The others had thought that Ray would have tried contacting Kredevel—or his “alien friend”, as they had begun to call him—but that wasn’t going to work. Ray had absolutely no idea where Kredevel might have been.
Conversely there was no mistaking where exactly the people they needed to rescue were.
There also wasn’t a lot of time to waste. The other Sylvans would surely notice that one of their kind was missing. It wouldn’t be long before they found Kaylithya’s body, even after they did their best to bury the corpse with a little shovelling help from one of Randall’s skills. Once the Sylvans learned that Kaylithya was dead, they would go on high alert.
A state that might very well ruin the plan Ray had hastily created.
Ray’s plan idea always been to contact the captives. Ultimately, it would be a lot easier to free them if the beneficiaries of their rescue attempt could assist.
“Look.” Dory pointed to her right. Her summons was returning. “We got another reply.”
“What’s it say?” Randall asked.
“Hold your horses.”
They waited as the squirrel scurried closer. Dory had upgraded her summoning spell to obtain a new kind of summon alongside her firebird.
Ray had to admit that the fact Dory could literally experience in all five senses what her summon had experienced was rather overpowered. The more he learned about her summoning spell, the more he understood why she hadn’t been able to learn any direct offensive magic naturally through levelling up yet.
Dory’s eyes opened. She had said viewing her summons’ memories went better when her eyes were closed. “The woman says they can break out of their chains. They just need a clear opportunity to do so.”
Ray nodded. “That’s our last worry taken care of.”
Though, he did feel it was quite convenient that the captives were actually capable of breaking out of their binds. If that was the case, why hadn’t they done so already?
“Are you going to head out now?” Maya asked.
Ray nodded. He had only been waiting for confirmation. Confirmation that their fellow humans weren’t as helpless as the Sylvans probably thought they were, and confirmation that the idea of using summons to get in touch with the captives would work.
It was definitely a blessing that Randall possessed a crafting skill that could create pages. Also convenient that he could create a shovel as well.
They had already exchanged a few secret communiques with the captive Dory’s summon had selected. Their contact was a woman at the rear of the group, someone who could talk without being noticed easily.
The brief plan on how they’d go about freeing the captured people had been established. The woman promised she would take care of things on the captives’ side.
Ray had wanted to ask how exactly she would do so, captured as she was. But that could come later. So long as he could provide the right distraction, their contact’s promise would have to be enough.
It probably helped there were a lot less of the Sylvans compared to the number of captured humans. Thirty people in total overseen by just five aliens. A six-to-one ratio in favour of the humans would have been fantastic odds, if not for the huge gap in power between the humans and the Sylvans. Still. It was odds they could make use of.
They might just need a bit of assistance when things went haywire.
Ray grinned. Considering his rising Chaotic Reputation, he was pretty certain things were heading in a direction he would be well-suited to take advantage of.
“The next step is finding another one of the monsters I sensed earlier along their path,” Ray said. He was definitely not forgetting the strongest creature he had sensed yet. “The one underground. If there is, then we’re home free. Tell the captives to stay prepared. Their opportunity is coming.”
Dory nodded. They all wished him good luck as he headed off.
It was strange to be alone again. Staying with the others, working with them, was starting to feel natural. Normal.
Not good.
As much as Ray wanted to be self-sufficient, he was pretty certain he was never learning a spell that could create paper. That was fine. Paper was only needed for an emergency here.
What he really needed to focus on was finding a way to get stronger quickly. His power, at least, had to be great enough to let him take on and win against anyone. Then he could really be independent.
Then he could be in proper control of his own fate.
Ray focused on his current goal. Namely, making the first use of the Tower Node.
When he had first received it, the description had stated that he would only be ablet to use it once per day. And with True Mana only. He had received no sign that he was capable of using True Mana just yet, but he focused on the Tower Node just to see its interaction with his Mana.
The ceramic-like crystal appeared from thin air, glimmering slightly. It floated about two feet in front of his chest
He received the same warning as last time, about True Mana being difficult for him in his current form. But it also indicated he could use his normal Mana as a substitute. He would just need a lot of it. Well, time to see just what the System meant by “vast amount”.
“Hello there,” Ray said. “Are you going to be nice and cooperate?”
There was what felt like a tiny laugh somewhere in the back of Ray’s mind. Did the Node find him funny? Did it even have a consciousness to have that sort of advanced thought?
Was this thing living?
But beware, excessive use can alert the Marauder himself, and the attention of a Paragon is rarely pleasant.
That had been the warning from the Tower Node’s description. But forget excessive, Ray hadn’t even begun to use it. He couldn’t have gained this Marauder’s attention when he had barely touched the Node.
Although, the way his skin crawled like he was being watched made him think otherwise. It was like a giant eyeball was floating overhead.
Ray focused on the Node, feeling a strange energy—it felt just as his Mana did when using a spell—stirring within him. It swirled and sharpened, tiny needles trying to emerge from his chest.
His Mana almost seemed alive.
Ray felt the slightest of twinges within him, like he had been drained dry somehow. The twinge grew rapidly, making him feel lightheaded and tired. What in the world was going on? An inkling hit him, and he peeked at his Status.
“What?”
His Mana was at zero. There was no Mana within him at all. It was as if connecting his Mana to the Tower Node had made the System Artifact suck away all his Mana in an instant.
The hell was this thing?
Ray still had no information about what exactly True Mana was supposed to be, but the warning from a while back had stated that he would end up expending a lot of regular Mana if he tried to use the Tower Node. Thing was, he had a ton of Mana crystals with him now, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
With the way the Tower Node ate up Mana, he was starting to see the sheer cost.
Ray went through thirteen Mana crystals before the Tower Node began glowing. The constant Mana draining was leaving him jittery and exhausted. His muscles twitched, his legs trembled so much that he had to sit down, and his head pounded with a splitting headache.
Another five Mana Crystals later, the Tower Node activated.
Somehow, Ray’s consciousness ended up back in his tutorial zone. He was once again submerged in the dark tunnels of the Marauder’s Caves. No way would he fail to recognize those high ceilings, those craggy walls, and the soft draft of air flowing against him.
He did not appreciate being there again, but Presence of the Primordial informed him that it wasn’t physical transportation. Ray’s actual body was still out there where he had activated the Node. Instead, it was his soul that had been teleported to the locale he now had control of, via the Tower Node.
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Good thing he had left his bodily weariness behind too. Ray didn’t feel much of anything at all. At least nothing physical. It was weird.
As his spirit settled in, he found he was able to sense… everything. Little sparks of life through the passageways and tunnels. Glints of what felt like Mana here and there within the chambers too. They struck his senses like thoughts brushing against his mind.
Thoughts he could interact with.
It didn’t take long for Ray to understand. He was in control. His mind was present here at a level way beyond anything he was familiar with or had any idea of. But despite that, he got what was going on, in part thanks to Presence of the Primordial handily filling the gaps left by his assumptions. He knew what he could do. What he ought to do.
The sparks of life were aware of his presence too. The Feathered Imps didn’t seem surprised that he was there.
That was another thing Ray had realized. Using the Tower Node, he could understand and communicate with those who inhabited the Node’s controlled area. Ray was able to “talk” with the Imps. Not something he would have ever guessed possible.
But now, he understood what drove them. The description of the Imps he had first seen was spot on.
“You want shinies, don’t you?”
Ray wasn’t sure who he was talking to, nor was he certain he was actually hearing himself talk. For all he knew, it could just have been his thoughts expressed against the surface of his mind.
He went on anyway. It didn’t matter whether he could talk or not. What mattered was that the Imps understood what he meant.
“Think of all the shinies waiting for you.” Technically, Ray didn’t need to convince the Imps in the Marauder’s Caves. With the power of the Tower Node, he could order them to do his bidding, to a certain extent. But since the Node was gifting him the ability to understand his “subjects”, he felt he was better off trying persuasion first. “Think of all you could gain.”
Ray had already sent the impulse that he was hoping they would exit their tunnels. That they would join the upcoming battle that was sure to happen when his plan went into motion. Hell, they might even turn the tide in his favour, in case things went hairy.
The Imps had initially been reluctant to comply. That was why Ray was trying to show them everything they could gain from the excursion.
But he was striking up against a wall in the negotiations. An impassable barrier in their minds. It took a moment for him to understand what it was. Distrust. Of course. If he had been in their position, would he trust the man who had murdered dozens of his kind? No wonder they were reluctant to comply.
“Water under the bridge.” Being so cavalier wasn’t going to help. Water under the bridge, but half the Imps had drowned in those waters. “Understand that we don’t need to be enemies any longer. I could use your help, and I am offering fair terms in exchange. It is up to you whether you accept.”
Ray really didn’t want to use forceful compulsion. As much as it might have helped with the upcoming situation, as much as it could benefit him, he didn’t want to take the step into becoming a tyrant. Even against creatures who had tried to kill him not that long ago.
He couldn’t. If he went along those lines, he would be taking a step towards becoming exactly the kind of person he had hated.
Asshole bosses. Executives who were almost cartoonishly villainous. People who were determined to extract every ounce of profit from those who were beneath them, dangling the salvation of survival in exchange for willing exploitation. A despicable tyranny of its own kind.
Ray despised those kinds of people. So much so, he had come to hold an abiding distaste for leadership in general. Not a completely rational distaste, but who gave a fuck.
That was why, when the System had granted him his Vocation of Tower Conqueror, he had been wary of what exactly that entailed. He didn’t want to end up in a position where he had to be an asshole. Not to people who didn’t deserve it, at least.
For now, Ray left the Marauder’s Caves with a last, abiding impression of what he needed. Of what was at stake. The Imps might have seemed mindless monsters out to kill him when he had been going through his tutorial, but it was clear that they possessed enough intelligence to process everything he had “said”.
Now it was up to them whether they would honour it.
When Ray blinked, his spirit was back where he had activated the Node. The little ceramic diamond itself was gone.
Ray caught its last vestiges. It was crumpling, collapsing in on itself and becoming smaller and smaller every instant. In a couple of breaths, it had squeezed itself into nothingness.
“Doesn’t matter if they come or not,” Ray said. Saying the words solidified them into reality. “We can do this without them.”
The next step of the plan involved digging. Shovelling, to be exact.
Ray had to find another little forest of dark, sinuous trees stripped off all but one Mana fruit. It wasn’t easy. The aftereffects of using the Tower Node left him feeling like he could have slipped into a coma.
But the Mana fruit washed it all away. He already had one, thanks to the others saving up for later, but he ate the one he found then. Immediately, he felt almost fully refreshed.
Somewhat insane how powerful those fruits were.
Ray focused on digging. Hopefully, the Sylvans wouldn’t change course and take some circuitous path to their Brighthorn feeding grounds.
For now, he sent out a pulse of Lifeblood Sense to confirm that the monster he had sensed a while back was actually here. It was. The same beast he had fled from when he had killed his first Brighthorn lay deep beneath the earth. So far underground, it didn’t need to concern itself with what occurred on the surface.
Well, not for long, if Ray could help it.
As he continued shovelling, he reached close enough that Presence of the Primordial could finally pick the creature up on its radar.
[Presence of the Primordial]
Duskshell [Monster] [Tier 6] [Level 19]
Nocturnal creature that typically remains underground during the day, rarely venturing aboveground during the night. Undisturbed, they draw in Mana from the surroundings and grow trees capable of producing Mana fruit from their shells. Though they are slow to anger, once roused, they are capable of causing massive destruction.
Skills:
Jutting Jaws [Tier 3]: Thrust out one or more jaws with a massive bite that pierces through defences up to the skill’s Tier.
Shell Quake [Tier 5]: Leap high into the air to crash down with and set off a powerful shockwave, ripping apart the land and all upon it in a wide area. At Tier 5, this skill’s radius of impact is 30 meters.
Slumber [Tier 2]: Passively continue taking in Mana during prolonged intervals of rest, concentrating any Mana beyond capacity for offensive use.
Mana Surge [Tier 3]: Send a surge of Mana in an eruption to shatter the surrounding area and all foes within it. At Tier 3, this spell’s radius of impact is 15 meters.
Impervious Shell [Tier 5]: Channel the power of your shell to create a defensive barricade that stops all incoming damage at or below this spell’s Tier.
Overworld Pulse [Tier 5]: Send out a pulse of scouring Mana that locates and identifies any creature standing on land. At Tier 5, this spell’s range is 25 meters.
Oh, yes. This was not at all a monster he ought to be messing with. Even if a part of Ray wanted to tackle it like an interesting problem to be solved, even if he felt like implementing whatever crazy idea he could come up with to take the monster down, he wasn’t stupid enough to actually do it.
Though, he did wonder how it’s nocturnal-ness was affected by the lack of an actual night in the Tower.
Ray wiped off some of the gathered sweat on his forehead once he was done shovelling. He glanced at the shovel appreciatively. Randall’s creations with that Basic Craft skill of his were pretty sturdy.
Ray: Monster freed. The captives will be able to incite it to act now.
Maya: Great. We’re headed your way.
The party chat feature was quite nice, especially since he didn’t have to form an official party or anything to use it.
With that last bit done, Ray looked up his latest spell.
[Information Request—Spells]
Lifeblood Construct [Summoning] [Tier 1]
A summoning spell that calls forth primal energies to bring up Soul Aspects stored by Lifeblood Crucible upon the caster. Summoned Soul Aspects manifest externally, either individually or in combination. At Tier 1, caster can summon 1 Soul Aspect at Tier 1 which lasts 1 minute, and the spell costs 25 Mana.
Huh. Lifeblood Construct sounded like the evil bastard brother of Primal Summons. Where the latter essentially grafted anything Ray summoned onto his body, his new spell worked closer to what a normal summoning spell ought to have done. Hmm, maybe he should call Primal Summons the evil bastard brother.
But Lifeblood Construct would only be able to pull on what Ray had stored within Lifeblood Crucible. In other words, just the wings and… Hoard Defence? How did one even summon the last one?
Ray sighed. Oh yes, he would need to explore possibilities later
For now, he headed back in the direction he had come from. The others were following the captives at a distance. Ray reached them before long, and together, they waited while maintaining their distance until the plan properly began.
Soon, it would be time to act.
Ray felt like there were about a hundred needles suspended about a millimetre over his skin. A wrong move here, and he’d be poked with so many metaphorical holes, he would definitely turn into a pincushion.
No. He had to believe in himself. He needed faith. As much in himself as his fellow humans. Randall, Maya, and Dory had stepped up when it mattered, hadn’t they?
Ray had to believe those people who had been captured could do so too.
“This is like waiting for your team to score after they’re down a goal and it’s almost full time,” Dory said, her voice as jittery as her body. “I want to bite my nails.”
Randall stared at her. “Seriously? A sports metaphor? You couldn’t come up with something better?”
“I don’t hear you saying any metaphors.”
“Yeah, well, some of us don’t need dumb metaphors to ease our stress.”
“Don’t stress.” Ray tried to believe his own words. “We have to believe they can do this.”
“It’s a bit convenient to believe they can actually take care of the hard parts of this whole operation.”
She was right. Freeing the prisoners and making sure they got away from their captors was undoubtedly the most difficult aspect of their endeavour. The woman they had been in contact with had promised she would take care of it. Could she really, though? That was what this whole plan hinged on.
Ray and the others had done as much as they could have, besides suicidally rushing the Sylvans’ position. Now, it was up to the captives themselves.
“We deserve some convenience after that last encounter,” Ray said.
Dory nodded in agreement. “That we do.”
“Look,” Maya said all of a sudden. They all tensed. “They’re shaking.”
Ray needed a moment before he could see it too. The land in the distance was trembling. Even the air was vibrating, the haze breaking apart to reveal more of what was going on. The Sylvans had begun to scurry. They must have sensed the monster aiming for their position.
A second later, the Duskshell erupted out of the ground.
The sight was awestriking, despite Ray being almost a quarter mile far from the location. The monster was so big, he had little trouble making it out even at this distance.
Its description had made him think of some sort of dark crustacean-like creature residing underground. He wasn’t completely off-base. The juggernaut of a beast had an enormous black shell that reminded Ray of a turtle, but instead of a flipper, what it had coming out of its sides were the hairy legs of a tarantula. A dark vapour overtook the area it had burst out of.
Ray couldn’t make out its head until it attacked the figures trying to fight back. Jutting Jaws. The name was very appropriate. A massive head on a massive neck burst out from the front of the shell to crash into its foes, forcing everyone to dash away out of range.
“It’s doing it!” Randall said. “It’s got those Sylvans right where it wants ‘em.”
“Hopefully, the other people can—”
Maya didn’t need to finish her sentence. The other humans were indeed running towards them.
Ray called up his wings with Primal Summons. “Let’s go meet our new friends.”