The sun has already hit its high point in the sky and is beginning to fall down toward the horizon. While the sand is still scorching hot, the dry air is starting to cool off as the light rays aren't directly pointing at the top of my head anymore.
While walking back through the rolling dunes of the desert to the abandoned village the sensation I felt earlier keeps relying in the back of my mind. The pressure in my chest and the core overflowing with energy are all I can think about.
The more I ponder it, the more similarities it has to the way the wolves were leaking black fog containing trace amounts of refined energy.
Demonic Wolves seem to have raw energy swirling around inside them, ready to be used as a power source at any moment. My method of use is fairly different. I'm able to keep energy in my core in a state of limbo. It's resting between raw and refined. However, once released it can't be absorbed back inside.
I've lived most of my life without a drop of Demonic Energy in me, so I'm sure it's not vital to my survival like the wolves... I am curious If I'd be able to use it in a similar fashion to increase my physical attributes if I mastered my output better.
While silently daydreaming about the possibilities of my new discovery, the abandoned village finally comes back into my field of vision.
Along with it, the white dome-shaped building up on the hill does too. I do a quick scan of my surroundings and confirm yet again there isn't a single human or monster in sight.
Other than the beasts lurking deep within the black void to my right side, there is no life for kilometers in this abandoned wasteland.
The sun is getting closer to the desert horizon, so I turn to walk back to Solara. We all agreed to meet back at Chester's before sunset, so it's best I break my habit of always being fashionably late. Sometimes I have a good reason for it, today it would just be unnecessary.
I make my trek back through the rolling hills of golden sand.
It doesn't take long before the wooden porch of the old man's house comes into view. I make it just in time to see Abby and Maria walking up the steps as the setting orange sun starts to disappear from the sky.
A blue light bursts out from the door as I approach.
Fisher's voice yells in a happy tone to those listening inside.
"Pretty awesome right? I can control its level of protection on demand now! It's like an extra layer of mana shielding made from water magic without using up nearly as much energy."
I step through the door to see where exactly this blue light is coming from.
The swordsman is standing in the middle of the living room emanating a light blue glow. A thin veil of shielding covers his whole body, and it's visible to the naked eye.
Using my All-Seeing Eye for a closer look, I confirm his words with a smirk and a nod as we make eye contact before speaking up.
"Not bad... That's your ranked-up perk? The water defense you mentioned earlier."
My eyes scan it up and down before continuing.
"I had no idea it could be manipulated to different intensities, interesting."
He smiles and turns to Arie.
"We found out all kinds of things about our ranked-up buffs. There isn't much known about them from my standard education, all I know is this is a high-tier perk. Sometimes people don't even get a buff at all! Often a hunter's skills just get upgraded. I think the fact that we're already maxed out at legendary grade means we got something extra. Show him yours!"
Arie nods and stands to his feet.
"Sure, I got some practice in too. Take a look"
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The archer begins to shine bright white.
Meanwhile, I think about what the water mage said. I know for certain legendary is not the maximum skill rank. Upgrading further would just require a lot more Proficiency Points(PP). If a hunter's skills can't be upgraded manually, a buff is rewarded.
Then again, I received a buff with plenty of points left to use. Maybe it has to do with a hunter's nature. A ranked-up perk could be different depending on the wielder's goals and desires.
I give up on my train of thought as Arie begins to materialize white magical objects in his hands. They glisten and shine like his white arrows, but shape shift from the form of daggers, to a large shield, then into a long sword, and finally a fantastic glowing bow.
He holds it tight, then lets the object disappear into thin air.
Not even mana residue is left behind, it gives off the same reading as when an item is placed into an item box. The energy is gone from this dimensional plane.
He speaks.
"Whatever weapon or physical item I picture in my head can be created with the same essence as my spirit arrows. It uses very little mana and they're much stronger than normal magic items."
Fisher crosses his arms.
"Very strong indeed. One of his conjured blades easily went toe to toe with my bonded water sword. Not to mention our base level increase in overall mana control is astounding. It's like I'm breathing in magic with every breath I take. We're on a whole new level..."
I nod with a thin smile, happy to see Fisher coming back to his old self.
"Good. Great to see some fast progress. If the boss is ranked up and as strong as Chester says he is, we'll need all the help can get. Tomorrow, both of you should train more and see if you can push those abilities to any new heights. A single day of practicing a skill often doesn't show you everything it has in store."
I turn to Abby and Maria.
"How about you two, anything unusual to report?"
They both shake their heads and then Maria speaks.
"We went to the mercenary guilds, snooped around the bars, popped into the government office in disguise, and even checked out the dungeon hub. There was no sign of anyone talking about us, the Inner Circle, or the Association. It's like we were never even here. Business is moving like usual."
Abby crosses her arms.
"True, but it's not exactly like we were never here."
She chuckles.
"The mess you made down in the black market raised a few eyebrows. However, no one dared to walk into the dead zone region of the 2nd floor to check it out for themselves while we were down there. At the front gate, the guards just let us in and out without any mention of it. There were some whispers from nearby merchants, questioning why there had been no one entering or exiting the dead zone today. Most of them are convinced the boss and his minions are out of town, but I'm not sure how long their blind fear will last. People will get curious."
I nod.
"Good. We just need to hold off any wandering eyes for one more day. Tomorrow, both of you stay down there to make sure no one messes things up. We don't want the wrong person to see something they're not meant to see."
Finally, my gaze shifts to Chester. He has an excited look on his face and stands next to the tall display case of items I tasked him to sort.
Each of the items has small notes on them with descriptions and price points for market value and expected auction price, plus their specific perks and buffs.
He speaks.
"If we were to sell all of these slowly over the next few months, I'm sure a small fortune could be made."
I nod, letting him continue.
"But, you said you wanted them all sold by tomorrow. If I go to some of my old connects in town and sell to some trusted anonymous buyers, they'll purchase bulk items for a seller's price... About 100 gold for everything is my modest appraisal."
I shrug with a grin.
"Great, get them sold tomorrow. Anything over 0 is profit, but try to get the best price you can."
Chester turns around to pull out the blue and gold potions along with a smooth curved glossy black dagger as dark as night.
"These items, on the other hand, I think are far too unique to sell. There are no merchants or hunters in town capable of giving me a reasonable price for them. It may be worth keeping them for the future battles."
I look down at the gear and activate appraisal.
[Extreme Strength Potion] x10
[MP Invigoration Potion] x10
The potions show interesting readings in the familiar blue text boxes, but the dagger shows nothing at all. It's clearly a monster drop, but there isn't a hint of magic in it.
I use my All-Seeing Eye to get more information.
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Extreme Strength Potion
Info: This Extreme Strength Potion will boost the user's base strength stats by 120% for 5 minutes. If initially consumed while on full HP, It increases the speed and agility stats by an additional 25%. The user will have a 50% debuff of all base stats for 30 minutes following potion use.
Class: C+
Type: Consumable
Durability: 1/1
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MP Invigoration Potion
Info: This MP Invigoration Potion will boost the user's base mana control capabilities by 50% for 5 minutes. If initially consumed while on full MP, It increases the user's environmental mana absorption rate by 200% for the full 5 minutes of activation. The user will have a 75% debuff on all base stats and a 99% debuff on mana absorption for 30 minutes following potion use.
Class: B+
Type: Consumable
Durability: 1/1
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"I've never seen anything like this..."
The potions look interesting, but what stands out most to me is the endless black void within the glossy curved dagger.
It gives off the same lifeless undetectable readings I get from staring into the Abyss.