Enya woke up six hours later with nothing out of the ordinary. There was no sign of the demon rat, and the room’s barrier had long stopped rumbling under its attacks. For now, she could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that she was still safe in the study.
Enya made her way over to a can of food and the battered metal canteen. The water, like everything else in the dungeon, was old and stale. She took a few slow sips before opening the tin of canned meat—her only source of food since the start of her time here. It wasn’t exactly bad, but it wasn’t good either. Not like the feasts she’d read about in the adventure books. She imagined steaming plates of roasted meats, vibrant vegetables, sweet pastries—the kind of food that could make you forget where you were. A small tear rolled down her cheek, unbidden, as she ate the preserved meal, the weight of everything settling in as she did so.
When she was done, she pushed the empty can aside. There wasn’t much else to do here but practice her spell, over and over again. That was how it had been since she’d lost Pell. Eat, practice, sleep—repeat.
Enya crossed her legs and set the book beside her, once again channeling her mana, feeling it flow through her fingers with more familiarity this time. Her body was in better shape today, at least. She wasn’t as exhausted, though her mind still wandered lazily as she worked through the familiar motions. There was a kind of rhythm to it now. And in the quiet of her practiced ritual, was also some small comfort.
The next hours passed by, similar to the previous day. Mana pulsed from her body as she formed the spell pattern. Failed attempt after failed attempt came and went. With each try, her progress increased steadily as the puzzle pieces began to fit together more smoothly.
With a deep sip of a blue mana potion, she wiped away at her mouth with the back of her hand. The mana in her body restored itself. The efficiency of the potions had been reduced by nearly half, after consuming so many. Putting aside the empty potion bottle, she channeled her mana once again.
The spell circle appeared in front of her, now glowing with a vibrant blue only she could see. It was time to use all the mana she needed for the spell. It was time to stop taking shortcuts and begin casting the spell with its full mana cost.
The dashed pattern came to life with practiced ease, as it was involved in her summon skeleton spell. It was then followed by a troublesome zigzagged line. The final step involved the three circles—small, medium, and large—set evenly apart. That one was much simpler than the troublesome zigzag. Piece by piece, the patterns formed a delicate web of mana, intricately woven together into a single spell circuit.
The spell circuit in front of her connected all of the patterns together and started to shine. With a rush of energy, her mana poured into the formation, saturating each channel before the intricate process of recursion unfolded. The magic inside of the spell circuit cemented itself, and the entire spell faintly glowed, before flashing, and then shattering into residual mana.
The ground beneath her trembled. Her eyes widened as the stone floor cracked and buckled with a sharp rumble. In the blink of an eye, a massive, pale spike of bone shot up from the earth, its jagged tip hurtling towards the wall. The room shook, the barrier’s faint shimmer pulsing in response, but it held strong.
Before her stood a towering spike, a solid mass of ivory pale bone and calcified layers, jutting from the fractured stone. The sharp peak pressed against the wall, its piercing tip making a high-pitched noise as it met resistance, yet leaving no mark on the surface. The floor, on the other hand, hadn’t fared as well. Jagged cracks snaked outward from the base of the spike, splintering the ground in every direction. Some shards had even flown half a meter away.
“Wo-woah,” Enya gasped, her voice filled with awe. Her admiration was cut short, though, as a noise echoed out in her mind.
Ding!
The reminiscent sound of the system notification rang out. Quickly, she willed the screen to appear.
Notification: You have successfully learned the spell: Bone Spear.
Add the spell “Bone Spear” to spell list?
[Accept/Decline]
Enya quickly accepted the new spell.
Spell: Bone Spear [E+]
Construct a sharp spike using bone and propel it forward with rapid speed to impale your target. The diameter and length can be modified by adjusting the amount of mana used to power the spell.
[Maximum Diameter: 1 meter]
[Maximum Length: 2.0 meters]
[Mana cost: 3MP]
A flood of information and senses flowed into her mind. She instantly became more confident with it, as if she had already performed and summoned the spell a dozen times over in actual practice already. It wasn’t mastery, but it was experience, a sensation of familiarity, one valuable to any spellcaster.
This was her newest spell: Bone Spear. Unlike her other necromantic arts, this was purely offensive, a weapon born from her mana that could be conjured and unleashed with lethal precision. The more she understood about bones, their structure, and composition, the stronger the spell became. With just a surge of energy, she could summon a sharp spear-like formation of bone to erupt from the earth and impale her enemies.
Among the handful of strictly offensive spells found within the book, Bone Spear stood out. It was easier to master after her training with the Summon Skeleton spell, and the mana cost was surprisingly low. It used a minimum of three points of mana to cast, but if she wanted to use more mana to make the spell stronger—she could.
She flicked her finger, willing the status screen to appear before her eyes.
Mana: 14/20
So the bone spear that she had just constructed only used six mana. Her gaze moved back to the bone spear that jutted out of the ground. She got to her feet and approached it, inspecting it more closely. She touched the surface of the spike, and the touch felt reminiscent. It felt almost exactly like bone. It had a rough and coarse texture, and its color was slightly dirtier than the bones of the skeletons that roamed the dungeon.
The spear jutted from the ground at an angle, so it was hard to get a full estimate of its height. At best guess, it was roughly about the entire size of her body. Settling on the precise diameter of the spear proved to be a more complicated task. While the base of the spear was wide, it tapered down evenly to a sharp point at the top. The base that protruded from the ground was roughly the same length as her shoulder span.
As she inspected the bone spear from either side, she concluded that this must have been around the middle point of the spell. By adjusting the amount of mana used, she could significantly alter the spear’s size, potentially halving or doubling it. This was surprising, considering the spear before her right now was already large and could probably impale a zombie by itself. But a spear larger than this? Perhaps it could even kill the demon rat.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
She gave the spear a solid knock with her fist. The deep, dense thud resonated out, and the complete lack of an echo told her it was a solid mass, bone through and through. It was dense—sturdy enough that it would take serious force to damage or break it.
“Well... that’s one down, I guess,” she murmured, a half-smile tugging at her lips. It took two full days of learning and practicing. Enya had to manage her rations carefully, along with the mana potions. But at least, right now, she made progress.
Enya’s brief smile faded, dissolving into a lingering emptiness. Normally, she’d be brimming with pride, eager to celebrate the mastery of a new spell. But this time was different. There was no one around to witness her accomplishment, no one to praise her progress. Her gaze drifted toward Pell’s skull, sitting silently in the corner. She stared at it for a moment before pivoting away, a hollow ache gnawing at her chest.
A couple of minutes passed by as Enya thought about what to do next. Returning to the table, she left the bone protrusion behind and started contemplating her options. There were a variety of things that she could do, but the problem was which one was more important.
The first concern was the collapse of the dungeon. As Pell had mentioned, the dungeon would periodically shake and rumble. This meant the dungeon itself had become damaged, and the integrity of the halls would weaken and possibly shatter. Although the study had a barrier spell around it, she didn’t know if it would hold out against dungeon collapse, where everything around it would crumble.
The second concern was that of the hidden passageway behind the bookshelf.
Enya’s eyes were drawn to the mysterious bookshelf, fixating on the book that barely touched the shelf’s walls. Behind the shelf was an absolute mystery. Pell was confident it might lead to another chamber of some sort. However, when she had first seen the passage, her senses couldn’t extend past the first two steps and were forcibly stopped. It felt like an entryway into total darkness. The zombie behind it was also an issue.
There was only one way out of the dungeon, according to Pell. It was to defeat the dungeon boss, likely a strong undead monster of some type, and then claim the dungeon core, giving them access to leave. That was until he had mentioned the new route of escape for her—backtracking up the floors. But the passageway behind the shelf, in there, could be some answers.
One of Pell’s theories was that the stairs could lead to another exit of some sort. Perhaps it could even lead directly to the reward room—the room right after the boss, where the dungeon core was situated. If that turned out to be true, Enya could bring Pell’s skull and quietly make her way out of the dungeon, avoiding any more fights with monsters. Though whether Pell’s soul would travel with her was another separate problem.
If Enya could “claim” the dungeon core as Pell said, perhaps there was a method to even bring him back. If his soul was bound to the dungeon, then obviously he would be under her control if she controlled the core, right? This would also apply to Mr. Bones too, if her assumption was correct.
The passage itself, though, gave her an uneasy feeling. Something about it felt off, as if there was more to it than just an escape route. Maybe it was her overactive imagination, fueled by the murder mystery novel she had read about a serial killer hiding in a secret passage. Or maybe it was something deeper, something more foreboding. She couldn’t shake the ominous sensation that if she ventured down there, she wouldn’t like what she found. If she went, she would need help.
Then there was the issue of time. Enya had to act quickly—not only because of the imminent danger from the dungeon collapse, but also due to her rapidly depleting supplies. The food and water she had left wouldn’t last much longer. While she could ration the canned meat, making it stretch for a week or more—the water was a different story. The metal canteen was nearly empty, and the few few bottles she had left wouldn’t last long. The mana potions could partially substitute, but that only delayed the problem.
With these mounting concerns and the pressure of time ticking away, Enya couldn’t afford to delay any longer. She needed a plan, and fast.
A few minutes later as she tried to finalize all of the details about what she needed to do, she stood up. Enya walked over to the door and activated her skill.
Skill: Absolute Focus has been activated.
Her senses reached out, encompassing the space around her and bringing in a flood of sights, sounds, and scents. She firmly gripped the door handle, cracking it open ever so slightly, creating a tiny gap for her to peek through. She spread her senses outwards as she tried to inspect the hall.
Roughly two hundred meters away, she felt a disturbance. An enormous creature moved around. At this range, her senses were weaker, and she couldn’t make out any exact details. But unless there was another large creature on this floor of the dungeon—what she sensed just now—that was the demon rat.
Enya’s senses shifted from the current hall, where the demon rat was scurrying, to explore other areas. As time passed, it became increasingly challenging to maintain her focus and concentration. A slight headache rumbled through her mind, and her body felt like it was completely frozen. When she rode with Mr. Bones, she honed her senses, extending forward like a bone spear. However, this situation provided a completely unique feeling. She was actively splitting her senses up into multiple different directions.
A minute passed by until she finally found what she was looking for. A piece of bone that lay on the ground. It was cracked and broken, and might have been a bone from the upper arm. Regardless of its condition, it was the perfect catalyst for her summon skeleton spell. If this random bone didn’t work, then her entire necromantic plan with her spell would go up in flames. It either worked, or it didn’t.
In an instant, Enya retracted her senses, and they whipped back into her at an extreme force. A sensation of wind rushing straight into her mind bombarded her. It didn’t hurt, but the nauseating dizziness that impeded her made for quite an uncomfortable sensation.
Whether for good or worse, Enya was getting slightly used to this feeling of uncomfortable nausea now. Her face scrunched up as she tightened the muscles in her body and restrained herself. As the dizziness washed over her, she took a deep breath and braced herself until it stopped. After a few moments, the feeling of sickness slowly dissipated, and she regained full control of her body once again.
With a deep sigh, she recomposed herself. “Alright… I just… I just have to make it to that bone,” she muttered, in an attempt to boost her confidence. The single bone would be enough to cast her summon skeleton spell—if it worked. It would bring her some peace of mind if she had at least one skeleton fighter by her side, ready to protect her. And if the spell failed, then that meant the probability that none of her necromancy abilities worked on the undead in the dungeon, would be close to guaranteed.
Her plan, though simple, was still riddled with risks. Step one: sneak into the hallway, avoid the demon rat, and snatch the bone. Step two: rush back to safety without being torn apart. Once safe, she could summon a skeleton soldier and take Pell’s skull down into the passageway. Hopefully, the passage would lead to an exit—or at least something that would help her survive.
But everything hinged on one uncertain gamble: that her summon skeleton spell would actually work. Pell, after all, was special. His soul was bound to the dungeon in some strange way, making him different from the other undead. The other monsters didn’t seem to have souls, at least not like Pell’s flickering soul-flame. If she was lucky, the spell might still function on the soulless undead. She was banking on this 50/50 shot. She was running out of time, and sitting idle wasn’t an option—not with the dungeon collapsing and her supplies dwindling.
She wandered over to the mana potions scattered on the floor, uncorked one, and took a small sip. The mana potion, with its water base, provided a slight reprieve to her thirst, but it wasn’t enough to truly quench it. Still, it was something. If she drank all the potions, ignoring the side effects of potential mana overload, she could probably stretch her water supply for an extra two or three days. But that wasn’t a comforting thought.
Having topped her mana back to full, she walked back to the door, and steeled herself. Now that she knew the exact path of both the bone and the demon rat, she could focus her senses outwards to just those two areas. Hopefully, the strain on her mind and body wouldn’t be as intense.
Just as she was about to open the door, she remembered the rebound talisman that Pell had given her. Enya had pocketed it away, and placed it inside of her book as a bookmark. She went over and grabbed it, placing it inside of her inner dress pocket. Whatever it was, apparently it was important enough for Pell to gift it to her. Perhaps it was something that Elara owned, or some type of momento. There was also the spiked medallion, but it was too awkward to carry that thing around in her hand, so she left it back on the table.
Enya cracked the door open just a sliver, her senses flaring as she reached out, testing the air for disturbances. Her mind struggled, but the tension in her body felt much better compared to before. The demon rat had moved closer to the hallway the study was in, but still remained relatively far.
With a quiet breath, she swung the door fully open and braced herself to run. This might be her only shot. If the rat caught on—if it realized she was making a break for it, it could easily return to stalk outside the study. It would be a problem if it stayed outside, guarding the door, waiting for her to enter, or to leave. She had to do this on her first try.
Her mind raced, splitting its focus between herself, the demon rat’s movements, and the bone she needed to retrieve. Enya took one last deep breath and held it for a moment. Exhaling sharply, she took in another, quicker breath, and without another thought, she bolted out of the door, sprinting as fast as her legs would carry her.
Each footfall echoed like thunder in her ears as the hallway stretched out before her.