CHAPTER 66.

Amber blinked, she staring at the Primordial Spirit ⁠— Sid’fril ⁠— holding the Cube of Stars and looking at her. For a moment, she didn’t understand what was happening, but even when she did, she still couldn’t help but ask.

“Are you serious?”

He smiled. “Of course.”

She found the entire thing hard to believe, not that she wasn't convinced⁠— just that Sid’fril was such a particular individual that she didn’t expect she’d be able to convince him at all. And yet, she did the moment she gave up on trying to convince him.

“As soon as I realized that, you truly were going to seek out Val’leri, I realized that I had lost your interest,” he said simply. “And as I stated: I like you⁠ and I respect you so⁠—”

“You changed your mind,” Amber completed for him.

“You really are sharp,” he remarked. “No wonder Ax’thra took such a liking to you.”

“Yet you hate him.”

He scoffed. “Let us compartmentalize everything. I like you, I don’t like those bastards⁠— so I will like you while we conveniently avoid the topic, how about that?”

Amber nodded, but couldn’t hold back. “You’re the one that brought him up.”

“Which is why I’ve come to realize that it’s not a good idea to bring him up.” He winked and Amber paused at that.

His tone had changed completely now, and it was much more friendly and likeable. And after a moment, she stared at Sid’fril and the Cube of Stars that he was still holding. It was the key to teaching her Essence, or at least it was the key to expedit the process.

“Did you make this cube specifically to teach others, or?”

“The cube is many things, from a weapon you can use, to a teaching tool, to an artifact with a nasty curse that only has long term effects, and more.”

“Wait, a weapon?”

The spirit raised his brow at that and threw it up before catching it casually. “Have you never hit someone with it? It’s dense enough to crack the skull of mortals open.”

Amber almost sighed at that. She had entertained that thought but never actually followed through with it. Though she did remember the cube being buoyant⁠— so perhaps the spirit had made it as a rubber ducky equivalent too.

“Oh, you even took a bath with it,” he said surprised. “I see you did quite a lot of bonding with my cube⁠— you had it even before I went to seek you out. I’m quite impressed.”

Amber didn’t know what exactly to say to him, but after a moment sighed. “Well, I’m glad I can reunite you with your precious cube.”

“Indeed,” Sid’fril agreed. “But unfortunately, it will be a short-lived reunion because I have to teach you Essence.”

At the mention of Essence, Amber turned serious. “How will you teach me?”

“You are an eager student, I see,” the Primordial Spirit said, happily. “Then, it won’t take long for you to learn the basics.”

Amber raised her brow at that. “What about past the basics?”

“We’ll get there when we get there,” he casually dismissed.

Then, Sid’fril flicked his fingers and Amber found herself seated where she had once been. She had been teleported to her position just like that, much to her surprise. Then, his throne disappeared and went back to the center of the lake, and what remained was the Primordial Spirit standing a mere meter away from her.

He was smiling and holding the cube, then⁠— he threw it at Amber who caught it with confusion.

“What is⁠—”

“Can you feel it?” he interrupted. “The Essence within the cube; I’ve unlocked it.”

Amber blinked and looked down at the shining cube⁠— unlike before it was shining like never before and it had almost unraveled as if it were a puzzle. Multiple parts of it were jutting out and yet it retained its original shape. And Amber could visibly see a blue energy leaking from it, but even as it brushed against her finger she couldn’t feel anything.

“I don’t think I can.”

“And that’s because you are using your normal senses,” Sid’fril said simply. “You have to look beyond that.”

She raised her head and was completely baffled.

“Beyond my normal senses⁠? Not even my instincts are⁠—”

“I’m not talking about your instincts or your Sharp Instincts skill.” The Primordial Spirit shook his head. “I’m talking about something else, I’m talking about what Essence is: a power that comes from life and death, think of it as life.”

Amber blinked.

“Can you sense life?”

She turned to the cube and once more tried. This time, however, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine multiple things that made her think of life⁠, from newborn, to the experience of being old, and finally to pushing her limits⁠—

And Amber paused.

It was for a brief moment, but she managed to sense it. It almost felt warm to the touch, and pleasant. Yet, the energy also made her heart rush.

“So, you sensed it, but…” He raised his brow confused. “What did you think about when sensing it?”

“Pushing my limits,” Amber answered. She didn’t know if to be embarrassed or not, but the spirit chuckled.

“I suppose that works; we all have different ways to take Essence, and that is how it adapts to us and gives us our powers,” he explained.

She nodded at that and the spirit continued.

“So now that you’ve sensed it, focus on it and take it into your body and let it⁠— change you.”

Amber blinked at that, and did as told. Once more focusing on the cube within her hands. First, she felt its rough metallic surface, then after a moment more her thoughts once more turned to sensing it completely. It took about a second or two, but once she connected Amber felt it like a jolt.

First was the rush of excitement coming from her heart, and then there was a sense of power that quickly turned to a tranquil warm feeling that was coursing from her arms to her chest. Amber couldn’t really tell what was happening, but she allowed the Essence to flow freely into her body⁠— and all of it seemed to be coalescing into her chest.

“Now, this process would normally take several hours, so do you need help?” he asked.

Amber barely heard the Primordial Spirit, but after a few moments of adjusting to keep her focus, she managed to reply.

“No, just explain to me very slowly how I can speed up this process,” she answered in a very slow and well-paced tone.

At that, Amber didn’t sense anything for a moment but then, she heard Sid’fril’s voice.

“Very well, first try to move the Essence that is gathering, then try to make a sphere with it,” he said quietly. “You can try a mental image of hands or whatever works for you in order to do so.”

It took a moment for Amber to process his simple words, but once she did, she gave a nod. Then, she got to work by sensing the Essence that was flowing into her. The less she thought about what life meant to her, the weaker the link seemed to get, so she focused all of her efforts on strengthening the connection.

Then, a moment later, Amber saw a vision in her mind. She saw a golden mass of energy, one that was sparkling as if it were made out of glitter. Shining like a cluster of stars.

For a moment, Amber was confused about what she was seeing, but a moment she realized. She was looking at the Essence that was flowing into her body. It almost felt as if she were standing in an abyss with only that to see, and while she could explore around, Amber instead, stepped towards the gathering Essence.

It was a strange and powerful energy, radiant and lifelike even. Whereas mana in comparison just felt like a resource to be used in one’s body. It gave an inanimate feeling all things considered; it was a contrast that Amber never expected to see.

She reached her hand at it, and while some it responded to her touch, most of it just passed right through her. It was a strange thing.

And I have to do is make an empty sphere? Amber wondered.

To her it seemed that the mass of Essence in front of her was already gravitating towards doing that, and all she would be doing was speed up the process. So, Amber guessed that she had the room to mess with it and experiment; learn thoroughly how to move it and other quirks should there be any.

So, with an excited smile, Amber got to work.

* * *

All I can do is move it around.

Amber felt disappointed at that, but at least she had gained the full ability to come upon contact with it. Turns out, she still wasn’t as focused on sensing it, but once she did she was able to shape it into a sphere. It felt like it took multiple hours, but Amber was quite proud of how long she had come⁠—

“Amazing,” the Primordial Spirit said.

And a system notification came.

[All your attributes have increased by 1.]

Amber blinked at that, and after checking her status, it was indeed the case. There was also the fact that the Sid’fil had said “amazing” which made Amber turn to him.

“What’s amazing?” she asked.

“You formed the membrane to your core in about an hour,” he said simply.

And Amber, hearing that, raised her brow in confusion. “Membrane? Core?”

Sid’fil smiled at her questions. “The first step to forming a core is creating its membrane or outer-shell, which is the bare minimum to be able to wield some form of Essence. A core is the heart of your Essence, what allows you to wield it and gain power, and cores tend to be unique to an individual.”

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Amber blinked at that. She wasn’t quite following, which the Primordial Spirit seemed to take note of, so he explained further.

“Think of it, as each person who acquires a core makes their own unique class based on who they are,” he said simply.

And she nodded. That seemed exciting, at least on paper. And the other thing that was already exciting was that: now, while she was holding the cube she could feel herself absorbing the Essence emanating from it without even so much as focusing.

“You can feel it flowing into you, right?” Sid’fil asked, and Amber nodded. “Now, try using it in any way: Essence is magic, and it can be based on the things we’ve already experienced.”

Amber nodded, and then she tried to modify it. It felt as responsive as mana, if not better⁠— though she did find some would be wasted and be lost in her body just moving it to her fingertips.

“Now try using your imagination to create something out of nothing.”

She blinked at that, feeling like he wasn’t serious but upon seeing his expression, Amber realized that he was. So she tried something simple, imagining a small ember and trying to make the Essence do that. She imagined the combustion, and the process⁠—

And there was a small pouf of smoke before nothing came.

“Good enough,” he said. “I’ll give you an hour or two to practice on that, then we’ll move into the next step by training you in my tower.”

Amber nodded at that and quickly got to experimenting.

* * *

Amber quickly found that while the power of imagination was quite powerful⁠, it also wasn’t that simple. Using imagination to create something felt more a foundation towards building a stronger connection with what one wanted to do. If she wanted to do fire, imagination was enough to get a feel for it but then came refining it, understanding it⁠— hell even her breathing seemed to affect it.

But thankfully, Amber managed to pick up in a few things. If it was something she was extremely familiar with, it was much easier to replicate⁠— something like the Curse of Laceration for instance. She could mimic the cutting on surfaces, which seemed to be something worthy of praise.

The two hours quickly passed, and the Primordial Spirit told her that she’d learn techniques ⁠— which were the equivalent of skills ⁠— as she advanced via enlightenment; which Amber wasn’t quite sure what it meant.

And after that, the next step of training was reached.

Sid’fil clapped his hands.

“And now, you’ll start the second step in my tower. In my experience teaching, it’s better to take a hands off approach,” he said. “So, return the cube when you’re done. You know where to find me.”

Amber paused. “Wait, what?”

“Oh did I mention? The Grand Dungeon of Torl is my tower.” He smiled and Amber was left speechless once more. “Best of luck, make sure to not die.”

With those words he flicked his fingers, leaving her some parting words.

“I’ll be waiting here for your success.”

And she was teleported.

* * *

In a blink, Amber found herself in a dim darkness, only green crystals illuminating the surroundings as she held the Cube of Stars.

But I don’t even know where to find you…

She was too stunned to say anything for a moment but the sound of dripping water made her break out of her stupor. She shook her head and looked in the direction of the noise. She was now in Sid’fil’s tower and also the Grand Dungeon of Torl⁠—

And she paused seeing the carcass of a boulder sized monster impaled on the ceiling, which also happened to be the sound of the dripping. Amber slightly tensed at that and turned to the darkness. She was in an extensive and cavernous room, it almost felt like she was underground.

A roar echoed and then⁠— she saw a shadow pounce from the darkness. She immediately used Quick Dash to back off, and the spot where she had just been standing exploded. And that’s when she saw what was attacking her.

It was a large monster⁠— akin to a dinosaur but with armor made out of bones, it had silver flames coming out of various openings around its body. And its mere presence and Identify result screamed danger.

[Abyssal Briroar. Lvl. ???]

Above level 161… And then, a notification came, one that made Amber’s eyes go wide.

[In the presence of an abyssal monster any skill below the 4th Rank is weakened.]

That’s a thing…?

Amber tensed and immediately stowed the Cube of Stars into her ring, and surprisingly, she still found the Essence flowing into her. Though, she ignored that and instead took out the Cursewelder and the monster with a gurgle unleashed a deluge of silver flames towards her. She tried to use the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash only to find it ineffective.

Was that what it meant by weakened?

Amber gritted her teeth as she was forced to block it, causing parts of her armor and skin to melt all at once. Her body felt like it was melting as she forced herself to use Quick Dash to get out of the way of the scathing flames, and she landed panting.

Amber knew that she couldn’t fight this monster. It was much stronger than the source of the plague⁠— she could just tell. She could feel it. So instead she turned tails and ran away, which drew an angry roar from the Abyssal Briroar.

The gigantic monster chased after her and even broke through parts of the cavern as she tried to use the size difference to her advantage. Even though normally, something that big wouldn’t be able to give chase, this was different⁠— the Abyssal Briroar was like an unstoppable force. Breaking through everything with speed that sometimes she couldn’t match. The flames on its body melted the cave walls, leaving nothing but dripping lava.

Sometimes, she was nearly hit, making her heart skip.

Amber remembered the good luck don’t die part and she couldn’t help but wonder: Did he fucking throw me into the boss room?

She shook her head and when she turned a corner she saw the exit, or what seemed to be an oddly symmetrical passage in the wall⁠— and the monster too turned⁠, breaking the corner itself and chasing after her as it roared.

Amber used Quick Dash, and the monster⁠— stomped.

Her eyes went wide as the ground shattered, a notification of resisting the supernatural came, and she was thrown into the air. Then, she turned only to see the Abyssal Briroar charging at her, and she blocked⁠—

Amber was slammed against the wall immediately, breaking multiple bones as she spat blood. Then, she saw the Abyssal Briroar prepare its claw, and she knew she had to fight back.

She hit the ground and with a grunt⁠— she her strongest skill using all of the accumulated rage from the damage she sustained.

“Battery⁠, battery, battery⁠—”

In an instant, a crimson deluge blasted the monster causing it to roar, and then Amber dashed as a claw barely missed. The flaming monster turned to her and Amber used her finisher⁠—

“Abyssal Blast!”

And a purple explosion engulfed the monster and blasted her towards the exit, and upon landing she rushed. Such strong attacks should have been enough to slow it down, except⁠—

Her eyes went wide. It didn’t do anything.

The monster burst out of the smoke with superficial wounds, and with rushed after her with a loud roar. Amber tried to dash away but she wasn’t fast enough. She monster clawed, and she blocked, being sent into the wall with a cough of blood.

Amber used the 2nd Rank of Recovery of Curses to recover and barely dodge another hit as she was nearly beheaded.

Then, she dashed away as the monster clawed again, and it charged her⁠. Amber had no time to react as she was hit, and was sent at immense speeds into the passage, banging against the walls before exiting out of the room.

And with a loud bang she hit the wall behind her, feeling multiple bones break. The world spun around her for a moment before a gurgling sound broke her out of her stupor. And with a grunt, she finally managed to use the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash to get out of the way, stumbling and falling on the ground in the process.

The fire torched the spot where she had just been, followed by an angry roar.

“What a way to start,” Amber commented as her injuries regenerated and bones popped back into place, and finally a long breath left her. “Fuck…”

She looked at the cavernous gap she was in with dozens of luminous crystals and she couldn’t help but once more be shocked at the fact that the Primordial Spirit’s tower was the damn Grand Dungeon itself.

Then, she looked down at her battered and broken armor, she had yet to fix it from her fight with the source of the plague, now it was basically scrap metal. It took her a few seconds to gather her wits, but finally she got her priorities down.

“I’ll deal with this first.” She took a breath. “Then explore my Essence more and fight some monsters for practice.”

And so, she got to work.

* * *

Amber fixed her armor, and after that she went as far away from the boss monster as possible, before spending some hours messing around with Essence. She was quite unsure what she wanted to achieve with it still. But she got to the point in which she could send similar cleaves to Cursed Cleave, which she found good enough for her to move on, but it felt like an incomplete skill.

Like a shadow of what it could be, and all things considered, that’s what it was. She had just started on her journey with Essence. From what she could tell, if it weren’t from the cube, her core would almost be devoid of Essence considering she was constantly leaking it.

However, Amber was still eager to play with it, so she found a monster to fight, except⁠—

[Venomous Mantid. Lvl. 147]

It was level almost level 150. Amber frowned at that but still prepared herself. Then taking a deep breath she swung her arm⁠—

“Cleave,” she whispered, using Essence.

And a radiant slash hit the monster and drew blood as it unleashed an angry screech. Fortunately it did damage⁠, unfortunately⁠— it was a shallow cut. But it was enough for Amber to be satisfied with, it was essentially a copy of Cursed Cleave but with Essence only. A small victory in her eyes.

The Venomous Mantid turned to her and unleashed a barrage of darts that Amber quickly dodged. But then, the heard chittering coming from within the tunnels and saw two more Venomous Mantids quickly arrive.

[Venomous Mantid. Lvl. 150]

[Venomous Mantid. Lvl. 149]

One of them was level 150⁠— did it mean it had its next evolution? It looked the same to her though. Amber didn’t understand how it worked for monsters, but what she did understand was the fact she was now in a losing situation. Although she tried to attack back.

She swung both of her arms with essence, and with a whisper of the word “cleave” two slashes criss-crossed the first monster but they didn’t do much besides earn the monster’s further ire.

With a screech it sent another barrage of darts and Amber was forced to dodge, meanwhile the other two mantids chased after her and forced her to finally use the Cursewelder. She clashed with a swing and used Cursed Cleave but aside from a further gash and some cuts it didn’t do much, so she used Cursed Stomp⁠—

The ground shattered and the two monsters were temporarily stunned, before she went for the neck of one of the monsters. She cleanly hit and⁠— the monster screeched, unleashing a cloud of poisonous gas.

Amber inhaled it and she immediately felt her muscles become tense and constrict. It was enough to spare the monster and to earn her a slash on her arm⁠. One that was laced with a venom reminiscent of the one she had experienced.

In an instant, she found herself on the defensive while building up her skills to get rid of them once and for all. And the monsters seemed to realize that their poison clouds had an effect since they started to use them constantly, but Amber wasn’t going to have none of it.

She lifted her sword and cast, “Flamethrower.”

A crimson deluge immediately filled the entire chamber and caused some resounding screeches. The fire quickly spread as the source of it all dissipated, and Amber took the chance to pounce upon one of the monsters.

Using all of her strength she swung down with the blunt side of the sword, immediately cracking its exoskeleton, then with a deft reposition she pointed the tip of the sword and⁠— cleaved down. The tip of the sword dug deep into the monster’s head and the monster unleashed a pained screech before it tensed.

And from its hard shell Amber saw it eject a volley of darts as a last ditch effort which forced her to get off the monster and take cover.

Then, a moment later the two recovered and somewhat flaming monsters chased after her and Amber this time, wasn’t going to let them get away with anything. So, she used Cursed Stomp again and stunned them.

It quickly became a long and grueling battle, that eventually Amber won, but at the price of getting quite a few darts embedded in her body. Something that made her feel somewhat sick and forced her to constantly burn the accumulated rage into Recovery of Curses while also forcing her to stick her hand into the carcasses of the enemies she had just felled.

Amber took a very deep breath.

The monsters here are way too strong…

While normally, she would’ve welcomed the challenge, this time around it was different.

She had training to do.

And so, Amber set off to ascend to the higher floors.

[You have defeated a [Venomous Mantid. Lvl. 150].]

For defeating an enemy 15 levels above your own, you have received bonus experience!

…

[Recovery of Curses has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 7 to 3rd Rank level 8.]

[Crimson Sense has leveled up from level 2 to 3.]

[Toxin Resistance has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 7 to 3rd Rank level 8.]

[Physical Resistance has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 4 to 3rd Rank level 5.]

[You have reached level 132. 5 stat points awarded.]

+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]

…

[You have reached level 134. 5 stat points awarded.]

+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]

* * *

It took a long while of sneaking around, but eventually Amber managed to go up a few levels⁠— she had no idea if they could even be considered floors considering they had an eclectic selection of monsters and various habitats. And considering it was a dungeon, it made sense to her.

It took Amber quite a lot of navigation until she got to a floor where the monsters were around level 130, which she found to be the perfect practice spot. But not even five minutes into wandering to the floor she saw footprints.

They were faint, and it only seemed to be two people, but Amber looking at them realized that maybe she could seek them out and ask for help. Help in navigating the dungeon and learning information⁠— everything she didn’t know given she had just been dropped into a room with a deadly monster.

So, she followed after the tracks and it took less than a minute before she heard voices.

“We are done here, let us move to the next area.”

Amber raised her brow at that, but quickly caught up and saw two people in tunics that were talking to one another. They both were mages, evidently, but given they didn’t seem to be from the Arcane Council, Amber didn’t care too much. In fact, they seemed like adventurers to her. So, she approached and called out to them.

[Mage. Lvl. 142]

[Mage. Lvl. 141]

“Hey.”

She got their attention and the both of them turned and pointed their staffs at her, which made Amber take a step back and raise her hands.

“I’m not looking to fight, I’m just hoping to get information about the dungeon⁠—”

And the two mages unleashed their attacks without so much as hearing her out.

“Explode.”

“Tear!”