[https://i.imgur.com/cJVLrwY.png]

With introductions out of the way, I focused back on the task at hand. My Mantle relaxed, hanging like it normally did, and I could feel its awareness enter a sort of dormancy—like it had been expending extra energy to become as alert as it had been. Which was fine with me, I needed to get used to sharing my mind with another entity.

Before I set back off down the main tunnel, I examined my Mantle and the new upgraded Traits.

[Progenitor’s Mantle][Unique][Earth-based Item (Planet #10773724717)]

Rank: 0 —> 1

Experience: 10,056/100,000

Traits:

Only a Matter of Time I

You Think Your Shit Don’t Stink I (Same Race)

Your Shit Really Don’t Stink I

Your Shit Really Don’t Stink II

Your Shit Really Don’t Stink III

Keen Eye I —> Keen Eye II

Sound of Mind I —> Sound of Mind II

Abilities:

[Analysis I] —> [Analysis II]

Status: Equipped (Back slot)

Bearer: Dirk Damascus, Prime of Earth (Race rank: #1 — Co-Integrated Rank: #114,389 —> #76)

I pulled up the two new Traits and ability first.

Keen Eye II: Grants the [Analysis II] ability.

Sound of Mind II: Strong resistance to Terror or Charisma effects.

Analysis II:

Description: In addition to the effects of Rank I, this ability will now be able to identify the primary Affinity of entities that are five levels or more below the caster. It will also indicate Terror and Charisma effects when all parties involved are five levels or more below the caster.

I re-read the [Analysis II] description a few times, a smile on my face. Being able to determine Affinities would be great for determining the strengths of enemies going forward—even if it didn’t work on higher level enemies like Kneer. But the part that really interested me was being able to see Terror and Charisma effects in action. Next time I saw Craig, I’d put that to the test.

Moving back up on the description of my Mantle, I saw that the Rank had gone from 0 to 1, and the experience was around 10,000 of 100,000. That number was pretty mind boggling, considering everything I’d killed just to get the 10,000 XP to level the Mantle to Rank 1.

Scanning back through one more time, that last change I noticed was the Co-Integrated Rank moving up all the way to 76! I had never understood the Ranks before—were they based on levels, Affinity, or some combination of factors? But clearly, I was doing something right if I had climbed over 100,000 ranks. I hadn’t returned to the Staging Area where the Leaderboard was located, but I imagined there would be some sort of obvious pattern or explanation there.

As I was mulling that over, another giant rock rushed past the access tunnel. I started my internal clock and took off after it. After nearly five minutes of running, I began to panic as there was no access tunnel visible ahead. Two more minutes passed, and the distinctive rumbling of another rock sounded behind me.

When I felt like it was nearly on top of me, another golden shine appeared ahead. I put on a burst of speed, racing for the access tunnel, all thoughts of garnering another golden tunneler kill far from my mind. I threw myself into the smaller tunnel, alerting the tunneler to my presence immediately. I ignored it, listening for the incoming boulder, when my Mantle jerked ahead of its own accord. Like a lunging viper, it dragged me across the rock with a quick tug, then wrapped around the golden tunneler like a boa constrictor. The tunneler fought the Mantle’s grip, but as before, it was futile.

“Goddamn,” I muttered. “You’re relentless. I was gonna let that one go.”

The Mantle sent me an image of itself slapping me across the face again, and I laughed.

“We’re gonna get along just fine,” I said as my Mantle reeled in the tunneler all on its own.

I killed the tunneler quick, garnering another portal as another level up notification appeared.

Level up! You are now a level 18 Free Solo Prodigy!

I now had three levels worth of unallocated stats, but I reserved them. It was unclear what this run would bring, but there was a decent chance I had another run in with Kneer. Keeping 15 stat points in reserve could mean the difference between victory or death.

The next boulder rumbled by and I took off again. The access tunnels were obviously moving further apart, and I wondered how much deeper this main tunnel could possibly go.

I made it to two more access tunnels and my Mantle ruthlessly snagged two more golden tunnelers, netting me one more level up and two more portals. But it was clear that I had a decision to make. We had reached the last access tunnel with literal seconds to spare, and if the pattern continued, I wouldn’t make the next tunnel. Which made me wonder how anyone could make it to this point that didn’t have jacked up Agility or a damn sled—

Of course! I needed a vehicle of some sort. Maybe I could even cast [Lubed Up] on my feet and do a janky impression of a snowboard down the tunnel…?

But the question was, continue on and risk ending this redo early, or try to return to the top and make some sort of vehicle to speed up the process? By my estimation, it had been about 30 minutes since I’d entered the main tunnel, and would take me even longer to get back up—if I even could at all.

“What you think?” I asked my Mantle, not really expecting a response. To my surprise, an image appeared in my mind—golden tunnelers snagged in its cloth, their blood leaking out on the dark stone. I laughed at the sheer bloodlust attached to the image. “You don’t mess around, do you? Okay, onward it is, then.”

I had to wait for the next boulder to crash by, then I was off again. Thinking back on my previous idea, I slicked up the bottom of my feet with [Lubed Up]…and they immediately slipped out from under me. I fully expected to crack my head on the stone, but found myself suspended in the air, my Mantle forming an impression of a seat to catch me. Another image appeared from the Mantle and I patted the cloth lovingly.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“I’m sorry I ever doubted you,” I said as I regained my balance.

Applying the ability to a single foot, I added friction to the other. My Mantle flared behind me, forming a sort of tripod to stabilize me. Then, on my signal, I activated [Lubed Up] on the other foot as the Mantle pushed me forward. Leaning my weight to the front like a skier, my feet didn’t immediately shoot out from under me. I began sliding down the tunnel, my pace picking up alarmingly fast. But without any friction on my feet, every bump and rock I rolled over required superhuman balance to keep myself upright—until my Mantle started helping, acting like a very long set of additional legs. Whenever my balance went too far one way or the other, the Mantle lashed to the floor or the ceiling and steadied me. With my enhanced Mastery, I got the hang of it in less than a minute.

And I was fucking flying!

When I had been simply running, I was moving fast—as fast as any person possibly could, I was sure. But with this new frictionless skiing and the help of my Mantle, I was moving two or maybe even three times as fast.

As the next access tunnel appeared ahead—illuminated by the familiar golden light—I indicated for my Mantle to keep going. A pang of disappointment came from the cape, but I sent it back an image of what I imagined we looked like flying down this tunnel, moving at superhuman speeds, and it was mollified.

After passing two more tunnels, I caught sight of movement ahead and nearly lost my balance entirely in shock. We had actually managed to catch up to the boulder currently rolling to who knew where. Directing my Mantle, we slowed up a bit, drifting about 40 feet behind the rock.

In our haste, I almost missed the tunnel off to the side.

There was no golden light emanating from this tunnel and the entrance was much larger. I realized instantly that this tunnel was different and probably held the mechanism we needed. Using my Mantle and reducing the [Lubed Up] ability gradually, we managed to slow our descent. But we had traveled a couple hundred feet away as we slowed. With a lurch, my feet found their hold on the ground once more, and I nearly face planted into the rocky ground. My Mantle came to the rescue once again, lashing onto the ceiling and catching me like a harnessed rock climber.

Once we were settled, I started running back up the main tunnel towards that side passage. We were well ahead of any impending boulder, so I wasn’t concerned about that.

When we reached the tunnel entrance, I pulled out some moss light. I could damn near see in the dark with my enhanced Perception, but I wanted maximum visibility in the event of booby traps or the like. I wouldn’t put anything past this Integration Guide when it came to screwing us over.

Peering around the edge of the tunnel opening, I couldn’t see much. The light from the moss was dim, barely penetrating a dozen feet before being overrun by the darkness. There was nothing for it but to just take my chances.

As I entered the tunnel, an image bled through my bond with Lex—a towering Tree swarming with monkeys—along with a feeling of accomplishment. I sent him back the mental equivalent of a thumbs up and returned my attention to the tunnel.

It was roughly 15 feet tall and just as wide, and as far as I could tell, extended in a straight line. I took my time moving forward, some niggling sense in the back of my mind preaching caution where I usually preferred full speed ahead.

My Affinity with Fate, maybe?

Something about the feeling stopped me from taking it lightly, so I inched forward, my eyes scanning the floor and walls with my enhanced Perception. I made it about a dozen feet before something about the floor caught my eye. I bent down on all fours and examined it.

Even looking at it close up, I barely noticed the slight gap ringing a portion of the floor, creating a square cutout that appeared to be some sort of pressure plate. I resolved to go around it when another caught my eye only a foot off, diagonal from the plate I was looking at currently.

Now that I knew what to look for, it was obvious I was about to walk into a veritable mine field of traps. With my enhanced senses, I could navigate the traps—probably—but my Mantle sent me an image.

It was a memory of when I had scaled the Walmart ceiling using nothing but my Mantle and my [Climber’s Intuition].

I pat the cloth at my side and it sent me a pleased feeling.

Turning to the wall to my left, I focused on my passive ability. I lamented that I hadn’t utilized it enough, but despite the passive nature of the ability, I found it required a bit of conscious effort to fully engage. I suppose that was a good thing, considering I didn’t want the highlighting effect to cloud my vision when it wasn’t needed.

Examining the wall with intent now, the ability began to coalesce, dim after images populating in front of me as I imagined myself scaling the wall up towards the ceiling. Following the ability’s guidance, I cleared the wall and hit the ceiling in moments. As I crawled along the ceiling like Spiderman, I passed an opening. It was a straight line cut into the rock, about an inch wide and three feet long. And it was directly overhead one of the pressure plates. I realized it was probably some sort of blade that would descend when triggered, like a guillotine or a buzz saw.

Then, I realized I was clinging to the ceiling directly beneath it, and hastily moved out of the way of its trajectory.

I continued crawling across the ceiling, taking my time to avoid the trap locations more carefully now. After a couple hundred feet, a sound began to echo down the tunnel towards me and I paused to listen closely.

When my enhanced senses finally picked up on the sound, my stomach flipped.

Traveling down the tunnel was the rhythmic whoosh of hot, smelly wind—like the bellows of a blacksmith’s furnace, with a hint of rotting flesh. If that was a creature breathing, then it was fucking massive.

I moved glacially slow as I approached the end of the tunnel. As I neared, my vision improved and I realized that light was filtering in from ahead. Which was really strange, considering I estimated I was at least a mile under the surface.

The end of the tunnel appeared ahead, the light growing ever brighter as I approached from above. But the light also illuminated the silhouette of something massive blocking the exit, eclipsing the light almost completely.

And when I saw what the oversized creature guarding the exit was, I had to stop myself from cursing out loud.

Laying in a deep sleep at the end of the tunnel was one of the tunnelers, only it was nearly as big as the giant boulders that crashed through the main tunnel. And as I approached, it was clear that there wasn’t enough room to sneak past.

Fuck!

I knew from experience that the tunnelers moved extremely fast through the tunnels, and I had to assume that applied to their big brother as well. It was obvious that I’d have to wake the creature up to get past it—it was curled in a tight ball and the only way I’d be able to get to one of its exposed parts would be to physically land on it and try to skewer its brain. But the chances of doing that before it pasted me against the wall were…

Well, let’s just say, that would be Plan B.

Then a thought hit me and Plan A began to form.

Crawling back along the ceiling, I went as far away as I could while still keeping the massive tunneler in sight. Before I went ahead with the plan, I used my upgraded [Analysis] on the creature.

Vuvi Excavator [Enhanced] - Level 20

Much like its more diminutive counterparts, this Excavator excels at creating and traveling through tunnels. This Vuvi Excavator has been bred over many millenia for size and has been raised on a diet of Enhancement pills and herbs for many years. When formed into a ball and moving at speed, it is almost unstoppable.

[Strengths]: Weight and speed

[Weaknesses]: Eyes, underbelly, and physics

Well, that was interesting. My [Analysis] ability had changed, adding in strengths and weaknesses to the description. I recalled that I hadn’t analyzed one of the smaller tunnelers, but I had used it on one of the monkeys after first entering the Tower. The description had definitely lacked that portion.

Under the weaknesses was listed physics and it gave me confidence that my plan would work. Now that I was at maximum distance while still keeping the creature in sight, I sent a series of images to my Mantle. I felt a confirmation from the cloth and pulled a baseball from my Inventory.

Dangling from the tunnel ceiling by nothing but my Mantle, I steadied myself, reared back, and launched a [Sticky Fingers] fastball at the slumbering creature.

The ball ricocheted off the tough shell with a dull thud and I waited. The bellows of the creature’s slumbering breath faltered, then a grunt echoed down the tunnel. The Excavator unfurled, its eyes casting around to locate the sound. My throwing knife flew true, slamming five-inches deep right into one of its eyes.

A terrible shriek came from the creature and it immediately rolled back into a ball. I had thought a knife in the eye might do the trick, but I hadn’t banked on it. Without a second glance, I took off down the tunnel, bear crawling along the ceiling with quick applications of my [Sticky Fingers]. The grating sound of rock on shell approached far too quickly, and my heart began to pound in my throat. The snick, snick, snick of traps being triggered sounded behind me with the passage of the Vuvi Excavator, but I ignored them, moving at a breakneck pace across the ceiling.

I covered the hundreds of feet in seconds, nearing the exit to the main tunnel. The rumbling of the giant Excavator behind me spurred me forward, and made it impossible to hear anything else. But with my boosted Intelligence, I was confident I had timed everything correctly.

As I broke into the main tunnel, my Mantle lashed tight to the top of the smaller tunnel, whip-shotting me up and to the ceiling of the larger tunnel. A moment later, the Excavator rolled out of the tunnel, smashing against the far wall of the main tunnel. My momentum swung me back towards the smaller tunnel by my Mantle, and I used my ability to cling back to the ceiling. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the Excavator unroll from its ball, shaking its head as if stunned by the impact. We locked eyes, me smiling, it snorting in fury.

As it began to roll back into a ball, its eye caught movement to the side. Before it could scramble away, a boulder at least as big as the Excavator smashed into the creature—and didn’t slow a bit as it continued rolling down the main tunnel.

When the boulder was gone, nothing remained of the Excavator but a splash of blue blood on the wall.

Notifications rolled into view, and a smile touched my lips.

When I reached the end of the notifications, my eyes grew wide.

Holy fucking shit!