Vorayx smiled as he saw the form of a disgusting gorefiend shell, bloated with its worthless flesh magic through the eyes of the mortal. Finally, the mortal had reached the domain of the butcher. Vorayx was almost excited, he had enjoyed watching the mortal struggle through the tunnels of flesh though he had been disappointed when the mortal had found a way to deal with the obstacle so easily.
The curse of Soul Devourer was taking longer than he would have preferred but at least he was able to view more and more of what the mortal was up to now. Vorayx frowned as he realized the butcher was speaking to the mortal, “What are you planning meat filth…”
The gorefiends were the only faction in the trial that didn’t have a higher level representative waiting outside of the trial. Vorayx knew little of their kind but was aware of their ability to communicate between the layers of the abyss. Like Vorayx whoever commanded the butcher likely wanted the mortal as badly as the rest for the abyssal evolution, especially if they were stuck at the height of tier two.
Not being able to hear what was being said infuriated Vorayx, the meathfilth’s twisted face made it difficult to read its lips. Vorayx knew it likely wouldn’t matter. The mortal was as bloodthirsty as the kuroxet and would probably attack the butcher at any moment. But that moment never came, instead, the butcher conjured a contract.
Vorayx roared, slamming his fist into his second throne and shattering, sending bone shrapnel through the air, and cutting down several of the weaker kuroxet. He concentrated on the images flashing into his head and tried to read what was on the contract, its words shifting to his native language.
I Ilgathar of the first will instruct Kalum Lesta of the seventy-third in the art of mana manipulation and detection for three days, beginning at the moment this contract is finalized during that time if either of the bound souls is extinguished or their shell is destroyed, the living member will be in fault of the contract and should receive the penalty. In addition, I will tell him the name and location of the wearer of Soul Devourer and will answer questions that will do no harm to my kin or hamper the will of the Lady of Blood. In return Kalum Lesta will allow me to perform a test on the affinities of his unique resource then I allow him to slay this shell I now inhabit, completing this contract.
Vorayx seethed, several of his skills activating on their own as he passed around the remains of his throne. A kuroxet slaughter that had gotten too close fell over writhing in agony as its bones began to form spikes piercing its own organs before a large spike burst from its skull killing it. Vorayx couldn’t care less about the mortal knowing who he was, it stood no chance and would die the moment he saw it. No that did not matter, what mattered was the actions of the gorefiend. What was it planning? Why was it so interested in the mortal’s resources? The mortal was potent for a tier one but it was nothing compared to anything beyond this layer. It must be something to do with the aura he sensed.
Opening his notifications Vorayx read the entries he received when he sensed the aura.
A calamity has arisen…
Quest Received: Devour the anomaly
An anomaly has manifested on this plane, seize it for the great lord and you shall be rewarded.
Reward: Abyssal evolution, 10 levels.
What was really going on here? Things were clearly at play here that Vorayx didn’t understand. The gorefiend literally making it impossible for itself to betray the mortal and complete the quest was ridiculous, what was its lord offering to dissuade it from taking its chance to evolve?
Vorayx glared down at the orb that now rolled along the ground now that his throne had once again failed to withstand his anger. The caretaker had been practically useless in telling him about the mortal. Apparently, the mortal had only been inside the dungeon for a day or two. It also claimed that it had no knowledge of the mortal’s class or resources. Useless.
He picked it up and fed more abyssal mana into the orb to watch it squirm some more. Vorayx was convinced it was lying, he knew that the caretakers had far more functions than one would expect. They were crafted by an ancient enemy after all. Vorayx moved his perception into the orb and spoke, “I suggest you talk caretaker if wish for your pain to end.”
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After the contract was in place Kal was surprised to find the butcher was quite enthusiastic about instructing him. It had insisted they begin with some basic mana perception theory but Kal wanted to get some things straight first.
“First I want you to tell me what you meant about the first and the seventy-third.”
“It surprises me that a mortal does not know of such basic things. How are you not aware of your universe of origin?”
“I wasn’t aware there even were multiple universes. Wait, so you're saying that I am from the seventy-third and you are from the first?”
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Ilgathar’s face twisted into a smile that showed off a set of twisted and mismatched fangs, “Exactly, though the abyssal horizon spreads far across the planes of men. Your universe must be one of the few yet to be consumed.”
Kal frowned, he had heard mention of the abyssal horizon in the Mira’s bunker but had not looked into it much. The place he now stood was a world once conquered by demons and had become a new breeding ground for their kind. The first remembrance stone had shown him a battle from the times before the world fell. The power on display by everything involved was on a scale far higher than Kal had ever seen before. How many other worlds like that were conquered? If that reached his world, would they even stand a chance?
He put those thoughts aside for the moment, they weren’t useful. Instead, Kal moved on to a different line of questioning, “Fine. Now tell me who has the other ring?”
“A Lumixet called Vorayx a tier two chosen of The Great Lord. As you are now you stand little hope of taking the ring from him mortal.”
Fuck…
That wasn’t good, if whoever this Vorayx was is tier two he was at least level one hundred. If Kal was going to have a chance at fighting something like that he needed to level up fast or find another way to get the ring. That would be practically impossible though since Kal didn’t exactly have any allies here. Kal could feel his birthright reacting to his real anger for a moment but he reigned it in but a whisper of it made it to his voice, “I have stood against the odds before, demon, and I’ll do it again if I have to.”
Ilgathar stared at him for several seconds, its face unreadable but eventually its face twisted into a smile, “Perhaps you will. Now let us begin your instruction, there is little point in wasting time.”
Kal hadn’t realized before but to the right of the door he had entered, there was a second room separated by a door of bone just like the first but the text carved into it was different. He couldn’t read it obviously but he could see the differences. Ilgathar limped its way into the room, the doors swinging open on their own.
The room was made completely of white bone, all perfectly smooth, it almost looked like marble but the color was slightly too yellow for that. To the left and right sides of the room stood two pillars with symbols carved up and down their sides. Kal figured they were something important so he identified them.
Stone of Mana Acuity [Epic]
First discovered in the early years of the first universe this device was paramount to the success of those studying the arts of mana manipulation.
By selecting an affinity with the appropriate symbol on the side of this stone a small amount of mana of the selected affinity will be produced until either the stone is deactivated or another affinity is selected. Some affinities these stones are capable of projecting have not been found anywhere else since their discovery.
Kal’s eyes lit up when he read the description. Just getting time with an epic rarity like these made the bargain worth it already. Getting a grasp of several more mana affinities could be incredibly useful, he doubted he could use them directly but just understanding them would be useful for the future and possibly help him more easily adjust system-guided skills to his wrath.
But Kal’s interest was soon tainted with suspicion, “You had planned for this at the start of the wave didn’t you?”
Ilgathar chuckled, but it sounded more like it was crying, “Of course, I did not lie when I said that my master and I wished to learn from you. Improving your mana manipulation can only help learn more once you are ready.”
Kal guessed that made sense but he still didn’t like it, “Who is your master? Slazak?”
“Yes, now sit mortal and we shall begin,” it waved its hand to a space in the back of the room between the two stones of mana acuity.
Kal decided he could question the demon more later and took a seat, crossing his legs and activating his mana sight.
“Since you are a mortal I will start with the basics. These stones will produce just enough mana to be detectable by a novice but I will cycle through each affinity in an attempt to find what affinity aligns most with you. This will not give me any information on your unique resource, rather it will inform me of what primal affinities you are in-.”
Kal honestly had no idea what the Ilgathar was talking about and he figured the demon had noticed when it paused.
“I see your ignorance,” its face eerily neutral for several seconds before it continued, “I do not see how one can be so ignorant and survive this long in the abyss, even its first layer. Fine. The primal affinities are the most basic of known mana affinities, many are not present in the abyss due to our superior abyssal mana further empowering them,” Ilgathar touched one of the symbols and the whole stone glowed for an instant before winking out, “Since you are mortal it is unlikely that you will be able to detect the projected mana but I will move through each type we have available while I explain them.”
Kal was barely listening, it had taken him a moment as he started adjusting his mana sight to filter out the abyssal mana and the sickly mana that surrounded him but soon his eyes were locked onto a small sphere that hovered above the stone. It shined a pleasant blue and Kal felt a sense of peace by just looking at it. It felt so pure compared to the other mana types he had seen. Without thinking he spoke over whatever Ilgathar was about to say, “This one is water right?”
Ilgathar paused, its expression unreadable but its eye flames flickered slightly, “Yes, it is a common affinity for mage classes among mortals,” It pressed another symbol and the stone glowed again and the sphere above vanished, replaced by a vibrant green shape that didn’t want to conform into a sphere, instead it reminded Kal immediately of a seed sprouting through the soil. The light of the mana twists and turns like a stem through the soil.
Kal knew what this affinity was the moment he saw it. It was life, but it was more specific than that, perhaps nature? He saw that Ilgathar was waiting for him to say something so he said, “Life, or nature?”
Ilgathar didn’t say anything and simply moved on to the next symbol and turned back to Kal staring into his eyes as the next affinity was projected.