> Dave

>

> Fallen Jungle

>

> 10th of Cycle 3, 1015

>

> Three days remain

I spent a restless few hours tossing and turning as I tried to sleep, but my mind was too focused on the events of last night. I knew I was indebted to the gremlins but was I ready to risk my life for them? Sure, if Grey’s plan worked, I would get out unscathed, but things seldom worked in practice as they did in theory.

I need some time to think.

The stars twinkled in the sky as I walked through the jungle. It was cold, to the point that white fog escaped my mouth every time I exhaled. I had an important decision to make, and the weather wasn’t helping at all.

Should I run away? The quest didn’t specify anything about saving the gremlins, so their time limit didn’t apply to me. I could train for as long as I wanted before I took on the monster in the castle. My conscience wasn’t too fond of that idea, though, since I’d grown attached to the gremlins during the time I spent with them, especially Grey.

A whack to the back of my knee snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned around, only to find a mischievous gremlin grinning at me. Speak of the devil.

“You little…”

Try as I might, I couldn’t catch the slippery bastard. Every time I got even remotely close, he would wave his staff and suddenly appear behind me.

“Hey, Grey, can you teach me how to do that magic you’re using?” I said, panting. “It would fit well in my fighting style.”

Grey went silent and scratched his chin, deeply considering my question. Then he shrugged, handed me a purple tablet, and motioned for me to pop it like a pill. The whole situation felt suspicious, very suspicious. If anti-drug PSAs had taught me anything…

I threw aside all doubts and downed the pill.

A few seconds passed by. “Nothing’s happening,” I said.

I had to jinx it, of course.

The world around me faded away, replaced by a plain of white lilies. The warm sun shined brightly above me, and a cool breeze wafted through my shirt. It was calm, uncomfortably so.

Dark grey clouds formed quickly in the air, and lightning struck as the rain began pouring down. The droplets painted the field of flowers black and turned the dirt into a sticky mud-like substance. I felt a hand grab my heel, and when I looked down, I saw a horde of arms reaching for my legs. I tried desperately to shake myself free but only ended up falling face-first into the floor as the arms closed in and started pulling me down. As my entire body sunk into the mud, my airways cut off, and asphyxiation set in. I felt helpless, like a canoe being slowly dragged away by the tides of the ocean.

Then my eyes shot open, and I was back in the gremlin cave. I ran my hands along my body in disbelief as I sat up and saw Grey pacing back and forth.

“What the hell did you make me swallow, Grey?” I called out.

He ran over to me and started inspecting me all over. He seemed genuinely concerned, so I decided to ask a question instead of getting upset.

“Was that supposed to happen?”

Grey shook his head, and I let out a sigh as I checked my skills.

Name: Dave

Race: Human?

Class: Scout(rare)

Class Skills: Sneak(Int) Lv8, Fleet-Footed(Adv) Lv2, Archery(Int) Lv8, Hyper-Accelerated vision(Int) Lv 9

Class Skill Slots 1

Skills: Hypnosis Resistance Lv1, Survivalist(unique), Poison Resistance Lv3, Dangersense(basic) Lv9, Knife-Combat(Int) Lv 6, Pain Resistance Lv 1, Kicking(basic) Lv 5, Finisher(basic) Lv 1, Focus(basic) Lv 1

New Skill(s): Dark Mana Manipulation(basic) Lv 1

Active quests: The Silver Panther, Cursed

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Dark Mana Manipulation(basic)

Dark mana is regarded as the most sinister of the eight foundational types of mana. Powerful dark mages acquire the abilities to conjure the dead, create ghastly illusions, and cast deadly curses.

Manipulate dark mana to your will, unlocking the usage of dark spells.

Increase the speed and proficiency of your manipulation by 100% at Intermediate rank.

“I unlocked dark mana manipulation, Grey. Is that what I was supposed to get?”

Grey seemed shocked by my question for a moment, then he gave me a thumbs up and a broad grin.

I wanted to punch him in the face, but I knew his reaction time was too fast for my fist to connect, so I closed my eyes and tried using the mana skill.

The feeling that the mana created as it surged through my body was reminiscent of the helpless feeling I had in that strange drug trip, but not as overwhelming. Grey brought his staff up to my chest, and I felt more mana pour into my body. The new mana flowed with purpose, and, by mimicking that flow, my control increased exponentially.

When I opened my eyes, my body was glowing dark purple, and my movements left quickly fading afterimages behind them. I checked my skills, and sure enough, I had a new one.

Afterimage(basic)

This is the lowest level enhancement-class illusion spell.

Leave an afterimage of your movements to confuse opponents.

Quality of afterimages increases at intermediate rank.

I used the skill again, this time without any help from Grey, and the result was the same. It definitely looked strange and confusing, but it didn’t seem like it would work on anyone powerful. I guess it is the lowest level skill…

After about an hour of practicing, I decided to go to sleep.

> 11th of Cycle 3, 1015

>

> Two days remain

I awoke to the sight of a few gremlins hunched over, coughing their lungs out. Grey approached me with a grim look on his face.

“I thought we’d have another day of training, but we should probably get moving, Grey. They don’t look like they’ll make it past tonight.”

He gave me a warm smile and rounded up the rest of the gremlins before we set off toward our destination.

Grey put his staff in front of my chest as we walked, and a dark purple sphere formed on the tip. I felt it tug at the mana within me, so I resisted it, but that seemed to upset Grey a little. I tried letting the orb take some of my mana, but that made him even angrier.

“What are you trying to make me do? It’s kind of hard if you don’t tell me, you know.”

“Kii…” Grey hissed and waved his staff angrily, forming the single most confusing slideshow of illusions I’d seen in my life.

“That doesn’t he-” Grey gave me a frightening glare. “N-nevermind.” I returned my focus to the orb. Giving in was wrong. Resisting was wrong. There must be some balance I had to achieve. I let out my mana, controlling its flow as it slowly made its way toward the orb, and Grey’s mood suddenly shifted to a much happier one.

Nice.

I continued the balancing act until grey dispelled the orb and stopped walking. I was so focused on the training that I hadn’t noticed we were already here.

The castle was… unique. Tree roots grew into every nook and cranny of its stone walls, making it look like it hadn’t been maintained for centuries. The archway that likely used to have a wooden door was now covered with thick green vines.

Grey handed me a tactical belt that contained three vials of liquid. With a few illusions and hand signals, he tried to explain what each of them did. My interpretation was as follows: all three potions would increase my abilities in varying amounts, but each of them had increasing levels of backlash. Green was the tamest, followed by yellow, and finally red. There was a skull and crossbones on the red potion, so I made a mental note to not use that one unless I was already on the edge of my life.

Then, Grey went over the plan one more time. The two of us were to sneak into the castle, make our way past the traps to the throne room, and then destroy a heart-shaped core that was apparently the source of the curse. The gremlins outside would transform back to their original size and charge in to help us fight the monster inside the castle. Unfortunately, there was a gaping hole in the center of his plan.

“Please explain one more time how the two of us are supposed to fight past the monster and destroy the core if your entire group couldn’t do it.”

Grey grinned and took two strange purple orbs out of his pocket, handing one over to me. Then he played another illusion. This time it displayed me dancing like an idiot, in what looked like an attempt to distract the monster, and Grey sneaking over to the core.

“That’s not the best portrayal of my dancing skills, but let me get this straight. If either of us gets one of these orbs to the core, we win?”

He nodded.

“Why didn’t you just do that last time?”

He became pretty depressed after I said that, so I decided to not press the issue, but I had a burning question in my mind. “Why can’t the other gremlins use skills like you?”

With some signals and illusions, he explained that he couldn’t use skills either, and the only reason he could even use magic was his staff.

“Okay, then, is there anything else we need before we get started?”

Grey shook his head, and we approached the archway together. The ring on my finger glowed bright orange, and the vines blocking the way retracted.

How nice of them to invite us in.