Rio yawned as she dried her hair, wet from her evening bath. She made her way over to one of the meeting areas in the mansion. There she found Cali, who was reading. A small smile came to Rio’s lips as she suspected that Cali was here for the same reason she was. This room was the closest to the teleportation room.
“Hello Cali, how are you doing?” Rio asked as she sat down.
“Okay.”
“So, how long have you known Martel for?”
“Long time.”
“Are you worried about him?”
“No.”
“Then why are you waiting for him?”
“Miss him.”
Rio was momentarily surprised by Cali’s response before she raised her hand to her mouth and chuckled. The usually expressionless Cali was so adorable. She was about to say something but swallowed back her words when Cali uncharacteristically dropped her book and stood up with haste. “What’s wrong?”
“Take care of everyone.”
Rio was surprised by the sudden change in Cali but became stunned as Cali’s body disintegrated into black specks, with one exception being a small bead that permeated ki. The mass of black dust suddenly moved before it briefly disappeared. Rio’s face suddenly went white, not from what happened to Cali but from what she heard. Although it was muffled, she heard the sound that plagued her nightmares, the roar of a dragon.
...
“… Sh!t.” Martel couldn’t help but curse as he gathered his bearings. Compared to the rest of the floors in Labyrinth, the hundredth floor was relatively small. If not for the pillars of crystal, it would’ve been a completely open room. This meant that his entry was not secretive, and the floor’s occupant noticed him right away. Martel quickly utilized his eye Talents to gather as much information as possible.
What Martel faced had the appearance of a dragon. Its body was made entirely of crystal, which made it see-through. Although the light refracted off the crystalline scales, he could even intricate structures, like the skeleton and internal organs. Most notably was the circulatory system in which mana flowed instead of blood. In the center of the crystal dragon’s body were two masses of mana. Given that one was beating and the other was expanding and contracting, Martel realized that these were the heart and third lung, respectively. Interestingly, the heart and third lung were slightly off-color and opaque compared to the rest of the body.
This dragon was artificial. All-natural dragons were biological, but that did not mean this artificial dragon was weak. Martel remembered that a true dragon had lost his life attempting to subdue Lilith, which meant that she probably used its soul in the creation of this crystal dragon. Most likely, this dragon was something similar to a homunculus or golem. Interestingly, it was called a mana dragon. Martel quickly searched his database and found references to a mana dragon. Aside from the fact that it was one of the rarest types of dragons, there was no noticeable difference from other dragons.
All of these thoughts flashed through Martel’s mind in only a few short seconds. The dragon opened its maw, and Martel immediately had a bad feeling. He immediately surrounded ears with destruction magic just as the mana dragon unleashed a devastating roar. Within the confines of the floor, the sheer force struck Martel to the core. However, being relatively unfazed, Martel quickly cast some buffs on himself before he began to meld with the shadows.
Martel could see no wisdom in the depths of the dragon’s crystalline eyes. No longer was this dragon a beast, but a wild monster only acting on its impulses. Upon not seeing his target but knowing it was still there, the dragon’s head reeled back as the mana and its body concentrated within its third lung. Then, as it swung its head in a wide birth, flames of mana spewed forth, covering the entire floor. In the end, he revealed the dumbfounded Martel.
Martel’s shock was twofold. The first being was that the breath removed the buffs he had just cast entirely. The second was that he had been removed from the shadows. Traveling within the shadows required concentration. If something attacked the shadow where they existed, it was possible to be damaged and forced out. What surprised Martel was that the force exerted to remove him from the shadows was not within the ratio of the damage dealt, given that it was minuscule.
Martel clicked his tongue but wasn’t too disappointed as he again melded with the shadows. The mana dragon responded in kind, but that did not faze Martel. Entering the shadows only took a little bit of physical and mental stamina, which was inconsequential compared to the amount of mana that the dragon was expending. In a simple war of attrition, Martel would come out on top. However, he was unsure if the dragon had any other magical abilities and preferred it to run out of mana before a frontal flight. However, fighting a dragon was not simple.
The third time that Martel disappeared, the dragon started to pursue. Luckily, it seemed unable to track him once he was fully in the shadow, but the time that he was revealed was problematic. However, before the dragon got too close for comfort, Martel teleported to the far side of the room. If the dragon were sane, it would be frustrated by now.
This repeated twice and, by the 12th breath, the dragon was finally running low on mana. Just as Martel was considering whether to go on the offensive, the dragon suddenly broke its pattern. It suddenly bit into one of the pillars within the room. Martel was surprised but quickly reacted as he noticed that the dragon was recovering mana. Now was not the time to hesitate, else he would lose all momentum. He quickly cast buffs as armor appeared on his body, and a heavy sword erupted from his hand. Electricity sparked at his feet as they dug into the ground. Flames erupted at his back behind his draconic wings made of ki. His draconified eyes locked on the recovering mana dragon. With a Gale Step enhanced by his Soul Armaments, Martel shot forward at an astonishing speed at the dragon, who appeared unexpecting an attack. With tremendous force, Martel’s sword impacted the mana dragon’s throat, and… almost nothing happened. There was no loud sound of the collision, and Martel barely felt the vibrations of the sword impact. Only the g-force from him suddenly stopping let him know that he had even made contact.
Martel glanced at the point of impact with blank eyes as only an ever small crack could be seen amidst the dragon’s crystalline scales. Then, in the moment of his consternation, a crystalline claw shot out towards him.
‘Return to s Sender.’
Martel quickly activated one of his skills as he interceded the claw with his shield. The draconic claw bounced back with even more for striking the dragon’s body, seemingly to little effect. At the same time, Martel was sent across the room. Martel frowned beneath his helm. Typically, if Return to Sender were successful, he would experience little to no recoil. This meant that there was a significant difference in physical strength. Currently, Martel’s strength came entirely from his ki. If not for the fact he already knew that there was another rank beyond Rank 10, he probably would’ve started investing points into STR. However, he didn’t want to do this because strength and ki only affected each other marginally. You could either protect yourself with ki and use your STR or use the strength of your ki. Perhaps he would increase his strength in the future. However, the investment into magic and survivability was more important as it made a notable difference in the short term. However, this also left him with the problem he experienced today. Martel’s mind began to quickly think about a counter as he avoided the onslaught of the mana dragon. Thankfully, it hadn’t recovered a significant amount of mana, but it seemed even wilder than before. Martel was slightly confused because he didn’t understand why the dragon would have so much defense. Even though a normal dragon would have a tough defense, there was no reason why this dragon made of crystal would also. However, he realized something was wrong. He didn’t even feel the vibration from the impact, which was something he had experienced before.
“Energy Crystal.” Martel could help but say when he realized it. Energy Crystals were mana crystals without mana. If the mana in this dragon’s body did not permeate its entire being, but only parts, then the external of its body would be Energy Crystal. Martel gritted his teeth. There were only two realistic ways of dealing with Energy Crystal. The first was to fill the energy crystal with more energy than it could bear, turning it into powder. The second was to drain it of energy at the same rate that energy was being entered. This was the method used to cut and shape Energy Crystal. The first option was problematic because he was not certain if the mana dragon could turn the energy absorbed into its mana.
Given that Martel could see the crystal healing, seemingly from the energy of the attack, he didn’t want to try this option. It also heavily limited the effectiveness of his ki dragons. The second option was even more unrealistic as it required constant physical contact and finite control. Neither was possible in such circumstances. Luckily, those two options were available to ordinary people, and Martel was not ordinary.
Coming to a quick decision, Martel dashed behind a pillar, made opaque by the flowing mana, to briefly cut off the line of sight of the mana dragon. The incessant dragon continued to chase him and quickly caught up. With a lunge, the dragon’s jaws clamped down on Martel, who immediately broke up into particles of mana. Martel’s true body, from a blind spot, charged the underbelly of the dragon and thrust, focusing his attack at the heart of the dragon. This time, there was a sound of impact. Gram, Martel’s heavy sword, was still covered in ki, but this ki was not blue. Along with destruction magic, the ki had become black. Both the ki and magic carried the power of destruction, which could not be converted into energy.
The mana dragon reeled as it yapped in surprise and sent its tail in Martel’s direction.
‘Reflect’
The mana dragon’s tail bent an awkward angle as Martel sent it back to the main body even faster than before. This time, Martel was not sent flying as he timed the blow to the millisecond to ensure that the Reflect was perfect. Unfortunately, the tail didn’t do significant damage. Rather, it seemed as if it helped rather than harmed. For the first time during the fight, the mana dragon retreated as it bit into another pillar, but this time it kept his eyes locked on Martel.
Its underbelly was now a myriad of cracks, focused on the point of impact. Martel couldn’t help but be disappointed as the attack had done no notable damage. He became more solemn when he realized that the mana within the dragon left the circulatory system and entered the Energy Crystal, beginning to repair the damage. Martel’s eyebrow twitched as he realized that he would lose this battle of attrition. The amount of damage he could do was limited and could quickly be healed. Even though the mana dragon’s mana was finite, it always kept a reserve. It would be difficult for him to prevent it from regaining enough mana to heal itself. As such, the most surefire way of defeating the mana dragon was to increase his attack power, specifically destruction.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Unlike before, Martel allowed it to regain a little more mana and spent a decent chunk of mana to make a call. After a few more seconds went by, he began to charge again. The mana dragon, noticing the movement, stopped absorbing the mana and roared defiance in his direction. However, Martel was completely unfazed as he charged forward, surrounded by the Reflect Skill. A cloud of dark dust quickly conglomerated on his sword.
The multicolored longsword soon became a near-solid black as Cali coated herself on the blade. Her ki core affixed itself within the handle, and the grooves along the blade seem to allow her ki to swim through them. The reborn Gram, now completely black, gave an almost oppressive feeling. Martel’s destruction ki flowed into the sword, and Cali’s ki acted as an accelerant, further strengthening it. This was the method they had thought of to increase their strength. Not only was Gram enhanced, but the combination of two Peak Rank 10 ki temporarily let them exert the power of Rank 11.
Violent from the damage it suffered, the mana dragon immediately moved to intercept the approaching Martel. Its jaws clamped around the Reflect, which immediately broke, although the recoil from Reflect snapped its maw back open. However, Martel would not let this opening disappear in vain. Before could recover, Martel smashed its nose with Gram. Unlike before, this injury was far more prominent as half its snout was caved in. However, Martel had no time to revel in a successful strike as the now reeling dragon twisted his body to strike Martel perfectly with his tail. Martel managed to get up to mana shields in front of his shield before impact. However, they only managed to lessen the impact, which still sent Martel flying across the room. With the help of his wings for balance, he managed to write himself and slowly slide along the ground. He raised his head just in time to see the encroaching dragon, mouth agape. Martel only managed to wedge Gram in its mouth as he was forced to the cave wall.
Blood erupted from Martel’s lips shortly after the impact. He quickly cast a healing spell to refill his shortly emptied HP as the dragon’s hot breath, composed entirely of mana, licked his face. However, he made no additional move besides strength in the creaking Gram as the dragon tried to bite it's pinned prey. Perhaps, if the dragon were sane, it would’ve realized that the sword Martel wielded was no longer completely black.
The brief stalemate was suddenly broken when a large mass of black ki exited from Martel taking the shape of another Dragon. Instead of attempting to do damage, this black dragon only attempted to latch onto the mana dragon, preventing it from moving. Then, the mana dragon slightly recoiled as a large crack echoed throughout the cave. It seemed to want to roar but suddenly flinched again as a sword, attached to a length of hair, suddenly protruded from its neck. There was a brief moment of silence before two swords, coated in destruction, suddenly bisected its neck. Suddenly powerless, the head and the body landed on the floor.
Unwilling to risk variables, Martel quickly put the head within his inventory, depleting a large chunk of his remaining mana. The soul of the dragon, controlling the rest of the body, resided within the head. His Soul Armaments, already covered in cracks, broke apart like dust, scattered to the wind. Martel wiped the blood off his chin before wiping the sweat off his forehead that matted his hair. He took a deep breath of relief after defeating a foe that he was a poor match with. Given the dragon strength, it seemed to be around SS-, far above Martel’s S Rank ki with STR. Martel was able to close this gap further thanks to magic but couldn’t directly target the dragon.
Given that it was a mana dragon, Martel was extremely hesitant to cast spells as most dragons could consume their attribute and turn it into their strength. In the database, they called the mana dragon a ‘mage killer.’ This forced Martel to get into a physical confrontation. If it were a normal dragon with the same strength, it would have only been problematic. However, the Energy Crystal that composed its body meant that it would be far too difficult to deal with normally.
After collecting his bearings, Martel sent Cali a smile. “Thanks for coming.”
“Didn’t say it.”
A question mark briefly appeared above Martel’s head before realizing what she was talking about and embarrassedly covered his face. “I’m not going to shout ‘Excalibur,’ even when no one is around, in the middle of a fight every time we do that.”
Cali didn’t reply, but the ever-so-subtle change in her expression let Martel know she was disappointed.
Martel ignored her as he checked the condition of his body, cast spells, and drank a potion to help him recover. He’d already glanced around the room and found no other abnormalities, so there was something he wanted to check. He created a soul body that walked up to the body of the mana dragon before climbing down its exposed throat. Thankfully, it was made completely of crystal. He didn’t have to worry about the disgusting trek if it were made out of flesh, though it was a bit of a tight fit. Then, he eventually came to the third lung, where he was surprised before he glanced over to where the heart was. The reason for his surprise was because neither of the organs was made out of crystal. Excited by the implication, he took his time to remove both organs from the Energy Crystal and put them in his inventory before releasing his soul body.
“Cali, keep an eye out for me,” Martel said as he withdrew the lung from his inventory. Thankfully, the lung was magically preserved, so there was no need for him to swallow something rotten. Additionally, he was thankful that the third lung was quite small compared to the dragon’s body size, only slightly awkward to swallow. Hesitating for a moment from the last experience, Martel steeled his resolve and swallowed the lung as he activated Devour. His chest was wrecked in pain for several minutes, but it was nothing compared to the last time. The largest problem with the previous lung was the poison. If not for the several potions he drank beforehand to counteract that, there was a good chance he would have died. However, this time he had no concerns.
“Finally finished,” Martel said as he expelled a foul breath. “It seems that I didn’t get the corresponding ki, but that makes sense. Are you ready to go, Cali?”
Cali nodded as her body turned to dust before re-conglomerated into a jacket.
“I kind of missed this,” Martel said as he gently rubbed the jacket.
“Pervert.”
Martel rolled his eyes as he knew she was also happy and just teasing him. He collected the rest of his spoils and made his way over to the wall. Though he had noticed earlier, there was still a path. In other words, there was a path further than the 100th floor. Mentally preparing himself, he activated the teleportation, and the scenery immediately changed. He immediately took a defensive stance as he looked around the room, eyes flashing as he took a quick look at his surroundings. After several seconds, he finally relaxed, certain that there was no immediate danger. Then, he took an in-depth look at his surroundings.
It was clear that he was deep underground in a large cavern. A large barrier surrounded the open area, lit by magma below. The barrier seemed repellent, as Martel could feel none of the heat from the magma. However, something in the back of his mind told him not to check out the magma much further.
Within the barrier was a large living quarter, although it was completely open. There was a large library, an apothecaries station, an enchanting station, a simple blacksmiths station, an alchemist’s station, and a tailor station. Martel’s eyes lit up as he appeared to have stumbled into the home of Lilith.
Without rushing, Martel made his way over to the library. His eyes glanced everywhere to check for any residual mana, which would indicate a magical trap. However, he found none. Confident that no one would go so far to disguise magical traps, as his Talent to see mana was unheard of, Martel felt confident in his assessment. Perhaps Lilith believed no one could reach her lair, or they had dissipated over the long years. However, none of that mattered now.
Martel manifested the Soul Armament Drone and quickly began to scan the books. The bookcase itself seemed enchanted with magic to preserve them, which explained why they were all in good condition. However, one of the books was written no more than 200 years ago. Martel suddenly broke into goosebumps. The general consensus was that Lilith had died as she had not been seen in nearly 2000 years, far beyond the longest known lifespan of a humanoid. However, she was alive 200 years ago, which meant she could still be alive now. As the Drone continued to scan the books, Martel glanced towards the bed that he could tell was covered in enchantments, uniquely powered by an Energy Crystal vein. After some scrutiny, he found two enchantments that would occur to anyone sipping on the bed. The first helped maintain and potentially improve one’s beauty, giving the sleeper literal beauty sleep. The other enchantment was to put the sleeper in a state of suspended animation, slowing the aging process by a tremendous 100 times only possible thanks to the immense amount of mana being provided.
Additionally, the magic would automatically release after a certain amount of time. Seeing this, Martel was sure that Lilith was still alive. A ratio of 1:100 was astronomical. She could live for nearly a hundred thousand years if she had the same lifespan as an elf, though spending all the time asleep.
Martel was about to go to the library to find the Grimoire when his eyes unintentionally locked on the nightstand adjacent to the bed. After ensuring that there were no traps, Martel opened the nightstand. There, he found a single book. This book was of average size and wrapped in leather. It had no title or other identifying features. Martel opened the book and found the pages to be completely blank. Thus, he believed it to be a diary, though he found it strange that nothing was in it.
“Wow, you found her Grimoire already.” Alessia suddenly said.
“This is the Grimoire?” Why is it blank?”
“You need to enter mana into it. The Grimoire itself is magic and connects to the rules of the world. The content on the pages is not fixed and varies based on the individual. This is to help facilitate understanding along with the desired information about magic that you desire. It also means that there will not be any spells that my sister used within it. It will be starting from scratch, but your foundation will be unrivaled. Even the first generation wand hero, Adam, who was a genius in the field, will be inferior to you.”
“Thanks for the praise,” Martel said with a smile as he injected his mana into the Grimoire. The pages quickly became filled with words, and Martel glanced over them. However, several seconds later, he immediately frowned. The information was extremely esoteric and would require a lot of time to ponder on and experiment with. Martel closed the Grimoire just as the Drone had finished scanning all the books. He was about to continue to search when he broke out in goosebumps. It was an intuitive feeling, one that he recognized; the feeling of teleportation. Martel didn’t hesitate and immediately Dimension Doored away. A split second after he left, a woman appeared, though this woman was not human.
The woman’s skin was a deep shade of purple, and her captivating pink eyes matched the color of her long hair. The sides of her head had a pair of black horns that curled like a ram’s. At her hips extended a pair of batlike wings that seemed impractical for flight yet clearly provided it as she neatly glided over to her bed. Between her wings was a long and thin black tail that ended in the shape of a heart symbol. She appeared to be in her early twenties, and her voluptuous form embodied the term ‘sexy.’
“It’s gone.” She said as she searched the nightstand before she glanced around. “It seems that was the only thing the intruder took. I’m surprised they left so fast, given that they destroyed the mana dragon not long ago. So the intruders consisted of those who recently entered the Labyrinth, could defeat and take the mana dragon, identify the Grimoire, and be capable of understanding teleportation magic.” Lilith surmised the situation as she rubbed her chin and narrowed her eyes. “Could it be… Perhaps I should be more active.” She said before she flinched and suddenly glanced at the side.
“That was close,” Martel murmured after he closed the dimension door just large enough to connect to the SRIN. [She shouldn’t suspect me… Right?] Martel thought with a shutter. Shrugging those thoughts aside, Martel teleported himself and Cali to the mansion. There, he found Rio curled up on the couch, fast asleep. “Did she try to wait up for me?”
“Saw me,” Cali replied.
Martel quickly understood that Rio was worried, given that Cali disappeared in front of her. He knew full well how mentally and physically exhausted Rio was. Even with her increased levels, the shock to her body was tremendous. That was part of why he wanted to take everyone to do a simple task the following day and get used to their new stats. Using his ki to ensure that he would get any of his filth on her body, he picked her up and carried her to her room. He gently set the unwaking Rio on the bed. She seemed to move slightly due to a bad dream apparent by her furrowed brows.
“I’m back, so rest well.” Martel gently said.
Rio seemed to relax before Martel left the room, bathed, and went to sleep himself.
End of Day 102