Chapter 35: Childhood Dreams

In response, the dragon replied, “Nope!” Trint’s dragon-shaped form was impressive, and the form also allowed him to have vocal cords to match. The booming rumble dwarfed the emerging instance boss. Trint finally saw what appeared to be a giant weasel. The size of a couple of cars end to end. He realized that he would only call the weasel big at this point. Trint dwarfed the creature by about four times in mass, size, and deadliness.

“Will you submit to me as your Sovereign?” Trint thought his offer was generous. But he also wanted to try fighting as a killer dragon. “Or would you rather fight?”

“Ah, you understand?” The boss realized aloud. “So the rumblings were not just more swill the sects were selling? This is interesting. But no Sovereign. I cannot submit. I would never bow to whatever you are. I am not some simple-minded low-level follower of some system deity. You are no dragon. I only wish that I could take my true form. An i7 iteration limits me, and you probably will crush this form. But I never have and will never serve anyone. Sovereign or not, I am the ruler of my destiny.”

“Fine by me,” Trint was quick to end this monologue. “You don’t really deserve any more speaking time, buddy. Besides, we both know you don’t die when I end up killing you.Let’s go!”

“Now, you take the first shot; I’m still trying this out.” Trint offered the weasel boss.

Confused and even more offended, the defiant weasel slipped out of the remains as quick as the wind was moving toward Trint.Trint could have easily batted away the approaching creature or used his new tails to spear it, but he was a man, no dragon, of his word.He let the beast bite his front right leg.The creature snapped the spider leg in two.The portion in its mouth dispersed into mist and quickly restored the limb.But the beast was already twisting to get to the dragon’s neck.

Before the neck bite could happen, Trint decided he only offered a single unblocked shot, so he twisted away from the lunging weasel and brought a tail over his shoulder and into the shoulder of the airborne weasel.Speared, the boss was now suspended 20 feet in the air.His form was just inches off the ground.The weasel attempted to bite the tail to free itself, but the remaining two tails came around just as fast.One tail wrapped around its neck, and the other tail speared the other shoulder.

Now bleeding from both shoulders and its neck prevented from biting, all the attempts at clawing Trint were in vain. The tails were now long enough to keep the weasel at a distance. It was not able to touch him. Suddenly Trint felt a new sensation through the tails; an icy cold burn. Like he’d touched liquid nitrogen, the cold was so bad it damaged his tails. Like the snapped limb before, the tails holding the weasel became liquid and then mist and attempted to return to reform the tails.

The weasel was not waiting, and as it gained purchase on the ground, it went to work down Trint’s right side.It became an inferno of icy fire.The flames didn’t burn; they were like the antithesis of a blow torch. They were searing and destroying the properties that held Trint’s spirit form together.

With the legs on his left getting snapped one after another, Trint started to panic. The magic was potent, and he was still under-leveled. The beast began breaking through the scaffolding of the outer shell of Trint’s dragon form. It had turned around and was climbing onto Trint’s drooped left side; It had broken through to the more dense form around Trint’s core. His regular body was inside the shell of a dragon. Trint’s earlier calm had been replaced with a deep sense of panic.

Trint panic felt like he was in a claustrophobic space, and it was getting really hot. He just wanted to get out, away, safe.

‘Trint!’ Pneuma yelled, “You are being attacked spiritually by the ice fire. You need to do something fast.”

Trint snapped out of his panic. Hearing Pneuma ignited his conviction to reach his family. They were waiting; he couldn’t lose now.Even if it takes forever, I need to get to them.But I won’t die now.

That conviction was accompanied by a sense of purpose and then a reminder. Trint was a Sovereign. That had to mean something. He immediately pictured his sphere of hexagons and pentagons. It was in his spirit, and he took the time amid battle to retreat there.

‘There has to be a way I can do something here.I was overconfident.Trint scanned his spirit view, and the environment was the same except that the grid was lit up, not golden but flashing blue, and the typical white of the space was a void.The only things visible were his spirit body, the circuits inside, and the arcing lighting of blue and gold.There was a storm of light only inside this spherical cage.Trint had no idea what was happening but knew this was new.

Trint focused on this powerful maelstrom and tried to direct it. The lighting intensified. Now golden and blue arcing beams were striking from the grid and his circuits. He felt stronger but didn’t know if that would help when he resumed the battle. He couldn’t stay here forever. He pushed with everything in his spirit and attempted to add Soul to the fight. He didn’t know what he was doing but tried to push with his will. Nothing changed there, but the Spirit storm was getting more intense.

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Trint was forced out of his spirit plane.The weasel was nearly through his protective shell, but before it could reach his actual body, there was an explosion.Like an atomic bomb had just gone off, Trint became the epicenter of a massive explosion.

The result was a massive cloud of Spirit.The force of the explosion incinerated all the ruble and remains, not even leaving dust to blow to the ends of the instance.The weasel was nonexistent.

The expanding cloud of light, power, and intermixed void didn’t stop.It pushed in a blink to the edges of the instance.For a moment, there was resistance.Then under the force, the instance boundaries shattered.Where previously there were boundaries, there was a void that devoured the expelled Spirit bomb.The only thing remaining of the instance was the leveled ground, and near Trint lay the exit.But instead of a secure portal, there was an opening.The opening revealed the world outside.It was no longer the same as when Trint entered.

Trint was left unaffected by the explosion, but his spirit form had ceased to exist, and his human body had been suspended ten feet in the air and fell to the ground. He landed on his stomach. Not the best landing, but he was fine. All around Trint was a billowing cloud of gold and blue. But that was quickly being drawn to the surrounding void on all edges save for the ground below him. It was like a nebulous storm, arcing gold and blue throughout, but the edge of the void was visible since it was a sharp line where nothing seemed to exist. Not light or cloud or anything.

‘What did you do this time?’ Pneuma found himself at a loss again.

‘I have no idea!” Trint gasped. Dusting himself off, he reached into his ring and grabbed some water. He felt wrung out.

‘Trint, you need to run; look at the edge of the void,’ Pneuma warned. The void was steadily encroaching on the former instance. ‘Get out of here, now.

Trint made for the exit. Nothing was in his way, and he left without incident to view the destruction. His bomb had escaped the instance exit and, rather than blast straight out, had become a billowing smoke signal. The cloud inside the instance would have been much more giant if not for the void, but the one outside was no less conspicuous. The trees and other life in a hundred yards around the exit were gone, and the sky was lit with gold, blue, and intermixed black.

“Time to go!” Trint said aloud. Not having time since his exit, he still held the water skin in his hand. So he took a quick drink and poured some on his head. “People will see that for miles.”

Trint made it a mile away and headed straight for Jung’s.He passed a few people.They were, without exception staring at the sky.They were talking and pointing and generally in awe.But they also gave Trint an uncertain look as he approached from the direction of the cloud.

’This is not good, Pneuma,’ Trint thought to his companion. ‘Do I need to try and throw off any potential pursuers or just get back ASAP?’

’I think it’s best to get back and discuss with Jung and Iliana.’ Pneuma directed. ‘They may have some ideas, but my instincts are telling me we will need to move to another iteration, if possible, or at least another place in this one. Are you ready? Let’s put your stats from the instance leveling to more of a strategic build. I suggest what we discussed and, for now, see what it does.

‘Wait,’ Trint stopped Pneuma. ‘What level am I after that?’ Trint was almost too excited to look, so he asked instead.

‘You started that at level 41.’ Pneuma began. ‘But you killed over 200 of the lesser creatures, a couple dozen of some more elites, and then the weasel.All of them were over level 102, with the boss being 105.You are now level 94.That was the craziest instance gain I’ve ever heard of.I completely expected you to exit using a token.

‘Let me double-check this before you assign them. Let me see what we were thinking,’ Trint pulled up the stats before Pneuma allocated them.

Trinten Atlas Henderson

Stats

Level 94: 67%

Stat Pools

Health: HP -9400/9400 (Regen 940/min)

Stamina: SP- 9400/9400 (Regen 2820/min)

Mana: MP- 9400/9400 (Regen 940/min)

Unassigned Points: Body (18.6), Mind (18.6)

Body

-Strength: 4.2 (+ 3.8): 8.0

-Agility: 4.2. (+ 12): 16.2

-Vitality: 4.2 (+ 2.8): 7.0

Mind

-Memory: 4.2 (+ 2.8): 7.0

-Wisdom: 4.2 (+2.8): 7.0

-Adaptability: 4.2 (+13.0): 17.2

After a quick review and consideration, Trint asked, ‘So remember what happened when we dumped stats all at once? It didn’t go smoothly.’ Trint asked Pneuma.

‘You’re right; let’s do it once we get back to the compound,’ Pneuma kept the stats ready to go and would wait for confirmation back when they were at least a little safer.

Trint arrived at the compound to a waiting Jung, Iliana, and half of his guards and staff.

“Trint, are you alright?” Jung’s concern was bleeding through his question. “Did you see the explosion and that cloud?” It was still visible at this distance and was rising higher still.

“Yeah, I need to talk to you about that,” Trint waved his hand toward the open gate. “Can I tell you inside?”

Leading the way, Jung took them to his study. As they went, he asked a few questions about his condition and if they were in immediate danger.Trint finally realized his clothes were still fine, but the runes on his body were faintly visible in the darkened study.

‘Pneuma, did you think to warn me about these rune tattoos glowing before I got here?’ Trint was even more concerned that those he passed would have seen something.

‘Sorry, Trint, a lot was going on, and I was focused on the surrounding area.There were a lot of people headed in our direction.Almost all were headed to the explosion, but some were initially running away.It was a lot for me to stretch miles out and observe what I could.

“Jung, Ilian,” Trint began.“We have a serious problem. And it’s my fault.”