Mathew woke to the light bathing his face. He groaned in annoyance and rolled over, but it didn’t matter. He was awake. With a sigh of annoyance, Mathew climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom.
He returned to a moan from his bed. “Why did you leeeaaaavvvveeee. Come back please.”
“Lindsey, come on now. You know what I am doing today. We had our fun, but it’s time for me to really push myself.”
She pouted. “You are no fun when you are sober.”
Mathew grined down at her. “And you are adorable sober.”
“Come on, do you really have to come close to death today? Can’t you just wait one more day?”
Mathew leaned down and cupped her chin. “We talked about this last night. I think you are extremely sexy, and I look forward to having more wine with you. However, I am a man of principle, I am going into that Dungeon today. I said I was going to do it, and damn it, I am going to solo a Dungeon.”
“Well, what about a good luck kiss?” She asked with a playful sing-song voice. She then patted the bed next to her.
Mathew checked the time, “Well, I can be a little late I suppose.”
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“You are an idiot.” Mr. Melton said as he rode with Mathew.
“Eight.” Mathew muttered as he tried to ignore the persistent old man.
“An absolute buffoon.”
“Nine.”
“This is suicide!”
“Ten. Also why I didn’t tell you. Last time I ever tell Lucas anything.”
“Luca did his job! You are insane! Do you have a death wish? And don’t you dare count another complaint from me. If you die, that means all this work we have going is ruined.”
“Eleven.” Mathew thought to himself, but just sighed. “Mr. Melton. Everything we have so far established is exactly why I am doing this. I am going into that Dungeon alone. With nothing but my own powers. I’m going to clear the entire place out, then kill the boss. After that, I am going to walk out with a cup of tea in my hand, and bask in the glory of my new Ability. Once I finish my cup, I will receive my newest class, then spend the last few days preparing for the World Quest.”
“I still think it’s a stupid plan.”
“And you still don’t get that I have to do this. I should be able to fight Novice ranked people with no problem. Add in Agnox, all my preparations, my high tiered powers, the amount of money spent, and stats I have. You know why Payne wanted me as his personal dancing monkey. It wasn’t just my contract powers. I have power. Power I need to solidify before the World Quest.”
Mr. Melton eyed Mathew, but said nothing more. Which was fine for Mathew, the Dungeon was in view. Sadly, to Mathew’s disappointment, there was yet another person to talk him out of it. Henderson was standing there with her arms crossed. She looked ready to go into a Dungeon or heavy fight.
Mathew climbed out, and walked toward the portal. “No, if you come in, you ruin it. You will not be there ‘just in case’. Any other time I would want you there. I need to do this. Yes it’s stupid. Yes it’s not safe. I know all of that. If it makes you feel better, I have a feeling there is a title involved with soloing the Dungeon.”
Henderson eyed him. She was going over everything in her head while Mathew didn’t move closer to the dungeon.
“Not to mention, I want to hit Level 25. I need a new ability and push two more powers to Apprentice rank. I am close. I can’t hit that without something like what I am doing, or a Beginner ranked dungeon. We haven't found a single one of those, just another novice one a day's travel away. This one is safer. I have everything ready to do it.”
A moment passed, then Henderson stepped to the side. Mathew nodded. Not in thanks, but as a promise. “I won’t die in there.”
Mathew walked through the portal and ended up in the birch forest. A sunset colored sky dominated the air above him.
He took a moment to breathe in the air. It was fresh and crisp. Then, he let the mana flow through his channels. He wanted a tried and true test. Thus, he dismissed all his summons before he came here.
Starting with the most important, Agnox came into being with a small push of mana. As he left, Mathew felt as if a piece of himself also left. The warmth of his Infernal familiar left his soul.
Agnox then took off to scout, already knowing the plan well before now. Mathew then summoned his two wisps. Wispy and Whis came to being, and the emotional connection to them filled.
Agnox wasn’t the only one Mathew was closer to. Jeffery and the two wisps were just as much, however the connection was weaker. He wondered if it was because the souls he connected to himself were not a perfect fit like Agnox was.
Whis had a bubbly and excited emotion. Meanwhile, Wispy was…careful. That’s the best Mathew could narrow it down to. Why a mana construct with no seeming intelligence could be careful, he had no clue.
Then the longest summon, Jeffery. It took several minutes to bring him out, even with his new mana channels. Jeffery was a true summon, as far as Mathew could tell. Not stored within his soul like Agnox, nor created by his mana like the wisps.
Jeffery manifested next to Mathew. The wolf sat down and looked annoyed. “Hey, I told you my reasoning. Get over it. Would you not ever unsummon you to save your life?”
“Whatever my next summon is, I need it to be less childish. Can a bush be childish?”
Mathew was curious as to what kind of reward Gaia was giving him. With how one could shape how powers grow, could a bush even be as powerful as Jeffery?
Letting idle thoughts wonder, Mathew pulled out a bag of salt. He took a quick glance around, to be sure nobody was near him.
The first ritual he was going to cast, was one of his newest ones. Ritual of Acceleration, on paper, is nearly useless.
While within the range of the ritual, the speed of all things within it, is increased by 10%. After testing, Mathew realized this includes projectiles. Knowing how to increase and decrease ranges of rituals, he created a small area.
Their plan was simple. Mathew needed to rank up his [Staves] and his [Summon Whisps] spell. Agnox and Jeffery were here simply for back up.
“Not to mention I need to acquire a new ability.”
Mathew had an inkling of an idea of what new ability to acquire. It would be a supportive one…hopefully. The idea came from weeks ago when he was clearing out Blue Oaks of all the Infernals.
The teenager he was fighting with, his ability to slow down others was something that interested him. The creatures inside this Dungeon were fast. Faster than the Undead. Hence why he picked this Dungeon in the end as his prowling grounds.
Taking a quick glance around, Mathew noticed that Agnox wasn’t back yet. “Good. That means nothing is going wrong.”
His set up was complete. Now, it was a waiting game. His original play was to use the Blood Scent ritual, and bring the dinosaurs to him in swarms. However, after thinking it over, that was the worst choice. He needed to do things slowly and methodically. Feel out everything, not rush into them.
The new plan involved Agnox and Jeffery baiting enemies toward Mathew when things were slow. Reaching out with his mana, Mathew let it slowly rotate through the channels. It was a feeling he will never grow tired of.
True power flowing through him. Once he reached the top, nobody will stop him. He let himself bathe in the rushing mana before he refocused on the area around him.
“Any minute now, the first group should be here…” Mathew said to nobody.
The Dungeon has been delved into numerous times. As such, certain patterns and behaviors were noticed to be repeated. The main one was any group that hung around the entrance for too long would be attacked.
Mathew looked and saw Jeffery’s ears flick. He smiled, welcoming the upcoming battle. Nothing will be held back here.
Mana flowed through his weapon and a [Mana Bolt] was readied. Next, he focused on his two wisps. “Focus on the slowing aspect of our attacks. Slowing them down is the primary goal here.” He said to himself to remind him of what he was aiming for.
The first pack of Volakarn’s rushed toward him. It was a smaller pack of three. Mathew let loose his own attack, aiming at their legs. He then focused on his own wisps. Controlling how they each acted independently.
The larger attack from Mathew ripped apart the first dinosar’s leg, causing it to tumble to the ground. The wisps attacked, flew through the ritual area, picking up speed and peppering the two other dinosaurs.
Mathew strained his senses, watching for any hint of slowing them down. He continued his aim at their legs, aiming to trip them up or slow them down. He let loose another bolt, curving it through the air to catch one through its side.
The one he didn’t attack leapt forward, through the ritual. The beast didn’t expect the sudden increase in speed, and overshot the group. Mathew spun around, and launched a powerful attack through his rod, killing it instantly.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Focusing on the only one standing on its own two legs, Mathew ignored Whis and coaxed Wispy to fire rapidly. Pushing his own mana through to help it out.
Attack after attack was fired. Weaker shots, but the speed was notably faster. Mathew also applied his Axiom of [Piercing] to dig deep into the scaled flesh. The idea was to have the freezing temperatures dig into the muscles and slow them down.
Just with Wispy, Mathew finished off the last two dinosaurs. He quickly opened his menu and saw there was no change. “Can’t expect results on the first try can we? Bring in the next round, Agnox!”
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Mathew was breathing heavily nearly three hours later. “Another.” He said between breaths.
“I don’t know Boss. You should take a break. Let Jeffery and I scout out the boss at least.”
“We are close! I can feel it. A whole team can clear this place out within three hours. I’ve barely killed a third.”
“Yea, but you are doing it alone, and with half your power. You barely used Jeffery or I. You’ve used your knives and the spear once. Don’t beat yourself up too much. I’m sure you will get something out of this.”
“I can’t just get something Agnox, I need everything. If I go into that World Quest without ranking up, all that potential gets thrown away. Wasted.”
Agnox didn’t say anything, instead he flew back into the wilderness.
Mathew pulled out a bottle and gulped down water. He sat down, and let the mana continue to flow back into him. After three hours, and taking it slow, he was less than half full. He used a single Mana Core to refill himself up an hour ago.
There wouldn’t be any use of a second one. All the others will be for the World Quest. He already needed to gather funds to replace the two novice ones he’s used, let alone the Beginner tiered one he used on the maid ritual.
Looking up at his two wisps, he grew curious. “Am I doing something wrong? It’s been on the cusps of a rank up for weeks now. Same with my [Staves].”
Mathew knew it would be a while before another pack came to him. He shrugged and turned to Jeffery. “Kill the next group. I need to think.”
The wolf perked up, finally getting to fight himself today. Mathew closed his eyes, and started to meditate. His mind wandered through his experiences of how he did things in battle. Primarily with Droozkora’s Rod and the two wisps.
So far, he used the magical stick as a way to focus his magic. Pushing more and more mana through things. That’s the point of it. It was a tool and a weapon. But, how did it work?
Mathew didn’t care too much how things worked with magic, so long as they did work. He was at the point where he was second guessing himself on whether he knew if he was doing things properly. Did the way he used the Rod let alone any other staff matter?
He went over the phrasing of his Beginner upgrade for the weapon skill. ‘You have discovered how to use a staff as a focus to channel your mana and spells. This upgrade will further improve the connection you have with staves and not only improve your use of them, but the spells cast through them.’
“Mana and spells. Channeling both. But what is the difference? It can consolidate mana into a simple bolt and fire it. My spell’s version is so much better, hence why I just do it that way. But, what if I’m only focusing on the fightin side. Can it be used in a different way?”
Mathew pulled out one of his backup staves. He ran a hand along the wooden shaft and gripped it with both hands. “I wonder…just how does mana flow through it?”
He focused, recycling mana through the staff just like he did when he first created mana channels by accident. Once the mana left his body, his connection to it faded, but he could still sense an echo of it.
He pushed more through it, feeling out the staff. He noticed as soon as mana entered the weapon, it was pulled toward the end by the topper, a simple gemstone. He continued to push more and more mana through, empowered by his [Channel Mana] ability.
Mathew just needed to get a better picture, the mana kept fading, if he could only-
Suddenly with a loud pop, the staff exploded in his hands, sending splinters all over the place. Mathew jumped, along with Jeffery at the sound. “Fucking hell.” Mathew swore, waving out the wooden splinters from his hands.
The damage was minimal. He looked down at his chest with a frown. The robes were torn, the leather underneath saving him from worse results. “Of course it blew up in my hands. Just like last-”
Mathew’s eyes widened, and ideas formed in his head. “What if it could hold more mana? What if I applied my Axiom to the weapon, pushing more mana into it, and creating a far stronger attack as a by-product?”
It would solve his need for a powerful attack. It would be an expensive plan to test, Staves were not cheap. The better quality ones are less so. Yet, he couldn’t shake the idea out of his mind.
Mathew pulled out one of his last three back up staves and focused. First, he tried to push his Axiom around the weapon. To his surprise, it was almost effortless. The mental energy ran flush with the surface, giving it a slight hazy energy around it.
Grinning, he pushed mana into the weapon. He watched how much he put into it carefully. He felt the staff start to swell and he attempted to release the mana into an attack against a nearby tree.
Yet, nothing happened. All he felt was a pressure from his mind, as if something attacked him when he had his Axiom protecting him. A feeling he knew all too well from his spars.
A streak of panic crossed his mind, but he didn’t dare let it control him. Instead, he released his Axiom. *BOOM*
An explosion went off, mostly away from Mathew than toward him. The staff was splintered like a gun barrel that was fired with something blocking the other end. The evidence was a nearby tree that no longer stood. A following crash of the tree landing on the ground echoed throughout the forest.
“I guess Agnox won’t need to bring anything after all.”
Mathew pulled out a mana core, too eager to test out the results on the incoming pack. He had test subjects coming. It would be a shame if he didn’t give them a proper welcome.
A bolt of fire flew across the sky. That was the warning shot. Mathew turned toward Jeffery. “Sorry buddy, you can have any stragglers. I doubt I can do much after this first shot.” Reading the staff, Mathew smiled to himself. “If anything survives. That tree was at least ten feet wide!”
Mathew was once again excited. If he could replicate the effects, having a personal hand cannon was all he could ask for in a fight. He lacked any strong attacks outside his own [Mana Bolt]. That attack was shaping into a pinpoint accurate attack. He wanted something with an area of effect.
“Just like how I want with Whis too.” Mathew said with a grin. He glanced up at the wisp. “Sure, why not both?”
Mathew fed mana into both his staff, and his wisps. “If I grow stronger under pressure, then this is what I will do.”
Emptying all his mana into the three incoming attacks, Mathew strained to focus and hold the attacks.. “Just a little bit longer, Agnox will be here in a moment.”
Just then, the red imp flew into view and as soon as he saw Mathew his summoner shouted a single word at him. “UP!”
Agnox soared upwards, not wanting anything to do with what Mathew was about to do. A pack of seven velociraptor dinosaurs came into view, Mathew didn’t even give them a chance to blink.
He released his hold on his Axiom, and the wisps, letting everything fly forward in a single wave of power. The deafening explosive blue wave was not slow, nor restricting. Yet, it was powerful.
Mathew was thrown backwards from the shockwave of the attack. Flesh and blood rained down around him as he sat up, looking at the aftereffects of his attack.
The first thing he noted was his wisps were gone, he over taxed them, and as a by-product, they were damaged enough to fade away.
The second thing was the gapping large hole in the ground. Nothing served the attack.
Mathew’s gleeful face grew only larger as two screens appeared in front of him after opening his menu.
Skill Upgrade - Staves
Mana Charge: You can store mana into staves and draw it out at a later time
Explosive Attacks: All attacks from Staves will have a larger area of effect
Specialized Focus: You can have all staves specialize in a type of magic, increasing their effects.
Spell Upgrade - Summon Wispy & Whis
Channel Barrage: You can channel mana into your wisps to increase their attack output
Double Twins: Your wisps double again in number
Elemental Split: You can change the element of one of your wisps
Consolidate: Your two wisps reunite, improving it’s combat progress by more than double.