The strange bear continued its charge and Alan kept spamming his skill. Each cast after the next was just a bit different and more stable, but there was still much to be desired. [Mana Zap] was a simple skill, not even a rare one, but advancing it had proven to be difficult. It was probably because of the strange concepts he was trying to put into it each time. Be it his will or his insights, there were things still a bit beyond Alan’s understanding of things. He understood them, on some primal level that seemed to bypass his conscious mind, but putting them to use was a different matter.

He had to use [Void Step] a few times, which only made the beast madder. It was fast and it mowed down trees in its way as if they were dried-out pieces of wood. Alan was worried it might have a skill or an ace up it’s sleeve, but time proved there was nothing of the sort. Only brute strength and speed.

Eventually, the beast couldn’t go on. Its body was a mess of blood and hanging flesh, and while the wounds were small, they had added up quite a bit. It roared a few times before falling to the ground and taking its last breath.

You have slain: Bare Horned Bear (171)

The name was weird and distracting but the beast’s level made Alan frown. He had been sure the beast was the same as him at tier two. Was his understanding of mana too shallow? His sensitivity to flow had grown after stepping up a tier, as had all of his abilities, but still…

No level-up notification came, which was another issue. The thing was 71 levels above him, and yet...

Perhaps it’s the tier difference adding up. Ah, let’s keep searching.

It didn’t take long to find another creature – a remnant of the past. It was a wolf, but it was too weak to pose a threat or even be a good practice target. Its limbs bent when Alan appeared next to it and the sorry beast seemed to kneel on the ground, understanding that death stood before him.

Alan left it alone and even felt a bit sorry for it. It would hopefully sense the corpse of the bear and go eat a bit before something stronger found it. There was no point in wanton slaughter, especially since the wolf was behaving in such a way.

Still, he wondered how a level 90-something Sanctuary member would fare against the bear. They had strong skills, especially some of them, and the beast while fast and strong had none. However, Alan understood that his current speed of movement was probably the fastest in the Sanctuary. That would certainly not remain so, despite the massive boosts from his [Monochrome Armor] turned [Shepherd’s Shroud].

The world would keep changing and he had to stay ahead of the curve if he wanted to prosper in this new reality. Who knew what the System had in store for its new project? The world was still changing under its careful manipulation.

Alan shook his head and kept running. It was easy to find his way back using the flow of mana and sensing the different currents so he was not worried about getting lost. Soon things started adding up and he noted things down on the map he had created in his mind. It was not a difficult thing to do to the current him.

The bear seemed to be the strongest creature in the vicinity of the Sanctuary, but as he left the mental circle he had created for himself he started sensing other auras of life and mana. Determining their strength was difficult, but at least he wouldn’t be getting surprised.

The first one, and the one closest to him, turned out to be a strange living boulder hiding between ruins quite similar to where Alan had first met the kobolds and where he had run from the Echidna. They were certainly not the same ones, but it gave him an idea.

Maybe I could go and check on Ig-Thun? He helped me a lot, and now it’s my turn. Finding the kobold cave he had slaughtered through was still not out of the question either. With his speed covering what had taken him two days would be done in a matter of hours now.

The strange creature was discoverable only because of the pulsing of life Alan could feel. Mana and life seemed intertwined in an ever-continuous dance. Its color was strange, trying to blend in with the ruins around but not quite succeeding. A few pieces of it were more jagged and the closer Alan looked the more out of place the thing was. Perhaps it hunted lesser creatures by pretending, or it was a defensive mechanism.

It was all quite fascinating and he got closer, wondering if it was another strength-based monster or something else entirely.

His thoughts ceased when the living boulder spat at him. The spit flew fast and hit the whirling shield of shadows that appeared to block it while sizzling. Alan watched with amazement as it ate through his shield and felt his mana fail to regenerate the shadows as fast as usual. Did it have something to do with his weird trait? Or was the corrosive spit just a natural enemy for shields such as his?

Alan used [Void Step] to dodge the next attack. It had come a few seconds later, along with another. He finally saw the movement of the creature. It was faster than he anticipated from something disguised as a rock. In a flash, a strange bug-like mouth appeared for a split second from between cracks on the boulder that hadn’t been there before. It spat and hid again. The boulder moved to face him. He didn’t try to put anything between himself and the monster – the danger was not so great, and he wanted to learn more.

He started his counterattack while juking the spit. The modified [Mana Zap] kept ringing, but it had much less success than with the bear from earlier. It slowly chipped at the thing, but the monster remained unmoving. That was just fine as Alan was thankful for the target practice. He sensed that he was very close to something that could finally become a skill.

Skills were easier to use as all they took was a thought. Applying the actual concept to the skill involved a lot heavier lifting and could result in a delay or a mistake that cost someone their life.

It felt like half an hour or more had passed when finally, his attacks bore a result. The void fueled [Mana Zap] went off and a shallow but large circular hole, appeared on the shell that he had hit many times. So far it had only chipped at it, unable to do the same damage it would on flesh, but now that had changed.

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Congratulations, your skill [Mana Zap] can advance!

Please choose.

Alan finally used part of the landscape to catch a breather and checked the options. There were only two and both were (Rare).

Mana Bomb (Rare)

A mana bomb that is fueled with a lot of concentrated will.

That was a strange one. Perhaps offered due to some of his experiments in the fractal, where he had both overloaded and suppressed [Mana Zap] and used it to create completely different skills. It was alright, but didn’t look like anything special. His [Shadow Creation] and the flying shadow blades he could create with it were a good enough medium of his will.

Plus, it didn’t seem that hard to recreate with all he knew. The anchors he created for his shadow chains could also serve that purpose. He distinctly remembered evaporating a bunch of parasites with a simple burst of his will.

What he wanted was the result of his newest attempts.

Void Pierce

(Rare)

An instantaneous piercing strike of void mana that can stop channeling and penetrate through most physical protections.

There was no debate as to what his choice would be.

Congratulations! [Mana Zap] has become [Void Pierce] (Rare).

Now we’re talking. Another attack skill and it was much more suited for someone who didn’t necessarily have the skills to get up close and personal. It was like having a gun attached to his finger.

Alan grinned and showed himself as shadows crawled on his staff, turning it into a dark glaive. He swung slowly sending a charged shadow slash into the unmoving creature and a large chunk of it broke off, revealing the flesh beneath. It screeched as if two stones were rubbing each other and Alan had to dodge another volley of corrosive spit.

He aimed his new [Void Pierce] at the revealed greenish flesh and used it. It was as if he stabbed a blade directly into the softer parts of the creature and twisted it. A hole appeared in the flesh and green blood started pouring out, making the surrounding skin and even the monster’s own shell smoke.

You have slain: Corrosive Detribug (157)

It’s corroding itself?

It took only a few more casts until the creature died a pitiful death. By the end, Alan was pretty disgusted. The corpse kept decomposing under the effects of its own internal fluid each of which seemed to be highly corrosive. Perhaps there was some use to it, and he made a note to tell someone in the Sanctuary. He still remembered the acid-slinging mage who had died pitifully against Wuros, and how effective he had been before that.

Nevertheless, having finally improved [Mana Zap] made his mood improve a lot. The range was large, and there was only a slight pause between casts. If he used [Sacrificial Attack] along with it he could perhaps do quite a bit of damage.

Alan moved in a flash of shadows, careful to avoid the creature’s remains. His armor was finally regenerating, but the information that it could be suppressed was very welcome. Nothing was perfect and knowing one’s weaknesses was a very valuable thing.

One thing bothered him though. He had slain two creatures way above his level and he had not leveled up. He probably needed tier-two opponents, which meant farming the weak monsters was not a viable strategy. Perhaps this was the System’s way of preventing the strong from slaughtering the weak for levels? He was sure it still happened, be it through the use of rituals or skills.

There were certainly tier twos around, but how far was he willing to go now? There was not that much to do other than level and perhaps speak with the spirits again. Searching for Ashlyn could be a priority, but Alan wasn’t sure where to even begin.

There was one more thing that worried him.

In a flash of shadows, the demon cube appeared in his hand once again. Alan examined it as he sped through the forest, while observing weird lifeforms and trying to feel anything unusual. He was doing that from time to time, hoping for any sign from Xil.

It would be quite funny if the demon had grabbed some of the draconic bloodline’s goodness as well.

The forest grew thicker and darker. Alan circled out in an increasing radius from the Sanctuary, scouting the area and looking for any signs of intelligent life.

Eventually, he found himself overlooking the forest from a cliff he hadn’t seen before. Perhaps it was part of the chain of the kobold lair, perhaps not. He remembered his first kill of fellow humans near the river, but he had yet to see or find a river and the strange terrain with the giant trees didn’t do much to help him.

Fuck it. Better now than later. He was sure Enid would pop out of somewhere and try to ‘help’.

The Tome of Spirit Skills appeared before him in all its glory, and Alan reached for one of the two skills there. Establish Spirit Domain took 29 pages and seemed quite complicated.

The change was immediate. The world became paler, and otherworldly mists instantly covered the land.

Use of skill with foreign origin detected.

Please wait.

The hell? Seconds became minutes, and the minutes stretched. Alan felt like he was in two places at once. It was not the misty place where spirits typically pulled his consciousness, it was something else entirely. A world upon the world. Had Odu done something tricky again?

Please wait.

The world shook again the Tome flew out of Alan’s hands. It enlarged until its pages were as big as doors… and the doors opened. It was a sight that made no sense. Space of chaotic mana and energy that depicted different scenes, everchanging like a quick slideshow. All was murky and strange as if observed through a dirty lens. He felt a strand of his will enter the world he could see through the pages before him, without guidance.

The vision cleared. A mansion covered in mists that seemed to be glitching its way into reality stood on the other end of the passage.

Did Odu give me a house? In the Spirit World?!

You have successfully established your own Spirit Domain. You have been granted full control of the Spirit Domain.

Spirit Domain

Each spirit has a place that nurtures them and they nurture in return. A piece of reality that belongs to them alone. It can be shaped by the owner as they see fit and only those invited can step foot inside, irrespective of strength. Once the owner dies, the domain will rejoin the rest of the Spirit World and those inside will be sent to their last known location.

With wide eyes, Alan stepped through the page.

Your title [Friend of the Spirit World] has changed.