Alexia

A week and a half after reaching Tier 2

I smile when I find a System Message appearing as soon as I separate the head of this large snake from its body, finishing off the level 100 monster.

{Congratulations! You have leveled up to level 105! Your Species has awarded you +2 VIT, +2 DEX, +2 STR, +2 MAG, and +2 MEN. Your Class has awarded you +1 VIT, +1 DEX, +1 STR, +2 MAG, and +2 MEN.}

[*New Active Skill* – Waveform Manipulation: Allows the user to change the form of mana by manipulating its wave-particle duality. This may change the form of whatever skill or spell is targeted by this skill in various different ways.]

But my smile pauses at the sight of the new skill. One that is very much unlike anything I’ve seen before.

That’s… interesting.

I think it actually has a bit more practical use than Quantum Echo and Quantum Resonance, actually. The ability to interfere with someone else’s spell or skill.

But first I’ll have to test it out when I find the closest Safe Zone.

Over the last week and a half, I’ve searched for Tier 2 dungeons and found about three. All while making sure to keep my eye on our home island so as to not lose it.

Fortunately the islands don’t seem to move very fast, and they do indeed move in a pattern that’s repeated back and forth.

So losing our home island shouldn’t be an issue.

While searching I’ve also dealt with the level 100 monsters on the islands along with their higher leveled subordinates, simply to bring my level up a bit before I try a Tier 2 dungeon.

After all, trying a Tier 2 dungeon at level 101 is just as suicidal as trying a Tier 1 dungeon at level 1. Maybe even more, since Tier 2 has a larger range of levels than Tier 1. So the dungeon will progress through levels faster.

I stretch a little while looking around the underground cave, only to eventually frown when I find the hidden location that is generally in each of the level 100 monsters’ lairs.

Where’s the authority shard?

I stare at the hidden location for a few seconds before continuing to look around the area, all while sensing around me with Energy Manipulation. But I never manage to find the shard, leaving me to believe that someone else found it and took it.

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Did they sneak in past the level 100 to steal it or something?

Well that’s annoying.

I continue searching for a while longer before eventually giving up, not sensing a single hint of the energy that the quantum shards give off anywhere nearby. Then I begin teleporting away until I reach the edge of the island and squint my eyes slightly at the surrounding islands. But after a second I decide to head back to the home island again, since it’s almost time for me to check in again for Astrid.

So I turn my attention to the home island and begin teleporting over towards it through the air, still not necessarily feeling used to teleporting through the air above nothing but air and clouds.

I briefly look around while teleporting in search of the Calamity Class monster, but the thing is still nowhere in sight. Which makes me feel rather relieved. Because the last time it was nearby about a week ago, the monster suddenly let out a roar and quite literally took a chunk out of a floating island, eating someone on the island.

If I had to guess, it was because they identified it. Which makes me glad that I didn’t identify it before, and neither did anyone at our base.

Also made me glad that it happened while the monster was over a dozen islands away, barely still within my line of sight even with my levels enhancing my senses.

I continue teleporting to the home island until I lightly land on the ground and begin walking across the bridge of the island it’s currently connected to. Some sort of desert island that’s radiating more than a little heat.

But I quickly find a very pleasant surprise on the island.

“Astrid!” I shout before immediately teleporting over to her and hugging her, to her surprise. But she quickly recovers and hugs me back.

Then we both separate again and I identify her.

{Astrid Knight – Species: Shadowborne – Class: Shadow Blade – Level 79}

Oh? Not half bad.

“How far did you get in the dungeon?” I ask while glancing at the others who had gone down with her and finding them all to have levels slightly lower than Astrid. Meaning she probably did a lot of the work down there.

Although the former princess, Elizabeth, has her level almost at the same as Astrid’s.

“We made it to the scorpion area before falling back,” Astrid answers, bringing my attention back to her. “How much of the dungeon was left after that?”

I answer with a smile, “That was the last area. The boss of the scorpions was the final boss of the dungeon.”

A grimace covers her face as she realizes just how close they were to finishing. But then she lets out a sigh and glances at the others as she says, “We ended up running out of food and supplies and had to turn back. If I’d known how close we were…”

“We still wouldn’t have had enough food and supplies to last for that final area either,” Elizabeth says, apparently having overheard our conversation as she steps up to us. “It’s fine. We can just try again.” She glances at me. “Or we could also just try the other dungeon your sister fought in while we were inside.”

Astrid’s attention immediately turns to me at the mention of another dungeon.

I grin at her single-minded focus as I explain, “It was the dungeon the hellfrost dragon was sent to at the start of the Reset, and it focuses on lightning element monsters. The boss being a rampaging kyre. One that I actually struggled against a little bit before reaching Tier 2.”

That has some of her enthusiasm dying down a bit, but I can tell she’s still gonna try the dungeon.

“That aside, I have some intel that I should share with you two,” I add before glancing at Alara, “and her.”