Bit by bit, the morning light from outside fades away, replaced with an eerie fluorescent green glow. I don’t know if it wasn’t actually there the first time around, or if my eyes have adjusted to the glow of concentrated Ether in the surroundings. There have been plenty of world modifications since our first trip here, and my [Mind] stat and [Basic Ether Manipulation] skills have both improved significantly since then, so either explanation is plausible. Still, it’s not bright enough to see everything that might try to lurk about, so we use our flashlights to light the way. With batteries, so as to conserve our [Ether].
As expected, once we make it about a hundred yards into the dungeon, the air grows cold and stale, and the warm flow of Ether flowing into my body slows down to a cool trickle. I charge a single unit of light into my [Flash of Insight] and throw it at the nearby ground, startling Chloe for a brief moment. Then I count the seconds until I see my [Ether] tick back up to maximum. Just under fifteen seconds.
To the best of my knowledge, [Ether] regenerates at a rate proportional to one’s [Mind] stat. Specifically, you recover ten times your [Mind] in [Ether] each hour. Here in dungeons, the rate seems to be exactly halved: five times one’s [Mind] each hour. For me, two hundred and fifty points. At this rate, I can restore my full [Ether] reserve in just under two and a half hours. I glance down at my stats to make sure my memory is not failing me.
[Level: 16; Experience: 15,880; To Next: 3,995]
[Current Stats: [Health]: 1,168 / 1,168 ; [Ether]: 670 / 670]
[Current Stats: [Strength]: 19; [Speed]: 19; [Vitality]: 42; [Mind]: 50]
Also, I remember that I have two free stat points from maximizing my [Ether Bullet] Skill. I assign one of them to my [Strength] and the other to my [Speed], pushing them both to an even twenty. It may not be completely, totally optimal, but I like the round, even numbers on both attributes. And with my [Strength] mediating my damage output, a bit more is more than just a nice to have.
The first hour proceeds. We spot a few spiders and rats that completely ignore us. Rather, they scurry off to the side of the chamber, hiding against the walls and burrowing into their tiny crevices like the pests they are. Part of me wants to mock these contemptible vermin. But a far larger part wants to mock myself. Why in the infernal hells do these assholes have enough knowledge to know that fighting us is a waste of time, but we still don’t get an [Identify] skill?
I channel [Ether] from within the core of my body, only instead of channeling it to my fingers or palms, I divert it to my eyes. It takes more than a bit of work, and I realize why. There are myriad tiny conduits through which my [Ether] circulates, and I’m not acclimated to using all of them just yet, even with a maximized [Basic Ether Manipulation] skill.
Although, ‘circulates’ might not be the right word. My body absorbs tiny traces of Ether which naturally exist all around me. It then flows into me and slowly condenses into my core, just behind the base of the sternum. From there, I can direct it outward through the network of tiny channels too small for me to perceive with my eyes. I’m well adjusted to pushing [Ether] into my hands, but I need to exercise these channels, for lack of a better word, before I can maintain the flow elsewhere.
I relay my findings to Chloe, and the two of us pause our descent for a few minutes to practice. It hurts. Bad. Like a migraine, sensation of aura and all. I see wisps of blue fog all around and I’m not sure if they’re there or if I’m just hallucinating. I want to scream and cry out and beg for mercy as my entire face shrivels in pain.
I focus on my breathing exercises. Relax my muscles. Allow them to tense, then let the tension fade away bit by bit. Rinse and repeat, then again and again until the pain finally starts to subside.
I see through what looks like some stylized night-vision goggles. It’s not as sharp as my ordinary light-based vision, but I can make out the walls and floors considerably better. I can’t see the ceiling of the cave, though. I realize why: my range is limited to a sphere of about twenty-five yards. Two System notifications flash before me in rapid succession.
[Your [Basic Ether Manipulation (Rank X)] has evolved to [Intermediate Ether Manipulation (Rank I)]
[You have gained the General Skill [Ethersight]. Would you like to learn this skill? (General Skill Slots Remaining: 4/6)]
I glance over the skill description.
[[Ethersight]: By cycling your [Ether] through your eyes, you have enhanced your vision, allowing you to see in total darkness, as long as you are not inside a complete Ether vacuum or similar effect. This skill also allows its wielder to see the [Ether] within constructs and other beings, providing a qualitative indication about their [Ether] density and an approximation of their Level. [Ether] cost: 5 per minute. Current range: 70 feet. (Range scales with Rank).]
Yes, please, and thank you. I will absolutely take this skill. Level 16 and I finally have something that resembles a gods-damned [Identify] skill like we should have gotten back at level 1 if the System was actually helpful as opposed to a giant, raging asshole!
I swear I briefly see the wisps of Ether coalesce into the shape of that most universal gesture of contempt before fading back into the environment. I pay the System’s salute no further mind as I disable my new Skill. Just knowing that I finally have some sort of analysis Skill takes a huge weight off my shoulders.
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Chloe tries it a few more times, but doesn’t get the skill. She grunts and grimaces, and I give her a few moments to vent off her frustrations. She mumbles obscenities that echo into the cavern, and I do my best not to pay them any mind as I keep watch for any unpleasantness lurking around. Once her seething has subsided to a few whimpering pouts, I pull her into a hug, which she allows.
“It’s okay, Chloe.”
“It’s not okay, Sera.” She sniffles. “I don’t want to keep being weak. I don’t want to have to rely on you. I– I don’t want to keep weighing you down.”
“Weighing me down? That’s funny, coming from the woman who’s saved my sorry butt half a dozen times already, who’s been frightened out of her mind, but still has the courage to get out of bed and follow me around straight into the maw of danger.”
“But–”
“We all have to rely on each other, Chloe. You helped me in our world history class, just like I help you in chemistry and physics. Exact same idea. You have healing magic I can’t replicate. I have [Ether] manipulation Skills that you don’t have yet.”
She rolls her eyes at me.
“I do mean yet, Chloe. My entire class is all about [Ether] and manipulating it with glyphs and technology. I just upgraded [Basic Ether Manipulation] into [Intermediate Ether Manipulation] at the same time. If you want to learn [Ethersight], I would just do some [Ether] manipulation exercises.”
“Can I learn your [Flash of Insight]?”
“It’s possible,” I say. I’m not at all certain if it is, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility, especially if her class dips into Light magic.
I proceed to demonstrate the basic technique, gathering a single unit of [Ether] into my palm, converting it into light energy which glows like a dim light bulb. I hold my technique for a few seconds, letting Chloe watch until she’s satisfied. Then, I fire the blast, briefly lightning up the dungeon. As I do so, I make sure to remember to designate Chloe and myself as ‘friendly’ and unaffected by the Skill.
“Hmm…” she says, trailing off for a moment.
With my new [Ethersight], I watch as her [Ether] flows into her right palm. She furrows her brow and sits there for several minutes, trying different things. Her eyes light up as she turns toward me. She makes a finger gun, points it toward me, and fires a beam of light that hits me right in the shoulder.
I instinctively wince, but then I realize I’m not harmed. In fact, the pain I had from earlier has completely broken thanks to whatever Skill she just used.
“I got a new class Skill called [Healing Bullet],” she says. “And I got my [Basic Ether Manipulation] up to Rank VII in the process.”
“Nice! And see, that’s a skill I definitely can’t do.” At least right now. “Anyway, do you feel like less of a… a burden, I guess?”
Chloe’s back to her cheerful self. “Yeah, I do. Oh, and just so you’re aware, your blue eyes start to glow when you’re using that [Ethersight] skill of yours. You should be aware of that in the future.”
“Thanks for letting me know.”
Strange that I never saw any sign of it when Lindsey was using whatever [Identify] variant she has. Maybe because it’s not sight-based like this skill is? Could just be some cosmetic difference. There’s still too much I don’t know about Skills and spells and otherwise to really determine either way.
We proceed deeper into the dungeon with our morale high, ready to face whatever challenges await us. Even though it’s been nearly forty-five minutes at this point, I see no signs of aggressive monsters approaching and hear no evidence of other people coming in from behind. I start thinking about Tower Gauntlet and what’s going on over there; is it still being kept under lockdown? Are people being let inside? Are the sentries inside forcibly clearing out the police lines outside? Goodness, if the cops there are as useless as the ones from this morning, I would certainly pay a few bucks to watch that.
We encounter a couple of Lesser Cave Boars and Dark Crocodiles just like we did on our first trip. To my great surprise, my [Lightning Bullets] are able to effortlessly blast them to bits with a scant thirty points of [Ether] behind them. To my utter disgust, however, even the strongest, level 10 variants no longer give me any Experience. Chloe still gets a few points though, and even low double-digits per battle will add up.
We find a couple of pieces of gear we can’t use, and a pair of silvery bucklers which we can. Chloe straps hers on, and I follow suit. Probably inferior to our [Repulsion Gauntlets], as I’ve renamed them. But we can’t guarantee that we’ll always have enough both [Ether] to activate them and the foresight to aim them properly, so the extra physical defense is welcome.
We proceed slowly, giving ourselves time to let our [Ether] recuperate after each battle. Or mine, specifically, since every fight against the monsters to this point has been one shot, one kill. We have more than enough food and water for a day down here, even if some of our rations are just the flavorless, chewy hardtack. Although I’d rather not be in the position of needing to do so, we could probably make it another day without, owing to us each having over forty [Vitality] after Chloe’s hitting Level 15.
A bit before lunch, the helical pathway widens slightly. A bit odd— the passage to this point has been of remarkably consistent width, about thirty yards wide. I pull Chloe behind me and draw my blowgun as I shine my flashlight ahead. I’m not sure what exactly I should be expecting, but as I stare ahead at the armored figure, it hits me. This is a dungeon. Dungeons… have bosses. And it seems we’ve found this dungeon’s boss. Or at least the boss of this first portion of the dungeon.
It moves. “Greetings, adventurers. I am Armosi, the boss of the first level of this dungeon.” It raises its sword from the ground before it, and a line of Ether appears about twenty feet in front of us, glowing slightly. “If you wish to put your mettle against my might and seek the riches that lay deeper within, then advance forward into the arena and prepare yourself for battle.”
Chloe and I turn to one another. She readies her wand and I prepare my [Ether Bullets]. With resolve in our hearts, we march into the danger zone.