Hello guys before i continue with the usual i want to let you all know im recovering from the flu :( so Es & the next sr may be a little slow.
now for 2 pieces of good news. first piece is i'v started submitting chapters for my third project Mancer's Grimoire. this project may seem a bit more cliche but also appeal to some of you who like an mc proving people wrong and advancing fairly. 3 ratings man that takes me back to the days i first posted SR :)
the second piece of good news is i was able to get a lot of ideas that were flooding my head into that story and i now have a clean slate to work on SR and ES which i can focus on now.
!!!!! Pr Credits To Draconis & Tembulon who not only both pred it but improved this ch's quality greatly please rep them. Also Full Credits to Askard who maintains the Information Doc where a majority of spectral regalia information is written please Rep him to ^^!!!
now then this chapter. i have taken into consideration many things you guys have wanted and i need you all to bare with me for a bit. there is an issue where 50/50 are split in the romance department. and i am also split on this. but il be honest. as a writer down the line "When its approriate story wise" i will have romance for avrin. that isnt to say other chars may now have romance before that happens.
avrin is a charecter with many things on his mind and the way the story is now i dont feel it would sync well with his charecter. that isnt to say there wont be romance for him im just saying right now isnt the time for it.
also a few of you want me to tell some parts from other charecter perspectives im sure many are wondering where are ayame and syrana? and where are those demons sent after avrin?. after this dungeon arc and the end of volume 2 i will have a nice way to go backtrack and buff up that content for the story. i hope until then you guys will bare with me.
if you have any questions please pm me or comment here. also please refrain from asking for spoilers the only time i ever plan more then 2 chapters ahead is when i have a concept that will fit with the story. other then that 2 chs is my limit this keeps things fresh and less cliche
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Avrin and Clovis made their way inside the dungeon. Strangely, the interior was lit up quite well, despite the entrance showing darkness. As if it was an illusion to keep adventurers on their toes. “This place reeks...” Clovis spoke as he looked around, seeing bones scattered everywhere, broken and disfigured. One couldn't tell if they were human or an animal’s.
Avrin didn't reply. Instead, he was contemplating something strange. As much as he tried to spread his Divine Sense, he couldn’t. It was as if a wall blocked it. He couldn't scan for more than 3 meters in any given direction. This made him more cautious, as he wondered who the creator of this dungeon was.
“No doubt we are being watched...” Avrin looked around, his eyes augmented, as he would rely on that. He could see that everything used to build this structure emitted mana, and with so many sources, it would be annoying to find an enemy. If they hid well enough, they could blend into the walls.
Of course, Avrin knew the chances of the creatures having the same mana source as the materials of this dungeon was very low, but he had to take everything into account to be prepared for the worst.
As the two of them traversed deeper, Avrin looked around. He had a fair understanding of the dungeon’s interior. It was built underground, and had bricks and cobblestone infused with mana layered around to keep the earth at bay.
Of course, this was backed up by the fact that some parts had cracked and crumbled over the years, and the earth had managed to make its way in, blocking some paths. “I wonder how deep this place leads. “ Clovis spoke as he knelt down beside a mangled skeleton, trying to examine it.
“Probably a kilometer, If there's a dragon, no doubt deep enough to cover and hide itself” Avrin replied as he tampered with the mana infused materials, his Nebula Mist touching the surface of a loose brick. As his dark matter touched the mana inside the brick, the mana did something he considered strange.
It began to try and push back against his dark matter, as if having a self defence mechanism. But his Nebula Mist overcame it and it was soon devoured. “So this can be done? It will be irritating if someone knows how to use this for combat”
Avrin whispered to himself. As soon as Avrin finished speaking, a screech like roar echoed across the entire area they were in, coming from the tunnel up ahead. Clovis quickly got up, as he was surprised by the sound “Finally. Seems like they took notice of us” He laughed quietly.
Avrin gazed into the tunnel with his augmented eyes. He then narrowed them “-Strange… I don't see anyt--” As he was about to finish, he thought he felt something was off. He quickly looked up to see the ceiling emitted a magic circle that opened up, and a several figures began to drop onto the ground, until a total of 5 landed between Avrin and Clovis. Gazing quietly, Avrin examined them.
These figures wore spiked armor over their muscular bodies. Although it seemed protective, he could see these creatures also had scales that looked as if they were no weaker than the armor they wore.
The creatures had long, lizard like faces, with sharp, piercing eyes and long snouts. They hissed and stood up, their bodies nearly 3 meters. As soon as one looked at Avrin, its body tensed and its muscles rippled as it roared, giving a similar screech to the sound he and Clovis had heard before.
“Damn these bastards are loud...” Clovis glared. He also had to be focused. He could feel these creatures were incredibly strong. One of the creatures facing Clovis charged at him without waiting, and swung its large claw hand towards him. The wind rippled slightly as the claw moved in its trajectory.
Clovis quickly ducked before side stepping, infusing his hand with flame affinity mana. He punched towards the creature's abdomen. “Flame Fist First Strike…” As his fist landed against the creature's hardened armor, Clovis flinched slightly, as he found it to be harder than he had thought.
The creature was pushed a few meters back as it skids across the ground, spitting out a mouthful of green blood. Its comrades gazed at it, then all but the one focused and circling Avrin hissed at Clovis for injuring their friend.
Of course, the one he had injured felt fury, as its body surged with energy and it rushed towards Clovis again. “Ahh, resilient bastard...” Clovis clenched his teeth as the creature madly clawed in all directions towards him. Clovis found no issue dodging some of them, but it was quite fast. “Ahh…” He called out, before one of the slashes found its way to his arm, causing a large gash as blood began to run down it.
“Fucking shit…” He glared at the creature that seemed to enjoy bringing him pain. It charged towards him again. Meanwhile, the creature eyeing Avrin like a piece of meat decided to act. It hadn't attacked first, as it saw Avrin was strangely calm, and made no movements.
As it began to also claw in all directions, Avrin began to dodge like Clovis he had been. He watched the creature attack Clovis, so he felt he knew some of their movements, and it helped significantly. “Hmm… Indeed, not slow” Avrin spoke, as he was focused carefully on the creature attacking him.
As the creature felt like it was being toyed with, it roared madly, and began to increase its speed, which surprised Avrin. As the creature tried to corner him, he decided to act. His fist turned into a blur as he plowed it into the creature’s abdomen, wanting to see how much it would do. Of course, he made sure to hold back to gauge strength. The creature was blown away several meters, and spit a mouthful of blood as it winced.
Clovis saw Avrin hit the creature and laughed. “Seems like these guys are tough…. I bet their scales would make nice armor” As if understanding Clovis’s words, the lizard that was eyeing him after attacking him howled madly, feeling offense of his words. It swung its claws towards him madly.
“Bastard… Shut up..” Clovis narrowed his eyes before he vanished, jumping up, avoiding both claws of the Draconian that swung down towards him. “Flame Fist...Second Strike…” His fist landed on the side of the creature's face, as its cheek bones cracked under the strength, before it was plowed into the ground, causing the tunnel to rumble a bit as a small hole in the ground formed.
Clovis jumped back soon after, as the other creatures watching their comrade jumped towards him to try and shoo him away from their wounded friend. Clovis rubbed his sore hand, which was caused by smashing it into the creature's cheek. “Tough bastards… And they think of each other too. I'm starting to think they’re not mindless…”
The Draconian stopped attacking Avrin for a moment to see Clovis hit its comrade. Its face tensed, as its scales nearly changed from green to red. It was in a furious, and it decided to vent it's frustration on Avrin. It vanished like a blur and appeared in front of Avrin, its claw slashing across his body.
Avrin had stopped for a moment, seeing Clovis attack the creature, and was caught off guard by the creature's sudden speed boost. A gash appeared across his chest, but the gash wasn't simple, it also held some blunt force, pushing him back several meters.
Red blood began to cover his attire as he looked down at his wound, then slowly raised his head towards the creature that still had a fury that could match fire in its face as it rushed towards Avrin.
The 3 Draconians that were watching Clovis assisted their comrade into the hole, as it then looked at Clovis and made a strange sound, as if communicating with its friends. The 4 Draconians then turned to Clovis and hissed and roared. “S..Shit, not good… I'll have to go all out. I wonder I’ll survive, hahahaha” He began to laugh, as if to try and cheer himself up.
As the creatures were about to rush, a green blur blew past them and smashed against the wall, causing rubble and debris to fly out. This shocked them and Clovis, as they waited for the dust to settle.
The Draconian that was fighting Avrin had been smashed inside, causing a large indentation on the wall. Its body bloodied and its right arm torn off as it twitched, clearly unconscious. The Draconians shivered at the sight, and right as one turned to look at Avrin, it was met by a sudden pain against its ribs.
“Claw of the Dragon…” Avrin muttered, his face under the mask showing an annoyed expression. The Draconian that wounded him had pissed him off by catching him off guard. His opened palm crashed against the creature's side, causing the scales to split and even its bones to break as it was blown away, spinning in a cartwheel motion before it too became a sort of indentation on the wall not too far from its unconscious comrade.
The Draconians near Avrin quickly retreated as they hissed, somewhat afraid of him, who defeated their friends in one move. Clovis on the other hand, was over the moon “Hahaha, you dumb bastards, not so tough now!! Going to gang up on me.“ He then turned to Avrin. “Avrin, I never knew you were so strong. How about we take one of these things back with us to dissect?” Clovis knew these creatures understood his words from before, and he spoke those words on purpose.
The Draconians faces filled with anger at the thought of them being treated in such a way. One of them rushed towards Clovis, howling in fury. Clovis’s eyes widened as he turned into a blur and spoke “Flame Fist Third Strike….” His fist engulfed in a large typhoon like fire that stunned the Draconian charging at him.
But it was too late for it to change course. It tried to sidestep, but Clovis was too quick. His fist smashed upward, as if uppercutting the creature. The Draconian could only try to block as it barely managed to.
But the strength in his attack was by far stronger than the last two. It was smashed upward against the ceiling, as fire began to burn against its scales for a few seconds, before the creature that crashed against the ceiling fell limp onto the floor.
The remaining Draconian looked at both Avrin and Clovis nervously, before it screeched out in a strange way. “Argh.. Loud bastard..” Clovis covered his ears, and even Avrin felt it was strange.
A few moments later, several more magic circles began to appear all over the place, as figures began to slowly pour out from them.
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Avrin and Clovis gave strange looks, and they both bolted out the way they came from, knowing it would be annoying if they were surrounded, especially in a small space like that hall. “That unfair...shit, calling his friends..” Clovis couldn't help but feel annoyed as he ran beside Avrin back towards the way they came.
“It can't be helped. They seem pretty smart, no doubt they would call for backup.“ Clovis then looked at Avrin. “Avrin, why don't you fight them? I'm sure you can beat them all.”
Avrin looked at the grinning Clovis and frowned under his mask. “You take me for a fool? Why were you holding back? Surely your best move can defeat them all. And in that hall, you could get them all in one go”
Clovis chuckled. “True… But it uses too much of my mana. No way would I exhaust myself and let you take all the goodies that lay beyond.” Avrin laughed inwardly. “I'm not a thief. Besides, we haven't even seen anything that resembles treasure.”
As the two were running from the large amount of Draconians, the screeches and roars of the creatures echoed around the dungeon, and even outside. Felia, who was organizing several things to prepare for the dungeon, was wondering when Avrin and Clovis would return.
“Wyni, we should probably send a few people in” Wyni, who was sitting beside Felia, was also focused on the task. “You think they cleared the way in?” She spoke, to which Felia replied. “Most likely. It would do us good, but they may also take some treasure, leaving us down a bit”
Kael, who was sitting silently, felt irritated as he spoke. “Don't say that… My master is not a thief. He gave you his word. He won't go back on his word…” Kael frowned, his arms folded, as he was also waiting for Avrin and Clovis.
Wyni grinned, and she reached over and pinched his cheek playfully “So adorable when he is angry, Felia!” Kael frowned, as a vein appeared on his forehead. He could only swat away at Wyni’s hand, as both her and Felia laughed at him.
Their laughter was cut short by the screeches and roars of the Draconians that reached out of the dungeon. Not only them, but everyone raised their heads and quickly went on guard, as some surrounded the entrance.
The screeches and roars died down as two blurs blew passed the guards and landed softly on the ground. Clovis began to chuckle out. “Those things were strong! I can't wait to head back in. A shame they cheated by calling so many. I think they’re all peak Expert levels. They wouldn't be so hard if they weren't so durable” Clovis began to make his way towards Felia, as her, Wyni and Kael rushed over towards them.
Avrin gazed at the tunnel. It seemed the Draconians didn't follow them too far out. It was like they were bound to the dungeon. Felia saw that the two were back, as she was sweating when thinking something was wrong. But she relaxed as she saw they were both safe.
She then saw the gash mark across Avrin’s chest and a look of worry showed. She walked over “Avrin, are you ok?.. What happened in there…” Avrin nodded “I'm fine. One of them just caught me off guard..”
Felia gave a grin as she folded her arms, pushing her fair bust up. “So, how was it? Not as easy as you thought, right? It took all we had just to keep 3 of them at bay while we retreated.” Clovis dusted himself off. The rubble the fight had caused made him dusty.
“Hmm, they’re not so tough, as long as their numbers aren't too high we can fair well. And even then, I should be able to kill quite a few of them as a last resort.”
Felia smiled. “Clovis, you don't seem harmed. You seemed to do better than Avrin.” Clovis soon laughed. “Me? No way. Avrin was something else… He beat two of them easily. That Draconian really did get lucky by injuring him.”
Avrin had already walked passed them, towards the tent that Kael and some others had set up for him. Kael looked at Avrin worryingly. “Master, are you ok?” He could see the wound on Avrin. “I'm fine. This wound will heal quickly. Kael, why aren't you resting?”
Kael was silent, before he smiled “I couldn't rest while you were in there, Master. I'm so eager to venture in.” The look of excitement on Kael’s face couldn't be hidden. Avrin laughed softly, which caused Kael to blink twice, as he had rarely heard Avrin laugh.
“Hmm, well, go rest. I'll wait, and we will go with the main group.” Kael gave a soft sigh of relief, knowing he wouldn't miss out again. He nodded and went off to his own pavilion tent. He could see the emblem of the human kingdom, which meant that Henreth had packed this. Avrin understood what the 2 large packs on the sides of his and Kael’s horses were for.
Entering inside, the tent wasn't fancy. It had a simple bed, a table, and a few chairs, with Avrin’s stuff already inside. After closing the tent’s flap entrance, he removed his cloak and set it on the chair. His Nebula Mist was emitted around the wound, and it began to clean it, and also fix his torn outfit.
“Sky Metal is capable of creating things. I wonder if forging armor is possible..” He began to think of the possibilities, which caused him to smile. He then went over to a corner of the tent that was clear, and his Nebula Mist blew out like a breeze as a small carpet was formed.
Walking over to it, Avrin sat down cross legged and began to enter his body’s inner workings to check on the progress of things. Soon, his consciousness seemed to drift, as if a transition was met.
He could see sparkles of energy, both light and dark, drift around, he could see the very structure of his body. Any lesser man would have gone crazy, but Avrin was used to it all, having even seen God. It would take a lot to surprise him with shock and awe. “-So 90% Type 2 Particles. Other than a few I made myself, they all have twice the strength of a Type 1 Particle-” Avrin was silent for a moment, as he felt a little dissatisfied.
“-Such a complicated method… But it's good. It allows variety, and in the end, it's all progress. Let’s test something-” Using a bit of his energy, he reformed several Type 1 Particles, and he then ordered 5 C.Particles to use them in a sort of way to refine a single Type 2 Particle.
Gazing carefully, 3 Type 1 Particles were led to a lone Type 2 Particle that was then surrounded by the 5 C.Particles. Slowly, the C.Particles emitted a faint ripple, and 1 of the Type 1 Particles was trying to fuse with the Type 2 Particle.
As several minutes passed, the Type 2 Particle was x3 stronger than a Type 1 Particle, but was also larger in mass. Avrin felt something was off, and had gotten one of the Type 2 Particles he had gotten and compared the two.
The one he had created was the size of a Type 1 Particle, but was 10x its strength. He couldn't understand why, as he spent a bit just comparing the two. “-Hmm, the book God gave me doesn't tell me anything-” He began to understand that God only gave him a manual. He didn't want to hold his hand and tell him everything, as it would be cheating.
Avrin began to think carefully as he examined the two Type 2 Particles carefully. He then laughed a bit. He discovered the Type 2 Particle he didn't make had 3 layers, as opposed to the one he made, which was a single layer.
“-So the process wasn't complete-” Avrin began to carefully remove the layers of the Type 2 Particle the C.Particles had made. For him, the process was quite easy, as it was only a matter of removing the miniscule sheet that separated the energies. As he removed one layer, the Type 2 Particle shrunk in size, and by the time the other layer was removed, the Type 2 Particle was left with one layer, which was the outermost one.
Although it was 3x in strength, it was the size of a Type 1 Particle. Avrin understood that every time it was fed to increase in strength, it would need to have the layers removed. Avrin felt that the layers that were removed could be recycled into dark matter. As small as it was, it still helped.
Avrin began to separate the C.Particles. Carefully. In total, 10% of his body’s particles were C Particles. He would split them 40/40. Some to feed the Type 2 Particles and increase their strength, and the others to remove the thin shell and recycle it. The other 20% would carefully create Type 1 Particles to be used.
It hadn't taken long before his inner workings became a hub of activity, as several glowing dots began to reconfigure and get to work. Avrin felt this would take quite a bit of time at first, for the particles to get used to this process, but as time progressed, it would be quicker, as the C.Particles would gain the experience they needed.
Avrin began to ponder something as he looked at the C.Particles. “-Hmmm.. I wonder-” He took 2 C.Particles, and then began to fuse them together carefully. It had taken a bit of time before he was left with a satisfying result. The method in fusing the two was no different than fusing a regular particle.
Gazing at the product he had finished, the C.Particle was emitting the same color as a Type 2 Particle, but it had strange zebra like patterns around it that began to move. At that moment, the C.Particle did something strange.
It emitted a faint pulse to Avrin’s mind, as if trying to communicate. Avrin understood the pulse. It was a simple message “-Give me a task, oh? This little thing is quite handy-” Avrin smiled as he looked at it floating within his body.
He then gave an order that was a bit more advanced, but he wanted to see if it could handle it. The order was simple. “Oversee everything and let me know when all Type 2 Particles the C.Particles created are 3x in strength” The Type 2 C.Particle, as he dubbed it, soon emitted another pulse, before it began to drift into the center of Avrin’s body, where activity was going on.
From there, the thin zebra lines shot out towards the other C.Particles, linking onto them, as if it established a connection. Of course, it couldn't do this for all, but from there, the C.Particles that were linked, began to form one of those zebra like lines, before they also shot out to another C.Particle.
“-Establishing a link. You don't have enough energy to connect to them all, so you use a bit of the energy from those other C.Particles to increase the range. Very handy-” Avrin thought. Before long, he felt a presence outside of his body, and quickly left his inner workings to let his particles get to work.
As he opened his eyes, he saw Felia kneeling down in front of him, reaching quietly to his mask, as if trying to be as silent as possible. His eyes carefully opened. He had forgotten to leave his Divine Sense on, but had felt her as soon as she got too close.
As her hand drew near, he reached up and grabbed it. “Have you forgotten the deal you made?” Avrin spoke quietly. Felia jumped, before her face turned red from embarrassment, feeling Avrin’s grip.
“Oh, Avrin! You scared me.. Yes, the agreement… My fault. I saw you like this and figured I would maybe take a peak?..” Avrin let go of her arm as he stood up. “Don't do that again…” He spoke, somewhat irritated. Felia looked down, feeling she angered him. She tried to change the subject.
“Well, you didn't come out. Yesterday, when you and Clovis went into the dungeon, things were silent, so we thought it would be good today to leave early and enter”
Avrin blinked, a little surprised. “Yesterday?..” Felia nodded. “Oh, you must have been in quite a meditation to even lose track of time.” Avrin agreed with her inwardly. He realized there was indeed a fair time difference in his inner workings and outside.
“Very well. Let's go.” Avrin spoke as he walked passed Felia, who gave a smile as she followed behind him. Avrin’s intentions today were to go as far as he could in the dungeon. He truly wanted to see what treasures lay in the deepest part, as well as what these Draconians truly were.
Secret Suprise.
This was intended for an announcement. But to my dedicated readers, it comes early. interpret it any way you want = )
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This Spoiler is as far as i will go :) when the announcement comes up then you will find out more ^^