My chest was still heaving as I turned and locked eyes with Eros. When you wielded an art, you wielded it with the full force of your cultivation. The qi inside me flowed with the force of a storm, like wind pushing roiling black clouds in my veins. Sweat clung to my skin, and my heart raced.

“We killed them.” I said, staring Eros down.

He flinched back, eyes widening for just a moment over his freckles.

“Not that.” He said, more reserved this time. “Are you — are you alright?”

I looked over myself. I was completely uninjured. None of them touched me. My chest was still heaving though.

“I’m fine. Was someone hurt?” My eyes jumped to Poppy, then to Annabelle. They both seemed fine.

“He means that you threw yourself in the middle of them like you weren’t afraid of getting hurt.” Poppy interjected. Her gauntlets formed bloody fists, and she stared disapprovingly at me.

“I wasn’t worried. These creatures are so rudimentary they couldn’t hurt anyone.” I said, kicking one of the goblin’s corpses.

“Just because you have extra health doesn’t mean you should tank hits. If you’re trying to level resistances, you should do it safely instead of diving into a dozen enemies.” Poppy sighed, before turning to address the Rogue. “Anna, did the goblins have any scouts with them?”

“Not that I saw.” Annabelle said, appearing next to me. It was like reality slipped away around her. “But I’ll circle around and make sure.”

She disappeared again.

Poppy grunted, pulling a knife from her belt and grabbing one of the goblin corpses.

“Proof of the bounty is a left ear.” Poppy said, grunting as she cleaved through the goblin’s ear.

I nodded. That was not entirely dissimilar from the trophies we collected from our own hunts. I stepped through the field of bodies, slashing off the ears of the goblins with my sword, finishing the task in just a moment before leaning to pick one of the ears up.

This formation was complex beyond anything I had ever seen. The ears felt warm and heavy in my hand. I turned back and stared at the group of goblin hunters I had encountered, trying to think through what the formation could be testing.

Team work, maybe? Did it expect me to take over and lead this group? They seemed almost intelligent. For a moment, I wondered if they were complete embedded spirits rather than just echoes. The Feng family didn’t have a complete spirit embedded into anything, though I heard that the Grim Tempest regularly embedded spirits of men and beasts into their tools.

Regardless, the formation must have a threat worth four people fighting it. The sect that designed this must have ruled the continent to have enough power to build it.

“What are you thinking?” Eros asked, meeting my stare. “Get a level?”

“Yes.” I said. The system mentioned having attribute points to spend. With a thought, I pulled the system open and poured over the options.

[Feng Sai][Level 9]

[Health: 100%]

[STR 21][CON 19]

[INT 10][WIL 10]

[AGI 20][PER 13]

[Attribute Points Available: 5]

The Will stat seemed to be highlighted. I squinted at it, focusing. [Identification] activated.

[WIL]

[Willpower is a measure of the ability to impose your intent onto reality.]

The identification skill seemed to itch, like there was something more to discover but that the skill couldn’t see it. I debated putting points into Perception for a moment to see if it would reveal more.

The System — the formation — whatever this was, it seemed to want me to put the attribute points into Willpower. I didn’t know if it was another test or if it was a guiderail for the people they put through this massive training illusion.

“Put five points into Willpower.” I said, directing the system.

“What?” Eros asked. “Are you a mage?”

“I — ” I stopped, staggering forward suddenly.

When cultivating through the Qi Condensation realm, the first step was to bring in qi from the world around you. The free, ambient qi in the world was like a gas — loose and diffused. It was useless for using in technique’s or cultivation. The first step of the first minor stage was to pull that qi together and compress it into a liquid, turning a cloud the size of your body into a single drop of qi.

At the height of the First Realm, I had used that liquid qi to open my Meridians one by one. Liquid qi pumped through me constantly like a machine, forced along by my own intent. But I had been cultivating for so long that this was as simple as breathing. I hardly ever consciously thought about the constant cultivation.

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Early into cultivation, my body had improved by leaps and bounds as the qi churned my body into something greater, preparing me for the breakthrough into the Second Realm. It had always moved in a slow grind through my meridians, a constant dull feeling, a whistling wind over a barren plain. But the moment the system invested my attribute points, it accelerated.

The qi in my body before was like a slow moving stormfront, moving ever onward.

But now it was a swirling vortex of power. My meridians felt half empty as my control over my qi suddenly strengthened. My constant, slow cultivation was many times more effective without any warning, leaving my pool of power completely empty.

“Are you okay?” Eros asked, slamming a hand onto my shoulder and righting me.

“Yes.” I said. “No. I’m better than okay.” I had been staring at my hands.

For years I had stalled at this realm, unable to progress. But with this level of control? I could break through into the next realm right now.

“All clear!” Annabelle said, appearing again in the group as poppy packed the goblin ears into a bag.

“Good. Good. Still want to show us those ruins, Feng?” Poppy asked.

I was startled at the sudden address. I supposed that if I could see their names, they could see mine as well. I hadn’t even realized that we had never exchanged names until that moment; for so long, I had taken for granted that everyone knew my name. I was the Second Young Master after all.

“Yes.” I said. “We should hurry before it gets dark. I do not trust this forest.”

Eros and Annabelle took a moment to root through the goblin’s supplies, pulling out gemstones and ancient looking coins from pouches, as well as grabbing some of the monster’s weapons. I was dubious of them holding any value.

Then I led them in the general direction of the ruins. The game path the goblins walked along led toward what remained of the goblin village.

“You sure did a number on this place.” Eros said, whistling as we approached. There was little left besides a smoking heap.

“They are… less than adept at construction.” I said, staring at the smoking heap.

“Think there’s anything worth looting?” Eros asked, turning to Poppy.

Poppy just shook her head. We moved on, stepping around the burnt husk of the goblin village. The ruins were down a winding path that climbed out a mountain. Just like the actual ruin in Sandgrave, it was below the ground level.

The adventuring group stopped and stared when it came into view, directly off the side of the hill we descended.

It was a sprawling complex of multistory stone buildings, connected by labrynthine hallways which rose out of the earth like the interconnected roots of trees. Vines crept up the side of the ancient stone; rubble piled high around the sides of the buildings. Birds called out from atop the stone roofs, ancient nests piled in the nooks and crannies of the building.

The qi running through my veins quickened with my pulse. This should be it — the moment where whatever test this formation has presents itself. The constant rotation of my qi through my body pulled the rich ambient qi in the air faster, beginning to slowly refill my core.

Poppy, Annabelle and Eros said nothing. I turned to look at them.

Poppy was pale, staring wide eyed over the ruin, while Annabelle took a step backward after seeing it. Eros was scanning the buildings.

“How has no one found this?” Eros asked.

“These are precursor ruins.” Poppy said only a moment later.

“What?” Eros asked at the same time Annabelle let out a curse.

Poppy took a step forward.

“Stop! Aren’t these way too dangerous?!” Annabelle asked.

“They could be worth enough to build a dynasty out of. Here and now.” Poppy said, her eyes wide. I didn’t like the hunger I recognized in them.

“Or we could die!” Annabelle said.

“He made it out of them fine.” Poppy said, spinning and looking at me. She seemed to be an entirely different person. Up until now she had been calm, almost reserved.

I took a step back, resting a hand on my sword’s hilt. Poppy bit her lip.

“Sorry. It’s just — the kind of treasure here could change a life. Could change all of our lives. This opportunity — we won’t get a second one. If we report this to the Trailblazers they’ll just send higher rank and politically connected adventurers in. It will be months before we’re allowed to pick up the scraps.” Poppy said.

“I vote we loot it.” Eros said. He licked his lips. He wasn’t looking at Poppy anymore. Instead, he was staring at the ruin. “You’re right. He survived. And we won’t get this chance again.”

“Speak some sense into them!” Annabelle said, turning onto me. She probably expected me to help talk sense into them. But opportunity always came hand in hand with danger. I was certain now that this was the direction the formation was pushing me. Whatever other opportunities it was going to provide me, it would be here.

And if the formation was capable of enhancing my cultivation to such an extent that I could break through the First Realm… I almost salivated at what could be inside.

The power to resist death. To push back age.

I would have to study my cultivation and ensure that I could repeat this trick once I escaped this formation.

“I’m going down there whether or not you guys do.” I said finally.

Annabelle sighed.

“Then I guess we’re going. Are you coming Anna?” Poppy asked.

“I’m not going to let you idiots get killed without me.” Anna said, glaring down.

We descended the hill toward the ruin. There was a hum of raw power in the air that I hadn’t noticed before. It seemed to be nearly buzzing.

“I’ll check for traps.” Annabelle said, retying her short hair.

“Have you been in this building?” Poppy asked before Annabelle could step inside.

“No.” I said. “I only exited the central building that way — “ I pointed, “and came directly out into the forest.”

“So there could be anything inside. Be safe, Anna.” Poppy said.

“You know me.” She replied, pushing open the stone door. My perception slid away from her.

As we waited, I let my eyes roam, using Identify on the structure.

[Mysterious Ruins]

The system returned no other information on them.

“You said these were precursor ruins?” I asked.

If this formation was indeed a projection of an ancient time period, then these ruins must have been ancient even when it was recorded.

Poppy nodded.

“We didn’t know there were any precursor dungeons left before the one discovered five decades ago in the Savage Expanse. How much do you know about them? Much of their history is restricted in Illyria.” Poppy said.

“I… I’ve not heard much. I am curious what treasure they have.” I said, shaking my head. It was best not to appear too ignorant.

“The treasures found in their vaults have changed the trajectory of entire nations — weapons that have slain kings, ancient magics that have changed entire biomes. The precursors practiced multiple forms of magic outside the system — things we still haven’t been able to replicate fully. After the first Precursor dungeon was found in this forsaken continent, hundreds of ships have been launched to try to find more. And you brought us directly to the second.”

Poppy turned her head, eyes locking onto mine with a burning intensity. She laughed.

“I feel bad for only splitting a fourth of our loot with you. This is worth more than any goblin.”

From inside the first hall, Annabelle screamed.