Meera stood before the half-opened door that led to the room with the third crystal. It was not even difficult to get here. She turned on Shroud of Shadows, used Shadow Step, and got out of the tunnel and into this one. The wraiths kept crowding the mouth of the last tunnel until she unshrouded herself. Now, they were hissing and snarling at the mouth of this tunnel. Again, she was unconcerned about them.

She was more excited about what sort of crystal she would find in this room. Whatever it was, she just hoped it was not as evil as the Drakasaros Venom crystal. She eyed her belt where the crystal lay. She didn't know what happened inside it, if things moved at all, but if they did, she hoped the crystal would tip over and burst to pieces.

"Let's see what other amazing power you can discard in this room," Shade grumbled.

Meera had some choice words for him but kept them to herself. Instead, she moved inside with the grumbling bat and the wise rat while Onyx waited outside, standing watch, like always.

There was another creature tied to the table that seemed to have come straight out of a fantasy video game. Its head was pinkish red. The rest of its body was covered in dark blueish feathers. It looked like a giant bird with dinosaur-like feet and sharp claws that would rip open even something as large as Onyx in half.

Shade whistled. "That thing is a beauty, but…what is it?"

They both looked to Cinders for answers.

"That is a Cassowary," Cinders said. "The humans must have considered it dangerous as they had it strapped down good, especially its legs. I was intrigued by it, so I watched it for some time. They said it had a strong Constitution and were trying to find out if they could replicate it."

Meera inadvertently smiled. If I can get more Health through this crystal, that would be nice.

She moved for the box. It opened with a creak and inside was a reddish crystal, the same color as the bird's head.

[Crystal of Blood Magic – Crush this crystal, and you will create a bond with your blood. This bond will let you draw upon your life force to fuel your spells.]

Meera thought about it a moment. It was like opening another source for her Mana-based skills. Instead of using Mana, she could use her life force or Health. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't entirely good either. But she figured she should have this skill, which could be handy in a pinch.

She crushed the crystal, and unlike the Druvis Power one, this one did prick and cut open her hand, making Meera wince.

[You have acquired the general skill Blood Magic – Level 1]

Meera's brow shot up at that. I would have crushed it from the get-go if I had known it was a general skill.

"What did it give you?" Cinders asked.

"Blood magic." Meera grinned.

The two ghosts froze, and she heard Onyx clop outside. And thanks to her advanced hearing, she was sure he was moving away from the room.

"I'm guessing that is not good," Meera said.

Cinders bowed her head. "It is what caused the fall of the researchers into wraiths."

Meera's blood chilled. "W-What?"

"It is the worst kind of magic," Cinders continued. "Things were going fine, but when they discovered Blood Magic and that they could use it to control others and siphon their life force, the gods cursed this place, and well, you know the results."

"But this skill only allows me to use my life force to cast spells," Meera said, hoping this would be safe.

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"Oh, you're probably all right then," Shade said.

"Really?" Meera's face lit up for a moment.

"Of course not! Blood magic is blood magic," Shade barked. "Didn't you have legends about the consequences of using blood magic in your town?"

Well, yes, but that was mostly in movies and books. That was what she wanted to say, but she kept quiet as she didn't want to explain what movies were to a bunch of ghosts.

"But if I don't use it, I should be okay, right?" Meera asked.

Shade looked to Cinders, who said, "You should be, but we cannot know for certain."

"But if she doesn't die, she shouldn't turn into a wraith, right?" Said Onyx from the door. He was ducking his head to peer into the room.

"That, too, is a possibility," Cinders said. "Let's hope that is true, but I advise you not to use Blood Magic at all. Forget that you even possess the skill."

Meera nodded. "Understood. Let's head to the next room. Shade?"

"On it." He flew out of the room, grumbling about using blood magic but not venom. The bat was sore about Meera's choice of not taking on the Drake's venom, but she had her reasons.

Meera exited the room with Cinders in tow. Onyx had backed off to the mouth of the tunnel to avoid the rat. The wraiths flew into activity right away as they saw Meera, so she turned invisible, and they quieted like the dead.

She Stepped into the cavern and ran to the tunnel where Shade was waiting. It was the fourth room with the crystal. Just two more, then she had to open locked doors and hope she didn't get unlucky to run into the sleeping Edwyn.

Cinders arrived at the tunnel by the time Meera got to the door. Onyx was a little late and stayed far back. This room didn't hold an animal or a new creature but people. The table had a naked man and a woman strapped to it. Their limbs fastened to the table, and their guts splayed open. Their eyes and one ear from each were missing—the room stank of decomposing bodies. Meera was getting too familiar with the smell, but the state of the two people brought tears to her eyes.

"These monsters," Meera whispered.

Shade scoffed. "And I thought they only butchered animals. It seems they didn't even spare your kind."

"Yes," Cinders said. "All for their goal. They had lost all sense, thanks to the head researcher's greed, spurred on by the witch."

Kalrina, we'll have words about this if I ever get out of here.

Without saying another word, Meera moved for the crystal box. It held a clear crystal, almost like a rough diamond. It was different from the others as this one did not have any definitive shape, nor was it as polished as the rest.

[Crystal of Darthin's Blessing – Whosoever crushes this crystal can advance one of their skills by fifty levels.]

In her excitement, without even thinking about it, Meera crushed the crystal, which did not prick her hand even a bit.

[Darthin's Blessing be upon you. Please choose a skill you want to level up.]

Meera knew which skill needed the boost. I choose Mirror Blast.

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirror Blast has gained 50 levels and reached Level 57]

"You're grinning again," Shade said. "What cursed magic did you gain this time?"

Meera turned to him and started. She was about to tell him of the levels she had gained when her eyes fell on the bodies of the man and woman, and she knew where those free levels had come from.

"They died for those levels," Meera said.

Shade tilted his head. "Huh?

"I gained fifty levels for one of my skills," she explained. "And in my excitement to get those levels, I even forgot to realize where those levels had come from."

"It's okay, Meera," Cinders said. "You did no wrong. At least this way, their sacrifice was worth something, and they didn't die in vain."

Her logic was sound, but Meera still felt like a thief. She nodded, but in her heart, the guilt was still fresh and would be for some time.

"Shade," she called.

"On it." He flapped his wings and flew off, making Meera realize he didn't have the wings to fly. He could fly without flapping them, but she didn't know how ghosts worked. She followed Shade out of the room after giving one last look to the dead pair.

Thank you.

Outside was a similar affair. Meera turned invisible and followed Shade to the next room. It didn't take long for her to reach the fifth room. Onyx and Cinders were already waiting for her when she arrived.

Inside was a big wolf strapped to the table. It reminded her of the pack leader she had killed when she had set out from Belacre, which felt so long ago. She moved past the wolf's corpse to the workstation beyond, which held various beakers and the box with the crystal. She opened the box and saw a jagged, dark orange crystal. Meera felt like she had seen something like this before.

[Failed Crystal of Darthin – This crystal could not be what it was meant to be. It failed to reach the perfection that Darthin would be proud of, but still, one can merge two of their skills into one with this crystal.]

"Hmm, it's the same crystal I found in Onyx's room," Meera said. "It lets me merge two skills into one." With that, she put the crystal in her Hoard Belt, as she didn't have any two skills that she would have liked to merge into one.

"Not going to use it?" Shade asked.

"Nothing I can use it on at the moment," Meera said. "I'll save it for later."

"On to the next one, then?" Shade asked.

"Yes, let's get this done."

Shade flew out, and Cinders followed suit. Meera had just stepped out of the room when she heard the bat, thanks to her superior hearing. "Meera, you're not going to like this."

"What's happened?"

"I would say you better see this for yourself, but it's best you stay in the safety of the tunnel."

"Why?"

"Three shrouded wraiths are waiting for you at the sixth tunnel."