Kelsey and her party arrived roughly a mile outside of the tent city early in the afternoon. “Welcome to the great city of tents!” Kelsey said as she swept her arms out in the same way a merchant would display their most prized possession.
“Well, this isn’t what I expected at all.” Lisa said as she looked at the 'city'.
“No kidding. This place is a mess. I can’t believe that so many people actually live here...” Owen agreed.
“So, the entrance to the dungeon is in the center of the city, you’re going to need to get your tags before you can enter.” Kelsey said as she pulled her tags out of her vault and showed them to the group.
"What are those for?" Thadius asked, eying the tag curiously.
Smiling, Kelsey answered. "No idea. I just wore them while I was in the dungeon. I assume it's some form of identification."
Kelsey began walking towards the city and motioned for the party to follow her. “I don’t want to spoil the surprise by telling you what’s down there, but I’m sure you’ve heard stories.”
As they entered the city, she pointed out a few of the shops. “Don’t bother with anything here. It’s all too expensive and they don’t give good prices on cores. I know it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, but it’s the principle of the thing, ya know. If you need anything, just let me know and I’ll handle it.”
Lisa looked at the group. “How much do you all actually plan on fighting while we’re down there. Owen and I have talked about it a bit and we’ve agreed that in general we plan on taking at least one rest day each week.”
“Aye, I plan on taking at least one. I haven’t done much fighting in the past few years; I’m going to need to shake the rust off these old bones.” Gregory answered.
“I don’t plan on taking full days of rest, but I’ll be back every night. It’s not easy to fight for more than 10 or 12 hours in a day.” Kelsey said. “The bright side is that you guys won’t have to worry about returning to base camp for healing.”
“What, why? What are you planning?” Owen asked.
“I’m going to hire some healers to stick with both of you.” Kelsey answered. “I’m sure I can find a healer that wouldn’t mind tagging along for a handful of gold coins per day to heal any injuries you take.”
“That’s a great idea, Kel. I hadn’t even considered that.” Lisa said as she swung her arm around Kelsey’s shoulder. “You really have thought of everything haven’t you.”
“Well, I did spend an entire year preparing myself to come back here. I may have spent a bit of that time planning on how to make it as efficient as possible for the two of you. Everything I prepped includes you too Gregory." She finished by looking at the Guild Master.
Hopefully that won't be necessary if the Mageblood ritual is legitimate... My immortality first... then the ritual.
The group eventually made their way to the line of adventurers making their way into the dungeon. It looked very similar to the line when she was here last time, if maybe slightly shorter.
The group got to the back of the line and waited patiently for their turn. It was roughly half an hour later when the elderly gentleman recognized Kelsey and motioned for her group to come forward. “I see you brought along some friends this time. Haven't seen you in almost a year, right?”
“Yeah, glad to be back, I missed this place.” Kelsey said with a big grin. “My friends are all going to need tags though.”
“Of course, of course.” he said as he went into his explanation about the dangers of delving in The Trial. Once he was finished, he handed them their tags and let them enter the dungeon.
As the group made their way down into the dungeon, Kelsey got to see their reactions as they noticed the faux sun ceiling for the first time. “Really something isn’t it. I’ve been wondering what was powering it since I first came here.” Kelsey said as she stepped off the ladder.
Thadius stared at the ceiling for several long moments, clearly deep in thought, mumbling to himself. It was quiet enough that Kelsey couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but it she did hear the words 'mana bank'.
Kelsey raised her eyebrow in consideration, but decided she could ask him later.
“Cmon, my tent area is this way, I just left everything sitting around, let’s go see if anyone touched anything.” She said as she motioned the group to follow her and began walking towards her tent.
She of course already knew the answer to her question, she could see her old tent collecting dust exactly where she had left it almost a year before. It seemed that no one had touched a thing, which was somewhat strange.
As they arrived, Kelsey showed them her glorious abode before walking up to the tent and storing it. She then pulled out the tent she had purchased in Whitebranch and began assembling it. “Hey Thadius, mind getting this set up and enchanted while I go find some healers?” she asked as she looked at him with the sweetest and most pleading face she could make.
“You could have just asked. You don’t need to do the kicked puppy look every time you want something.” he said as he grabbed the poles and began to help assemble the tent.
“Hey, it works literally every time big bro.” she said, standing up. “Alright, I’ll be back in a few. Don’t get into any trouble.”
"Yeah sure, we're the ones that need to stay out of trouble." Lisa said sarcastically.
It took her a few minutes to make her way towards the Healer’s tent, but once she did it was trivial to find two Gold ranked healers that were willing to take her up on her offer. She told them that they wouldn’t be expected to fight and would only be there to do the healing after a battle. She offered to pay them each 10 gold per day and paid one month's advance but would likely be extending that contract if the groups they were with were pleased with their performances. The two healers were named Dane and Flow. One was a young man in his mid-thirties, the other was a young woman in her early twenties.
They were both above level 150, but below level 200. A good range for protecting her friends.
As she arrived back at camp, she saw that the tent was mostly finished being constructed. Owen, Lisa, and Gregory had pitched in to help as well.
“Gregory, this is Dane. He’ll be traveling with you. He specializes in healing and light-based barrier magic. Since you don’t have anyone else to watch your back, I figured he would be better suited for pairing with you.” Kelsey said as she introduced the two to each other.
“Owen, Lisa, this is Flow. She specializes in healing magic and lightning magic.” Kelsey said as she looked at Owen. “I figured the two of you could tell each other tricks of the trade, may learn some new ways to use your magic.”
The two groups split up and spent some time introducing themselves.
Once the tent was set up and everyone had their spots picked inside the tent, Kelsey said “Alright, that’s everything. I’m going to start heading down now. Thadius, you coming with me?”
“Yeah. I’ll check up on everybody every few hours. If you know where you’re going, leave a note on your bed up here so I know where to find you. If not, I’ll figure it out.” he said as he stood behind Kelsey.
They all nodded their agreement, said some final goodbyes, and separated to their respective floors.
Kelsey wasn’t quite sure what level would be appropriate for her new class, but she figured that testing her new skills in combat on floor five with the werewolves was likely the best option. She was extremely familiar with how strong they were compared to her last time, so it would be good to see how she had improved.
Explaining to Thadius her plan, they entered the fifth floor. With her domain, she was able to see a huge amount of the floor at once, so she began teleporting one kilometer at a time and searched the entire area to ensure there weren’t any other people nearby on the floor.
After finding a small group fighting werewolves on the far east side, she went back to Thadius and began walking west. She decided that the wall with the door was south, and that the far wall from the doors was north. She had no idea if that corresponded to the world above, but it worked for her.
As they arrived at the west wall, Kelsey motioned towards the location of one of the werewolves that was standing on top of a one-story building. “It’s over there, I’m gonna draw it to us.”
Knowing that its danger sense would lead it right to her, she used her domain to create a small telekinetic blade and sent it at the back of the creature’s head. It reacted exactly as she had expected. The hair on its back stood up, it dodged the incoming projectile, and then made a beeline straight for her. I’d love to know how their danger sense tells them exactly where their attacker is. She thought as she waited for the werewolf to come closer.
As the werewolf drew closer, Kelsey realized that this was going to be a huge waste of time. Her mind was racing with dozens of potential ways to end the fight, each of them more effective than anything she had been capable of before. She knew what was about to happen and decided not to draw it out.
Kelsey entered Meditation and used Creation of the Magus to create a few thousand liters of air, then manipulated the air into dozens of large blades which she then sent in waves at the werewolf. Her wind blades had more power and speed than anything she was capable of before her advancement. The blades quickly sliced the monster into a few dozen pieces. One ding and a quick teleport later and she stored the monster’s core in her vault before teleporting back to Thadius. “Quite effective. That’s the first thing near my level I’ve fought. Hopefully it won't stay that easy.” she said.
“Honestly, I can’t wait to see what happens when you become an Immortal. Are you planning on stopping then? Or continuing to push?” he asked seriously.
“I’m not stopping till this dungeon is cleared, at the very least. I’d also like to explore the world outside of Anoura at some point. Maybe find a way home too. Just… just so we know for sure, ya know?” she said introspectively.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Yeah, trust me, I know,” he said pensively.
She could have tested her luck against one of the Werewolves of Blood, but she figured that it would be a waste of time as well, so she decided to continue moving down the floors.
The next few hours were a series of disappointing encounters for Kelsey and Thadius. They went down floor by floor, trying to find a monster that Kelsey could fight with on somewhat even terms. During their journey downwards, they saw some amazing biomes. Outside of the two separate forest biomes they saw, each of the floors was unique and interesting.
Potentially the most interesting floor, however, was one that was simply a short beach that ended roughly 50 meters from the door, the rest of the floor being a deep reservoir of water. The monsters were all sea creatures that sometimes came up on land, but the moment they did, they were ruthlessly slain by one of the dozens of adventurers enjoying their time at the simulated beach. That floor was the most populated one she had seen by a factor of ten.
It seemed that some of the adventurers actually took vacation within the dungeon, which was an incredibly strange concept to Kelsey. Not that she could blame them. There was a simulated breeze, soft sand, and a constant warm light shining on them at all times. It really did feel quite nice.
Kelsey’s favorite floor, biome wise, was a beautiful, simulated cave biome with bioluminescent flora growing all along the surfaces of the cave. The floors, walls, and ceilings were all covered in a blue and purple moss that glowed bright light onto the cave's glossy surface. The monsters themselves were a species of bioluminescent jellyfish that walked on the ground using their tentacles. Their primary method of attack was trying to wrap their victims in their electric appendages and shock them to death. Unfortunately, they were too weak to challenge Kelsey much, so she had to continue moving downwards.
Eventually, her and Thadius arrived at floor 17, which according to the signage had monsters ranging from level 210 - 225. Unlike the other doors they had seen though, this door came with a warning written below the posted levels.
It read ‘Do not enter. Very dangerous shadow creatures. Only viable method of survival is access to Light Magic.’
“Perfect.” Kelsey said as she pushed open the door and walked inside.
The floor was pitch black. Absolute darkness. She couldn’t see anything with her eyes. Thankfully, she had her domain which was seemingly completely unaffected by the oppressive darkness.
She turned around to Thadius and created a permanent fist sized ball of light that she imbued with 2,000 mana. She figured it would be able to produce light for at least a few weeks “Here ya go. Hold on to this so you can see.”
The floor was a simulated jungle biome. The trees were multiple meters thick, and their trunks were tall enough to reach the ceiling, but there was no foliage above because the roof cut the trees off too low on their trunks to start growing branches. The ground was wet and muddy, making it difficult to walk. So, instead of walking, Kelsey activated her flight and hovered a meter or so off the ground.
“Wait, you have a flight skill too? Damnit Kel, what skills don’t you have?” he said exasperatedly.
“Mind powers. Time control. Atomic Magic. Oh oh, I can’t summon any creatures or minions. I am pretty sure I can't use healing magic and I can’t control plants either.” she chimed back with sarcastic excitement. "Though, the healing magic one I haven't tried, to be fair."
“Well, at least there is something you can’t do,” he said cheekily.
“Hey, I’m gonna skip out on this floor. I’ll go check on the others, see how they’re doing. I’ll wait for you up at base camp. Come get me if you decide to continue downwards.” Thadius said as his foot got stuck in some mud. “This mud is horrible.”
“I understand, see you later.” she answered before flying deep into the jungle.
She waited until she saw Thadius leave before she went and scouted the rest of the floor. It was only a few seconds before she saw her first creature. They were panthers. Shadow panthers. But, instead of engaging, she checked the entirety of the floor to ensure there were no other parties fighting on the floor. The last thing she wanted was someone to see her flying and using light magic.
She moved over towards a panther by the door and created a small ball of light magic in her hand. As she did, the panther reacted and began running towards her, teleporting from shadow to shadow.
Curious, she dismissed her light ball, and the panther stopped teleporting but continued running towards her. Oh, it needs shadows to teleport. Complete darkness won't cut it. Interesting. Not that it matters I suppose.
Entering Meditation, Kelsey spent a full second pouring mana into a ball of light magic before pointing her hand at the panther and releasing the pent-up energy, manipulating the light into a cone directed at the panther.
The panther was much too slow to react to the light and was hit directly in the head by the beam. She continued channeling the beam for a few more seconds, pouring as much mana into it as her regeneration would allow. It vanished into smoke two seconds later, leaving a small monster core on the ground which she quickly retrieved.
*ding* You have defeated a [Shadow Panther - lvl 217]
*ding* Magus has reached level 101 - 20 free stat points have been awarded!
My first level in my class. Feels good.
This place must be deadly for someone without a domain. If someone has any type of light source, the Panthers can teleport. That means the only viable way of killing them is by fighting blind. Almost seems designed to kill people...
Kelsey then decided that she was going to stay here until at least level 180 or so. The monsters provided a ton of experience due to being well over twice her level, the floor was deserted due to the monster type and biome, and she could kill each one in seconds. It was the perfect recipe for a quick trip to Immortality.
Kelsey spent the next 12 hours flying around the 17th floor, wiping out as much of the panther population as she could. By the end of her time, she had killed over 2,000 of the Shadow Panthers. The time between kills was a little over 15 seconds. She had started killing them by using light magic, but quickly realized that they were completely vulnerable to all kinds of magic when they didn’t have access to shadows to use for their movement ability. Once she discovered that, she moved to metal magic. She simply created a large blade made from steel and manipulated it to cut the Shadow Panthers to pieces. They didn’t stand a chance without their ability to teleport.
*ding* Magus has reached level 101 -> 164 - 1260 free stat points have been awarded!
*ding* Flight has reached lvl 4 -> 6
*ding* Creation of the Magus has reached lvl 5 -> 6
*ding* Manipulation of the Magus reached lvl 5 -> 7
*ding* Armory has reached lvl 3 -> 4
*ding* Greater Teleport has reached lvl 2 -> 3
*ding* Domain of the Magus has reached lvl 5 -> 6
*ding* Greater Enhancement has reached lvl 3 -> 4
During those 12 hours, Kelsey experienced the fastest progress she had seen since her time in The Bunker. Even by the end of the day, she was still gaining levels at a decent rate, she thought she may even be able to stay on the same floor until level 200 before she would be forced to move on. For now, it’s time to rest.
Fighting the panthers with nothing but a slab of metal and her manipulation skill was easy, but it was boring. Her mind had become numb a few hours in, and her eyes were starting to physically hurt from being stuck in pitch darkness for such an extended period of time. This numbness had also led to some unfortunate mistakes on her part, which is how her Armory skill had leveled up. Over the course of the day, she lost one of her limbs three separate times.
The panthers themselves weren't particularly dangerous to her, but they were incredibly fast and powerful when they found an opening.
She gained some class levels, but her Greater Enhancement, Greater Teleport, Vault of the Magus, and Armory skills were all still quite low. She was running into the issue that her skills were leveling more slowly than her class. She knew that she could fix that with a slight adjustment in her fighting style over the next few days. For now, she was just happy to have made as much progress as she did.
As much as she wanted to reach Immortality quickly, she wasn't willing to do it after level 250. She was going to ensure she had all of her class skills maxed well before she got close to her advancement. A year of practice and training with her skills would no doubt make that process much easier.
She still hadn’t accepted the notification for her new levels, as she was unsure how badly it would hurt when she did it. She remembered what she had read in the books about the soul’s power and was worried she may have gone overboard. Doing some basic math, she realized that she was going to be more than doubling her attributes with a single confirmation. She needed to make sure she was somewhere safe. So, with that in mind, she made her way up to the base camp where she met with everyone from her group.
As she walked up to the tent, she saw that the rest of the party was already sitting around a fire chatting. As they saw her, they all looked at her as if she were an alien with three heads.
“What?” she asked, confused.
“We’re all wondering how you only leveled a single time in the past 16 hours.” Owen said exasperatedly.
“Oh, I leveled a bunch, I was just waiting till I had protection to confirm them.” she said simply. “I’m gonna need you to watch me.”
“Hey Kel, I finished adding those privacy enchantments to your tent by the way, no more snooping guild leaders.” Thadius said as he patted Kelsey on the back.
Kelsey thanked her brother and then entered the tent. She then sat down on her bed and got comfortable before opening her notifications and confirming them.
The rush of power that entered Kelsey in that moment was incomparable to anything she had ever experienced. It put the flood of power she remembered from her time in The Bunker to shame. Her body tensed and her muscles contracted so hard that they ruptured her skin before it was instantly healed by her regeneration and ruptured again. But that wasn’t even close to the worst of the pain.
The worst part was the headache. It felt like someone had driven a metal spike through both her eyes and then attached said spikes to a car battery. The pain was so bad that she fell unconscious almost instantly.
Kelsey woke sometime later and saw the group standing over her, staring down at her, worry plastered across their faces. “Are you okay, sis?” Thadius asked gently as he knelt down.
Kelsey sat up slowly as she investigated her own body. Finding nothing wrong, she answered, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little sore is all.” she said as she looked down at her clothes that were soaked in wet blood. “Whose blood is that?”
“Yours. Your skin tore open a few times during the whole ordeal, we rushed in when we heard your head hit the bedpost.” Owen answered calmly.
“Ouch. Sounds like that probably would have hurt. Guess it was a good thing that I was fast asleep.” she said, chuckling softly. “Still not worse than the Mageblood ritual…”
Realizing she was a disgusting mess, she said “I need to change. I’ll be out in a minute.”
As soon as they left, she dismissed her clothes turning them into mana, then manipulated the blood off her body and buried it in the ground below. She checked herself in her domain and noticed that there was some blood matted in her otherwise well-kept red hair. She pulled the blood out of her hair and buried it with the rest of the blood. She had other sets of clothes in her vault, but she figured that since she had time, she may as well make a set to replace the old one. So, she spent a few minutes creating a new outfit.
It was made from a material similar to spider silk. She had searched the Mageblood forest for a spider while she was living there in order to get her hands on a sample of the silk so she could replicate it. It wasn’t quite as durable as real spider silk, but it was incredibly close. The clothes themselves were dyed mostly black with brown leather accents for any of the belts, bags, or pouches. For her cloak she had chosen a dark, royal purple color made from a velvet-like material that she had created from scratch. Figuring out how to make pigmented clothing was one of the most challenging things she did while she was practicing with her Creation of the Magus skill. But looking at herself now, she was thrilled she had taken the time to do so.
Seeing herself within her domain, she thought she was looking pretty good for someone who had just had their skin ripped open by their own muscles. Before leaving the tent, she opened up her status screen and took a quick look at the changes.
Name: Kelsey Kain
Primary Class: Magus - lvl 164
Health: 30000/30000 [Regen %10 per second]
Stamina: 30000/30000 [Regen %1 per second]
Mana: 60000/60000 [Regen %10 per second]
Constitution: 3000
Endurance: 3000
Strength: 2400
Dexterity: 2400
Intelligence: 6000
Willpower: 6000
Free Points: 193
Roughly what I expected, slightly more than double in every attribute. 6,000 mana per second at any time, even outside of Meditation; that is going to be hard to control.
Step one, completed.