Liz collapsed along the two snails. Scared of letting her get hurt, Robert activated his talent. Now, he had two days to catch her.

He went around the battle site in a spiral pattern, climbing over the bushes and checking the surrounding area for any dangers. To make sure he wouldn't get lost in the jungle, he left behind a breadcrumb trail of lit matchsticks. The flames froze in time the moment he let go and remained bright. Against the dark, grayscale background they were as good as bonfires.

Satisfied the party wouldn't be attacked by any surprise monsters, he made his way back, sat on a rock, and gathered wisps. The rest of his time was spent in the usual way.

*

*

Deep into the bowels of planet Earth, in an abandoned mine, a group of people gathered. They had shunned the surface and vowed to only inhabit the depths. There, they believed they would grow closer to their chosen affinity. A man in dark robes was sitting in the middle of a perfectly circular cavern, meditating.

In the center, a painted statue of a gorgeous woman dominated the scene. Her captivating eyes seemed alive with electricity. Her features were a perfect mix of Asian and occidental. Her right hand dripped with veridian nectar which was collected into a bucket hanging from her left one.

"The Void beckons," Someone spoke from the entrance to the cavern.

"The Blessings of the Pail Priestess are upon us," the meditating man returned the greeting, signaling he was willing to entertain the guest.

"Master, we sensed a disturbance in the Void."

The man nodded without turning around. "Yes, I sensed it too. Someone on the surface has punctured the veil between realities. A disturbance on the Song of the Void."

"What should we do?"

"Send a team to the surface to gather information. They should be discreet and in no way engage our target, should they find him."

"I volunteer to be part of this team, master," the young disciple boasted.

"So be it. Do not disappoint me."

*

*

Robert felt awkward standing still, crouched underneath the falling girl. He closed his eyes and waited. And waited. And exercised his willpower to banish some uncomfortable thoughts.

Then he felt the weight and heard her breastplate hit his vambraces. He flexed his knees and pushed up, steadying the Light Arch on her feet.

"Thanks," she mumbled. "Starbright Revolution costs a lot of essence."

It was odd. Robert had no moves that took all of his essence at once. But again, he hadn't been born with a golden spoon in his mouth.

"Karla is worse." He commented. The archer was unconscious.

"Chris?"

"Unconscious but stable. I already healed the tough fellow."

Liz smiled. "I'll just sit down and rest."

"Sounds good," Robert put a hand on her forehead, "May I check your health?"

"Sh-Sure." She stuttered.

He used Diagnosis. "Rest. You have bottomed your essence. Don't try to gather now. Just rest and let your star fill on its own for a while."

"Yes, doc," she said with a faint note of mischievousness inner voice.

Robert went to check on Karla. He put a hand on her forehead and said, "Diagnosis."

Only some abilities needed to be called out loud. But calling them was the best way to convey intent fast between party members.

"She's fine. Let her rest for a few hours and she will wake up," he said. "What about you?"

"I'm fine. The Mollusks didn't hit me."

"Good. I think I'll store the bodies in the bag, you look after the other three then?"

Xiao nodded.

Robert took the bag of holding and started to shove slugs, snails, and squid into the bag. Stuff larger than the bag's mouth just vanished inside while the weight only went up marginally. Before he finished, Chris was already awake. Robert signaled him to stay down and rest.

*

*

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

They set camp half a mile away from the battle site. The noise and the smell of blood and mucus were bound to attract the wrong kind of attention.

"We are down two ultimates," Chris lamented.

*Ultimate?" Robert asked.

"Each of us has an advanced ability. We barely have the essence to use them but as you can see, they can turn the tide of battle."

Asking about other's powers was taboo. Robert nodded and smiled as thanks and moved on.

They didn't make a campfire. With Xiao's ability to heat metallic objects, they cooked a stew from vacuum-packaged meat and vegetables and called it a day.

"I think we will need to postpone our training," Liz said apologetically.

"No problem," Robert said.

"We can still–"

"You need to stay alert and rested," Chris cut off Xiao. "The girls are exhausted and I am recovering. Robert is not a combatant."

Xiao grinned and saluted. "Duly noted, sir!" He mocked.

"Which is why you get three one-hour shifts tonight. Robert and I will take two each, and the girls will share the last shift."

Robert raised his hand. "Actually, I don't need to sleep. I can take all the shifts."

"You what?" Karla gawked.

"I can stay awake twenty-four-seven. I don't need to waste time sleeping." He worded his statements to be truthful.

"Damn. I'm envious!" She interjected, then clamped her mouth with both hands. "Sorry."

"Robert, I don't mean to offend you," Chris started. "But this is your second time in a passage, right? Did you take a course on keeping watch? No?"

"It's okay," he hedged. "I'm not trying to impose or change the way you do things."

"Cool. Appreciate, man. It means we will have company for the watch, but keep the banter to a minimum."

Robert felt a bit of guilt at not telling them the whole truth. But it was for his own safety. If people knew what he was capable of…

*

*

The night went on eventless and boring. Robert went to the void every hour, training with the sword and studying. He also went around the camp to search for threats but never found any. He gathered during his shared watch slots, using the passive method as the Netherecho could be dangerous. A hostile remnant could be lurking in there.

As they packed the camping gear, Karla approached Robert.

"Hey, can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

She approached and the sounds of the jungle became muted. "You flicker when you use your teleport talent." She whispered. "The air around you becomes disturbed and it feels like you aren't there for the tiniest fraction of a second."

Robert widened his eyes. "Wow. Thanks a lot for the heads up."

She grinned. "So, did I guess right?"

Robert chuckled and shook his head. "Not telling."

She pouted. "Fine, keep your secrets."

"But I appreciate the warning. I really do."

They joined the rest of the party. Xiao glanced to and fro between them, getting the wrong conclusion.

*

*

The next group of Mollusks was a wash. Three slugs and one snail, all of them were gone before swinging the first blow. Robert felt his expertise with the minor haste spell increase. The speed buff improved slightly. He used foresight and sense life sparingly because, as a healer, he needed to save essence in case of an emergency.

They fought a second patrol that day, this composed of four snails and one squid. The ranged attacks took the squid before it could squirt much ink while the snails were split three for Chris and one for Liz. After she dispatched hers with the aid of Minor Slow, she took the attention of those focused on Chris one by one.

Aside from some nasty bruises on his forearm, Chris was fine. The stone axes, however, were riddled with semi-circular indents where Chris had blocked them and reshaped the stone.

During a short after-battle rest, Robert approached Chris.

"Why don't you use heavier armor or a shield?"

"One of my tempering techniques is called basaltic pressure. I imbue my bones and muscles with minerals, making me heavier and tougher," he replied and then pointed at the party members. "Light has no tempering at one star. Wind and fire only increase skin resistance. I think Life has one that makes you tougher but it mostly makes it easier to heal yourself, right?"

Robert nodded. "I take these hits on my bare skin because it is safer this way. I can deform even the snails' spearheads. If we were anywhere else, I would be decked in steel, believe me."

*

*

"Tomorrow, we will head back," Chris announced as they made camp for the night. "The bag of holding is almost full, we only have room for one more group of Mollusks."

Everyone voiced agreement. While the stew cooked, Liz approached Robert.

"Wanna spar now?"

He stood up and followed her. "Sure. But I don't have a training sword."

"I will try not to get hit by you. Avoid blows at vitals, head, and neck. And if we get some injuries, well."

"I can heal them."

"Yes. Now, before we start, show me your guards."

Robert did his best and got pointers from Liz. They talked about his manual, and she recommended a better one. When it was time to spar, she called Karla to raise a sound-dampening barrier. Robert then spent half an hour getting owned by Liz's superior skills. She didn't draw blood once.

Robert was out of breath as Liz called the end of the session. Only five days ago, he was not unfit but also no athlete. Though he had more than a year of subjective time, he couldn't work out in the void. Only build muscle memory and knowledge.

"You are good for someone with only two months of training," her praise was heartfelt.

"Thank… you," he panted. Robert started using lavi flow to soothe his muscles. "Liz, can I ask for a favor?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"You are good at perceiving light, right?"

She laughed, "Yes, pretty good, I dare say."

He stood up and assumed the first guard. "Pay close attention to me. Tell me if you can see flicker."

Robert entered the void. Marking his position was easy as he had two footprints in the shape of his boot on the grass. He sat down and cursed. His bedroll was left in the real world.

He tempered with lavi flow and did the usual. Once it was time to go back, he took the same guard position and waited. Color returned.

"So?" He asked.

"Your position changed slightly, you were blinking but then had eyes wide open next. Your chest too, was full as you were inhaling but it deflated in a flash. And I think you vanished for a moment. I could see the tree behind you but then you were there again."

Robert smiled ruefully. His ideas of masking his jaunts to the liminal void were shot dead in the water. Perceptive people would notice regardless of what he did.

"I think I heard a little pop too. The air surely shifted back and forth again," Karla added.

The issue was that his transition back and forth wasn't as instantaneous as he liked.

"Is this about your teleportation ability?" Liz asked. "You used it to catch me after I used Starbright Revolution… and I forgot to thank you."

Robert waved it. "Your pointers are more than enough thanks. And this feedback from you, it's priceless."

"Robert," Karla said with a serious voice. "Do you have any idea how O.P. this is? Tell me, you teleported just now but were trying to keep the same position, right?"

He saw no benefit in hiding that tidbit of information. "Yes."

The archer huffed. "You can instantaneously teleport and change your position?" Her jaw dropped. "What stops you from appearing next to an enemy with your blade on their neck?"

Only his humanity, but Robert kept his silence. Karla was rambling and gesticulating wildly.

"You can evade any attack you know of, and–"

Liz grabbed the other girl's arm. "Calm down, Karla. You are being rude."

Karla whistled. Then she took some time to catch her breath and smiled at Robert. "Sorry. And… thanks for trusting us?"

"You have our word we wong gossip about it," Liz vowed, then glared at her friend.

"Scout's honor."

Robert nodded. "Thank you both. I think the knowledge I gained is invaluable. I am still learning and you can imagine the embarrassment or danger of using this without knowing its limitations."

Karla grinned. "Hey, can we make a test?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Can I call you to teleport to a Mollusk and behead it? I totally understand if you don't want to… murder people, but the Mollusks are okay, right?"

"Okay, we can try that," Robert agreed.