Keith resumed working on the orb, making adjustments according to the feedback Nathan gave him after they retired to the tent. When Nathan disappeared each day during the camp setup, he wasn''t just hunting or doing skinning practice. He was testing their bombs. Everything was scaled-down in power from what it would take to destroy a dimension. To avoid revealing the full extent of the bombs, they needed to do just enough for them to register its effects and determine what adjustments were needed. As they had the potential to be there for months, or even a couple of years, Nathan and Keith wanted to get as much testing in as possible, using up all of the crystal orbs they had. The full version of the bomb would require no testing at all because of its effects. Keith finished preparing the next bomb, then put his supplies away, before looking at Nathan''s sleeping face. He prayed to the gods and the Well of Souls that if Nathan snapped because of a death, it was his death and not Samantha''s. They were his fail-safes, and he knew without a doubt that if things took too long, the Well of Souls would ensure one of them died. But he had a sinking feeling in his gut that Samantha would die in a place Nathan couldn''t save her, and not because of the Well of Souls. If Keith died, Nathan would snap, but also dive deeper into his love for Samantha as he worked on his destruction of the System. If Samantha died, then Nathan would not have any love to dive into, stabilizing him. No, he''d have only his enchanting, and it would set the demigod on an even more destructive path. Sending up another prayer, Keith stretched, then zipped up the window to the tent before crawling under his blanket, quickly drifting off to sleep. His feeling of death said it would be a long way away, and not in the Dungeon they were in. That gave him plenty of time to figure out what was going on and hopefully try to shift it onto him instead. When morning came, Keith woke to find Nathan already missing from the tent. He dressed, then exited, finding Nathan preparing pancakes over the fire, a finished one rolled up and hanging out of his mouth. "Hungry?" Keith snorted as he sat beside the demigod, grabbing a pancake from the plate of finished ones and ripped a chunk out to eat. Nathan nodded, focusing on the food. "I made the adjustments," Keith told him. "We should be good to go with testing this one, but give it a look before you use it, in case I missed something in my own checks." Nathan nodded and continued cooking. The rest of their team came out of their tents over the next few minutes, joining the pair for breakfast. After they ate, everyone broke down their camp, then checked their weapons in preparation for the Dungeon. "I did some looking after you guys went to bed," Keith said as they approached the doors to the temple. "And while I couldn''t see much, I could determine it''s going to be a little harder than the tower or maze, though not the specific details." "Is everyone ready?" Nathan asked, and everyone confirmed they were. "Let''s go." He pushed open the doors, then stepped into the temple, examining the stone surroundings as a message appeared in his vision. There were several pillars supporting the ceiling of the great hall they had entered, and several doors lined each wall, with two additional doors on the back wall, to either side of a stone altar. No monsters were present, but that didn''t mean some wouldn''t appear in their path as they completed the Dungeon. Nathan turned his attention to the notice in his vision.
Dungeon Entered: Temple 1
Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt
Difficulty: Adept
Pick a door and enter. Completely clear that path of any monsters which you find there.
"This one''s labeled as the first, too," Samantha commented. "I''m really wondering why," Keith said. "Let''s just go with that door," Nathan pointed at the first door on their right, ignoring the musings of his teammates. 00114 "Are you going to help me?" Michael asked, more than a little agitated. "No," Nathan answered, ignoring the warrior trapped under a statue which stood around forty feet in height and weighed several tons. "Please," Michael begged. "It''s draining my Health away from the pressure, and I can feel it starting to break bones." "That''s fine," Nathan continued to poke at the statue he was standing by. "No, it''s not!" Michael exclaimed. "I''m going to get crushed completely as soon as my Health runs out!" "Your hands and head are free," Nathan said. "Use Health Potions if you need to. You should be able to buy some from the Item Shop, since you haven''t used it since we arrived here." "You''re an asshole," Michael said. "I''m not going to help you when it''s not necessary," Nathan said. "Just use Health Potions if you''re that worried about it." "If I were Samantha, would you leave me like this?" "Probably." The two had become separated from the others a few hours before, after entering the fourth chamber to work on the Dungeon''s requirements to complete. Rather than having to clear monsters, they had to navigate a spatially-compressed network of rooms and halls. Samantha and Keith had been dropped down a hole, while Katie and William disappeared at some point without Nathan being able to put a point to. Then he found himself alone with Michael wandering down a hall with giant statues of statues of beings that appeared to be a cross between bears and the demons. To exit the room, they had to find a hidden passage, which made Nathan feel like they were in an actual video game, for the first time. "Maybe like this?" Nathan poked the statue again. "You really are an asshole," Michael said. "Maybe here?" Nathan poked again, a different toenail of the statue than the previous spot. "Consider yourself lucky I''m stuck under this statue, or I''d kick your ass." "You''d try, then fail, and probably lose your life," Nathan said, then muttered. "This one?" He poked another toenail, and nothing happened. "Maybe it''s not the toenails?" He had assumed the toenails was how they were activated as the statue Michael was crushed under came to life when the warrior pushed on one of its toenails, then stepped on him with one of its massive feet. "Hm," Nathan mused for a moment, then activated his magical sight again. "I guess I have to cheat again." After examining the statue with his magical sight, he knelt and pushed one of the designs in the base of the statue, then stepped back as the entire statue began to slide to the side. "There we go!" He declared. As the statue he was messing with moved to reveal the hidden passage, the statue standing on Michael removed its foot from the warrior and returned to its stand. "You big baby," Nathan told Michael as the other teen approached. "Couldn''t even wait for me to finish figuring out how to make it move." "As if you knew it would move!" "I did," Nathan told him. "This statue has a different enchantment from the others. And I was able to read enough to know that all of the others were set to return to their spots once the passage was opened." Michael glared at him, but followed him down the steps, Nathan summoning an orb of light to illuminate the dark passage. After both stepped off the stairs, they heard the statue sliding back into place. "Just like in the movies Samantha likes," Nathan muttered. "Samantha watches adventure movies?" Michael asked. "Maybe," Nathan answered. "They have normal statues down here." By ''normal'', he meant statues of the normal demons, rather than variants like the winged ones or the cross-breeds. They continued walking, eventually arriving back in the first room of that stage of the Dungeon. As soon as both had passed through it, the entrance from the passage disappeared. Keith and Samantha were sitting on the floor, playing cards. "Your boyfriend refused to help me when I had a statue sitting on me." "Unfortunately, I figured out how to open the passage before he died." "Glad to see you two returned," Keith told them, ignoring the comments as Nathan approached Samantha and sat next to her, kissing her. "Now we''re just waiting on William and Katie." "How are we going to finish this one?" Michael asked. "We were told to restore the fire to the braziers at the end of it."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "I figured out how to get through without getting separated," Keith told him. "We just have to wait for the others to return, then I''ll lead the way." The four of them played cards until William and Katie arrived twenty minutes later, then Keith instructed them to stay behind him and to not disrupt his focus. "If you do," he told them. "I''ll likely screw up the spell. I''ve never done spatial spells before, so it''s going to take all of my focus and most of my mana to do. Screwing me up means we''ll be sent right back here, and we''ll have to wait until I recover my mana to try again." They made their way through the entrance to the next section, and found themselves back in a plain hall, where they were initially separated. Slowly, they walked through the various sections of that stage, eventually coming to the same room Michael found himself under a statue in. No message telling them to exit through a secret passage appeared. Instead, a doorway on the other end of the hall was visible. They made their way down the hall, Michael praying it was not like in video games and the statues would not come to life, attacking them out of nowhere. They reached the other end and passed through the door, finding themselves in a room with four braziers surrounding a small altar. No flames burned within them, an issue solved by Keith sending four fireballs into them. In addition to the message informing them their stage was cleared, a second message appeared in their vision as well.
The spatial distortion has ceased. You may return to the main hall by exiting this room.
"Thank goodness," Keith gasped, releasing his spell to secure their party''s company. He bent forward, catching his breath. "That was far too draining, and I nearly lost it while lighting the braziers." "What do you think this chamber was used for?" William asked. "Special offerings?" Katie offered. "The main altar is probably in one of the rooms at the end of the main hall." They had tried to enter them, only to be informed that they needed to clear the rest of the Dungeon in order to acquire access, something which caused Nathan to try to break the door down until Samantha and Keith calmed him. "Sex," the demigod answered, and everyone gave him incredulous looks. "They''d fuck one of the younger demons ¨C not a child, mind you, just a younger adult, a fresh adult ¨C on the altar. There would be four of them fucking it, taking turns. Once all of them were spent, they would then cut open his chest and rub a salve onto his heart. And then-what are you all looking at me like this for?" "Are you making this up?" Keith asked. "No," Nathan answered. "It''s probably for the same reason I knew about the other stuff. Anyway, after they did that, they would send him to the main worship hall. They would do this to four of them. With their natural healing abilities, their chests would heal pretty fast, and the salve was designed to increase their sexual ability for the next few hours, or something. I don''t know the specifics on it, I guess it didn''t actually matter or do what they wanted it to do. The four of them, with cum leaking out of their asses, would then form a circle and-" "Have an orgy?" Michael guessed. "Pray to my father to be picked for the queen to reproduce with." "I thought they were godless?" Keith asked, and Nathan shrugged. "That is weird as fuck. Why did you add the ''with cum leaking out of their asses'' bit?" "In case it pleased the bisexuals or gays to know?" Nathan offered, and Samantha groaned. "Nathan," she said. "I don''t think they''re caring about those details." "Oh," Nathan said. "I think the demons were bisexual, too, since if there weren''t women around, they''d fuck each other instead. Hm. I think my father didn''t care for them." "Why do you say that?" Keith asked. "Because I get the feeling he ignored their prayers," Nathan answered. "Maybe this was a ritual they did before they became godless? Who cares. Let''s head back to the main hall." The six teens left the chamber, finding themselves back in the entry hall of the main temple. As they stepped into it, a notice appeared in their visions.
Half of the secondary stages have been cleared. The temple''s entrance has been unsealed. You may take a break. Return within twelve hours of exiting and begin another stage, or the Dungeon will become sealed off to you.
"Should we take a break now?" Keith asked. "I vote yes," Michael quickly answered. "Same here," Katie said. "It took us eight hours just to do four chambers because it''s bigger inside than outside and a mess of a maze." "Agreed," William said. "I''m adding my agreement," Samantha said. "We could all use a break from this." "I have to pee," Nathan left the temple, and the others followed him out, finding him having already disappeared. "Let''s get camp set up," Keith told them. "I have the tents." They set up camp, and Nathan returned after everyone finished, making most of them suspect he had left just to avoid setting up camp. "Why did you pee on the temple?" Keith asked Nathan once the demigod returned, causing the others to stare. "To see if I''d be damned for it," Nathan answered. "I wasn''t." "Please avoid antagonizing the Overseers," Samantha sighed. "They sent me a notice," Nathan looked at Keith. "They said to stop destroying the forests." "I guess there''s only so much damage we can do before they want us to stop," Keith told him. "We can still test elsewhere, we just won''t have the advantage of frozen time to give us extra time." "Yeah," Nathan said. "I''m going to have something small to eat, then head to bed." True to his word, Nathan ate a few granola bars, then retired to his tent, confusing everyone but Keith. "That''s not like Nathan at all," Samantha said. "I''ll make dinner." "Contrary to popular belief," Keith said. "Nathan can get sick." "He''s never been sick before," Samantha said. "And doesn''t the System-" "It bolsters healing," Keith said. "It doesn''t make us immune, and keep in mind he has a phoenix kept within him right now, too. I think Nathan contracted something only demigods can, he''s been feeling off the last few days and my healing scans are showing something slightly divine affecting him." "Has he mentioned if Ichtvar said something about it?" She asked. "Yeah," Keith answered. "Ichtvar told him that it''s what he gets for granting so many permanent blessings in such a short time. Apparently, it''s not good for a demigod to create more than one permanent blessing every five years." "And he did two in, what, a year and a half?" Samantha asked. "If we include the time in the game as actual time, since it''d be just a couple of days otherwise. So it has an actual effect on demigods?" "Yeah," Keith answered. "My own familiar doesn''t know too much about it, and says that he thinks Nathan got sick from doing it repeatedly in a short period of time. While you work on dinner, I''m going to do some enchanting in the tent, so that Nathan can give some input if he has any." "Alright," she said. "Tell him I said to feel better." "Same from me," Katie added. "Will do," Keith said. "I''ve set a mental timer for ten hours, so that we can make sure we''re in the temple and doing the next stage in time. I''ve asked my familiar to alert me as well, and set my phone to an alarm." "I''ve set my phone as well," Samantha said. "Alright, time to get started!" 00115 Nathan shot the demon again, then frowned. He swapped out his magazines and shot again, then frowned again and swapped out magazines. The current demon, in the final, massive chamber of the temple, was massive compared to the others. Twenty feet in height, and rather thick and ugly in Nathan''s opinion. It lacked wings, but had four horns rather than two and a single long, spike-tipped tail which it used repeatedly to attack them. Keith did his best to defend against its attacks to protect the others while still attacking. The elemental familiars attacked as well, wearing down its Health, and Nathan was swapping magazines in an attempt at finding a bullet which dealt more damage to the monster than the others. Because of that, he also did his best to shoot the same spot each time, just in case changing spots affected damage. He knew it probably didn''t, but he wanted to anyway. After sixteen different magazines, he found one with bullets that did nearly three times as much damage. He knew the others were probably annoyed he was testing to see if Health could be affected by some sort of weakness, but with how quickly he could move and swap magazines, he didn''t care. What he did care about was the fact that it required his holy bullets. They were the most time-consuming ones to create, and required using either water from the heavenly storm elemental or blood or cum of a demigod, though he knew there was the possibility of milk, too. "Tell Splashy," Nathan told Breezy. "That holy attacks does more damage to the beast." Even if his familiar didn''t respond, continuing its attacks, the demigod knew his message was transmitted. That was evident only a couple of seconds later, when the psychic''s Staff of Holy Light appeared in his hands. The pair of enchanters began attacking the demonic boss with their holy-based attacks, and the demon''s Health began dropping at a much more frequent rate than before. It took them less time to kill it after then than it had taken them to reach that point, Nathan riddling its body and head with bullets as Keith severed its head with a lightning-infused razor-wind whip. They finished, and Keith inspected his staff, then laughed. "Nathan," Keith said as Nathan dismissed the notice regarding the bonus increasing. "My attacks were already infused with holy magic." "What?" The heads of their four companions snapped to Nathan in shock. "Wait, have you and Keith-" "No!" Nathan exclaimed, face turning red. "I am sleeping in my tent, not having sex with Keith!" "Nathan and I haven''t had sex at all here," Keith said. "My blessing came from before here." "You slept with a god?" Michael asked. "Or a goddess," William added. "I''ve only ever slept with Evala, and she was a demigod," Keith shook his head. "When did you get with a god?" Nathan asked Keith, who gave him an amused look. "I thought you told me if you were going to summon a god, or if you''d met with one." "Nathan, we''ve talked about this," Keith said. "You know full well when I obtained the blessing." "I do?" Nathan frowned as he thought it over for a few moments. "Oh, right. I do. If you already had the blessing, why did your damage increase when you started using the staff?" "Probably," Keith answered. "Because the staff added a stronger holy bonus to it or something. I''m not sure." "Wait, Keith met with a god, and you knew about this, and no one told me?" Samantha asked Nathan. "How in the world did you keep that a secret?" "I don''t tell you everything," Nathan said. "We finished this Dungeon, let''s head back out." "Have you met the god that Keith slept with?" "No," Nathan answered, exiting the chamber without another word, while the others looked at Keith, inquiry in their gazes. "I''m not sharing my secrets," Keith told them. "Nathan only knows because I had to walk him through it when I told him I had the blessing, allowing us to do some extra stuff." "Like what?" Michael asked. "My blood and cum can be used for weaker holy effects in enchanting," Keith answered. "So we can make weaker bullets, and not always sacrifice Nathan''s health and blood in order to enchant a lantern. Let''s go, Nathan''s probably going to be cooking when we get out there. His stomach was rumbling towards the end of the fight." They left the temple and found Nathan to be cooking at their camp, just as Keith had told them he''d likely be.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Okay," Samantha sat beside her boyfriend and put a hand on his back as he turned the ground meat. "Nathan, Keith said something¡­ interesting." "I''m not telling you how he got the blessing." "Not that," she laughed. "I can tell he wants it to be kept a secret, and am going to make a guess that it was your father that he slept with, which is why he wants it a secret." "I''m not going to reveal who he slept with for the blessing." "Speaking of the blessing," Katie said. "It only lasts a year, doesn''t it? Will it last the entire time if we do every Dungeon? Didn''t you project that might take more than a year? If it fades, then we''ll have to rely on Nathan''s guns and your staff, which might not-" "Blessings from gods last two or three years," Nathan said. "At least, from high gods, and they''re the ones who are allowed to travel into our realm. Keith''s blessing will last the entire time we''re here, regardless of how long we take." "Yeah," William said. "Unless we take two or three years. You guys said Keith didn''t have the blessing at the isles, so it really depends on between which sessions Keith slept with the god." "It''ll last," Keith said. "Regardless of how long it takes us. I doubt we''d spend more than a year in here." "I know I''m the idiot of the group," Michael said. "But the way you two are saying this, Keith and Nathan. It''s permanent, isn''t it?" "No," Samantha snorted. "Nathan and Keith were testing you guys, to see if you remember the lesson." "Shush," Nathan muttered. "The lesson?" Michael asked. "Blessings from gods," Samantha said. "Can last five to ten years, not two or three, and it''s based on how powerful the person''s magic is, not the god''s power. They said ''several times'' for the number of times it was necessary, requiring it to be done in under ten years and while blessings are active, other than the first one. I pressed Nathan to ask Ichtvar for clarity on that, and he said it takes five times in that period. "Now," she said. "Whether or not Keith has the permanent blessing is irrelevant, because Keith himself is rather powerful, so the blessing will still probably last on the longer end of it, which is why they''re confident. Keith and Nathan have headed out most nights since we returned to town, so it''s a good guess to say that they split up one of those nights, probably one of the two or three before we came here, and that''s when Keith met a god and slept with him. If it happened to be the last night before we left for here, then it''s pretty much a guarantee it would last, as we won''t get anywhere near the five-year mark." "Keith''s blessing will last our time in here," Nathan nodded. "And you and Katie have permanent blessings, too. You just didn''t have the power necessary to actually hurt that thing." "Yeah," Samantha said. "That boss was definitely something that only you and Keith could take on. The rest of us were pretty much just spectators. Now, on to my question, if that''s okay?" "Okay," he turned the meat again. "Break the pasta." Samantha broke the spaghetti and put it into the pot, then stirred it lightly to keep it from clumping immediately. "You guys use cum to make holy enchantments?" "We have to make it homogeneous first, so that it''s not all clumpy." "And you went along with that idea of Keith''s?" "Don''t blame me just ''cause I''m gay!" Keith exclaimed. "It was Nathan who decided to try it! He theorized it was possible since it''s cum of a god or demigod and breast milk of a goddess of demigoddess which grants the blessing, and wanted a resource that wasn''t as painful to extract as blood. I only found out he was testing it because he was experimenting with it on the Isles of Darkness and I woke up to pee one night and caught him shooting it into a bowl." Samantha gave Nathan an incredulous look, then realized that doing something like that was exactly the sort of thing her boyfriend would do. He would have done it even if he didn''t care about losing blood or lowering his Health to have a liquid which worked for it. "You''re a nut," Samantha whispered into his ear. "Don''t say that," he whispered back. "It might make me more attractive to Keith." Samantha groaned at Nathan''s comment, then returned to helping him prepare dinner. When their spaghetti finished, everyone ate, then Michael and Katie did the dishes, and Samantha sat and watched as Nathan and Keith began preparing new enchanted bullets. While bullets were in limited supply, Nathan had assured the team that he had millions of bullets in his orb. Only Keith knew whether or not that was true, and he wasn''t telling. As the pair didn''t seem worried about running out, despite the long time they knew they might be in the Dungeon, the rest of the team agreed that they at least had tens of thousands. To enchant the bullets after dinner, Nathan and Keith both cut at themselves until their Health dropped, then bled themselves some to fill a bowl three-quarters of the way each. After that, they had the heavenly storm elemental fill two more bowls with the same amount of its own water. "Does it remain holy," William approached them. "If it''s released from him?" "Yes," Keith answered. "It''s water he generated through his form, so by its nature, it''s actual blessed water. If he simply generated the water using his magic rather than as a part of him, it wouldn''t be holy." "Um," Michael said from where he was practicing with a sword. "What''s the difference?" "One is generated consciously," Keith said. "The other regenerates over time. Think of their elements as being their flesh, blood, bones, and everything else which makes up our bodies. At once. All of it. If an elemental generates water, it would be the same as us generating water. If an elemental drops part of itself, it would be like us cutting off a limb. The big difference between us and them in this respect is that they regrow their limbs." "I can do that if Ichtvar''s inside of me," Nathan muttered. "By themselves," Keith shot him an amused look, and Nathan realized he''d spoken his thoughts. "They also can''t speed it up through magic. Doing this, therefore, makes my familiar a little weaker, as a result. Imagine fighting while you''re regrowing your left arm, or your right leg." "Well," Nathan said as he begin mixing some of the blood and heavenly storm elemental water together in a third bow. "Elementals aren''t actually losing limbs. They just have less of the element to work with when changing forms, limiting their size." "Which can still be crippling," Keith rolled his eyes, then turned his attention back to the others. "Which is why we''re only using this much of his water. He can recover this much in a week. Anyway, the enchantment''s rather small and time-consuming to make, and we need to rebuild Nathan''s supply and bullets and create more past that. That way, we have additional back stock and don''t need to remake them as often. Not to be rude, but if you guys could not bother us as we work, that would be appreciated." "That means to either shoo or be quiet," Nathan told them, and everyone but Samantha left to do some evening training. 00116 "This is a graveyard," Nathan stated. "Yes, Nathan," Keith groaned. "This is a graveyard, just as it was the last ten times you said that." "It''s an ugly graveyard." "Yes, we got that," Keith glanced at a gravestone, which resembled the ones back on Earth, just with the language of the demons rather than English. "How many more times are you going to comment on it?" "Keith, look at it with your magic sight." "What?" Keith looked at Nathan, then groaned as he realized the demigod wasn''t referring to the ordinary appearance with his comment. The psychic began reading the magic in the area and found everything imbued with enchantments. Every gravestone, every obelisk, every thing in the graveyard had enchantments. When viewing them through magic sight, Keith could also see what appeared to be bridges of magic spanning the tops of the gravestones. They seemed to serve no purpose, but as he didn''t know the history of the place, Keith couldn''t make a guess as to the reason for them. He shut off his magical sight and gave Nathan an amused look. "Why are you even just walking here?" Keith asked. "We already cleared the Dungeon located here and the others have already left to return to the trip." The team was steadily making its way to the next Tower of Magic, having decided to travel to it and clear the Dungeons on the way, then travel back down to the next Temple, stopping by the maze on the way to complete it. They would complete every Dungeon between the two locations as they made their trip. As a group, they decided that the Tower of Magic after their thirtieth Dungeon would be the last one they needed. With the deadline Nathan and Keith had given themselves and the psychic''s estimates on how long everything would take, they had concluded as a group that they would not need more than two years to finish everything off. Every Dungeon so far, including the Temples, were quite easy for the group to handle, so they knew that they only truly had the travel times to deal with. More than once, they had contemplated simply running between Dungeons, but a nasty surprise caught them when they were on their way to their fifth Dungeon. A trap which activated if something moved over a certain speed in its range. Nathan, having wanted to stretch one evening, had taken off at high speed, activating the trap. Due to the way the spell had been set, neither he nor Keith had noticed it. With the help of the elementals, Keith''s wind magic, and the barrier spells of everyone else, the group was able to make it out of the range of the trap, which extended far enough that even Nathan had been affected by it several miles away. It took them three days to be able to return to their camp, and another week to be able to use their gear again that time spent washing and drying it. The team moved faster, but nowhere close to their top speed, and Nathan and Keith made sure to keep an eye out for any signs of magical traps. In the week since then, they had caught a total of four more traps. Two were activated by speed, one was activated by weight, and one was activated by enough mana being used in the area. For all three, it took high amounts to trigger ¨C amounts great enough that a normal person or group of people would never manage to activate them. Because of that, everyone assumed the traps were meant to protect against things such as dragons, which could fly at high speeds, could use a lot of mana, and weighed quite a lot. It was because of the traps they had encountered before that Nathan was walking through the former Dungeon rather than simply rejoining the team. "The bridges," Nathan told Keith. "They remind me of the traps'' enchantments in their design." "What do you mean?" Keith looked at them with his magic sight once more, then realized what Nathan was saying. "You''re right." The magic of the bridges closely matched the magic of the enchantments they had encountered before in the style of their design. There was an elegance to them which most of the enchantments the demons used lacked. Even if they couldn''t read the enchantments, there was enough of the style in the blocks to that which made the difference obvious. "We won''t manage to figure it out, though," Keith told Nathan. "And it''s best if we just return to the others, Nathan." "Yeah," Nathan shrugged. "Let''s go." Nathan shrugged, then followed Keith out of the graveyard. They had already studied the traps as best as they could, but learned little. He knew the same would hold true for the strange bridges in the graveyard. Once they regrouped, the team resumed their trip, and Nathan thought over the bridges. He imagined little fairies walking across them, keeping the dead from returning as shades. While he knew such a thing was a ridiculous thought, it entertained him as they walked.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. An hour before the sun began to set, the team stopped in the forest they were traveling through and set up camp for the night, Nathan preparing a stew using meat from a deer he''d caught the day before and several roots and other vegetables they had harvested during their trip. After dinner, Nathan pulled out his viewing orb and pushed his mana into it, focusing on his son. Immediately, Cyrus came into view, and Nathan started at his son until Samantha took the orb and tossed it to Keith, who caught it and sent it into his own storage orb. "Come on," she tugged on Nathan''s arm. "Why?" He asked. "Just come with me," she told him. "Why?" Nathan asked again. "Just come on," she pulled again. Nathan sighed, but allowed Samantha to lead him away. Ten minutes passed before they came to a river snaking its way through the forest, cascading through a series of falls only two feet tall each, a total of seven falls over twenty feet, ending in a moderately-sized pond, from which the river continued. "Come on," Samantha told Nathan as she stripped off her clothes. "Keith already checked this to make sure it''s clear, there''s no monsters here." "Can I just watch?" He asked, and she gave him a playful slap on the arm. "Okay." Nathan stripped as well, then joined his girlfriend in the pond, immediately moving to float on his back. As the demigod did his best to relax, Samantha watched him. She noticed that Ichtvar wasn''t concealing his marks, the red-and-gold markings on Nathan''s chest quite visible, along with the white marks on Nathan''s side showing that the demigod had pulled his wind elemental familiar back in. "Nathan," Samantha splashed him. "You want to leave right now, don''t you?" "I miss him," Nathan told her. "So do I," she splashed him again. "I mean, we barely had any time with him before we came here, when you think about it. I feel like we abandoned him, even though no time will have passed for him." "I feel the same way." "I figured," she splashed him. "That''s why I had Keith look for something like this. Somewhere to just relax." "What gave it away?" He stopped floating and turned to face her. "I thought I was hiding it." "The last few nights," she laughed. "You''ve stared into that orb until Keith or I pulled it out of your hands. Not only that, but you''ve had almost no libido. You''re Nathan Hunter, sex fiend, son of a god of sex, yet you''ve only had sex once since we came here. You were more active back in the Survival Challenge, but that was mostly to ensure Katie and I had the permanent blessing. Once you got into it, you really got into it, but now that it''s not necessary, and we aren''t in the Survival Challenge anymore, you''ve basically stopped entirely. You''ve given up." "Maybe," he sighed, and she splashed him with water again. "It''s obvious," she pulled him against her and kissed him. "You''re depressed, Nathan." "No, I''m not." "Yes, you are," she said. "Nathan, you''re depressed. You''re even more sullen than usual. If you aren''t killing something, staring into that orb, or sleeping, you''re pushing yourself into your training or your enchanting. I''ve known you since we were practically toddlers, and know what that means." "What does it mean?" "That a decision needs to be made." "What kind of decision?" Nathan asked. "We should arrive at the next Tower of Magic in about two weeks," she said. "If we continue the way we''re going. There''s no need for you to be here. None at all." "What are you getting at?" He asked. "Nathan," Samantha said. "If your head isn''t in the game, you''re going to potentially endanger yourself, even if the monsters here are quite weak." "So?" He tried to pull back, and she pulled him back against him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her head against his chest. "Samantha, why do I feel like there''s something I''m not understanding?" "When we complete the Tower of Magic," she said. "The five of us are going to say we want to leave." "Why?" He asked. "You really aren''t needed here," she said. "This place is easy. We''ll leave, then just the five of us will reenter. Keith will ensure that if something stronger comes, he deals with it. He''s already looked with his powers, there''s nothing that''s a true threat to us." "You''re kicking me out?" Nathan asked, hurt in his voice. "No," she said, her voice soft. "Nathan, you''re depressed being away from Cyrus for this long. You have no need to be here at all, and it''s only hurting you to be. I can handle being away from you for this long, and can tough out being away from Cyrus a lot better than you seem to be doing. We want to do this so that you aren''t as sulky as you''ve been getting. We''re just worried about you." "So," Nathan said. "At the next Tower of Magic, we''ll leave, then a day later, you guys will return to do this? What if someone else makes it in and finishes everything up?" "Keith''s done the estimates," Samantha said. "Chances are, unless someone does it within an hour of us, enough time will pass in this dimension from others doing Dungeons and Mandatory Challenges for things to respawn and need dealing with again. He''s basing this on it always being available when you two check the Dungeons. We''re doing this for you, Nathan. For your own mental health." "But if I-" "Nathan," she cut him off. "It''s hurting me, seeing you like this. I can get by knowing that I''ll see him again and to our baby, no time has passed. It''s clear it''s hurting you despite knowing that. That''s why we want to do this. Please, just accept it. No time at all will pass to you while I''m here, so you won''t even miss me, and you''ll get to be with Cyrus again." Nathan sighed, then wrapped his arms around Samantha, burying his head into her shoulder. "I miss him a lot more than I expected," he admitted. "I want to return home, to him." "I know," she told him. "So you''ll do this without fighting us?" "Yes," he answered. "I''ll accept returning home. But it won''t stop me from worrying about you while you''re in the game again." "I know," she moved her head back and kissed him on the cheek. "And I promise, we''ll do something special when we return. Just you and me. And Keith said he''s going to do something with you, too. A social event." "A social event?" Nathan managed to pull away from her. "What do you mean by that?" "No clue," she shrugged. "I''m guessing it means a guys'' afternoon out or something." "With Cyrus?" "Probably!" She laughed. "Or you can leave Cyrus to me for a few hours, though I know that might be tough for you." Nathan narrowed his gaze at her, then punched the water, sending the water spraying up into the air, most of it directed at Samantha, drenching her completely. "Enough of the depressing talk," she laughed. "Let''s enjoy this swim, Nathan." 00117 "Give me Cyrus," Nathan said as he began to take his son from Lucas almost as soon as they returned from their run. As promised, the group willingly let the run end early so that Nathan could return to his son. They hadn''t met much resistance with the monsters, and knew they would likely be able to do the Dungeon again, so none of them saw any reason to keep Nathan there, as he wasn''t needed. The rest of their brief time there ended fast, and Nathan wasted no time in moving to hold his son once more. "But I just got to hold him!" Lucas protested at the demigod''s request. "He''s my son," Nathan said as he successfully, yet gently, took his son into his arms and cradled him against his chest. "Hello, Cyrus." His son promptly responded by raising both hands up and hitting his father in the face two with orbs of green light. "We just went into the game," Samantha told Lucas as Nathan walked off with their son. "Nathan¡­ became surprisingly depressed not being able to do more than see Cyrus while in it. We were expecting this to happen, but couldn''t warn you in advance." "We''ll head out," Michael told Samantha, who nodded, and he and William left. "Okay," Lucas looked down, sadness clear in his voice. "It''s okay," Samantha put a hand on his head. "I''ll convince Nathan to let you play with Cyrus in a little while. For now, why don''t we head out and do something fun?" "Like what?" He sulked. "Laser tag," she told him, and Lucas brightened up. Keith, Samantha, and Katie took Lucas to play laser tag, as they and Nathan were considered his guardians for the day as his parents and older brother were out with Nathan''s parents. Since they knew Nathan wanted alone time with Cyrus, they knew it was best to vacate the house. Laser tag went well, with Keith beating the other three in points, the four of them winning the round against the other two teams largely due to the psychic''s unfair abilities. When they returned to the house, the four were greeted with the sight of Nathan sleeping on the couch, Cyrus sleeping on his chest in the exact same position as his father, both wearing the standard outfit of the demigod, slacks and a button-up. Samantha was relieved to see there was no tie present, as she felt a natural worry their son would have choked to death in his sleep, had he worn a tie. "That''s just too cute," Keith muttered as he pulled out his phone. "What are you doing?" Lucas whispered. "Taking a picture before Nathan wakes up," Keith whispered back, then promptly took several pictures before pocketing his phone. "Alright," Samantha said. "I''ll wake Nathan and pull Cyrus away. Keith, do the thing I asked you to." Keith nodded, not sure how well Nathan would take Samantha''s private request of the pair of enchanters. He watched as she approached her boyfriend and reached for Cyrus, only to have Nathan suddenly wake up and grab her hand, eyes open as if he had never been asleep. The psychic knew the demigod had been completely asleep until then, and was once again astounded by how the other teen could wake at specific events. "Welcome back to the waking world," Samantha kissed Nathan. "It''s time for Lucas to play with Cyrus a bit." "But-" Nathan began to protest. "Nathan," Keith said. "Let''s head across the river and find a nice, dry bar to hang out for the evening?" "Why?" Nathan asked suspiciously as Samantha pulled the then-awake Cyrus off his father''s chest, surprised by the infant waking without a fuss. "Because it''s been all work for us," Keith said. "And the two of us could use some bonding as just hanging out rather than work and training." "We aren''t dating," Nathan said as he sat up. "We''re friends, though," Keith countered. "And don''t deny it just because others are around." "This isn''t a one-piece!" Samantha exclaimed, and everyone turned their attention to her, who had untucked her son''s shirt. "This is an actual shirt!" "Yeah," Nathan said. "I bought the outfit last night. From this time, not the game time." "I thought it was just a single piece!" She told him as Cyrus blasted his father with an other orb of green light, the attack dissipating upon contact, as usual. "Not an actual shirt! You put buttons our baby, Nathan! What if he ate them?" "He promised not to," Nathan answered. "He did keep trying to eat the tie, though, so I left that off." Samantha groaned as the demigod stood and stretched. "Come on," Keith told him. "There''s this place I used to go to you might like." "I probably won''t." "Not for the food," Keith said.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "I''m not leaving." "Then you''re sleeping alone tonight," Samantha said as she finished removing her son''s clothes, leaving him in just his diaper before handing him to Lucas. "I''m driving," Nathan muttered. "I''m going to go get a onesie for him," Samantha told Lucas. "Keep hold of him, okay?" "Okay," Lucas nodded. Nathan waited until Samantha returned from fetching a onesie for Cyrus, then he led Keith to his car and the pair piled in. Keith directed Nathan across the river and to a dry bar popular with college students, the two of them taking empty seats at the bar itself. Most of its clientele were either female students or males on health trends, which Nathan found strange considering its menu consisted of fried foods and other stuff he''d expect in a bar. Then Keith pointed out the drinks menu, which was full of smoothies made with fresh fruit and veggies, and informed the demigod that those were what the students looking for something healthy were actually there for. The smoothies and the yogurt dishes. "Ah," Nathan said, then looked at the shelves behind the bar, which had bottles of various nonalcoholic drinks lining it. More were in the small refrigerators beneath them, though he could tell the smoothies were made in the back. "What makes you think I''d like this place for something?" "Because the place is enchanted so that only magicians can even notice it," Keith told Nathan. "Which means you don''t have to be careful about what you say as much." Nathan looked around, taking note of the two dozen college-age customers, then gave Keith a bewildered look. "There are a lot of colleges in the area," Keith explained. "And students from all over the country come here. Several major mage guilds are based in the area, too, so some families send their children or independent mages come here to attend college while hoping to get scouted. While we don''t live in a big city, we are near one, and big cities tend to have higher amounts of mages than outside of them, even with the rarity of magicians as a whole. A really big city, like New York City or Chicago, would have a far greater amount than here simply due to their size. But the number of quality colleges in this area, even if not Ivy League and such, attracts plenty anyway." "There are shops like this?" Nathan asked, and Keith groaned, realizing that that was what the demigod had been confused about. "Yes," Keith answered. "It''s a tricky piece of enchanting, but rather useful. Almost anywhere with a major guild has half a dozen places like this, at minimum. It allows a more casual setting, and for rogue magicians to be looked for." Because, as Nathan remembered, very few magicians were allowed to not be part of a guild or the government. Magicians were rare enough that everyone was forcibly conscripted in some way. Well, nearly everyone. Some rogue elements persisted, such as Keith and Nathan. Keith simply because no one wanted to anger the enchanting prodigy, and Nathan simply because the demigod was too volatile. Even if he worked with the government, they knew that was only a temporary arrangement, especially after his discussion with Endariv. "Are you a new wizard?" One of the female patrons of the restaurant sat beside Nathan. "Yes," Keith answered before Nathan could respond. "You know those attacks that randomly happen across the world at various high schools?" "Yes," she nodded. "The governments quickly quarantine the survivors, then move them to some secret facility." "It forces an awakening," Keith told her. "Nathan and I survived the incident across the river. While I was already awakened, Nathan became awakened during it. The current theory the government has is that it''s some attempt at forcing awakenings without the negative effects, but it results in the deaths of most who it targets." That was the official statement being given to any magicians or guilds which pried too much into the situation. It was a plausible explanation to those who wielded magic, and only those with deep connections, such as the Black Orb, learned the actual truth. "Really?" She asked. "But aren''t all of the survivors being isolated?" "We''re not infectious or anything," Keith shook his head as Nathan suddenly became interested in the menu. Keith did his best not to snort, having heard the same thing the demigod had from another patron. "They''re actually isolating us to make sure there''s no mental trauma, and to help guide us in magic at first. We don''t have to stay if we don''t want to, and, well, neither of us were interested in serving the government." "Which isn''t surprising," a pair walked up to them, a guy and a girl. "If he''s your friend, Keith." "You know him?" The girl they were already talking with asked. "No," the girl who had spoken responded. "But we''ve heard of him," the guy said. "I''m Drake, and this is Kathy." "Oh, and I''m Amanda, though most call me Mandy," the other girl said. "Pleasure to meet you," Keith said, then directed his attention to the couple. "So you''ve heard of me." "Anyone who''s anyone in the magical community has," Drake snorted. "I have a friend in Russia who heard you were rumored to live in the area and wanted to know if we''d ever crossed paths." "He''s famous?" Mandy asked. "Very," Kathy answered. "Considering that he''s the most powerful mage in the world, despite only being eighteen, and is said to have an incredibly powerful familiar." "Can I flash-" "No!" Keith gave Nathan an amused look. "And don''t word it that way, either!" "But I want to-" "Flash your ''special stuff''," Keith rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know. Don''t go around flaunting your familiar marks, Nathan. And would you word it properly?" "Wanna see my tats?" Nathan asked Keith hesitantly. "That''s¡­ no," Keith told him. "Just¡­ no, Nathan. Familiar marks. Just refer to them as ''familiar marks'', okay? And don''t go showing them off. People don''t even know what my familiar is, and I''m already under unwanted attention by the guilds. If they knew what you had, it would be even worse. And we both know how you''d react to that." "I still want to level them." "And you''ll get your chance," Keith said. "I promised you we''d go do that after¡­ we took care of that stuff. It''ll have to wait until after tomorrow''s session though, okay?" "Yeah, whatever," Nathan looked at the couple. "Is Keith really that famous?" "Yes," Kathy answered. "You''re friends with him, and you didn''t know that?" "I knew he was sought after by the guilds and government," Nathan said. "I didn''t know he was considered to be the most powerful magician in the world." "No one''s ever seen his full power," Drake said, sitting at the table beside the pair of enchanters. "But it''s said to be far greater than anyone has known before, except maybe in the case of Merlin." "But Merlin''s a myth," Mandy added. "So that can''t be a good comparison." "He''s weaker than Merlin," Nathan said. "If you go by the legends, that''s true," Kathy said as Keith rolled his eyes. "It''s said he''s contracted something from the Grand Set, and is a powerful enchanter, too. One of the rumors I heard is that he succeeded in creating a barrier enchantment which could stand up to a griffin''s attack." Keith cleared his throat. "To be clear," he said. "All I managed to do was stall it with a bit of high-speed winds. That wasn''t actually a barrier, just a bit of air magics anyone proficient with them could do." "When did you fight a griffin?" Nathan asked. 00118 "Okay," Keith said. "Let''s get something straight first-" "Not you, of course," Nathan muttered. "I never fought a griffin," Keith ignored the demigod''s comment. "I was attacked by a baby griffin, and just held it off with some wind until its mama showed up and took it away." "She didn''t attack you?" Mandy asked. "Griffins aren''t as violent as some people might say," Keith shook his head. "And while they are protective of their cubs, they know the difference between someone meaning harm and someone just holding off a cub non-violently. And I''m still trying to figure out how word of the incident went around, because everyone seems to think I went and had a one-on-one fight with an adult member of the Grand Set and came up the victor and unharmed." "Well, it was a baby," Nathan said. "I''d be a little annoyed if you had lost to it." "Most would have," Keith told him. "Even baby griffins are griffins, and members of the Grand Set." "Wait," Nathan frowned and looked at his friend. "Keith, why was a griffin being friendly with you? You were talking with it, weren''t you?" "Yeah," Keith answered. "I was wanting a griffin feather quill for enchanting, and was hoping one would donate a feather to me for that. They turned me down, and I was on my way out when the cub attacked. Griffins are sensitive to the presence of psychics, and the cub didn''t have the mental restraint that an adult would, so when it found an opportunity to get loose and attack, it did." "Oh," Nathan said, then opened his mouth to ask a question. "No, Nathan, I would not," Keith rolled his eyes. "Don''t give me that look, I know what you were going to ask." Nathan shrugged, then turned his attention back to Drake and Kathy. "If you''re mages, too," he said. "Do you have familiars?" "It''s generally rude to ask to see familiars or their marks, Nathan," Keith told him. "Why?" Nathan asked. "It just is!" Keith exclaimed in exasperation, then looked at the mage couple. "Be grateful he''s not thinking about his insecurity when it comes to his monster down low, he has a tendency to want to make sure he''s got the biggest one around because of it." "My dad''s a sex god, I don''t need to worry about that anymore," Nathan said. "That comes with way more perks." "A sex god?" Mandy asked, and Nathan looked at the baffled teen. "Are you saying your dad is a porn star?" "No," Keith groaned. "Nathan, would you stop that?" "I don''t mind showing my familiar mark," Drake said. "Though Kathy has a pretty neat one if she wants to show it." Nathan looked at Mandy with a raised eyebrow, ignoring the annoyed look Keith was giving him. "Sure," Mandy grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it up, revealing a black mark with a touch of yellow to it on her left side. "My familiar is a black cat. Normally, I don''t have her pulled in, but I''ve been out of the house a lot lately, so she was getting a bit annoyed, so I brought her inside of me." Drake pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing two separate familiar marks, one with brown and white, the other with brown and red, on his left and right breast, respectively. "I have a falcon and an eagle," he said. "I''m an air magics focus, so they fit with my theme. Both have magical touches to them, so they''re a bit smarter and more suited to being familiars than normal birds." Kathy turned around and told Drake to show them, so he lifted up the back of her shirt as she held the front of it down. Nearly her entire back was covered in brown, white, and gold markings. While Mandy and Nathan didn''t understand it, Keith gasped upon seeing them. "That is your familiar?" He asked as Drake lowered her shirt, and Kathy fixed it as she turned back around. "How did you contract one?" He had noticed that she possessed a lot of mana, as like with most, she wasn''t talented at concealing it by pulling it completely inside of her. Despite that, he hadn''t expected her to have contracted something as powerful as what those marks indicated. With his psychic powers, he could tell they weren''t tattoos, either, but genuine familiar marks, and that Kathy didn''t normally show them off. "Wait," he realized. "Kathy? As in Katherine Deubar?" "Yes," she smiled. "I''m Katherine Deubar, though I do prefer to go by my nickname." "Is she famous, too?" Nathan asked. "Sort of," Keith nodded. "Those marks are a griffin''s." "I''m not going to out yours," Kathy told Keith. "Even if you just announced it to a cafe full of mages what mine is, but my familiar''s told me what yours is. At least, supposedly. It can be hard to tell if she''s being honest or not."Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Keith''s eyes glowed for a few moments, then returned to normal. "She''s being honest," he told her. "If her mother''s still alive, that makes her very old, if she knew mine from when he was contracted last time." "Her mother is," Kathy told him. "She supposedly lives in Endariv''s region, though, so I haven''t met her." "Really?" Keith asked, then looked at Nathan. "Next time you decide to antagonize the dragon, could you find out if a griffin named Zelia lives there?" "Sure," Nathan returned his attention to the menu, then looked at the bartender and began ordering. "Antagonize the dragon?" Drake asked Keith. "What did he do for that to be a joke?" "Oh, that''s not a joke," Keith told him. "Nathan quite literally told Endariv he needed a breath mint from about a foot away." As soon as he said that, the atmosphere of the room filled with fear, everyone having been listening in the conversation already. It wasn''t often that a famous mage was in the room, especially not one rumored to have a powerful familiar while being a talented and prodigal enchanter no one could forcing into joining them. "And why does your strawberry-banana smoothie have mint in it?" Nathan asked the bartender, completely ignoring the stares he was receiving. "Because that''s how it''s made," Keith told him. "Please tell me you are joking," Kathy said. "Nope," Keith looked at her. "Nathan''s the kind of suicidal maniac who would do something like that. Thankfully, Endariv likes him, or he wouldn''t have gotten away with it." "Pretty sure the dragon-killing bomb was why I got away with it," Nathan said without taking his gaze off the bartender. "I''ll have one of those smoothies, too. And decide if it should have mint in it or not after tasting it." "I''m pretty sure you-know-who would have stopped Endariv from actually destroying anything," Keith rolled his eyes. "And with what I know, I seriously doubt Endariv would have actually gone on a rampage at your comments." "Speaking of Merlin''s familiars," Nathan unbuttoned the top half of his shirt. "My turn to show things off." "What kind of familiar mark is that?" Drake asked. "Where''s Breezy''s mark?" Keith asked. "He''s protecting Cyrus, remember?" Nathan asked. "Right," Keith said. "I forgot about that. Nathan, don''t!" "Too late." Ichtvar pulled out of Nathan''s chest, and the demigod rubbed the phoenix''s head. "It''s this kind of familiar mark," Nathan said. "Hello," Ichtvar greeted the stunned group of young adults in the cafe, the bartender having stopped preparing Nathan''s smoothies in his shock. "I am Ichtvar, and one of the three reasons Nathan here has not gone insane." "That''s the lie he''s been telling himself lately," Nathan told Keith, then looked at the bartender. "I''m not tipping if you don''t start working. Or if you screw up the smoothies, because those can''t be that difficult to mess up." "Nathan," Keith said. "In a room full of people who have guns, you just showed off the biggest, baddest, most powerful gun around. Wait. Did you seriously order a chocolate strawberry smoothie for Icthvar?" "Yes." "You did?" Ichtvar asked, then looked at the bartender. "I will be more appreciative of it than Nathan will be of the ones you are making for him." The phoenix moved to the counter, then stretched its wings out for a moment. It tucked its wings back against its sides, then looked around the room, before turning its gaze to Keith. "Yes, Nathan probably shouldn''t have let me out," Ichtvar said. "But considering what you two are planning, it isn''t that big of a deal. I''m all for moving up the timetable on it." "I''m not," Keith said. "There''s a reason we put it on a two-year timetable." "I know," Ichtvar looked at Nathan. "You do understand what bringing me out means, don''t you?" "That people will know not to fuck with me?" Nathan asked. "No matter how much we want it a secret, there are people in the government know. It''ll only be a few months before every major mage guild and organization in the world knows I have Ichtvar contracted, just like with me being a demigod." "A demigod?" Mandy asked. "You''re back on that ''son of a sex god'' thing?" "Nathan, you choose to reveal the worst things to reveal," Keith told his friend. "You should have not said that stuff, because now, you''re going to get a lot of unwanted attention. And that''s before word spreads. While we''re in here." Nathan held up a hand and summoned an orb of force magic, the pure-white coloration of it drawing everyone''s attention. The experienced mages in the room turned on their magic sight, identifying it immediately as being pure force magic, unaffected by any alterations to it. "White magic," Kathy said. "Just like Merlin." "Half-brothers," Keith sigh. "And Nathan wasn''t joking about who his father is. They were both the sons of sex gods, and demigods are the ones who have white magic. Whether you believe us or not, that''s another matter." Nathan and Keith spent the next hour answering questions, the psychic surprised by Nathan''s calmness regarding the attention he received as a result of the reveals. While some of the mages present were still skeptical, most in the cafe or who showed up after seemed to accept what was stated. The presence of the phoenix helped to alleviate some suspicion, especially with Ichtvar confirming some of what was said. Keith decided not to tell people that Ichtvar also had a tendency to lie about things, including important things. As Nuenar had said, Ichtvar lied about the stuff regarding things outside of the universe. The psychic had later confirmed what was said about the Well of Souls being true, but none of anything Ichtvar said regarding other things was. Other than about the Well of Souls, the only thing Keith could confirm was the Guild, and the only thing the older phoenix would tell him was that the Guild had to do with phoenixes, Ichtvar included. Once Nathan grew tired of being questioned, he tipped the bartender and told Keith they were leaving. Ichtvar flew back into his chest, and the demigod buttoned his shirt back up and fixed his tie, then left the cafe. Keith followed him out and into his car, then looked at the demigod. "You know," Keith said. "You took all of that questioning rather well. No lashing out at anyone, no snapping, no growling, yelling, cussing, or anything else like that. I''m impressed, to be honest." Nathan let out a heavy breath, letting his head hit the rim of his steering wheel. "Did I really do that good?" He asked as Keith tried to figure out the reaction. "Yeah," Keith answered. "Why do you seem upset?" "I''m not," Nathan answered. "I''m relieved." He turned his head and looked at the psychic. "I tried putting what you told me into play," Nathan told his friend. "As practice for when you and I are being questioned as the leaders of Hunter-Ingram Magictech. Magical Technologies. Whatever the fuck we decided. Now I''m drained. Let''s swap seats. You drive. I''m napping on the way back. And when we get back." "Nathan," Keith said. "We can assign someone to PR for us so we don''t have to deal with that. That said, I''m rather proud of you for making that effort, and I know Samantha will be, too. I just hope you''re ready to deal with what''ll happen as a result of you being a demigod and having a phoenix familiar being known." "Probably not much, if I avoid people," Nathan muttered, eliciting a laugh from Keith. "Alright," Keith began to exit the car. "Let''s swap seats. I''ll drive back." 00119 "Wow," Keith told Nathan. "I knew you guys had a private jet, Nathan, but that was definitely not the experience I was expecting." "I haven''t used it in about four years," Nathan told him as they walked to the car waiting for them. "Where''s this fucking headquarters?" "Not far, Nathan," Keith told him. "I''m driving." Nathan took the passenger seat as Keith took the driver''s seat, and they left the private airport the Hunter family''s private jet arrived at. Keith, Samantha, Katie, Michael, and William had entered the game again, a full day having passed since the semi-failed trip with Nathan, and as soon as they returned, Nathan dragged Keith to the airport. They had a mission to undertake, especially after the insulting message sent by the local head of the Black Orb. Their base wasn''t protected by a powerful enchanted orb, so Nathan had laid waste to it that night. Doing so annoyed both Keith and Samantha, but they knew that when Nathan went on the warpath, nothing stopped him. They were among the only people who accepted the merciless killer in Nathan. Nathan had wanted to leave earlier, but accepted that the trip would go past the time for the group to return, and that trumped his impatience. The Black Orb had sent a suggestion to Nathan and Keith that they join them, and the wording of it made it clear the Black Orb wanted to steal their knowledge and secrets, but Nathan''s desire for Samantha to not need to enter the game again was more important that taking out people who wanted his secrets. The demigod pulled out the printed email and read through it again. It made several condescending remarks poorly disguised as advice and praise, but the gist of the email suggested that Nathan and Keith were only fledglings who knew little of how to really enchant things. Now, Nathan didn''t merely wish to crush the Black Orb''s power. He wanted to destroy it entirely. He folded up the paper and slipped it back into his pocket, then looked out the window at the desert passing them by. They would crush the Black Orb, then head to a hotel for the night. The sky was clear and sunny, and Nathan felt it only made the drive through the desert worse. "Planning on picking up another member of the harem?" Keith asked. "No," Nathan snorted. "I can go without sex, Keith. I do it all the time. Now shut up and drive, I don''t like looking at a desert." The next hour and a half passed in silence and concluded with Keith pulling up to a complex surrounded by a ten-foot concrete wall topped with barbed wire. "Are you sure this isn''t a prison?" Nathan asked upon seeing the barbed wire. "I could escape anyway, but-" "It''s their place," Keith pointed at the center of the gate, a large, black metal disk. "That''s their sign, after all." He stopped the car and stepped out, Nathan stepping out as well. They closed the doors as one of the four guards at the entrance approached them. "This is a private facility," he told them. "Please turn around and leave." "We''re looking for directions," Nathan told him. "I think we''re lost." "We''re not lost," Keith rolled his eyes. "Do you know where we can find the headquarters of the Black Orb?" Nathan asked, and the four guards gave them hostile looks. "Keith here says this is it, but I''d think a place like the Black Orb would pick somewhere nicer to set up shop." "Who are you?" The guard in front of them asked. "Nathan Hunter," Nathan said. "And my friend, Keith Ingram. We''re rather insulted by the email sent to us by your superiors and want to make it clear what we think of the insults contained in it." "Yeah," Keith said. "Suggesting that the high-class enchantment we showed one of your high-ranking members was nothing more than a cheap trick when no one else has ever managed an enchantment like it before? That''s actually more than a little insulting. Even I''m feeling a bit of bloodlust at it, which is exactly why we''re here. Nathan, I told you, we aren''t lost." "Nathan and Keith?" The guard asked. "Ah, you two. The two who believe they could possibly negotiate with Endariv." "Oh," Nathan looked at Keith. "You''re right. We''re here." He reached up to his small orb necklace and pulled out a black crystal orb fourteen inches in diameter, a newer version of the mana orb. Holding it in his right hand as the guards gave him confused looks, Nathan punched forward with his left hand. A wave of white force magic burst out, ripping through the four guards. Three feet from the gates, it slammed into a barrier that shimmered blue upon contact, invisible until then. Once the attack faded, the barrier returned to its normal invisible state. "Huh," Nathan said. "It appears I need a little more power than that." He punched again, then again, then again. After the fourth connecting strike of concentrated force magic, the barrier flickered, turning visible across rather than simply upon contact, no longer able to sustain its invisibility. Taking a deep breath, Nathan punched forward again, drawing on the mana orb in his hand to generate a large, more powerful punch of force magic than before. It rippled across the air and slammed into the barrier. The moment the spell connected, the barrier winked out of existence. Without a moment''s hesitation, Nathan released another force punch at the gate, which bent inwards for a moment before snapping out of its frame, flying several yards into the complex and driving deep gouges into the road before coming to a stop.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Nathan drew on the orb again to replenish his mana reserves, then tossed it to Keith. The pair then entered the facility as Keith began preparing a large spell, the air around him beginning to shimmer purple with his magic. An alarm began to sound as Nathan assessed the complex. Eight buildings arranged in a ring lay before them, each a different size from the rest. Each held a different purpose, though all connected underground according to Keith. When guards wielding either magic or guns poured out of the buildings, Nathan drew his own guns and began firing. Bullets of pure-white magic shot forward, punching through the barrier created by the mages and into their casters or the guards. The Black Orb''s guards returned the attack, bullets and spells flying at the pair. None reached them, however, a translucent white barrier shimmering around the two, creating a dome to protect them from attack. However, it was designed to only stop attacks from outside reaching in, a one-way barrier Nathan and Keith had worked on for awhile. Their own attacks were unhindered, so Nathan continued gunning down the guards, firing only a single bullet for each. "Done," Keith said. "So am I," Nathan said, no more guards attacking them. "The rest are probably waiting to ambush us inside." "Probably," Keith held out his right hand, inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Though nothing seemed to happen at first, only a second later did the spell''s effects come into play. The buildings themselves began to glow with blue light as their own wards began to flare up, attempting to resist the wind assaulting them, dust beginning to rise around them from the spell. The clear sky began to cloud up, thick gray stormclouds forming in seconds. Less than thirty seconds after the assault began, the cloud opened up, a heavy rain beginning as lightning began flashing down, striking the eight buildings. The wards on the buildings flared even brighter, and after only a few strikes, disappeared. Then, Keith''s wind magics began ripping the buildings apart. Machines, papers, people, chunks of concrete, and more began flying around the air, quickly shredded by the wind. Keith pulled off his shirt as Nathan unbuttoned his own, the two of them releasing their powerful familiars, which flew out of the barrier shielding them from the rain. After fixing their shirts, the pair approached the nearest building and descended into it, Nathan shooting anyone who came into sight. Their familiars would deal with anyone who exited the complex. Anytime they came across a warded room, Keith used his magic to shatter its defenses and door. "They''re pouring magic into the orb," Keith told Nathan. "Someone''s manually telling the enchantment which areas to protect, too. As soon as we destroy something, they shut off the protections for it to focus more elsewhere. The mages are probably going through most of their stocked-up mana potions in order to try to stop us. They''ll likely consider this place lost and focus on protecting the orb room." "Everyone dies," Nathan stated. Keith nodded, and they resumed their attack on the complex, wiping out everyone they came across while moving room-to-room. They descended to the next basement level and repeated their action, continuing until they reached a room on the third basement level marked by a keypad and a black metal disk. Keith held up a fist, and an orb of violet force magic formed in his hand, growing and condensing repeatedly for nearly a minute. Then, he flicked his hand forward, and the orb slammed into the door, a blue barrier forming for a minute before disappearing, the door breaking inwards in an instant. Nathan stepped into the room and began shooting, killing everyone on sight. Once the twenty mages in the room were dead, he looked around it. The entire room, from the walls to the floors to the ceiling, were covered in glowing enchantments, all connected to a pedestal in the center upon which a black orb sat. He raised his guns, increased their power limits, then shot the orb until first it cracked, then it shattered. The moment it did, the mana stored within released in a ripple of blue force magic that splashed off his barrier and into the walls, cracking it as the enchantments faded. "That''s their leader," Keith indicated a man who had been beside the orb as he put their own mana orb away. "Former leader," Nathan said as he released his barrier. "The Black Orb''s survivors might recoup, but at least they''ll know to not fuck with us. We offered them power, and they decided to insult us because we were young and they were arrogant." Keith shrugged, then began moving the mana potions from their boxes on the tables into his own storage orb, and Nathan went through the corpses'' pockets, looting the cash from their wallets. "Nathan," Keith gave him an amused look. "You''re rich. Why are you stealing their cash?" "It''s not like they''ll be using it anymore," Nathan said. "Aren''t you draining their bank accounts, anyway?" "Yeah, but I''m not taking cash right off their bodies." Nathan shrugged, the waited for Keith to finish looting the boxes and rejoin him. He manifested his barrier once more, then they left the facility, their familiars flying alongside their barrier, confirming they killed everyone who left. When they reached the car, Keith manifested a large barrier to surround it and them so that they could bring their familiars back inside them without getting wet, then they entered the car. After shutting off his barrier, Keith left, and Nathan looked outside again, nodding in satisfaction. "Much better when it''s raining." Keith laughed at Nathan''s comment, but said nothing as he drove to the nearby town, which was just-barely outside of the rain range, though they knew that the natural weather patterns would shift the magical storm into it soon. He parked in the parking lot of a hotel, then they stepped out and made their way inside. "Nathan Hunter," Nathan said when they approached the counter. "I have a reservation for a room with two beds. It better have two beds." "Why didn''t you just book two rooms?" Keith asked. "There was only one room available when I booked," Nathan told him. "And this is the only hotel chain in the area I trust." "Ah." Nathan showed his ID and paid the deposit, then they accepted their room keys and made their way up to their room as Nathan tried to figure out what he wanted to do for dinner. Keith told him he could live with pizza and ordered it, and Nathan opened up a video chat with Samantha and Cyrus to update his girlfriend on how it went. Their call lasted until the pizza arrived, then Nathan ended it and waited for Keith to bring their food in. He had ordered a pepperoni pizza, breadsticks, and pink lemonade for them to drink. They sat on their respective beds to eat, the food resting on the nightstand between the beds. "You handled killing a lot of people better than I expected," Nathan told Keith. "You did the killing." "You handled me killing a lot of people better than I expected." "I''m used to the bloodshed of the game," Keith said. "And seeing people die all around me, Nathan. I might not be you, with your ability to simply kill people without a thought, for any reason, but I can handle deaths around me." "Oh," Nathan thought for a few moments. "I was trying to compliment you." 00120 The last thing Nathan expected to see when he stepped out of the bathroom after taking a shower was a girl their age sitting on the bed Keith had slept on the previous night, a box of donuts, and a disposable drinks tray with three to-go cups for hot drinks, which smelled like coffee. Keith himself was dressed for the day already and was sitting on the bed Nathan had slept on, and the textbook that had been sitting on the room''s table was missing, along with the enchanted card which had been beneath it. He supposed Keith had hidden the card away before answering the door, in case something happened while the young woman was in the room. While Keith could use his powers to know if something might happen, one never knew if the vision turned out wrong. "And this is?" Nathan asked as he leaned against the wall to the bathroom, glaring at the young woman. She had long, black hair and light green eyes. She either lacked the ability to restrain or magical aura, didn''t care to, or wanted to show it off. The intensity of the blue suggested she was pretty strong. Comparable to the more powerful mages Nathan had killed the previous night. Thin, sparse threads of gray woven through her magic suggested she had begun learning necromancy as well, though he lacked the experience to know how much she knew, how good she was, or how far into her training she was just from the color of her aura. "Isabelle Jackson," Keith answered. "Her father was the guy who ran the Black Orb, and I''ve already checked her, before you get hostile. While she''s not exactly a pleasant person, neither are we. Her father forced her into the Black Orb." "The college campus I was at," Isabelle told Nathan. "Was hit by the Tutorial about a week ago. I escaped before the feds arrived, and have been hiding ever since, my father believing me dead and waiting for confirmation of my corpse. I stayed near enough to keep an eye on the guild, but not so near they''d notice me. When I sensed immense magic attacking the place, I figured I''d check it out. Wasn''t expecting to find it destroyed with a storm raging on." A storm which was still raging, Nathan had learned. Upon waking up, he noticed the storm was over the town, and thought it had simply moved, as storms were wont to do. Instead, Keith had revealed to him that it turned out he''d put too much power into the spell. While the storms distance had expanded to cover a diameter of around thirty miles overnight, it remained in a fixed location and the psychic couldn''t figure out when the storm would end. It was constantly generating new water. That would cause an effect on the environment, though Nathan didn''t really care, and knew Keith didn''t care enough to figure out how to cancel his spell. It would eventually run out of juice. "Speaking of that," Keith said. "The Director of DoMA called while you were in the shower. She''s not happy about the storm." "She can deal," Nathan grunted. "What did you tell her?" "That we better have a good explanation for why we made it during our attack." "Why you made it," Nathan shook his head. "What did you tell her the reason was?" "I''m a young man who was given access to unlimited mana." Nathan let out a sharp laugh at Keith''s response as Isabelle gave them a confused look. "Unlimited mana?" She asked. "Did you tap into the Earth''s ley lines or something?" "No," Keith told her. "We designed a better version of the mana orb the Black Orb used. Ours produces mana on its own, and I can draw out of it approximately 40,000 Mana per second, when measuring by the System''s measurements." "See," Nathan said. "We offered a deal to the Black Orb. Instead of accepting it, they chose to mock us. They called an enchantment we created trivial, cheap, easy. And while Keith tends to act a little more on the rational side at times? I have a bit of a temper. And no issue killing people. Admittedly, this was the first time it was more than someone on the streets or some asshole who dissed me, but I didn''t lose any sleep over it. I slept like a babe, thinking of my girlfriends and son and what it would be like to take Cyrus for a ride on Endariv''s back." "Yes," Keith shot Nathan an unimpressed look. "By the way, it appears my powers received a small surge. I was sensing your damn dreams as I slept. I highly doubt Endariv would go for loop-de-loops." "Even if you have a source of unlimited mana," Isabelle said. "Which I don''t believe in the first place, there''s no way you''d ever manage to ride Endariv. From what I hear, he''s refusing to accept Merlin died, and increases his tributes quite hard if anyone tries to change anything or approach him for anything than an offering." "He''s accepted my half-brother is dead," Nathan said. "After mistaking me for him. I''m sure that he''ll let me ride him with Cyrus. Just need to figure out how to make a harness to keep Cyrus attached to me." "And wait for the reveal," Keith told Nathan. "We gave them two years'' notice."The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Yeah, yeah," Nathan muttered. "And we still have to wait about a week or so before we can get production of our shit underway. Anyway, the fuck are you doing here, Isabelle? Now that you know that Keith and I could eliminate you without any second thoughts or issues., it''s time you tell me why the fuck you thought you should approach your father''s killers." "She wants to join us," Keith told him. "Or more specifically, she wants to date power. She apparently dreams of having a baby who''s powerful, and wants to see the oath of silence broken." "He told me ''no'' when I asked if he''d be willing to enter a threesome with me and you," Isabelle said, a touch of sadness in her voice. "So I wanted to see if you were interested in dating a complete stranger. I''m not weak by any means, if that matters to you. I have 1,317 Magic and 787 Mana. And none of that is with anything more than what I earned from Challenges and Levels in the Tutorial. Nothing else." Nathan pulled a card from the orb around his neck, then stepped over to Isabelle as she looked between both the card and the orb with interest. He touched the card to her forehead as he activated it, ignoring her look of surprise as the screen formed above it to reveal her Status. The newest version of their card revealed both a person''s Status in the System and their true Status ¨C what they were without the System enhancing them. "How did you do that?" Isabelle asked. "And with a card?" "We developed an enchantment," Keith told her. "That can read the System''s information. Nathan and I have spent extensive time in the game, in extended Survival Challenges, developing enchantments. We put enough effort into it that we have the basic foundation for the spells down. New cards take us maybe a week, at most. Nathan actually created a new one last night in about two hours." "It worked?" Nathan asked. "Yeah," Keith answered. "It worked. The reason you didn''t notice was because I contained it within a barrier thick enough to mute out the sound." "Ah," Nathan said. "I was listening to the music in my head rather than paying attention to the sounds out here. I''d assumed you were jacking off thinking about me in the shower and didn''t want to hear it if that were the case." "Thinking about-" Isabelle looked at Keith. "Wait. Oh. You rejected me because you''re gay." "He''s the only one in this room who is," Nathan told Isabelle. "And I''d need a little more to go on than ''I''m powerful and like guys who are powerful'' to date you. I don''t even know you. Not just anyone can join my harem. First, I have to like you. Second, Samantha has to like you. "That said," he said. "Michael just lost his most recent girlfriend to the game. He''d probably be willing to fuck you." "Already checked that with my sight," Keith said. "She''s into people with powerful magic, and even if Michael is powerful because of the System, she likes powerful mages. The kind who can contract upper-level creatures. Like us." "I''m not a mage," Nathan told Isabelle. "I''m a warrior." "That can be overlooked when the attacker can punch his way through the Black Orb''s protective barrier," she said. "You''re still powerful, and mix your magic into your martial arts." Nathan glared at Keith, who shrugged. "You''re hot," Nathan told Isabelle. "But again, I don''t know you well enough to decide to add you to my harem. You want in, you have to bring more to the table than looks and a little bit of magic, and I have to like you, and Samantha has to like you." "Samantha is the girl in your¡­ harem?" She asked. "You''ve only mentioned her, so is she the only one? Would she have an issue with you getting with someone else?" "The one he actually loves," Keith informed her. "And the mother of his son. And he''s with two right now. The question would be more if you had an issue with him getting with multiple women, as the two members of his harem don''t mind. They both accept it''s an inevitability, even if Samantha does wish ¨C just a little ¨C that he''d be exclusive to her." "She does?" Nathan asked. "She never said anything. I''d be willing to turn-" "Exclusive for her, yeah," Keith waved a hand dismissively, and Nathan put the card he''d used back into his orb, only remember then that he was still holding it. "She knows it, too. She also knows that she doesn''t necessarily like all of the sexual stuff you do, and that you''d know she''s not enjoying it. That''s why she''s fine with you having a harem ¨C it lets you do other stuff you''re interested in, and with people who might actually enjoy it. And now that she knows you''re the son of a sex god, she cares even less." "You''re what?" Isabelle asked. "Okay, I dismissed the comment about Merlin being your half-brother, but-" "He was the son of a sex god, too," Nathan looked at the donuts, then sighed. "I suppose it''s a better breakfast than nothing." Allowing Keith to fill Isabelle in on things, Nathan took a few donuts and sat beside Keith, eating them. He rated his breakfast as a one and made a mental note to cook himself a proper meal once he returned home. He also wanted to talk to Samantha about what Keith had said. While Keith might have noticed it with his powers, Nathan felt that Samantha might have said something to the psychic. After licking his fingers clean of the donut glaze and wiping them off on the blanket, Nathan pulled out his phone and called his girlfriend, who answered almost immediately. "How did it go?" She asked before he could speak. "It went well," he said. "Would you really prefer that I went exclusive?" "I don''t mind you having a harem, Nathan," she said. "Yes, there''s a part of me that wants to go exclusive, but another part wants me to see you enjoying yourself, and that other part wins. So promise me you won''t just up and change yourself for me. I''ve accepted you for who you are, and so has Katie." "Okay," Nathan said. "Why do you sound a little stressed?" "Do you know how long it''ll be before you''re back?" She asked, a slight whine to her voice. "What happened?" He demanded. "Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?" "Cyrus misses you," Samantha told him. "And he''s made that very clear. He keeps shooting orbs of white light around the place and is projecting ''I want Daddy'' to me when he does that, too." "He doesn''t want you?" Nathan sounded upset. "No, he''s happy when he''s in my arms," Samantha told him. "I''m rocking him right now. He seems to want both of us here, and if I put him down, I suddenly have to deal with dozens of white orbs floating around the place. Lucas finds it amusing, your parents, not so much." "Keith and I were getting ready to check out and head to the airport," Nathan told her. "We''ll be home¡­ around lunchtime, I think. Also, we''re taking some chick who wants to sleep with Keith and me. I''m going to see if I can pawn her off on Michael." 00121 "This is her?" Samantha asked as Nathan took Cyrus from his girlfriend. "Who?" Nathan asked, having already forgotten the presence of everyone else. "Isabelle," Samantha said. "I am," Isabelle stepped up to Samantha and held out a hand. "Isabelle Jackson. It''s a pleasure to meet you, Samantha." "You said you already checked her out?" Samantha looked at Keith. "Both in mind and electronically," Keith nodded. "Nathan, where the hell did you get that?" Everyone turned to face Nathan, who was currently putting a toy knife into Cyrus''s hand. "I bought it yesterday morning," he answered. "Best to teach him early." "Nathan!" Samantha exclaimed, then gently took the toy from their son and poked the demigod with it in the cheek, eliciting a giggle from Cyrus and a grin from Nathan. Samantha and Keith both groaned upon seeing the grin. It meant Nathan was just teasing them, and Cyrus''s giggle told them that despite being only a few days old, he was in on it, too. The infant was just too different from normal infants to compare to them properly. "He needs his diaper changed," Nathan said suddenly, before walking off. "A man who changes a baby''s diaper?" Isabelle asked. "Where did you find him?" "Depends on which time you ask," Samantha said. "And plenty of men change diapers. Nathan tends to do it unless you ask for Cyrus as the little guy goes or is about to go. Then he lets you know as he hands him off." "What was that comment about white orbs of light about?" Isabelle asked. "They were both acting like Cyrus could use magic, but he''s only a few days old, so-" "Cyrus isn''t a normal baby," Samantha shook her head. "And if you ever show any hostile or otherwise ill intent towards him, Nathan will kill you without a second thought." "Wasn''t planning on it," Isabelle said. "I''ve never heard of a baby who could use magic, though." "As she said," Keith said, his eyes glowing for a moment. "Cyrus isn''t a normal baby. Samantha, Nathan''s is speed-changing Cyrus again." Samantha sighed, then quickly moved to her boyfriend in his room. It had been enchanted by the enchanters to protect from eavesdropping, which was probably why Nathan had chosen to speed-change their son in there. It made it easier to get away with it when everyone told him not to. The demigod had his son on the floor, the baby already stripped out of his clothes and diaper and laying on a changing pad. "Nathan, don''t speed-wipe him," she said as she held a hand up to her nose. "No matter how smelly he may be." "Too late!" Nathan quickly cleaned his son. "Now for the diaper!" "What if you give him friction burn!" Cyrus shot an orb of white light at his mother, who groaned. "You''re with your father," she said. "Cyrus, we need to work on your communication skills, and I can''t believe I just said that to someone who was just born a few days ago." "That one means," Nathan said. "''Daddy is cool and awesome and can do speed-changing whenever he wants, because it''s awesome and I don''t get hurt because I''m just as tough as him!'' So don''t worry, he likes it." "I think you''re making that up," Samantha said as Nathan finished putting clothes back on his son. "Nathan, why did you put him in an outfit to match yours rather than the cute one I put him in?" "He''s not cute like this?" Nathan looked at his son, who kicked his socked feet and giggled. "He''s adorable," Samantha told him as their son held his hands up and clenched his fingers a few times. Nathan picked him up. "I feel like his mental age may accelerate past the norm for a baby. His¡­ unique state doesn''t give us much to go on." "Whatever it is," Nathan said. "We can handle him. Icthvar said that blood parents always possess the ability to handle their children. It''s an innate law in almost every universe. Until he''s around fifteen or so, anyway. ''Near adulthood'', the birdie said. Where''s Katie?" "She, Michael, and William went to the store," Samantha told him. "And I think the boys are going to show her around town a little bit." "Okay," Nathan said, rocking his son a little bit as the infant began shooting orbs of purple and green light at his face. "What do you think of her?" "She''s nice," Nathan answered. "Halfway decent with some training, though could use a bit more. I''m sure with two or three more years'' worth of regular training, she''d be able to spar with some of the top mages on Earth."This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "I meant Isabelle, not Katie." "Who?" Nathan asked. "The chick you brought home?" Samantha asked. "Oh, right, her," Nathan said as Cyrus''s attack stopped, the infant drifting off to sleep. "She''s¡­ a woman." "A beautiful woman." "I didn''t fuck her, if that''s what you''re wondering." "I know you didn''t," Samantha said. "Keith texted me updates on her. Father ran the Black Orb, she''s a fledgling necromancer, and you just met her. You''re the kind of guy who wants to know someone at least a little before sex, and I know you wanted to make sure I was okay with it, especially after Keith told you what I''d mentioned." "How did that even come up?" Nathan asked. "He''d asked me how I really felt," she answered. "Since he knew a lot of women had issues with their man sleeping with someone else. But honestly? It''s a part of you, and while I''d like to be exclusive, it doesn''t bother me. As I told both him and you. In the end, I know I''m the only one you have real feelings for. I know you''ll always put me first, and you''ll always take into consideration my feelings over the others. That''s why it doesn''t bother me, Nathan. Because no matter what anyone else you put in your harem does, they''ll never manage to insert themselves above me." "What if I told you that you weren''t the only one I have real feelings of love for?" He asked curiously. "Oh, really?" Samantha snorted. "Who else would you have feelings for, Nathan? Even if the Well of Souls forged our souls, it didn''t force you to be attracted only to me. You can have feelings for others, yet you don''t." "What if I had feelings for Keith?" He asked. "The Well of Souls designed us to be attracted to the other two forged souls. Keith isn''t attracted to you because he''s gay." "And you''re straight," Samantha said. "And he has feelings for other guys, too. Further proof that you could have feelings for other women." "I''m the reason Keith has the permanent blessing." Samantha went silent at that, staring at Nathan in shock and disbelief. His tone was plain, unemotional, yet his expression was honest. It was hard for her to gauge whether or not he was telling the truth, and she had Lie Detector off. She always turned it off when it was just the two of them or them and Keith, trusting them to speak the truth. "Nathan," she said. "I know I joke about seeing you two together, but-" "After I¡­ didn''t step in with the Evala incident," Nathan told her. "I offered to let Keith fuck me as a makeup. Or to suck him. I didn''t want to, but I didn''t want him to stay upset with me. He rejected it." "Uh-" "He said," Nathan continued. "That while he was attracted to me, and did prefer to top, he''d rather bottom for me, and knew I''d prefer that. It was weird. Felt strange. Nothing like sleeping with a woman. I imagined it was you I was fucking, which made it easier. We decided not to talk about it again. "When we were in the extended Survival Challenges," he continued before Samantha could say something. "Just Keith and me, we were in the showers together one time. I was horny and jacking off, and Keith offered to let me use his ass. That was all it was ¨C me getting off in a way that got me off better than using my hand. At first, I thought Keith had used some mind spell on me. But he spoke the truth when he said he didn''t do any magic. It became a regular thing. Keith got fucked by the man of his dreams, and I got to get off in a way that felt better than just jacking it, even if it involved another man. It''s part of why I was impatient to get back with you. To me, I was just getting off in a tight ass. Nothing romantic there. No interest. "But I''ve been thinking¡­" Nathan trailed off for a moment as he looked into Samantha''s eyes, admiring their green. "What if I didn''t have an issue with it because I''m bisexual? I mean, I didn''t think anything of it because I was just getting off, and had no attraction to him. Or at least, didn''t think I did. But what if-" "Nathan," she cut him off. "Tell me, right now: if Keith and I were both naked in front of you, wanting a good fucking, who would you fuck?" "You." "And if I wasn''t here?" "I''d wait for you to get back, then see if you wanted a good fucking." "And if I didn''t?" "I''d either wait for you to, or see if Katie did." "In other words," Samantha said. "It''s as you said, Nathan. You were just using him to get off, and nothing further. Plus, plenty of straight guys experiment with a close male friend." "I fucked him enough times for him to get the permanent blessing." "You took what was available to you, Nathan," Samantha snorted. "Were I alone in the game with Katie for a year and a half, we''d probably end up having sex every day. We would no doubt take what we could for better pleasure, just as you did with Keith." "Maybe," Nathan muttered. "Maybe that''s all it was. Besides, women doing it with women seems to be better accepted than men doing it with men." "Depends on which sex you''re talking about," Samantha nudged him in the arms. "Trust me, plenty of women ship men together. I''ve been shipping you and Keith together for a few years. And hearing that you actually have pounded his ass, Nathan? I kind of want to see it." "Not happening," Nathan immediately responded. "Sex is a private thing, no one should watch others doing it." Samantha snorted. "Nathan," she said. "That is what you objected to, not you and Keith doing it. When we were in the Tower of Magic Dungeon, did you and Keith ever-" "No," Nathan answered. "We just worked on enchantments together, and he''d use me as a table while I slept." "See?" She asked. "Nothing happened, even though you two had plenty of chances to. Nathan, it''s as you said, so get that look of doubt out of your eyes. Unless, of course, you have reason to doubt. In that case, let''s call Keith up here and see how you kiss." "No!" Nathan managed to refrain from roaring that word, aware of the sleeping baby in his arms and not wishing to wake him. "Ew! No kissing Keith!" "You''re like a little kid, there," Samantha chuckled. "''Kissing is gross! I don''t wanna!''" "Shut up," Nathan''s face flushed. "I guess you''re right, Samantha. That said, if Keith and I end up in an extended Challenge Survival alone together, it might happen again. Because fucking his tight hole definitely felt better than just jacking it alone." He thought for a moments. "Maybe there''s room for doubt," he told her. "But I''m not adding him to my harem. It is exclusively for women. I''m going to pass Cyrus off to Keith, and when I get back, we can either talk some more, or we can have sex. It depends on if you''re clothed when I return." Nathan hurried out of the room without waiting for a response from his girlfriend, and found Keith watching TV in the living room with Isabelle, the two on separate seats. "Here," Nathan told Keith. "He fell asleep after I changed him, and I don''t want to wake him up with any noise we might make." Nathan returned to his room without waiting for a response. When he returned to his room, Samantha was naked and on his bed, and he wasted no time in stripping and joining her. 00122 For the first time in awhile, Nathan dreamed he was Varnol again, only knowing his life as the lowborn. He even possessed the memories and knowledge Varnol had accrued in the months that passed in the dream world. The lowborn sat at the top of a tower in Era''s castle, gazing out the window. In his arms, he held an infant swaddled in blankets, his newborn son. Adjusting the blankets, he looked at the red marks on the baby''s shoulders, denoting him as a member of the Nol Clan. Even if he knew he couldn''t properly raise his son, Varnol had chosen to take the suffering that would occur. Initially, he had elected to send his son to slavehood, having a collar mark placed on the infant, then sending him to the slave nursery. While it would be a cruel, harsh life for his son, Varnol didn''t care. It was simply the way their people were. Reds were nearly all slaves, and the few lowborns who kept their children were usually nearing orange in power. They held respect and honor among the lowborns and could afford to care for their children. Varnol adjusted the infant''s blankets. His son possessed an immense amount of mana, being the child of two with great pools of it, but he was still a red. Children also bore mana of the purity level of their lesser parent, when the two possessed different mana purity levels. As such, the infant was still susceptible to the chill of the winter wind which blew through the window every few minutes. After his acceptance as a lowborn, Varnol worked for his mistress the same as he did before, the fear in him slowly leaving. He also began to learn to use magic, and when he showed a talent for enchanting, was given one of the towers for his own personal use. The lowborn looked back to his room. A set of stairs on the other side led down, several tables with books, papers, quills, and various items scattered on them filled one half of the room, most of the walls hidden by shelves filled with jars, baskets, and boxes of various items. A large bed sat on the other half of the room, a carpet made from the pelt of a beast with green fur streaked with orange filling most of the free space of the floor. "This is your room now, too," Varnol told his son, Alnnol. "When we aren''t sharing your mother''s room." Alnnol began fussing, so Varnol walked over to one of the shelves and opened up a box. From within, he pulled out a ceramic bottle with a soft nipple. He closed the box, then pushed mana into the bottle, activating the enchantment to warm and mix the milk Era had produced and preserved over the past week in preparation for her child''s birth. Once it was ready, Varnol eased the bottle into his son''s mouth, moving to sit on his bed as he fed the baby. The sound of someone ascending the stairs to his room reached his ears, though Varnol ignored it. The sound of the steps told him the identity of the person approaching. "Hello, Var," Kennol greeted Varnol as he reached the top floor. "It still piques my interest as to why you chose the highest room in the tower. You could have set up much closer to the ground, or even on the ground." "I could," Varnol said. "But being up high deters a few people from bothering me, and gives me a beautiful view to look out when I get bored." "It also means Era and I have to walk further to reach you," Kennol told him. "I have to walk that far, too," Varnol pointed out as Kennol sat beside him and examined the infant. "It is sad," Kennol said. "That a child with such great mana reserves is a lowborn. Sad that his father is, too." "I am working my way up to orange," Varnol said. "And I am sure Alnnol will as well, once he is old enough to begin learning how to purify his mana." "Yes," Kennol said. "But you and he will still hold that stigma for all your lives." "Perhaps," Varnol said. "However, I have immense mana reserves. My aging is as slow as the Grand Nobles. So long as no one succeeds in killing me, I will have millennia to purify my mana, even if I never work on increasing my pool." "You intend on putting yourself to the same level as a noble," Kennol realize. "A High Noble, even." "I wish to be worthy of being seen as another of Era''s mates," Varnol told Kennol. "She already sees to both of us, but I am no more than a servant now. If I ascend in power, I can stand by her side as your equal, rather than a servant. Neither you nor her would find issue from others were I blue or higher." "Others will come after you," Kennol stated. "They will see you as a threat, rising from red to the colors of nobility. There is a reason once someone hits green, they are monitored by the nobility above them. Even if you aren''t officially nobility, once you hit blue, you begin to hold power that can challenge others." "That is fine," Varnol said, pulling the empty bottle from his son''s mouth. "I know that you and Era have imprinted upon me."The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. To their people, imprinting was a large deal. Someone might imprint upon three, maybe four people in their entire life, even for a violet. It wasn''t a conscious thing that was done. It occurred when someone found a match for them, either as a lover or a friend. As far as anyone knew, it was the Silver Grace which caused the imprints, a sign to them that the one they imprinted upon would never betray them, no matter what happened. Varnol had figured out that his mistress had imprinted upon him shortly into his time as her slave, that she had done so while he was still under torture. Only a small bit of thought led him to realizing it was why she offered him the deal. Everyone could tell when they imprinted upon someone, and so Era would have known that he would never betray her, even before he trusted her as a friend rather than acted as her slave, then servant. Imprinting acted as a double-edged sword, however. Once someone imprinted upon another, they would never betray them, and act to protect them as well, when possible. There was no magic in such a connection, but that was the level of friendship and trust required for it. And the imprinting ensured they knew it would last until death. "We have," Kennol admitted. "That is part of why we discussed freeing you for your selfless act of sacrifice. You proved then there was cause for the imprint." Varnol nodded, and Kennol took the empty bottle and returned it to the case, before returning to his spot, looking down at Alnnol. "There are nobles far more powerful than us, however," Kennol told him. "If they learn a former slave was ascending to high purity levels, they will come after us. And we will not be able to hold them back." "I am working on dealing with that," Varnol told him. "A Veil, specifically." "A Veil?" Kennol asked. "Yes," Varnol nodded. "A Veil. A magical spell to wrap around the territory. Anyone over a certain power level would need to either force their way in and weaken themselves to enter, or receive explicit permission from someone allowed to grant it in order to enter. Once I finish it, I can key it to a specific bloodline, so that only the clan-head and their descendants may grant permission. That would include Alnnol, but I may be able to set it so that it requires you in the ancestry as well."" "The elders have attempted such spells before," Kennol told him. "Do you believe you could manage it?" "In the next century or two, maybe," Varnol answered. "As long as I continue to devote myself to my work." They fell silent, watching Alnnol. The infant gave out a small yawn, then began to fall asleep. Once he was, Kennol asked if he could take the infant down to Era. "I thought she wanted nothing to do with him?" Varnol asked. "Since he is the son of a servant and former slave?" He had never heard of any noble wanting anything to do with children resulting from such a union. They were in two different classes. She was a violet, and he was a red. Yes, he was a trusted lowborn whom she used for pleasure, but that was part of his duties. Even if he could pick out truth from lie, deceiver from trusted ally, he was still only red. Someone like Kennol fell more into her circle of status, and it was evident in the way their relationships differed. Varnol might bed her, but Kennol shared her bed. "I talked her into giving him some time," Kennol told Varnol. "Even if she doesn''t wish to. It is sai that infants who spend time with each parent at least a few hours a week will have an easier time purifying their mana when they''re older. I convinced her it best that the boy has that opportunity, as a more powerful boy turns into a more powerful man, turns into a powerful asset. And if his own child carries higher mana purity as a result, then that only adds to the strength of the clan." Varnol accepted that, then handed his son to his friend, who left. The lowborn stood and stretched, then approached one of his tables. He would make use of the time without his son, as he doubted Era would give him more than two or three hours'' reprieve from handling the baby. While he could purify his mana with the infant in his arms, enchanting would be much more difficult, and he wished to continue his service to Era. The lowborn had heard the rumors that Kennol mentioned. No one knew if they were true or not, but Varnol knew some parents swore by it. As a slave, he''d never even known his parents. But he''d given his son that chance, and it seemed they would get to potentially increase the boy''s ability to purify mana. As long as Varnol and his son proved useful to the clan, they would be allowed to remain within it. He had no intention of betraying them, and they had no intention of betraying him, but that didn''t mean he would be allowed to remain if he wasn''t useful. His son needed to be as well. So he worked, thinking over the future. Era and Kennol would protect him as best they could. But who would protect them? He would, with his inventions. And he planned on bringing his son into the work as well, once the boy was old enough. For several hours, Varnol worked alone, unbothered by anyone. Once the fourth hour after his son was taken away, however, Varnol began to wonder what had happened to the baby. He prayed to the Silver Grace that Era had simply decided to hold onto him for longer, and not that she suddenly decided the servant shouldn''t be allowed to have a child. When he heard familiar steps coming up the stairs only minutes after beginning to worry, Varnol turned and watched, waiting. Kennol came into view, but without Alnnol. "Don''t look so worried," the High Noble told him. "Era decided to hold on to him a little longer. I thought to come up and let you know, figuring you would be panicked. I''m glad I did, judging by your expression." "He is safe, then?" Varnol asked. "She didn''t decide to collar him?" It wasn''t exactly legal to collar someone who bore clan markings, but that didn''t stop some people. "No," Kennol told him. "She wouldn''t do that to you, even if you are a lowborn, Varnol. She just chose to hold him a little bit longer. I think she''s trying to see if he''s one of those rare prodigies, since a child between a red and violet is nearly unheard of to the point the last one was born more than a million years ago. At least, I think that''s when the last one was born." "Okay," Varnol let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Kennol." "You''re welcome," Kennol said. "She''ll bring him up once she''s done with¡­ whatever that is. In the meantime, I thought I''d see what your current project was, and if I could possibly help you." "Help me?" Varnol asked. "I mean no offense, Lord Kennol, but I doubt that you would possess the necessary knowledge. Enchanting isn''t exactly something nobility does." "I don''t have to help with the enchanting portion itself," Kennol told him. "But I''m sure there are other ways I can help you as you work." Kennol pulled a stool from another table and moved it next to Varnol. "So," he said as he sat down. "What can I help you with?" 00123 "Everything alright?" Samantha asked upon seeing Ichtvar tied around the wings while hanging from a support beam in the ceiling from a rope tied around his tail, Nathan eating pancakes nearby like nothing was strange. She had arrived at the facility Nathan and Keith had purchased right after returning from destroying the Black Orb two weeks prior to find the bird hanging from a beam, tied up for whatever reason Nathan had. Cyrus was held in a baby carrier against her chest, and he was waving at the phoenix. "He had another one of Ichtvar''s BDSM fantasies," Keith told her. "He thinks that Ichtvar is doing them on purpose." "Oh?" Samantha looked at the phoenix, which looked at her back. "Are you, Ichtvar?" "I''m not responsible for them," the bird said plainly. "The dreams are Nathan''s own subconscious doing that to him." "Right," Nathan said. "They just happen to occur after I nearly die or majorly stress myself out. And this one, right after you return from showing Master Torzin where Evala''s world is located." "Total coincidences," Ichtvar said. Samantha turned her attention to the gate, which Nathan, Keith, and the government agents had finished constructing the night before. It was an archway of metal and stone fifteen feet in height and ten wide, runes glowing along it and on the floor around it. Nothing could be seen through the gate, but Samantha knew from the visits over the last two weeks that the lack of a view just meant it was off. Only Nathan and Keith could turn it on. Part of the reason the gate had taken them two weeks rather than the one to one and half they had expected was because it wasn''t alone. They had Master Torzin building an identical gate on the other side. The government had never managed to figure out how to construct them in pairs like that, but the pair of prodigies forged by the Well of Souls found that to be no obstacle and decided that it might be more efficient to work them in a pair rather than alone. According to their preliminary test results, the gates took less mana to run when working as a pair than alone. It wasn''t as if the cost actually mattered, with the mana orb hidden within each one able to supply it with all it needed, but there was a second bonus to it ¨C stability. The gates were much more stable when there was a connecting archway than when there wasn''t. As a result, they were far less prone to weakening or turning off on their own due to the movements of planets within their own dimensions. It wasn''t something Nathan and Keith knew happened, but the government was pleased to learn about it and how to create connecting gates. They were already working on building a connecting pair for the resource planet, which they were also building a facility on using the magitech the pair of prodigies created to protect it and filter the air. "You two are leaving right after you eat?" Samantha asked. "Yes," Nathan answered. "Are you sure there''s no way I can convince you against taking Cyrus?" She asked. "Time passes two and a half times faster in that dimension than it does here, and I''d rather not have him go through an accelerated growth." "It would take," Nathan said. "Something from the Ultimate Trinity showing up and offering to protect him while I''m gone to convince me of that. And I''d need to trust them. Ichtvar is coming with me and Endariv is still hiding because we haven''t reached the two-year mark. So no, you cannot." Samantha sighed, then sat beside Nathan, filling a plate with pancakes from the center of the table as Cyrus began blasting his father with orbs of green light. "We really need to figure out what those mean," Samantha told Nathan. "I still can''t figure it out, and that mental communication he doesn''t isn''t helpful with it." "He''s a baby, you''re not meant to understand him," Nathan told her. "Where''s Isabelle?" "You haven''t given her authorization to enter the facility," Samantha told him. "She''s with Katie, trying to get to know her better." Nathan nodded as he shoved another forkful of pancakes into his mouth. He was undecided on Isabelle, even after two weeks. Though he felt certain she had some ulterior goal, she seemed intent on being on everyone''s good side as well. Keith also trusted her because of his sight and cyber investigations into her. "Let her, then," Nathan told Samantha. "Don''t go into the game while I''m gone, okay? You don''t need to, so there''s no reason to." "I might do an extended Survival Challenge or two," Samantha told him. "Michael, William, Katie, and I are all individually better than Isabelle, and you two have made sure she holds no ill intent towards us. We can take her in and show her some training stuff. It would give me enough time to see if she''s worthy of you." "Fine," Nathan grumbled. "But you lead the journeys in, and no other Challenges or Dungeons, okay?" He didn''t want to come back and find out that she''d gotten hurt off in some Dungeon. Keith had given him an ominous warning about Samantha going into the game without him, the psychic''s power informing him something bad would happen. All three of them knew what would happen if Samantha died.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Nathan would lose control. They hadn''t told Nathan about the condition placed upon his soul by the Well of Souls, but Nathan knew himself enough to know what would happen if the woman he loved died. "I won''t, I promise," Samantha told him. "Keith told me about his vision. I''d feel a lot safer if the two most powerful people I knew who could enter the game did so with me, if he had a random vision attack him saying I might suffer a bad injury, possibly even death, going into the game." "Okay," Nathan let out a breath of relief. "Thank you." They resumed eating in silence as Samantha looked at the handful of mages in the emptied-out warehouse Nathan had chosen to build the gate in. Two of them were busy constructing a second gate, while the other three were working on building some sort of machine. The machine itself would be used for producing enchanted cards, the first thing they were producing. Four of the production lines would be created, tested, and then set to work. Then, the mages Nathan and Keith and interrogated and hired would begin work on some of the military units and their production lines. "Nathan," Samantha said. "Why is it that every time I''m here for the last week, there are mages who look like college students here? Don''t tell me you found a dozen super-powerful mages who all happen to be interested in enchanting." "No." She stared at Nathan, who continued eating without elaborating, and after a minute, turned her attention to Keith. "We decided to check the universities here and across the river," Keith explained. "For fresh, young talent who both met our requirements and whom we could trust. I had to haggle with Nathan a bit on that, but we managed to find fourteen young mages interested in magitech with the talent required and whom my sight said wouldn''t betray us. Most of the guilds and families were willing to part with them." "I find that hard to believe," Samantha said. "It''s not that hard," one of the employees spoke as they worked on the card machine. They weren''t that far away from the trio, and none of them even needed the greater hearing that came with awakening magic to overhear the conversation. "Pretty much every major magical power in the world knows about Nathan and Keith. They''re powerful, prodigious enchanters, are connected to an ancient, powerful mage, and one of them has a phoenix for a familiar. Our guilds and families are hoping that by allowing us to join Hunter-Ingram Magical Technologies, they manage to foster some goodwill, and possibly some connections as well." "Meanwhile," Nathan said. "These guys just wanted a chance to work on enchantments that were exclusive. That''s why we had them swear blood oaths." "Blood oaths?" Samantha asked. "They can''t be broken," Keith informed her. "They use a mix of the blood and magic of the person who makes it to forge it, though a necromancer''s touch is also required. As you know, I happen to be friends with a necromancer, and he was more than willing to help us." "They also can only be made willingly," the employee added. "So you can''t force a blood oath onto someone." "It''s a fail-safe from the Well of Souls," Ichtvar spoke up, incinerating the rope in an instant before flying over and landing on the table. "The necromancy is required because it''s part of the soul, but not the immortal part, that works in the blood oaths. However, the magic woven into the souls to allow blood oaths was designed to know if someone made it willingly or under duress or force, and it won''t register if it is. As you know, there are some things the Well of Souls doesn''t like." Samantha looked at the employees of the company, then back to Nathan and Keith, an eyebrow raised. "They know about the game," Keith told her. "And we mentioned a little about the Well of Souls and how it wants it destroyed. None of the finer details." "They also told us," one of the employees said. "That their company is aiming to help the government prepare for the reveal of magic, and that these gates will help them progress magitech pretty far, including their own research into how to destroy the game." "That''s correct," Keith nodded. "This first gate is intended on helping us with our major goal. We need it to get to a world to look into something relating to the game." Samantha gave him a worried look. "This entire room is set to light up," Keith told her. "If they listen in. And since our employees are over eighteen, their minds are sealed to the System. I did some checking, and they only connected people under the age of eighteen, since those older than that won''t be initiated. They''re also sworn into a blood oath to only discuss it in any form while in this room, when the alert is functioning and not lit up." "What do you mean by ''lit up''?" Samantha asked. "There are hidden runes all over this place," Keith explained. "They''ll light up in white and purple in a very obvious manner if we''re being observed by them. It''ll be impossible to miss. Anyway, once we finish eating here, we''ll-" Keith cut off as his eyes glowed, and when they faded, he pulled out his phone. As he began dialing a number, his phone began to ring, showing the same number he was calling. He answered, putting the call on speakerphone. "I''m with Nathan, Samantha, and Cyrus, at our headquarters," Keith said. "With our employees present as well. I''m already aware of the situation. Do you know what he''s doing?" "No," came the voice. "But it looks like the entire world is about to know. We''re monitoring the situation now, but my guess is that he''s heading straight towards you." "Fuck," Keith said. "Okay. Did he give any warning about this?" "No," the caller responded. "I called you the moment I received the report." "I had a vision of it," Keith said. "I was getting ready to call you when you called me. If he''s coming here, then we''ll handle it. But there''s nothing we can do. It''ll be impossible to stop it from hitting the media, too." "Right," the caller said. "How ready are you for production of the necessary goods?" "We''re still constructing the equipment," Keith told him. "Though Nathan and I have our own card printer ready, and a small arsenal of weapons we made over the last two weeks for Nathan''s personal use, but we can loan some out. I''m sure he''ll be fine with it." "No, I won''t be," Nathan muttered. "I''ll handle Nathan," Keith told the caller. "We''ll get what we can made. I take it you''ll try to do damage control until then?" "Yes," the man said. "Thanks. I need to go and handle this on my end. Goodbye, Keith." The call ended, and Keith rubbed his temples. "What''s wrong?" Samantha asked. "Nathan, the government''s going to need your weapons," Keith said. "No. They''re mine." "We can make more," Keith said. "They''re mine." "Nathan," Keith said. "Endariv left his den. He''s on a path that will likely lead him here. Right now. The entire damn world is about to find out magic exists, and that means the law of secrecy the human governments have convinced magical beasts to follow with Master Torzin''s help will no longer hold sway. Within a week, every damn magical creature in the world with a shred of intelligence and which isn''t a hermit of some sort will stop hiding, and mages across the globe will not keep themselves hidden." 00124 As most others panicked around him, Nathan finished eating breakfast, then took Cyrus from Samantha and walked outside to wait for the dragon to arrive. Only a few minutes passed before the dragon landed on the front lawn of the facility, curling his tail around himself as he lay on the ground to be more level with Nathan. Ignoring the traffic issues caused by unaware people seeing a massive dragon landing when they previous thought such creatures were myths, Nathan gave Endariv a disproving stare. "We had an agreement, Endariv," he said. "Two years." "I know," Endariv said. "Ichtvar mentioned earlier this morning that you were planning on going to another world to do some research. I decided to be a good uncle and offer to watch him for you. His safety is more important than the law of secrecy the humans have." "You''re right," Nathan said. "His safety''s more important than stupid human rules. That''s why I was going to take him with me." "There is still that chance," Endariv sat up, puffing out his chest. "So I came to offer my protective services. With me around, no harm shall come to him!" Nathan looked at Samantha, who had come out with Keith, then at Endariv. "Fine," Nathan said. "But you have to watch Samantha, too. She handles Cyrus. You''re a dragon, I don''t trust your skill with human infants." "But-" "We''ll be fine, Nathan," Samantha told him as Endariv began to protest. "Though I suppose this means you and Keith are going to delay leaving to make some gear for the government?" "No," Nathan answered. "But-" "Samantha," Keith interrupted her. "The government can manage however long we''re gone without our gear. Creating enough to supply them properly even in just the big cities would be a huge effort for us. A project taking months." "Why would the government need your guns?" Endariv asked Nathan. "To deal with criminal mages," Nathan answered. "And any creatures that decide to attack, now that they will no longer be kept in check." "I see," Endariv said. "No monsters in North America would do that. They are too scared of me and Kokiril." "Kokiril?" Nathan asked. "The dragon in the Rocky Mountains." "I though its name was-" "He has something like four hundred names," Endariv said. "I use ''Kokiril'' because that''s the one he prefers I use." "Oh," Nathan said, then handed Cyrus back to Samantha. "Daddy''s going away for a trip. Your momma and your Uncle Endariv are going to watch you. Behave for them, okay?" "You know he can''t-" Keith began, then shook his head. "Yeah, he understands you. He''s only a few weeks old, which makes it disturbing." "He''s my son," Nathan glared at Keith. "Not him," Keith said. "Just how he''s able to understand you. That''s not normal. Are we leaving now?" "Yes," Nathan answered as Samantha put Cyrus back into her carry vest, and he glared at Endariv. "I better return to a happy, healthy baby, or else!" "I understand," Endariv told him. "I''m going to watch him as Merlin watched me." "Watch him better than that!" Nathan said, then turned back to Samantha and gave her a kiss. "Question real quick, Samantha. If-" "Yes, you can sleep with a catgirl," she told him. "Or foxgirl, or wolfgirl, or whatever it is you come across that you find yourself wanting to sleep with. As long as I get to sleep with a male of the same type." Nathan gave her a confused look, then shrugged. "Okay," he said. "Anyway, if you go into the game while we''re gone, remember to hand Cyrus to someone else before entering. Luke is preferred. Or Mother or Father. That way, if you return and have blood on you, it doesn''t get on him." "Okay!" Samantha laughed. "I think I can take care of our son, Nathan." "I know," he said. "I just wanted to remind you of that, not getting blood on him is important. He''s a baby." "A long time ago-" Ichtvar began. "I''ll drown you again." The phoenix stopped, and Nathan looked at Samantha. "See you when we return." Samantha gave him another kiss, then remained outside as Nathan, Keith, and Icthvar reentered the building and approached the gate. Nathan turned it on, and for several seconds, the inside of the gate glowed. Then, the glow faded away, revealing the scenery of a village of brick and wood, beastkin of different varieties walking around, though most were catkin, like Evala had been. Nathan stepped through the gate, then Keith followed him, and Ichtvar brought up the rear. As soon as they were through the gate, Nathan shut it off, looking at the elderly catkin who approached them. "Welcome," the man greeted them. "Lord Ichtvar said you would be coming." "Hello," Icthvar waved a wing to the catkin. "Did you think I was lying or something?" "No," the elder smiled. "It is an honor to have you here once more, Lord Icthvar." "You can just call him ''Ichtvar''," Nathan told the man. "That''s what I do. Sometimes, I also call him-"Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Please don''t," Ichtvar said. "Did he tell you why we were coming?" Nathan asked. "He did not," the elder responded. "We''re here to visit the home of the deceased brother of a young woman named Evala," Nathan stated. "As well as look at any other property he once had which is no longer there." "May I ask why you want this?" The Elder asks. "We allowed the Lord Ichtvar and the demigod permission to build this gate as they said it would be used to facilitate inter-world communication, transport, and trade." "Because if you don''t," Nathan told him. "We''ll remove our gate and never build another back to this world. Anywhere on it. You will be shut out of our society, and you won''t have access to the weapons and equipment Keith and I are making which will assist in the survival of the game and challenges. It''s as simple as that." "We have survived on our own, without your technology, for generations," the elder told Nathan. "Evala mentioned this gun to us, and how you used her brother''s research for it. It did not seem that impressive, breaking so easily." "So easily?" Nathan asked. "You are mistaken. That was the first version. We have made much more powerful, much more resilient versions since then. I have also created a bomb which can kill a dragon fifteen centuries old." "Which frightens me," Ichtvar told the elder catkin. "He carries it around like it''s nothing, but if you ask me, I think Keith should be the one to hold it. Keith is the other young man here, he can only communicate through this nifty little orb they created. You can implant knowledge of two languages into it, and it will translate them." "It has multiple parts," Keith said, his voice echoing out in the local language after he spoke. "It''s this earpiece I''m wearing, with the mouthpiece attached. If I wanted, I could also input what I want to say onto a tablet, and it would give me the translation to say. "Please," Keith stepped up. "Allow us to look. We are willing to stay a few days to take down our own notes if you would prefer we didn''t remove his things. However, we know his research will prove quite useful to us in some of our endeavors, some for our work, some for something more personal. A quest from a higher power we were issued." "What higher power?" The catkin asked. "I think you know," Keith said, his eyes glowing. "Considering you''re a necromancer, which means you can read souls. It''s best if it''s not said aloud, for reasons which should be clear to you. One never knows who is observing." The elder looked between the two teens, then nodded, and Keith''s eyes stopped glowing. "Very well, then," he said. "I will lead you to Evala''s. She said to expect the two of you to wish to visit her." Keith and Nathan gave each other confused looks, then followed the elder catkin, a small crowd following them. They arrived at a two-story house built of packed dirt. "It was made with mud, which was left to dry," Keith told Nathan when the demigod commented about her dirt house. "Probably has metal rods inside the walls to help act as support." The elder catkin knocked on the wooden door, and a few seconds passed before the door was opened by Evala, who was carrying a pair of babies, each only a few weeks old. Both were boys, both with her white hair, ears, and cat tails, but they had different eye colors. The one on her right had dark blue eyes, while the one on the left had purple eyes. As Evala stared at Nathan and Keith in shock, the psychic and demigod looked at each other. "He has your eyes," they said in unison. "Are they ours?" Keith asked Evala in English as he turned off his translator. "Yes," she answered. "Come in." Nathan and Keith entered her home, sitting on the cushions against one wall as she closed the door, then sat across from them, the babies silent the entire time. Evala set them on the cushions beside her, then stretched. "They''re both so quiet," she said. "I''ve never seen babies this quiet." "My other son is quiet, too," Nathan said, then looked at Keith. "No funky magic." "Yeah," Keith nodded. "They''re both awakened, even though I''m not a demigod, and they both have normal magic." "Yours is psychic," Nathan said. "Which is rather annoying," Evala told them. "Psychic babies tend to mentally mature faster than normal. And your son seems to have some of that as well. I swear, the two of them communicate on their own." "So that one time," Nathan said. "Got you pregnant? With both of us?" "It''s rare, but it can happen," she said. "If two eggs went out instead of one. When I realized I was pregnant, I went into an extended Survival Challenge to bring me to the edge of pregnancy, then had them two days after I came out. I''m using my maternity peace from the game, though it''s pretty expensive." The maternity peace allowed a mother one, two, or three months exemption from the game, only available after giving birth. However, the cost for that bonus was steep, requiring a high amount of Points to purchase. It also did not pause the timer for Mandatory Challenges other than to delay any required during it to be performed within one week of leaving the maternity peace. "I-" Evala cut off as Nathan used force magic to lift his son off the cushion and bring the infant over to him. "Nathan?" "My baby." "Yes," Keith snorted. "He''s your baby." "That one''s yours," Nathan pointed at the other infant. "Not this one." "Yes, Nathan," Keith rolled his eyes, then looked at Evala. "Nathan might not want to leave him here." "That''s fine with me," she said. "I actually wanted to ask you two about that, especially after Lord Ichtvar showed up and mentioned building a gate." "Worried you''ll never see your sons again?" Keith asked. "No," Evala told him. "Actually, I was hoping you two might want them. I''d rather not care for children, especially ones not born of my mates." "Still a bitch," Nathan said. "I don''t know how things are in your culture," Evala told him. "But raising bastard children is frowned upon here. Normally, the parents would give the children up at birth to be raised by someone not related by blood in another village, someone who cannot have children of their own for some reason. However, I had knowledge you two might show up here, and decided I would see if it was unacceptable in your land as well." "Different culture," Keith nodded. "With us, it''s frowned upon, but we don''t normally just give up the kid. Nathan''s a bastard, himself, and he was raised by his mother and step-father, his mother''s husband. His other son is a bastard, too, but Nathan and Samantha are raising him. Nathan, keep in mind that things might not be acceptable here even if they are on Earth." "Or acceptable here when they aren''t on Earth." "Acceptance is subjective to the society," Keith said, then looked at Evala. "He''s still upset at you and himself." "I understand that," Evala told him. "To be honest, the incident with the two of you served as a wake-up call to me. I put in actual effort in my runs after, until the pregnancy was too much for me to continue fighting during. "So," she said. "The two of you will take your sons when you leave?" "Nathan will," Keith told her. "But I have never had any intention of having a child, even if I''m the godfather to Nathan''s. That said, I don''t have an issue with children, per se. I would be willing to take in my son under one condition." "What is it?" She asked. "You give Nathan and I complete access to your dead brother''s property," Keith told her. "His old room, where he studied, anything he wrote notes on, things he crafted, everything. And give us permission to take what we want from his things." Keith knew Nathan would want to take his ''nephew'' home, too, and that it would end up happening regardless of what he said. However, he knew it was an opportunity to get what they wanted more easily. Giving them access to things in exchange for them taking care of a child? It was an easy deal. "I will need to speak with Erovol, our other brother, regarding you taking stuff," she told him. "But I am sure he would not have an issue with you at least looking. Speaking of taking things, I had the journal when I left. Did you-" "We still had it during the Dungeon," Keith told her. "Once we left, it was gone, but we''d already memorized the entire journal by then and wrote up our own copy of it." "Okay," she told him. "I can show you to his study and room now, if you want." "We want," Keith told her, then looked at Nathan, who had both babies on his lap, cooing to them. "Or, well, I''ll look at them. Nathan can¡­ keep playing with the babies." "I''ll go," Nathan said. "I can look and hold at the same time." 00125 "Nathan?" Keith asked. "Yeah?" Nathan responded. "Why are you changing him in here?" "Because he pooped." Keith looked over at the violet-eyed catkin boy, whose diaper Nathan was changing, swapping the local cloth version for a disposable Earthen one. The infant, for his part, was just watching the demigod, his twin babbling in baby speech beside him. "I meant," Keith said. "Why are you doing it in here, instead of, say, the family room?" "Because he pooped," Nathan answered. "Why?" "Never mind," Keith shook his head. "Anyway, Nathan, I had a question regarding them." "Yeah?" "How do you plan on keeping them on Earth when the universe forces people back to their birth worlds?" "Icthvar told me that babies born of parents from two worlds," Nathan explained. "Can go to either without issue until they start the sexual maturation stage of puberty. Around that point, they start finding themselves ''drawn'' to one of the two worlds, up until they finish puberty, when they''re forced to live on one world over the other. That world is always the one they spent more time on before they started finding themselves drawn to one of the worlds." "I see," Keith said. "You asked Ichtvar that after seeing them?" "No," Nathan finished changing the baby''s diaper. "I asked him awhile ago, after we left the Isles of Darkness. He told me it back then." "Why did you ask him then?" Keith asked. "We''d both slept with Evala," Nathan answered. "So it made me wonder what would happen if two people of different worlds had a baby. So I asked him, and he told me." "Of course you were curious about that," Keith said as Nathan held up the baby, which started giggling. "Anyway, are you going to help me decipher these?" "Weren''t you going to wait until we were back in a safe zone for that?" Nathan asked, gently tossing the infant catkin into the air, then catching him. "That''s what we discussed yesterday." "I know," Keith said. "I just¡­ we''ve been here for two days already, and while I''m busy memorizing these and taking notes, I really want to know what they say." Nathan looked around the room using his magic sight. Evala and her family never considered that their deceased brother had written things in magic, hidden from normal gazes, and as a result, never realized that all of his notes and the walls, floor, and ceiling of his room were covered in research notes or comments of his own. "You can ignore the section you''re looking at," Nathan told him. "Why?" Keith asked. "Everything written in that rectangle is a box of people he''s slept with," Nathan stated. "Are you sure?" "It''s a box of names written on his headboard, in magic," Nathan said. "I''m willing to bet that if you ask those people if they''ve slept with him, they''ll confirm it." "He''s slept with this many women?" Keith asked. "Nathan''s messing with you," Ichtvar told Keith, landing beside him. "From what I learned, the brother was a virgin. He may have been legal both here and on Earth at nearly nineteen when he died, but he was waiting until he found a long-time mate." "Oh," Keith said. "What''s this, then?" "I can speak this language," Ichtvar told him. "But I can''t read it." "Nathan," Keith groaned. "Please translate." "Her brother left a message for us," Nathan said. "It says that the thing we''re looking for is in a compartment hidden on the underside of his bed, concealed with magic. It also says that his triplet brother is bisexual, as with all demigods, and would be more than willing to sleep with you, Keith, if you just asked." Keith and Ichtvar both stared at Nathan as the demigod continued playing with the babies, then the psychic sighed and slid under the bed on his bac, running his fingers over the section with the hidden compartment as he pushed his mana into it, unlocking it. Pulling away the panel, Keith reached into the bed and pulled out a thick notebook, then slid back out and started flipping through it. "This contains everything on the walls," Keith said after a few minutes. "And then some. It''s not just her brother who did this, either, Nathan. It says at the start that he continued the work of others. Centuries of work, to create this notebook." "And he left it for us?" Nathan asked. "Because he knew we''d continue it? He was a psychic, I did learn that much. Wait. You can read it?" "Yeah," Keith tossed it to him, and Nathan opened it.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Nathan looked through the pages, frowning as he went. "It''s in English." "Yeah," Keith said. "Read the first page." Nathan did, finding as he read it that the catboy had been a member of a long line of psychics and enchanters. Each one passed on their knowledge to the next using magic, and he when he realized the Overseers planned on killing him because of his research, he compiled it into a single text, using his psychic powers to learn which language they spoke and then his demigod powers to write in it. The entire purpose of the order was to research what was necessary for Nathan and Keith to perform their work, the catkin demigod naming them specifically. In the note to them, the catkin demigod wrote how their secret order began. A demigod psychic whose mother was a goddess of foresight, whose soul had been forged in a previous reincarnation. He had used his powers to find out how the game would be ended, and it led him to creating the secret order and finding out about the future existence of Nathan, Keith, and Samantha. "There''s also some bad news at the end," Keith said. "Bad news?" Nathan asked. "Yeah," Keith said. "Um¡­ read it." Nathan flipped to the back of the book, where a single note was left inside, written in the same handwriting as the rest of the book. By the time you return home, the one you love the most will have died in the game, Nathan Hunter. Sometimes, innocent runs turn out lethal. "This is joking, right?" Nathan asked. "I don''t think so," Keith swallowed hard. "Considering what''s at stake, I don''t think he''d have done that." Nathan dropped the book and ran out of the house, charging straight to the gate as horror filled him. He burst through the gate, startling the workers in his factory. Looking around, he saw that Samantha wasn''t there. Guessing she would be at home, Nathan ran home, his System-enhanced speed making him faster than any car. When he arrived, he reached the front door just in time to hear two thuds and a gory explosion, followed by an ear-splitting scream. Bursting into the house, he found Michael ripped to shreds, Isabella dead with her chest ripped open, and Samantha with several large holes in her body, along with a quite plump stomach. William was still alive, but wounded, his arm in a sling and bandages around his head, a patch over his eyes. As soon as he saw Nathan, he looked away. Nathan looked at his parents, it was his mother who had screamed. Grateful Luke and that part of his family weren''t there, Nathan stepped over to Samantha''s body, kneeling down and gingerly touching her, feeling the warmth leaving her body. For several moments, there was silence. Then, Nathan looked up and met William''s single-eyed gaze, his face a mask with no emotion. "What happened?" He asked, his voice low and unnaturally calm. "We did some training stuff yesterday," William told him, looking down. "Samantha realized she was pregnant towards the end of it, after missing a period and taking a few tests. So we went in today for a longer run. She was leading the group, and she accidentally selected Normal Difficulty, which none of us noticed. We''d gone to the restroom, the three of us escorting her, as usual, and a pretty strong one showed up. It was near the end of the run, putting her to what we estimated would be the end of the pregnancy so she could surprise you when you returned, and¡­ it and the others overwhelmed us. They''d apparently been hiding from us just how many of them there were, and when they attacked, it was en masse. I-I''m sorry. We tried to save her, Nathan, we tried to protect her. If she weren''t pregnant, she could have fought better with us, but she couldn''t, so we tried to do what we could to make up for it, and-" "Enough," Nathan said, standing, and his parents and comrade could see the pure, unfiltered rage in his eyes, the faint white glow around him caused by his magic starting to leak out in a heavy amount. "Ichtvar was right. If we took too long to destroy the Soul Engine, her or Keith would die." He grit his teeth, his mask disappearing as his fury filled his face and voice. "If it weren''t for this fucking game," Nathan snarled, his clothes beginning to ripple from the force of his magic beginning to swirl around him. "Things would be a lot different, but at least she would be alive. Tell me: what is the official statement regarding the reveal of magic? It''s been a day now, hasn''t it?" "Just a little bit," William told him. "The governments have stated that they''re aware of the situation, they''re working on dealing with it, and some other stuff, but the actual big statements haven''t been made yet. It was kind of unexpected. The US is doing ours this evening, and I think the rest of the world is looking for it, with the other governments looking to see what we do and say." "Good," Nathan forced calm into his voice, though everyone could still hear the fury in it. "Keith, tell the director that I am making a statement there. I''m going to need some resources as well, so make sure that the list is met. Ichtvar, find a fucking necromancer with a forged soul. A demigod if possible. Bring their ass here, and you have one day. Her body is not to be buried." "You can''t bring her back, Nathan," Keith said from the doorway, having followed Nathan with Icthvar, the book and babies in his arms. "I''m not planning on bringing her back," Nathan growled. "I want that fucking necromancer to pull her soul out of the fucking Soul Engine, no matter how much fucking power it takes him or her. We''re going to lend him a mana orb for it as well, to ensure he has the necessary power. "Ichtvar," Nathan turned his gaze to the phoenix. "I believe I gave you an order. You will obey. Immediately. I am commanding this as a prince of the gods, regardless of whether or not that has a magical hold on you." "Your soul," Ichtvar said. "Was forged to be one of the three most powerful the Well of Souls ever forged. Much of what you''re about to do will be considered irrational by many, Nathan. Despite that, I have no intentions on disobeying you. It might be possible, but it might also take me a few days." "You have one." "Nathan," Ichtvar said. "I will try to find one as soon as possible, but there are limitations even I suffer, and the universe is a massive place." "Then get to work!" Nathan snapped, and the phoenix disappeared in a flash of flames. The demigod turned his gaze to Keith. "I''m going to tell the fucking world about the game. I''m also going to tell them that I''m going to destroy the fucking game. Make sure the director knows that when you tell him I''m doing the announcement. Then, I need those resources. Immediately. Let''s do some work using his research and our own. The sooner we destroy that fucking thing, the better." Keith handed Nathan the babies, and the demigod went up to his room, where Cyrus was napping in his crib. Sitting on his bed, Nathan held the two catkin babies against him, breaking down crying as he pulled his magic back into himself. He really wanted to satisfy his desire to kill people, and hoped an Overseer or two would come near him soon. Even if they didn''t, he would ensure their last moments were spent in terror as they realized their plans were destroyed by him. While he might have wanted to destroy the game before to protect Samantha and Cyrus, her death flipped the trigger built into his soul. Nothing would stop him from pursuing its destruction, and with his lack of need to enter the game ever again, the Overseers wouldn''t be able to manipulate his death like he began to suspect they did for Samantha upon realizing how dangerous the trio were. Praying to his true father, Nathan hoped he accomplished his goal much sooner than projected. 00126 "Most of you," Nathan said into the microphones once he stepped up to it, utilizing a technique Ichtvar told him demigods possessed to allow anyone who heard his voice to understand him in their native tongue, even through a recording. Even if the announcement was technically only being broadcast to the US, they knew that the rest of the world was watching and would be watching, streaming it on their own. "Are probably wondering ''what is going on'' after you saw Endariv, the dragon, fly overhead. After he did that, creatures from myth and legend have begun coming out of the woodwork. "The simple truth is," Nathan said. "For more than a thousand years, the various mythical creatures have kept a low profile. Governments across the globe have bribed them into hiding, and the creatures benefited from this arrangement because no one hunted them. After all, not many were known about, and the population of mages in the world is extremely small. "However," he said. "The bribes came at a steep price. More than half of the US national budget went to it, and most nations of the world contributed to bribing Endariv, that dragon you saw, to keep him from doing as he pleased. It worked, however, until circumstances changed. Circumstances beyond the control of any government. "Nearly a year ago," Nathan told the world. "Laboor High School suffered a tragedy. Nearly everyone there who was eighteen died, leaving less than five alive. Their bodies were cremated under the statement that the biological weapon that attacked them needed it. The rooms their blood was shed in were sanitized thoroughly, and a mysterious enemy was at large, a group which targeted schools all over the world, no matter the status of the country. No one knew who it was, but their attacks only struck those who were eighteen. The survivors were taken to secure facilities to ensure they did not possess any contagions and have been monitored since to ensure no other fallout occurs. "At least," he said. "That was the official statement released. In truth, what was occurring was rather simple. Schools which, on the day of targeting, had a number of eighteen-year-olds present equaling a power of two and numbering at least sixty-four were targeted. It was otherwise random. "The victims," Nathan told the world, and images on the screen began to appear, a profile image of each victim of the attacks, starting with those who died in the Tutorials. "Were placed into a dimensional space created through magic, then forced to fight monsters and each other for survival in a cruel series of death games. Time was halted outside of the dimension for the rest of the universe. "This," he said, the images continuing, only eight taking up the screen at a time before starting a new batch, remaining on the screen for two seconds total. "Was perpetrated by an outside force from another world. From another dimension. It is not something unique to Earth, but something that is occurring across the mortal realm. Due to how it was begun and how long it took the gods to realize what was going on, the gods themselves are not capable of stopping it. "Back in April," Nathan said. "My high school underwent the Tutorial. We were the first to have eight make it out, and it was how we discovered something important. Only eight could leave, but the Final Challenge was so brutal that it took several runs before a group managed to have even that many. "After completing the Tutorial," Nathan told everyone. "Survivors are forced to perform more Challenges again and again. They first have one month before the next required one, then two, then three, then every six from then on. They can enter the other dimension at will and train, undergoing optional challenges. "Ever since this began millions of years ago," Nathan stated. "Many mages, demigods, warriors, and inventors have attempted to find a way to stop this. They have failed. In fact, they didn''t even know the background behind it. That information came to light recently. Another species is using everyone to fix issues of their own dimension, of the aftermath of a foul disease that wiped out most life there, leaving behind only foul monsters and making it inhospitable for them on any world. "There is a group of us," he said. "Who are working to stop this. We know more about the background than we can share, and the Overseers, the beings who created the game, believe we will fail. However, they''re scared of the efforts we have made. They''ve realized that for the first time, there is a tangible threat to their system. "Two days ago," Nathan said. "My company, Hunter-Ingram Magitech, a company specializing in enchantments and magitech, created the first permanent two-way gate to another world that doesn''t drain resources. The previous version, which was used to access a barren world used to harvest the resources used to bribe Endarive, cost billions of dollars per year to maintain. Hunter-Ingram Magitech''s gate cost a few thousand dollars, and won''t cost much more than that to maintain per year, if even that much. Before we get back to things, I do want to mention that using the gates will come at a fee. "The plan," Nathan told everyone. "Was to use the gate to access another world in order to receive information from someone who had researched the System. It was also a preliminary run of the gate to make sure it worked. We are in the process of constructing more, leading into various worlds and dimensions. Ultimately, we were planning on turning Earth into a hub for sharing knowledge across the entire universe for the sole purpose of increasing our own research to better enable us to take down the System for good. "Keith Ingram, my friend and business partner, another survivor from the Tutorial run of my high school," Nathan said. "And I are the leading force in challenging the System. The Overseers are scared of us because we have produced tangible results. We have ripped holes in their dimensions, located the source of power that fuels the System and their temporary dimensions resulting in them needing to hide it better and perform some patches to make it more difficult to enter, and have caused other problems for them.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "Today," Nathan said. "My girlfriend went into the game to advance her pregnancy with our triplet sons to the point where she could give birth soon after leaving it. This can be done utilizing a safe type of Challenge that we''ve run plenty of times before. The Overseers decided to send a warning to me, and they killed her while she was inside of it. "Now," Nathan said. "What does that have to do with Endariv deciding to break his oath? In about fourteen years, everyone who turns eighteen will go through the Tutorial Challenges on their eighteenth birthday. The laws of secrecy would become impossible to keep. "So a few weeks ago," Nathan continued. "I went to Endariv with a deal. I promised him better enchantments made by myself and Keith in exchange for him keeping the secret and staying put. I informed him about the game, and we came to a deal that he would not have to hide himself any longer two years from now, after the governments were prepared for the world to have magic as a common thing once more. Hunter-Ingram Magitech is in the process of producing equipment for them to help deal with the magical creatures that may cause chaos, and they are enlisting the help of mages and survivors of the System. "The reason that he broke the oath early," Nathan explained. "Was because he found out I was planning on going to another dimension and wanted to offer to take care of my son, who I had with my girlfriend." Nathan took a deep breath, doing his best to hide the rage he felt while keeping his expression serious. "That honesty makes things a lot easier for me," he said. "As my son likes to use magic, even at only a few weeks old. As the son of a demigod, he was born with it awakened, already able to use it, and he does so quiet often. In fact, we have him over there-" Nathan pointed towards Keith, who was out of sight of the cameras. The infant was sitting in his baby car seat beside Keith, who had wrapped it in a barrier of purple force magic. "-wrapped up in a barrier to keep his spells from flying into view of the cameras," Nathan said. "It would be problematic to take him out in public if we had to worry about his tendency to summon orbs of light and hit me with them. "A selfish reason," Nathan said. "But I care about him more than anyone else in the world. I want to destroy the System and the Overseers to ensure my son doesn''t have to go through this. And now, they attacked my girlfriend to send a message to me. That has only made my determination to end this stronger. "So for those of you," Nathan said. "Who have teens who might be caught up in the game soon, do not worry to much. While I cannot promise progress immediately, my goal is to eliminate the System entirely by the end of the year. "However," Nathan continued. "There is now the issue of the world being aware of magic, that magical creatures are loose among you. Hunter-Ingram Magitech is working to ensure that the governments of the world will be able to deal with any problems that arise even after we remove the System from existence. We are also working to produce items which improve the lives of even ordinary people. Some of these will be hitting shelves soon. "We do apologize," Nathan told the world. "For the reveal happening not by government choice but by Endariv deciding to be an uncle to my son. There might be some small bits of chaos as things settle down due to lack of preparation, but the governments of the world will do their best to maintain order. "Thank you," he said. "And this concludes my time." Nathan stepped away from the podium and walked over to Keith, who released the barrier around Cyrus. Nathan pulled his son out of the carrier, and was promptly met by a white orb of light to the face. They waited as the Director of the Department of Magical Affairs informed everyone of resources they could go to if there was an issue of magical nature, as well as a few new laws that were being put into place to adjust for the now-public nature of magic. Once that concluded, Nathan and Keith were met by the director, who thanked Nathan for the speech and commented on Nathan''s lack of swearing and rage. "Keith was keeping me calm," Nathan stated. "Ichtvar insisted on it." The phoenix insisted that Nathan and Keith perform a mental link again so that the psychic could stabilize Nathan''s emotions during the speech, to avoid the demigod going on a rage-fueled, expletive-laden rant on international television. "Ah, yes," the director said. "The ancient phoenix who has proved quite¡­ interesting. Is he with you?" "I sent him out on a mission earlier," Nathan stated, only to feel Ichtvar''s presence back on Earth. "Though it seems he''s returned. We should get going, I want to find out why he''s back." "I''ll see you around," the director said. Nathan and Keith left the conference center the announcement was made in, then drove back to the factory, where several more machines had been built, another four gates nearly constructed. The phoenix was sitting on the table used for meals, and standing beside him was a girl who looked to be only eighteen or nineteen. She had the same platinum-blond hair as Nathan, as well as similar, deep blue eyes, her own flecked with gold. Her body possessed curves that would ordinarily make Nathan interested, but he failed to notice them as he looked at the young woman with her magical aura suppressed. He did not find her attractive, but instead, felt a brotherly bond to her, one he had only felt before with his own twin, years ago. That told him all he needed to know about her. "Huh," Keith said. "She looks like she could be your sister, Nathan." "That''s because I am," the girl stepped forward. "My name is Tilara, and like Nathan, I am a child of Ulmant, god of sex. Your familiar here found me earlier and informed me that one of my brothers was looking for a demigod necromancer with a forged soul. Even if we''ve never met, we''re still siblings. I''d like to help you out any way I can." "You know," Ichtvar told Nathan. "I actually knew her, two universes ago. Well, her incarnation then. I was surprised to find soul on my search for someone meeting your requirements. Had to do a triple-take on her soul just to make sure I was reading it right, too. She''s affiliated with necromancy, so she meets your requirements to a great degree." "Ichtvar has explained the situation," Tilara told Nathan. "You wish for me to pull your girlfriend''s soul out of the Soul Engine, so that she may pass on in peace and not suffer." "I don''t want her to suffer," Nathan told Tilara, a low growl in his throat as he spoke. "But before you rescue her, I need you to help me with something else first." "What is more important than pulling Samantha out of the Soul Engine?" Keith asked him in shock. "Come on," Nathan told Tilara. "Let''s go to Master Torzin''s forge. He called me a bit ago and said he had the things I requested there." "The forge?" Keith asked. "Nathan, you''re not going to play with her blood, are you?" "No," Nathan said. "But I need something else done before we summon Samantha''s soul out of the Soul Engine. Which is why we''re going now, so that we can get her out sooner. Let''s go." 00127 "I can''t believe I let you talk me into that," Keith muttered. "I didn''t ''talk you into that''," Nathan rolled his eyes as he pulled Cyrus out of the playpen and carried him into the dining room, setting the infant on the table. "I asked you, told you why I wanted it, and you said ''yes''." "Still," Keith shook his head. "I''m surprised I let myself agree to that." "Cyrus, give me your arms," Nathan said, and his son held out his hands, as if expecting to be picked up. "In a minute, Cyrus." Nathan picked up a metal cuff made of a dark gray metal, set with a trio of gems, a purple amethyst, a blue sapphire, and a clear diamond. He slipped it onto Cyrus''s left wrist, and the cuff shrank to fit the infant''s small arms. Cyrus stared at it, and Nathan picked up an identical cuff and slid it onto his son''s right wrist. Then, he picked up an amulet made of the same metal, hanging from a chain of the same metal, and set with the same trio of gems as the cuffs, placing it around his son''s neck. While the amulet stayed the same size, the chain adjusted itself, links disappearing until it was short enough it could not be removed. Finally, he picked up a ring of the same metal, three smaller versions of the jewels set into it, and slipped it onto his son''s right thumb, the ring shrinking to fit. "There we go," Nathan said, then looked at his sister. "Thank you, Tilara, for the assistance." "Honestly?" She asked. "Never in all my life did I think something like that was possible, Nathan. It was an interesting experience." "Yes, it was," Keith sighed, then looked at William, who was passed out on one of the couches in Master Torzin''s living room. The wizard had stayed up watching the infants during the night, apart from the brief few minutes when Nathan needed Cyrus. "Did you tell William why you wanted him to do that to the sapphires?" "To have him infuse his mana into them?" Nathan asked. "No. Why?" "Just curious," Keith looked at the jewelry Cyrus wore as Nathan picked the infant up, only for his son to begin striking him with magic. "Where are the twins?" "Father has them right now," Nathan answered. "How do you feel?" "I can''t exactly feel anything but amusement at the moment," Samantha''s voice came out of the cuff on Cyrus''s left wrist. The project Nathan wanted Tilara for involved pulling Samantha''s soul out of the Soul Engine and binding it into one of the cuffs, so that they could be together forever. Nathan''s soul was bound into the other cuff, though until his body died, he could continue to inhabit it. To the demigod, possessing his own body felt weird, but he also found it somewhat amusing and interesting. The project had taken all night to prepare, and he was quite hungry as a result of it. Hungry and tired. But it worked, and Samantha was no longer suffering from the agony of being used by the Soul Engine. That improved his mood considerably, though the strong hatred and desire to destroy the Soul Engine remained. He knew it was from the forging in his soul, and he didn''t care. All that mattered now was protecting his son. Well, his sons, but the other two didn''t matter as much to Nathan as Cyrus did. "It still amazes me," Tilara said. "That we managed to bind a soul after it passed on. I''ve never heard of that before." "We couldn''t have managed it without you," Nathan told her. "You were necessary to do that." "I know," Tilara told him. "It still amazes me, though. It was supposedly impossible. I suppose if we began the enchanting process as the alloy was made, it becomes possible." "And probably takes a demigod, too," Keith said. "You''re not feeling pain, are you, Samantha?" "You mean from when I was in the Soul Engine?" She asked. "There''s some lingering pain, but it''s going away. Cyrus seems to have realized it and is doing something that''s making it easier to deal with. I know you''re in the right cuff, Nathan, but you made four things?" "Keith is in the amulet," Nathan explained as the psychic began opening up cabinets and the fridge, pulling out stuff to make breakfast with. "And Cyrus is in the ring. Keith, I want pancakes. Can you make them?" "Sure," Keith answered. "You''ll trust my cooking?" "This time," Nathan answered. "I''m exhausted from forging and enchanting all night. If you make it taste bad, I''ll zap you." "You bound Cyrus?" Tilara asked. "Why?" "So that he''d stay with us, even after he died, too," Nathan answered. "I hope that takes him a very long time." "Uh," Tilara interjected. "Cyrus is using magic to ease your pain?" "Yeah," Samantha responded. "He''s our little prodigy." "Are the awareness enchantments working?" Nathan asked. "Other than the one allowing you to hear us?" "Yes," Samantha responded. "I can hear, see, smell, and all that. Why did you enchant the jewelry so that they can''t be removed except after death?" "So that only Cyrus can wear them," Nathan stated. "Hopefully, he''ll pass them on to some son or daughter of his own." "Yeah, I don''t think that''s going to happen," Keith muttered. "What''s that?" Nathan asked. "Nothing," Keith answered. "Just that¡­ I used my psychic power to see his future awhile back. He lives a pretty long life, but never has any kids." "Oh," Nathan fixed his gaze on Cyrus. "Change that future." "What now?" Tilara asked. "You managed to rescue Samantha from the Soul Engine with my help, but I think they patched up the hole we busted into the dimension, and probably reinforced the barrier." "Yeah," Nathan said. "The mana orb broke, too."Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "That thing," she said. "Was strange. Using the mana in it¡­ it felt like I was touching the universe itself. How did you two create such a thing?" "Long story," Keith told her. "As for our plan, we''re going to keep looking for a way into the dimension housing the Soul Engine. We''ve already created our Deus Ex Machina, all we need is to enter the dimension, and it will be gone for good." "What is your Deus Ex Machina?" Tilara asked. "Why are you so confident it''ll do what you want it to do?" "Because it will," Nathan answered. "Nathan, give me Cyrus," Keith said, eyes glowing purple. "Why?" Nathan asked. "I think he''s about to poop," Keith told Nathan. "I''ll change him for you." Nathan could tell Keith was lying, but figured he should listen anyway. If the psychic''s sight was telling him that Nathan shouldn''t be holding Cyrus, he wasn''t going to argue with that. He handed his son over to his friend, and Cyrus began staring at Keith, a grumpy look on his face. "He thinks you''re mean for taking him away from me," Nathan said. "Yes," Keith said. "I''m receiving that from him loud and clear. Can I see your necklace, too?" Nathan still wore the necklace from which a small storage orb hung, for no reason other than he liked it as an accessory. "Sure," Nathan pulled off his necklace, trusting his friend''s reasoning. He handed Keith the necklace, and the psychic pulled it on. "Hey!" "Oh, leave it," Keith rolled his eyes. "You won''t be wearing it soon enough. See you in a few minutes." "See you?" Tilara asked. "What do you mean? Nathan''s not leaving, is he? Are you?" She looked at Nathan, who shrugged, then found himself elsewhere, standing before the Overseer he''d met before and four others of similar appearances to him, presumably other Overseers. They were surrounded by an endless machine made of a white material that flowed and ebbed, pulsing as it glowed. He could feel the raw power, the immense mana, that flowed around him. He could sense the souls contained within it. It surrounded him, the six of them in what appeared to be a mixture between a tunnel and a chamber. Some areas of it rose up from the ground, others protruded out of the walls, and more still hung from the ceiling, everything polygonal in form. "So this is the Soul Engine," Nathan looked around, reaching into his back pockets, letting his hands rest there. He could feel the card he''d placed in his back pocket, warm from the heat of his body. It was their Deus Ex Machina, and Keith had told him to keep it there, the card protected from bending out of shape or folding by special enchantments placed into it to ensure it remained usable. Keith had to have guessed the Overseers would summon him upon realizing their actions against Samantha only infuriated the demigod and increased his resolve to destroy the Soul Engine. That was why he asked for Cyrus and the necklace. It was Nathan''s real body which was pulled, not a copy, which meant both Cyrus and the necklace likely would have gone as well had Nathan not handed them over, and neither he nor Keith wanted Cyrus caught up in itwhen Deus Ex Machina was used. The necklace contained an abundance of resources as well, which Keith didn''t want to lose. "Yes, Nathan," the Overseer who spoke to him before spoke. "This is the Soul Engine. You still intend on destroying it, even after our warning to you." "Of course I do," Nathan stated. "It is impossible," the Overseer told him. "Can you not feel the vastness of it? Do you not see for yourself how impossible your goal is?" "Yes," Nathan looked around. "It is¡­ more than impossible for me to do by myself." "Even those mana orbs of yours," the Overseer said. "Wouldn''t manage to destroy this, Nathan. That temporary tear you created was mended in moments. That angered us, by the way. You may have created useful weapons and gear for helping restore our dimension, but that damage you caused? That was nasty. Cease your fruitless attempts at destroying this thing. It will never work. Even the gods themselves would never succeed." Nathan pulled his left hand out of his back pocket and placed it against a section of the Soul Engine. It filled an entire dimension, just as he had been told. He could sense that, even as insignificantly small as he was. Upon touching it with his bare hand, rather than through his shoes where he stood on it, the feel of the souls contained within it threatened to overwhelm him, the sheer force of mana beyond even what his mana orbs could make. He pulled his hand away and looked at the Overseer, who looked smug. "Do you see now?" The one who had spoken asked. "It is impossible, Nathan. Nothing you and Keith could come up with would ever hold the potential of destroying this. Give it up. Give up your quest, and we will disconnect your son from the System, prevent him from ever entering it." "See, that''s a problem," Nathan said. "I''m rather fond of him, and my other sons, too. And they''ll have children, who will have children, who will have children¡­ and I don''t trust you. Thanks, but no thanks. I''m going to destroy this." "You can''t," the Overseer said. "It''s impossible. Even we couldn''t manage it, and we created it." "See," Nathan said. "That''s where you''re wrong. I can destroy it. You said ''we''. Am I correct in assuming the five mutes are Overseers as well?" "We are the Overseers," the main one told him. "The five of us created the Soul Engine, designed the System." "Any others?" Nathan asked. "No," the Overseer answered. "It is us, but do not think you can hurt us, Nathan. We are-" "Overly arrogant," Nathan stated as he pulled his right hand out of his back pocket, bringing with it the card kept back there. "Everything can be destroyed, and the Well of Souls created me to destroy this. Because the Well of Souls created me, there is nothing that''s impossible for me when it comes to the quest it''s assigned." He showed them the front of the card. It was black, with "Deus Ex Machina" spelled out at the top. "This is my trump card," Nathan told him. "My Deus Ex Machina." The moment he spoke the title of the card, the spell contained within it activated. It was created through the culmination of all of Nathan''s and Keith''s research into enchanting. They spent a full week pouring mana into it from a mana orb dedicated solely to feeding the enchantment, and Nathan had begun to learn soul magic from Keith''s necromancer friend in order to understand the necessary parts of the enchantment. Before the Overseers could react, even with their own enhanced speed, the card absorbed all of the mana attached to Nathan''s soul, erupting into flames that spread out. They licked at the Overseers, drawing out the mana from their souls as well to fuel the all-consuming flames and blast. When the flames touched the Soul Engine, it drew upon the mana in the souls within those sections, spreading further, the which followed vaporizing everything a moment later. As that happened, Nathan felt his soul snap away, his body destroyed within moments of activating the card. He was aware, but contained no senses, only his thoughts. For an unknown period of time, he hung in that state, then his senses returned to him, awareness of his surroundings returning. He was within the cuff only a moment before Keith and Tilara screamed, William waking up with a start, screaming in pain as well. Keith had suggested the possibility of the System''s end being painful for those who were connected to it, and the response of the three still-living players in the building confirmed it for him. The three of them clutched their heads and fell to the floor, and Nathan watched, marveling at his new form of viewing the world around him. It looked to Nathan like Keith had placed Cyrus back in the playpen after Nathan left, likely in anticipation of the end. When the screams finally faded, Keith stood up, gasping as he clutched his chest. "What was that?" Tilara asked. "That," Nathan said, and three pairs of eyes turned to the cuffs. "Was the end of the System. The Soul Engine is no more. Keith, did you finish putting them into place?" "Yesterday, while you were preparing for your speech," Keith confirmed, eyes glowing. "The pathways leading to Earth sealed upon your death. No more can mortal or god alike enter or exit this world, the gates permanently closed." "Good," Nathan said. "Because in that which will fill the universe in the coming years, I want my sons protected from those who would want revenge upon me for the chaos the universe will soon enter." If the estimates of Keith, Ichtvar, and Neunar were correct, then the universe would, indeed, turn to chaos with the destruction of that dimension. "Yeah," Keith said. "So!" Nathan said. "You get to play daddy now! Raise him right, ''cause don''t forget, I can still generate mana in this form. I''ll whup that punk ass of yours if you treat him wrong. As soon as I figure out how to cast magic like this." 00128 (Epilogue) "And remember, Cyrus," Nathan spoke to his five-year-old son. "You are definitely more scared of it than it is of you." "Nathan, stop," Samantha said. "Cyrus, sweetie, it''s going to be okay. The wolf is just looking at you." "It scary," Cyrus said quietly, staring into the golden eyes of the large wolf. A pair of horns grew from the beast''s head, a sign that it suffered a mutation as a result of Earth''s mana no longer flowing away along the pathways of the universe, as a world''s mana normally did. Because of the seal Nathan and Keith had put in place for when Nathan died, they ensured that no one could enter Earth anymore, but it also ensured nothing left. For five years, disasters rocked the world, the terrain altered, monsters mutated, and people died. Society began to die out, technology no longer able to function through some unknown magical anomaly. At least, to normal people. Keith kept quiet about the extra seal he and Nathan placed on Earth, one which shut down any technology made with normal science and any magitech over a certain reading. The effects of the mutations and disasters reached even the island Nathan had purchased, though with Endariv guarding it, no one dared come too close. Because of that, Keith brought Cyrus to the island to wait out the disasters and the governmental shutdowns. Though the boy had a habit of wandering away from his uncle, listening to his father''s advice rather than anyone else''s. That resulted in situations such as the one he currently found himself in: trapped in a cave with a mutated wolf at its entrance, staring at him like Cyrus stared at mangoes. "Cyrus, sweetie," Samantha spoke to the trembling infant, who had grown used to the talking cuffs around his wrists, the ring around his finger, and the amulet around his neck. "It''s going to be okay. All you have to do is wait for Uncle Keith to show up, and he''ll save you. Your daddy''s going to be a good boy and put a barrier up, like I told him to." "Nah," Nathan said. "Cyrus, remember the lightning bolt spell? Zap the wolf, buddy! It''ll run away!" "You know Keith is going to realize you taught him that, right?" Samantha asked as Cyrus put his hands forward, palms facing each other, but spaced a few inches apart. "He''s already looking for Cyrus, he''s going to hear the bolt, and probably see it with his psychic sight the moment Cy drops his shield to cast the spell." That was exactly Nathan''s intention. Cyrus kept a shield up at all times which prevented him from being seen by psychic powers, but always dropped it when casting other spells. "Aaaaaaaaaaand FIRE!" Nathan exclaimed. Sparks danced between Cyrus''s hands, then a bolt of lightning flashed forth, striking the wolf in the center of its head. The beast stiffened, its muscled locked up, then collapsed to the side. A moment later, Keith appeared in front of the cave, a look of utter exasperation on his face. The psychic wore a pair of faded skinny jeans stained with something pink and something purple, along with a blue sleeveless which showed no signs of any stains. He also wore a pair of enchanted leather boots, which Cyrus wore a matching pair of. "Nathan, seriously?" Keith asked as Cyrus babbled and ran to his godfather. "You taught him how to throw lightning bolts? He''s five!" "That''s what made it fun!" Nathan laughed. "Good job, Cyrus!" "Daddy said ''good job''," Cyrus said as Keith picked him up. "Your daddy needs to go in time-out," Keith told Cyrus. "Good job with the wolf. Come on, it''s almost time to raise the island." "Finally," Nathan said. "It''s about damn time we got this thing into the sky." "You know why we haven''t," Keith told Nathan. "It''s not my fault I kept running into issues, and I had to take care of Cyrus on top of that. He keeps escaping the golems every time I set them to watching him." "You do know he''s figured out how to use the pathways that are linked here on Earth, right?" Nathan asked, causing his friend to groan. "Why did you teach him?" Keith asked. "He didn''t," Samantha said. "Cyrus figured it out on his own." "Me smart," Cyrus commented. "Yes, you are," Keith tapped the boy on his nose. "Come on, let''s get going." Keith began walking through the island''s forest, until he reached a stone shack at the center of it. A flame burned in the stone fire ring, seemingly without any fuel. As they passed it, the flames began swirling, growing and twisting, until Keith waved at the flames and forced them back down. "Stop that, Nathan!" "You can''t prove that was me." "I don''t need to prove it was you!" Keith exclaimed. "You''re the only one who does that!" Nathan couldn''t help it. Stuck inside of his son''s right cuff, all he could do was observe the world around himself, talk to anyone within range, and play with magic. Even though he was bound into the cuff, everything was still attached to his soul, meaning he could still build up his magical power and mana reserves, as well as use it.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. So he liked to practice anytime he could, and the enchantment-powered flames in the fire ring set exactly into the center of the island was something he enjoyed practicing on. Enchanted flames were more difficult to control than normal ones. "Let''s go," Nathan said. "I want to get this sucker up in the air already. Did you warn Endariv?" "Yes," Keith answered. "He''s flown off of it to watch the events and not potentially get an upset stomach." "Where''s Ichtvar?" Nathan asked as they entered the shack, a single-room building with two beds, a kitchen, and several chests, drawers, and shelves filled with supplies. "He''s normally basking in the fire out front." The reason Keith created the enchanted fire ring was for the phoenix, who wanted to stay near them even if his contract to Nathan had ended. "He said something about hunting down a nightmare posing as a unicorn and killing it," Keith said. "Clarification, please." "The unicorn," Keith waved a hand, and the illusion concealing the trapdoor in the center of the floor disappeared, the trapdoor itself opening, revealing a set of stairs leading down. "That contracts to every demigod on Earth except for you? Is apparently rather nasty. It''s not a nightmare, but it might as well be one. So Ichtvar said he was going to go kill it." "Ah," Nathan said as Keith began descending the steps, runes lighting up along the walls to illuminate the path. "Did I ever tell you that I figured out what was up with Icthvar''s BDSM fantasies? Since he''s not here, I can tell you without him denying everything." "No, you didn''t," Keith said. "What was up with those, and why was he so insistent that it was you?" "Because they were him," Nathan told the psychic. "More specifically, they were his past memories. Remember how I commented about the Icths of the Clans being the first of them, and how his name was Varnol, or Var of the Nols?" "Yeah," Keith said. "But wouldn''t that mean he was a person at one time, not a phoenix?" "Remember how," Nathan said as they reached a chamber with several enchanted orbs set into the floor, runes linked together around it, forming a magical circle. "Neunar said Ichtvar lied to us about the Guild, the whatever they were called, and everything dealing with stuff outside the universe except for the Well of Souls?" "Yeah," Keith said. "Something along the lines of that it''s impossible for Ichtvar to actually know anything about anything except the Well of Souls when it comes to the out-of-the-universe stuff." "Icthvar''s a big, fat liar," Nathan said as Keith set Cyrus on the steps and told the boy to stay there. "But I eventually saw through it all." "What''s the point?" Keith asked as he walked to the center of the room, where the mana orb set to power the entire enchantment was resting. "Ichtvar," Nathan said. "Was Ichtvar. The First of the Var. Sometime after he became Varnol, I''m guessing the Nol Clan was destroyed, including Ichtnol. Then, Varnol founded his own clan, the Var Clan, keeping the name his savior gave him." "That would still mean that Ichtvar," Keith said. "Was once a person. What does that have to do with the stuff outside of the Well of Souls?" "He can''t see outside of it," Nathan said. "Because his own soul is stored within it. He''s part of the universe cycle, he mentioned that phoenixes were always born into them. That''s why Neunar said he can''t know anything actually about stuff outside of the Well of Souls." "Okay," Keith said. "That does actually make sense, and I figured that out years ago. Probably before you. It was a logical thing. How does that explain your theory that Ichtvar was once Varnol, a person?" "Because," Nathan said. "Phoenixes have to grow in power, back up to their maximum before they can continue gaining more. They''re the most powerful beings to ever exist, and they exist in every universe. What else can exist in every universe, which also happens to have a magical power and mana content stored within their soul''s information? Who actually have access to their memories and magic and mana built up over the incarnations in the ''rest'' universes where only they and phoenixes exist." "Forged souls," Keith realized at the same time as Samantha. "Exactly," Nathan said. "Wait," Keith said. "So you think that phoenixes are forged souls? Actually, that makes sense, now that I think about it. If we continue building up power, we''d eventually become as powerful as a phoenix. Some of the oldest forged souls would have to be, at least. Yet Neunar and Ichtvar agreed on the fact that phoenixes were the most powerful beings in any universe." "Because they are," Samantha said. "They''re the forged souls who became obscenely powerful." "Chances are," Keith said. "Once a forged soul has built up so much power, the block the Well of Souls puts on them to prevent them from accessing their memories, magic, and mana from past lives outside of the special universes doesn''t work." "So it turns them into phoenixes," Samantha said. "Which explains their contract conditions, too." "Yeah," Keith said, then laughed. "For once, Nathan, you actually figured out something like that before I did! I''m impressed." "How much do you want to be Ichtvar''s going to deny that if we try to ask him?" Nathan asked. "Oh, he''ll probably deny is like hell," Keith chuckled. "Alright! Let''s get this thing moving!" Keith placed his hand on the mana orb, then used his magic to guide the mana out of it and into the magic circle. Immediately, the circle began to glow, and they felt the room shake, the enchantment beginning to draw on the mana orb as it begin to raise into the sky, the enchanter having already performed the necessary separations deep below. He walked over and sat beside Cyrus, who climbed onto his lap, holding on tight as the island rose, his eyes glowing as he watched the events unfold. A section of the ocean around the island rose with it, the water sparkling and clear. Their ocean purification orbs had already been hard at work, and the island came with its own to ensure the water around it stayed that way. An invisible barrier kept the ocean water in place, preventing it from falling back down as fish swam around within, trapped. The sandy shores of the island shifted, birds flew away, and animals ran for cover. As the island rose, other enchantments began to turn on, adjusting the air and temperatures of the space around the island to ensure it remained a stable ecosystem unaffected by its altitude. The entire process took ten minutes, leaving the island float more than a mile higher than even the tallest mountain of the world. There, they would be safe from the rest of the world, where Cyrus could live in peace without any worry of someone coming after him over his father''s actions. Keith''s eyes stopped glowing once the island was in place, the enchantments ensuring it remained at a steady altitude. "It is done," Keith stood. "Excellent!" Nathan said. "I always wanted a flying island. Too bad I can''t tan on it now that I have one. Maybe in a future incarnation?" "Perhaps," Keith snorted. "I wonder what our next lives will be like." Nathan was silent for several long moments, before finally responding. "Whatever it is," Nathan said. "It doesn''t matter, as long as you two are there to help me reshape the world."