Six weeks later…
“But how do you come to know so much about me?” The Bone Baron interrupted querulously.
“…and why do you keep asking me all these impertinent questions about my childhood?”
Jeff leaned back in the giant golden throne, peering down dispassionately at the Dungeon Boss, whose massive form was stripped of his armor and safely secured to the banquet table in the great hall.
He took a sip from a goblet filled with bone broth, wincing slightly as his lips and tongue were scoured by the acidic brew. He paused a moment to formulate his response.
“I need to know how you managed to reach Grade H at such a fast pace” Jeff replied, ignoring the Baron’s query. After days of questioning the Baron, or rather this pale avatar of the real Baron, he had come to understand the creature more, and while there was certainly no affection, in some ways, there was respect.
“What were the conditions on Tanus IV that helped to facilitate your process? What teaching methods and Cultivation techniques did they use at the Academy of Excellence to hothouse your Skill progression?”
He continued interrogating the Baron a while longer, trying to squeeze the last few bits of intel from him, every scrap of lore, before pondering his next move.
A lot had changed for him since he had successfully completed the Bone Tempering Bath Challenge all those (subjective) weeks earlier.
He thought back to that moment when he had been hauled out of the agonizing bath by the winch mechanism…
----------------------------------------
Jeff lay flopping like a beached fish, sprawled on the chill flagstones, resembling a partially butchered carcass.
His newly forged steel-blue skeletal structure stood out starkly beneath his exposed flesh, the swiftly reforming glossy red muscles and tendons swirling and flowing around the bones.
Bone Tempering Bath Challenge: 100% Complete
Achievement Unlocked!
You have earned the Title: Iron Body
Defense Attribute boosted by 5%
Wheezing, he sucked a shuddering breath into his freshly grown lungs, his vision slowly returning as his eyes reformed in their sockets.
Finally the process was complete; a fresh layer of skin sealing over his now fully fleshed body. The dreadful memory of the pain he had experienced rapidly receding from his consciousness, he drew himself to his feet.
Selecting a set of clothes from his storage ring, he dressed himself and prepared to leave the dungeon for good. He figured it was about time to head back to base and check in with Fracta.
By his reckoning, he had spent around eight hours since parting with her at the edge of the swamp, running the dungeon twice and completing the Bone Bath Challenge. He planned to get back to the inn by the evening to find out more from Fracta about the conditions in the Dungeon to the west.
Emerging from the Dungeon, Jeff found himself once again facing the massive doorway set into the cliff’s face.
Tap…Tap…Tap
Whirling around, he was surprised to see the same giant flightless bird a short distance away, still swinging the mega-mollusk clutched in its beak against the same stone.
The fine drizzle was still falling, and the sun remained in the exact same position, low on the horizon, unchanged from where it had been in the morning when he first entered the dungeon.
Realization began to set in. No time had passed at all…
It seemed that there was some sort of temporal effect at work, altering the flow of time inside the Dungeon. Jeff paused and stood for a moment longer, considering the implications.
With growing excitement, he decided to determine exactly how much time was slowed down within the dungeon.
Taking out a small timing device he had purchased in the Store, he switched it on and activated the stopwatch function. Leaving the device on a flat topped rock by the door, Jeff then immediately dived back into the dungeon and proceeded to grind his way through it methodically. After taking out the Dungeon boss for a third time he reemerged.
Tap…tap…tap… the unchanging drizzle, the same watery sunlight, and the timer displayed 00:00:27.
Less than half a minute had elapsed on the outside, while Jeff had subjectively experienced around 30 minutes of intense action, rushing through the corridors and grinding through the Kobols, the skeleton knights and the Bone Baron.
Jeff stood for a moment in thought, oblivious to the hot drizzle dampening his hair and face.
As a result of his experiment, Jeff resolved to radically alter his plans and remain in the vicinity of the Dungeon.
After all, seeing he was up against the clock due to the tight window to exit Tantalus, why not use the temporal effects to his advantage to grind some more, running the Dungeon multiple times to level as much as possible?
Such a massive amount of time dilation presented him with a unique opportunity, and he knew he would be a fool not to make the most of it.
Reluctantly, he shelved his plans to go check on Fracta, at least for the time being.
Gotta get stronger…
Jeff decided to work out a strategy to grind the dungeon to level his Skills and eventually his Grade.
He was momentarily tempted to return to the Store to purchase another Skill, but eventually decided against the notion. He had been doing some thinking about it, and it seemed that the System rewarded focus and concentration—excellence in a single Skill was worth more than being a ‘jack of all trades’ with several.
Although he had the Coin—last he checked his balance was back up to over 4000—he reckoned it was better to speed-run the Dungeon as many times as possible, up to the Dungeon cap, to level the Skills he already had.
His other priorities were to gather intel, work on his Dao and further improve his mana Cultivation ability.
[Cutting Edge] and [Infinite Sword] had both already reached level two so he decided to first prioritize [Mana Burst] by spamming the Skill with an intense session of mob farming. He knew from the Skill’s marketing material that if he got it to the next level it would award him some variant of a lightning effect, which he hoped would be particularly effective when combined with his newfound mana manipulation ability.
He decided to work on his long distance use of the Skill first. Extending his ranged attacks and accuracy was a priority.
Returning to the dungeon and making his way quickly through the tunnels and puzzles, he set about reconnoitering the battlefield by methodically working his way across it’s length and width. He figured out that he was indeed contained inside an enclosed space—a rectangular arena roughly a mile square.
The nature of the ‘ceiling’ above him remained a mystery. At one moment he thought he saw a shooting star flicker across the corner of his vision, indicating that the twinkling lights above were in fact stars, not artificial lights.
The perimeters of the ‘room’ were impenetrable, sealed off not by walls but by zones of darkness bounded with some sort of force field. These barriers became increasingly more difficult to penetrate no matter how hard Jeff tried to push through.
The terrain of the battlefield was not, however,completely uniform. A scattering of hillocks and rises offered various vantage points for sniping.
After mapping the field of play thoroughly, the first thing Jeff did was sprint around the battlefield, activating as many of the Kobols as possible.
By zigzagging across the entire field, deliberately brushing close to the dormant husks, he was able to rouse the entire army of undead in a single sweep. They trailed behind him, moaning plaintively, a macabre procession following sluggishly in his wake.
Feinting towards the far right corner of the battlefield, Jeff kited the horde of zombies in that direction, before quickly spinning on his heels and hot footing it the opposite way.
While the herd-like gaggle of around 25 Kobols stumbled and tripped over themselves, attempting to change direction and pursue him en-masse, he retreated at speed to a tactically advantageous hillock on the far side of the expanse. This maneuver gave him as much space as possible to practice his ranged sniping with [Mana Burst].
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
First attempts at mastering the Skill were disappointing.
Jeff found two major issues with the base Skill; the main problem was that the volleys of mana Jeff fired at individual targets tended to fizzle out uselessly after a hundred yards or so, indicating that the power contained in each shot was limited and quickly dissipated after release.
The second issue was with the accuracy of the Skill—or lack of. It proved to be hopelessly inadequate at precisely hitting a target at anything other than close range.
Remembering the crosshair sight function in his HUD, Jeff toggled it on, and found that while using the overlay, the accuracy of his shots improved by around 25%.
He continued practicing for some time, deliberately not deploying his new arsenal of potent Life/Acuity antidote mana. He did not want to reduce the quantity of his targets too quickly.
In order to maintain his long distance target practice, Jeff found that inevitably he needed to perform the same herding routine multiple times—the Kobols eventually all reaching his current position.
Before he became overrun by the undead horde, he zipped back across the battlefield to another convenient sniping location.
This carried on for some time. Each time he repeated the cycle, Jeff saw small but definite improvements in the long range accuracy of [Mana Burst].
You have cast [Mana Burst].
You have injured a a Kobol (Undead Husk), Grade I.
Your Cognition Attribute has risen by 1
Next, he turned his attention to the problem of the velocity and power of each bolt of energy produced by the Skill.
Ignoring the Kobols for the time being, he positioned himself cross legged on a small circular Cultivation Mat, a specialty item which he had purchased in the Store for 200 coins.
According to Boz and the marketing blurb, the mat was designed to enhance mana circulation around the user’s pathways and their Core. Jeff settled himself on the intricately inscribed mat, trying to center himself despite the oppressive atmosphere of the battlefield.
Concentrating on his breathing, he closed his eyes and focused on sensing the flow of mana through his body. He felt the mat activate beneath him, a subtle pull that seemed to smoothen and speed up the circulation.
Jeff activated [Mana Burst], hands resting lightly on his knees in a palms up position, initiating the creation of the usual bolts of mana but deliberately not loosing them.
As soon as the spheres of brilliant blue energy formed, he reabsorbed them, sucking the energy back in through the palms of his hands and cycling it through his pathways into his Core. He continued this process over and over for some time, finding that as he did so the pathways seemed to become more fluid, the energy flow more defined.
He found with some experimentation that he was able to significantly reduce the size of the glowing balls of energy without diminishing the amount of mana contained within them. These super-condensed sparks of mana glowed with an even more intense light than previously, their intense, actinic glare casting eery shadows across the gloom of the darkened battlefield.
Jeff, became so engrossed in the process of cultivation that he failed to pay attention to the looming threat of the Kobols.
Clank…A trailing battle-ax impacting with a stone was a timely wake-up call.
Surging to his feet to face the oncoming Kobols, he acted on pure instinct, loosing the supercharged bolts of mana resting in his palms.
Both spheres of mana hit the vanguard Kobol, striking the zombie in the chest so fast—easily ten times faster than his previous shots—that the effect of the Skill more resembled twin laser beams shooting from his hands than distinct bolts of energy.
You have successfully used your Mana Burst Skill to slay an enemy!
Reward One Omega Energy Point
You have killed a Kobol (Undead Husk), Grade I
Reward: 5 Omega Energy Points, 10 Coins
Dungeon Drops Available
Level up!
Congratulations! You have reached Level 189
Momentarily dazzled, Jeff rapidly blinked away the after images of the weapon discharge to see that the Kobol had been totally vanquished by the attack.
The dual blasts of destructive mana had cleaved through the entire top half of its body, effectively quartering the creature. Its severed head rolled into a depression, a comical look of surprise written across its grotesque features.
Skill Upgrade Available: [Mana Burst]
Congratulations! Your Mana Burst Skill has now reached Level 2
Description: Lightning Storm. Ever wanted to shoot lightning from your fingertips and punish crowds that gave you the stink eye? Well now you can. Area-Of-Effect weapon. Causes havoc on up to TEN foes simultaneously.
The remaining undead advanced forward, bringing their weapons to bear.
Wasting no time, Jeff channeled a stream of Life/Acuity mana from his Core Space through his pathways and activated the newly upgraded Skill, letting loose with Lightning Storm.
Brilliant green lightning crackled from his outstretched hands, each jagged emerald flash striking a different Kobol in the group.
The first torrent engulfed three of the oncoming zombies, instantly rendering them inert.
Another four outliers were hit by chain lightning cascading outwards from the primary targets. These secondary strikes, while not instantly deadly, had the effect of temporarily paralyzing the affected Kobols, effectively removing them from the battle.
Mega Combo! You have killed 3 Kobol Undead Husks, Grade I, and Seriously Injured Four More.
Reward: 30 Omega Energy Points
Dungeon Drops Available
Level up!
Congratulations! You have reached Level 195
Jeff continued to wield the [Mana Burst] variant, observing the effects on the Kobols. Through focused intent, he was able to guide the primary and secondary streams of lightning, judiciously maneuvering the onward chains to targets of his own choosing.
Being able to so accurately ration the energy consumption of each lightning strike meant that he could reduce the mana drain of the Skill, allowing him to sustain his onslaught for longer.
Jeff continued in the same way for a while, running the dungeon over and over, practicing and refining his mastery of [Mana Burst].
By the end of his tinkering, he found that he was able to prioritize his targets and select which Kobol would bear the full brunt of the lightning storm.
First, striking a critically injured Kobol with the initial surge, allocating just enough of the energy to ensure it was dispatched—then sending the surplus energy contained in the blast to take out the less injured enemies in a line behind it, like a domino effect.
Satisfied with the dives so far, Jeff decided to move on the next phase of his time-loop training regime. He quickly dispatched the remaining Kobols, not forgetting to hoover up more of the dungeon drops strewn around the field before proceeding on to the Great Hall and the Skeleton Knights.
In this round, Jeff decided to permit the Bone Baron to reanimate the Knights, thereby giving him more targets to level his Skills on.
To set himself a real challenge, he banned himself from using any Skills at all, choosing instead to rely simply on his raw strength and combat ability. He was hoping that by pushing himself in this way, he would raise his Attributes quickly and possibly gain another Dao insight, like he had when he fought the goblins in the training dungeon.
In the entrance to the hall, he rolled out his Cultivation mat once more, and sat, Leech cradled in his lap, attempting to enter the perfect meditative state to reflect on the Dao. He focused his mind on the concept of sharpness, or ‘sundering’ as it was defined by the tomes in the library.
Jeff’s thoughts returned once again to the vision he had received during his Class selection. The Steel Mage, the potent word he had uttered that had unleashed such destruction, and finally the luminous rune on his forehead, Acuity, that was perhaps a clue to the nature of his Path.
Jeff waited patiently for the Knights to rouse themselves. As the streamers of reanimating Necrotic energy faded into the air, signifying the Bone Baron’s necromancy was complete, the Knights staggered upright. With the usual clatter of rusty armor and unearthly moans, they assembled in their phalanx formation, ready for battle.
The Bone Baron, seated on his throne, seemed particularly incensed that Jeff had not yet bothered to get up from his Cultivation mat.
“Rise, you worm!” Fury at Jeff’s indifferent attitude apparent in his tone.
“Know ye not that you are about to die? Knights.. Knights…KILL HIM!”
The Bone Baron’s voice boomed throughout the Great Hall, kicking up dust bunnies and causing the cutlery on the table to clink and rattle.
From his earlier Dungeon dive, Jeff had worked out that the Baron possessed no recollection of Jeff’s previous successful visits.
The Dungeon boss did, however, remember the thousands of other crawlers that had attempted, and failed, to run the dungeon. This knowledge, coupled with the trove of useful information he had concerning the System, the Vogels and the Tournament, made him an extremely valuable asset—a resource that Jeff fully intended to plunder to its utmost.
But first he had to deal with his Knights.
Standing up to face the approaching phalanx, Jeff deliberately slid his sword back into its sheath, a gesture that sent the Baron over the edge into apoplectic rage.
“Think yourself so strong, do you? YOU DARE MOCK ME???” the baron roared, his features twisted in incandescent rage.
“Guards! Have at him!”
The advancing knights surged forward.
Rising into the ‘White Crane Spreads Wings’ pose, Jeff concentrated once again on the principle of ‘Sundering'.
‘Be the blade’ he murmured to himself, holding his hands rigid as he recalled the devastating attack the Steel mage had unleashed on his enemies—the word he had spoken.
Sweeping down to attack, he struck the first knight with a precise knife hand strike to the neck, exploiting the vulnerable gap in its armor between the chest plate and helmet. Simultaneously he spun on his heel, unleashing a roundhouse kick to another approaching knight.
All the while he was immersed in combat, Jeff attempted to recapture the steely mindset that had overtaken him, that time he had battled with the successive waves of goblins.
Without pausing to evaluate the effectiveness of his strikes or to read the System notifications, Jeff continued to weave among the relatively slow moving Skeleton Knights, dodging their thrusts while maintaining his attacks.
Gradually as the battle wore on, he found his senses quickening. Again, the cold, hard clarity that he had known before began to permeate his movements.
It was almost as if an external force—a master warrior’s intuition—overlay his own, helping to guide his every move.
Only once during the battle did he misstep, his heightened reflexes momentarily betraying him.
A Knight’s sword swing got past his guard. With a dull clang, the blade bit cleanly into the flesh of his upper arm, then simply stopped. The blow, although delivered with the full strength of a Skeleton Knight, could not penetrate his newly tempered bones.
His ‘internal armor’ successfully stood up to the attack. What’s more, his massively improved Vitality and Endurance meant that the deep wound, had stopped bleeding and had begun to seal up within seconds.
Even in the heat of battle Jeff had time to wonder at his newfound imperviousness. Such a blow to a normal man would have condemned him to weeks of convalescence and left him crippled for life, yet here he stood, virtually invulnerable to a mundane strike.
He reckoned that a hit from a non-magical weapon would only have a real chance to do him any serious injury if it somehow managed to strike a vital organ, and even that was debatable.
Easing back into the trance-like state, Jeff concentrated on the Dao, identifying as a sharpened needle, threading a destructive trail through the armored ranks of the knights.
The route was laid out, almost preordained.
Jeff cut, slashed, and stabbed his way through the knights, as if he was following some kind of choreographed routine, a deadly pavane that involved delivering fatal blows to the other dance partners.
Making more use of his fists now that he had attained the Iron Body Achievement, he lashed out with a flurry of punches to the upper body of one unfortunate knight.
The skin was mostly gone from his bare knuckles to reveal the luminous blue-steel bone structure beneath, now glowing with an unearthly radiance. Each strike was relentless and precise, his wrecking-ball fists shearing through cuirasses and helms and smashing the bones beneath.
One by one, the armor-clad knights disintegrated, crumbling like rusty tin cans.
Jeff’s limbs had transformed into weapons of mass destruction, each punch and kick causing immense damage to the increasingly fragile looking Knights.
Jeff laughed maniacally, his hair shifting and flowing around his head like strands of razor wire.
His eyes took on a pure, white glow, his gaze strobing across the assembled knights, assessing every weakness. The soft contours of his body began to blur and shift—hardening—rendering him into a sharper version of who he really was.
He immersed himself fully in the Dao of Sundering, its principles guiding his every move. He advanced inexorably, his opponents becoming nothing more than fragmented variables in a grand equation, each one swiftly erased by his precise, unrelenting battlefield calculus.
The deeper he immersed himself in the Dao’s tenets, the more his tactics evolved.
Time began to decelerate, encasing Jeff in a bubble of heightened perception. He felt himself teetering on the cusp of some great enlightenment or revelation.
All of a sudden, a solitary bell tolled, a deep chime ringing inside his head.
The sound was so crystalline and pure it resembled the voice of some angelic being. That moment the peal resonated through him, the battle around him slowed down even further and then simply…stopped.
The Skeleton Knights froze in mid lunge as the System hit the pause button. Time itself stood still.
BREAKTHROUGH!
Dao Awakening—Dao of Sundering
You are on the brink of an Epiphany! Enter Dao Space: Yes/No?
Jeff hit Yes…