CHAPTER 6.

“Intruders?” Amber asked. “Are they common?”

“No, my tower is one of the isolated ones from the world,” the Primordial Spirit replied, shaking his head. “Intruders aren’t very common, and well don’t worry about it, it’s not like we’ll see them any time soon. Though these people looked well-equipped so it should be fun.”

“Right, I’ll hide when they come I guess,” she said awkwardly.

The Primordial Spirit seemed to be staring at the ground so instead, she used the time to distribute her attribute points⁠— or so that was what she was going to do before the spirit looked at her.

“Amber, you have too much Endurance for your level, it’s not as useful as you think. It’s the least important stat of all the physical attributes,” the Primordial Spirit explained. “I mean. Have you ever collapsed from true exhaustion⁠—”

And the ground in front of the Primordial Spirit exploded. Amber was blasted away, her almost dead Cursed Momentum immediately refreshed. Her mind blared as she watched a veiled figure with gigantic crimson gauntlets suspended mid air. Then the man turned towards the spirit and punched.

She didn’t know what kind of skill that was, but the spirit caught it with one hand anyway. A shockwave spread across the room, making Amber take a step back as the ground behind the spirit broke apart from the force of impact. Amber gaped at the sight, and the spirit spoke.

“As I was saying. For a Berserker the most important stats are definitely Vitality and Strength, so try to prioritize those,” the Primordial Spirit finished explaining before pushing back with his hand.

It seemed like a simple push, it didn’t even seem to carry that much force and yet⁠— the veiled figure streaked and hit the wall of the tower. A loud bang resounded along with a tremor inside the tower. Amber had barely managed to parse what the Primordial Spirit had said, she still listened but the sight before her left her in awe of the spirit’s power.

He was too powerful.

Still. Amber couldn’t make sense of what had just happened. Why did a man randomly show up and try to attack the Primordial Spirit? Was it something common? Were Primordial Spirits hunted in today’s time? She had so many questions that she didn’t have answers to, and just when she was about to ask the Primordial Spirit a question a person flashed into the room.

They wore a red robe, crimson and yet looked mostly unassuming except for the fact that it was covered in swirling energy. A hood covered their face, and Amber was only able to see the displeasure their mouth held as they pointed a metal staff at the spirit. There were two crystals at its tip shining with a golden light.

“Explode.”

A boom broke through Amber’s ears, and next came a cone of orange along with a deep rumbling. Amber covered her eyes at the blast, the temperature within the room rose tenfold as she felt her skin sear, blister from the heat as she squealed in pain⁠— before it was gone in a single moment.

Then, there was a brief period of silence as Amber opened her eyes only to see: destruction. The entirety of the room was carbonized, the water was gone and black painted the ceilings, floors and walls, except… Where she stood and where the Primordial Spirit stood, both spaces were completely untouched, a perfect circle surrounding them.

Amber stared in shock, the Mage was nowhere to be seen now, and the Primordial Spirit seemed displeased.

“I see that you two have chosen death. Not the first time people get the twisted idea of wanting to die to a Primordial Spirit, but know that your death won’t be painless.”

Amber gulped at what he said. Not only could she feel the truth in his annoyance-laced words, but she also had never felt the murderous intent of the Primordial Spirit or, anyone’s really. It was suffocating. It wasn’t aimed at her and yet she struggled to breathe. And then, the spirit craned his head at the ceiling.

“There is one of you at least.”

And it exploded. Amber watched with wide eyes as the man came down, swinging both gauntlets at once upon the Primordial Spirit, a swirling mass of flames around him. The Primordial Spirit blocked by lifting one arm and the man hit⁠— the ground exploded and Amber fell onto the ground as debris flew all around her⁠— then a torrent of flames blasted downward.

The entire room was covered in a crimson deluge of molten rock as it melted through the stone itself and yet Amber was unscathed. Protected by a circular blue barrier, one that kept the floor before her intact. Outside of it, was now a molten mass of magma that was quickly cooling down, nothing of the original room remained after the series of attacks.

Nothing but the floor the spirit is standing on…

Amber gulped, she couldn’t even comprehend how he had emerged unscathed from that chain of attacks and yet there he was. Untouched. Would she one day be able to withstand something like that? She didn’t know, but right now she found herself admiring the spirit’s power. The power of a god.

The attackers were strong, but they hadn’t managed to touch the Primordial Spirit. Amber looked around for the attackers ⁠— they were nowhere to be seen ⁠— and a moment later she felt a prickling feeling all around her skin. She looked down only to see her fine and almost hard to see hairs standing on end, and even her head hair was beginning to rise into the air. Then, she saw the crackling of electricity on the ceiling. First was a small strand, then multiple, they all began to slowly pulse. There were strands of lightning gathering at a single point and the woman Mage appeared, slamming the butt of her staff onto the ground.

“Fallen Down!”

And like a smite from the heavens, a beam of blue light fell upon the spirit. Amber gulped as it seemed to shatter the rock above and below, unleashing pure destruction. And yet, once more a blue barrier protected her as she just stared.

A moment later the brawler appeared next to the mage woman. Amber couldn’t hear what they were saying but she managed to use Identify on them and she gulped.

[???. Lvl. ???]

[???. Lvl. ???]

[Identify has leveled up from level 1 to 2.]

“Amber, do you think you could lend me your phone after this? I understand it’s out of battery but I’d like to study it,” the Primordial Spirit asked.

Amber blinked and saw the ray of lightning vanish from a pulse of blue energy. Almost like a magical EMP. Even the heat from the ground vanished in a single moment. It was something that she couldn’t even comprehend. And from the looks of it, neither could the two attackers as they took a step back.

“Amber?” the voice from the spirit broke her reverie.

“Y-yes,” she stammered. “I-I’ll lend you my phone.”

He smiled. “Good, let’s go grab it after I’m done with this. Though I’ll take my time. I’m quite upset about this.”

The brawler gritted his teeth before rushing towards him punching. “Don’t ignore us!”

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The Primordial Spirit ducked under the punch⁠— a blast of air exploded behind, even the wall of the tower exploded into the outside world. Showing the ample forest outside. Amber blinked as she saw the Primordial Spirit punch the man in the stomach. A dull boom resounded, like the shooting of a pistol. Then again, and again⁠—

The brawler was made to back off in pained steps as the Primordial Spirit approached almost in a boxing-like stance. Then, he began to exchange punches with the brawler. Amber watched as he landed an uppercut on the man’s chin before continuing with a flurry of punches onto the man’s stomach⁠. She could’ve sworn she heard a crack amongst the sound⁠—

“Slice.”

A beam of electricity came from the staff of the mage and the Primordial Spirit slapped it out of the way. The beam was deflected as it punctured a hole into the outside world, before the Primordial Spirit took a step forward and kneed the brawler. The man spat blood before he went flying, hitting the staircase of the floor. Amber then turned to see what the mage would do only to see their figure flying through the air⁠ before too hitting the stairs.

“I assume the lands where you two are from, you both got called champions,” the Primordial Spirit said, drawing Amber’s attention. He was slowly walking towards the intruders. “You two got acclaimed as heroes, as god slayers perhaps, but you are nothing but flies in my eyes. Neither of you understand what it truly means to be a god.”

His voice caused the surroundings to tremble as he finished his sentence. Amber stared for a moment, before he smiled.

“I’ll show you what it means to be a god.”

Amber shivered and the Primordial Spirit clapped his hand. In a single moment they were all teleported to a different floor of the tower. It was akin to a jungle filled with trees and prowling monsters. It almost felt like a new world, except for the fact that the walls of the tower were still visible.

“A god is⁠—”

And the scenery shifted to one of stars, galaxies and the vast cosmos, almost like an illusion that made it feel as if they were suspended in the vastness of space. Then it shattered⁠ like glass as a gigantic claw broke through it, and Amber shivered as she looked up only to see a gigantic black-scaled creature, one with wings and slitted eyes. It raised its head and flames began to pour out from its maw. They were iridescent, shimmering with the colors of the stars themselves, something of divine nature. The mere sight made her despair, and not too far away from her the two intruders were shaking as well.

“All powerful.”

And the dragon breathed⁠ before a gigantic claw stomped it from the sky, breaking its bones in a visceral manner killing it instantly.

“All mighty.”

A roar echoed as the Primordial Spirit stepped towards the claw, as it vanished like an illusion.

“But more importantly; everlasting.”

They landed back on the floor they were first in, the completely destroyed battlefield. Amber stared for a moment as she now saw the two people lay near the center of the room. The Primordial Spirit pointed his finger at them.

“I suppose, it’s time to put an end to this. You two are unworthy of torture after all.”

A moment later a myriad of spell circles began to form at the tip of his finger. And all Amber could do was watch, not only was the Primordial Spirit incredibly adept at hand to hand combat, he was also an incredibly capable mage. It wasn’t something she could understand, nor something that made sense to her. But he was a god.

That was the power of a god.

She gulped, feeling the mana shift in her surroundings as it began to become visible, gathering at the tip of his fingers. Meanwhile the two figures were drinking some kind of liquid in glass bottles. They immediately stood up and the brawler vanished. Appearing behind the Primordial Spirit and punching. It was blocked just as easily and yet the shockwave was twice as powerful as before. The mage raised her staff.

“Primrose Chain.”

Amber saw multiple places in the air begin to shine before they exploded. Both attacks were immeasurably more powerful than the ones they had used before, and yet Amber knew it didn’t make a difference. The barrier that was protecting her hadn’t changed. She closed her eyes. Neither of the two intruders were a match for the Primordial Spirit⁠—

And a clapping resounded through the chamber. Everything cleared and standing less than two meters away from her was a man dressed in black. He wore odd looking clothing with a cape, his head was hidden by a black helmet devoid of any specific features except for a vertical slit and under his right arm there was a black staff. It resembled a gigantic thorn, crooked and ugly.

The man finished clapping. “Magnificent, but it is time for me to intervene.”

The Primordial Spirit was looking at him. Amber couldn’t quite read his expression but based on her experiences with the spirit and his body language she knew this person wasn’t good news.

“Dargon, the twisted Space Mage, are you tired of looking for my kin in the Great Desert? Is that why you’re back? The ruin explorations yielded no results? Well, can't say I’m not happy about that.”

The man chuckled. “As rude as ever I see, is that your way of greeting an old acquaintance?”

“Acquaintance? Yes, I suppose coming for me in an attempt to force me to pass down techniques and enlightenment makes you one. Though last time you were alone, and now you are back with minions.”

“Let’s just say I’ve found a few like-minded people,” the man said, happiness evident in his tone. “Now, the Arcane Council desires your knowledge. Or more specifically, to extract it from you.”

“Ah, you found a bunch of unhinged people like you that want to become gods.” The Primordial Spirit smiled. “Well, good for me, with you here it might be a bit dangerous, but more importantly, I get to kill you. Your tricks won’t work a second time, you know?”

The man said nothing in response, and the Primordial Spirit turned to Amber:

“Do you think I can keep your phone?”

Amber blinked. “Sure?”

The man gave her a glance but said nothing before turning back to the Primordial Spirit.

“I never thought you’d fancy such a weak mortal,” the man said thoughtfully.

“Amber, you have permission to leave my tower, just jump down. You’ll survive.” He nodded.

For a moment she paused. Couldn’t he teleport me out? No, it was clear to her the Primordial Spirit could definitely do that it just didn’t want to⁠—

“Well, not like her presence matters in all of this,” the man raised his staff, this one was shining in purple instead. “Destroy.”

And the space before it ruptured. Amber saw reality crack, black lines forming on the air itself as the Primordial Spirit’s mouth twisted in great displeasure. It felt as if the world was screaming, and the barrier that was protecting her cracked.

“I’m sure you’d love to teleport her out, but teleporting something else other than yourself takes a lot of energy,” the man said simply. “How unfortunate.”

The Primordial Spirit clapped his hands and all of the magic was wiped by a wave of his own magic. Much like the one she had seen before. Then, the two other intruders attacked and the man raised his staff that was glinting with purple light.

“Amber run, and put all your points into Vitality when you jump,” the Primordial Spirit said, there was a small tone of urgency in his voice.

She immediately nodded and dashed forward towards the hole between floors. Ignoring what was happening in her surroundings. And at that moment she saw a purple light flashing upon her. The man was aiming his staff at her.

“I can’t let you get away, can I?” She could almost feel him smiling through his voice. “Supernova.”

And purple engulfed her. Amber saw a blue barrier appear before her this one was thicker⁠— stronger, almost a completely solid blue. And it immediately cracked from the boom she heard outside, and then⁠— it fell apart. She was still running and when everything cleared, she saw that there was no tower floor anymore, all of the walls led to the outside. Still, she ignored and managed to reach the hole, placing her points into Vitality as she was told.

She slid down, and managed to look up as she saw the tower falling. It collapsed on top of itself as the Primordial Spirit let out a laugh.

“Now I don’t need to hold back!”

And she saw a flash of blue above, then she saw the floors she was rapidly descending through. She saw a forest, one that looked made out of gold, some that looked average, she saw falling water, and even one that resembled a bath. But most passed too fast from the rapid increase in speed, then she looked down and⁠—

Hit shallow water.

Amber screamed in pain as she felt her legs break from the fall. And a moment later she felt her bones begin to rearrange. She still had the sword she had taken from the Knight of all Mortals, and with it she tried to stand up as she got a notification.

[You’ve received a simple blessing: Your fatal injuries have been healed.]

Her bones seemingly snapped into place a moment later and Amber let out a painful grunt, then using the sword she managed to start limping away. She knew that the Primordial Spirit wasn’t too keen on giving away things ⁠— he would even throw fits when she picked up the weapons around the tower ⁠— so she appreciated his blessing, just like how she appreciated the System advice he had given her in spite of refusing during their first encounter.

As for giving her a better blessing? Perhaps he just couldn't, given he couldn’t actually teleport her out.

In the end, she considered him a friend. It was ridiculous to think her first friend in this world was a god out of all things. But she liked him. It kind of hurt her that there wasn’t a proper farewell, but she understood the circumstances didn’t allow for one.

Amber shook her head, finally managing to limp out of the water. She looked up at the tower, she saw the broken floor dozens of floors up and she noted how the rest of the tower was floating.

A smile spread across her face before muttering a small goodbye under her breath and turning away.

“Goodbye Amber,” his voice replied. “My name is: Ax’thra the Primordial Spirit.”

She paused and nodded, smiling.

“Goodbye Ax’thra.”

“May we meet again.”

A moment after, another explosion went off on the exposed part of the tower, and Amber knew that it wasn’t safe for her to return again. Not for a while at least.

And so, she ventured into the forest, limping and determined to find civilization.