~~~Lee~~~

"I did it!" Gabriel exclaimed, and Lee flinched at the sudden noise in the previously quiet room.

It shouldn't have surprised him. Mana Mind told him everything that happened within its domain. Unfortunately, he was still vulnerable to distraction, and his current distraction was especially strong.

Despite the surprise, Lee forced himself to smile at the excited boy. "Good job." He looked more closely at Gabriel's rune—particularly at the plate that was now twitching in his hands—and his smile turned genuine. "Very good! You ready to test it?"

"Yes!" Gabriel set the plate on its edge against the floor and let go. The plate immediately started rolling across the floor. At least until it ran into the wall and fell over. Even then, it still twitched and scrapped as it turned in a slow, grinding rotation. Gabriel had created a self-powered wheel. Sort of.

"It works!" Gabriel said, practically screaming in excitement as he scrambled over to pick up the plate. "And look, the rune is stable!"

The rune was indeed stable, and it was also a rune that Lee never would have tried to make, let alone even thought of trying. "What's your plan for a control method to turn it on and off?"

Gabriel's enthusiasm waned, but not for long. "I think I can add it on right here! If I bend this line into a wider..."

Lee smiled and nodded in all the right places, but his gaze kept drifting back to the pile of dirt in one corner of the small room.

He'd finally succeeded in getting Three to handle the dirt compression and subsequent creation of new, stronger stone. The problem was that the pile of dirt had stopped shrinking yesterday, and he didn't know why.

Three, Lee directed his thoughts toward the building and what he wanted it to do. The dirt.

The dirt shifted almost immediately and resumed slowly compressing itself. So it was fine. Except he'd never told it to stop before. Had he? He didn't remember giving that order. Maybe in his sleep? Could he do that?

Three, stop. The dirt went still.

"What's wrong, Uncle Lee?"

"Nothing," Lee said quickly, forcing a smile back onto his face and pulling his gaze back to Gabriel.

"But you're worried..." Gabriel glanced at the dirt pile. "Is it because I stepped in the dirt? I swept it back..."

His damn leaking soul.

"No, Gabe. It's not you, it's..." Lee trailed off. He didn't want to worry the kid about something so far outside of his control, especially when he wasn't even sure himself what was happening. "I'm just thinking about something."

"I can help!" He was a good kid. Too good for this shitty world he was stuck in.

"Use the pen to work out the control rune, okay? I'm going to... take a walk." Lee stood and looked down at the boy. "You know the rules..."

"I know," Gabriel said glumly. "I won't make any runes while you're gone."

Lee slipped out the door quickly before he infected the child with any more of his fear and saw Gabriel grab the pen a heartbeat later. It would keep him busy for a bit, and he'd probably forget all about whatever he'd sensed from Lee's soul. Gabriel's enthusiasm for all things rune hadn't waned following his apprenticeship. If anything, it had only gotten stronger.

Amy was waiting for him outside the room. "What is it?" she asked, her posture tense, with one hand on her sword and her gaze roaming over the garage interior. "Is something coming?"

Of course she would notice.

"I'm... not sure," Lee said, then amended his statement. "Nothing is coming. That I know of, but..."

"But you're worried about something?"

Lee nodded. "Have you noticed if..." There was no reason not to share. Amy had a strange connection to him, and he probably wouldn't be able to hide his anxiety from her even if he tried. "Does Three seem any more sluggish than usual?"

She frowned, then shrugged. "You would know better than me, but the doors still open and close themselves. I... could the upgrades be causing a problem?"

"No..." Lee could see all of Three in his Mana Mind. It still shone brightly with both the source and his soul, including the newly improved and reinforced areas, but... was it dimmer than before? It was hard to tell with how bright it always was. Would he even notice if it dimmed? "At least, I don't think so."

"We're almost due for another invasion," Amy said, pointing out the glaringly obvious.

"Why do you think I'm worried!?" Lee snapped, then closed his eyes and took a breath before apologizing. "Sorry. I just... it feels like we're under attack."

She didn't like that idea. Her sword came halfway out of its sheath, and Lee could almost feel the heat of her gaze as it swept past him on a never-ending scan of their surroundings.

"The problem is that I can see all of Three, and there's nothing wrong. I can't even see any damage. It's just getting... it feels like it's getting weaker, and I don't know why."

Amy dropped her sword back into its sheath and smiled at him as her worry drained away. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll figure it out, and I'll be here if you need any help along the way."

Lee gaped at her sudden shift in attitude. She really believed it. "You have way too much faith in me. I'm only human."

"Don't be like that," Amy said while bumping her shoulder into his. "You've been through worse and always pulled it off. Just don't forget that you're not alone in this."

"I know," Lee said with a sigh. But other people couldn't help with this. They didn't know anything about the magic he was dealing with. Hell, Lee himself barely understood what he was working with here. Three was far and beyond anything else he'd seen to date. Worse, everyone was counting on Three to protect them and their families. If Lee made a mistake and let them down...

"It might feel like it to you," Amy said. "But everything doesn't rest on your shoulders alone, Lee."

She was too perceptive... and she was wrong. "Except it does! Everyone is expecting me to..."

Amy interrupted him with a scoff. "Don't get too full of yourself just cause I have a little faith in you. You're still only one man. I mean, Three is great and all, but don't forget that you also have an army at your back. The rest of us aren't a bunch of helpless sheep that require your protection!"

"But..."

Amy put a hand on his shoulder and shook him. "But nothing." Then she smiled. "You got this. I know you do. Now, it's almost lunchtime, and you'll probably figure this out better on a full stomach. So how about it?"

"I'm not really..." Lee sighed at the confidence he could feel in her soul—unfounded confidence. "Fine, let's eat."

Jamaal was hard at work preparing lunch for the kids who were studying right outside his home turned restaurant. He still lit up with a smile when Lee walked in. "My friend! Come in, sit! Will you dine in today, or is this to go?"

Lee opened his mouth, but Amy spoke first. "We'll eat in. And make him something different today, Jamaal. He can't eat breakfast burritos his whole life!"

"I can," Lee grumbled as he dropped into a seat at the table. "But it's fine. I'll try something else."

"Excellent!" Jamaal exclaimed, and with a gleam in his eyes that Lee wasn't sure if he should be worried about or not. "I have some new recipes you will enjoy. I promise!"

"I'm ready," Amy said while taking her own seat. "Knock our socks off."

Jamaal went to work. Well, he went back to work. He already had over a dozen different things cooking in various pots, pans, and on grill tops, but he fired up a few more of Lee's heating runes and started pulling more ingredients from the coolers. Streams of mana shot from him constantly, though Lee couldn't tell exactly what each one did when it hit the food.

"What if there's a leak somewhere?" Amy asked while they watched the man cook. "A slow leak."

"I would see it," Lee replied.

"A really small one. Maybe in the foundation or underground somewhere. Bradley could..."

"I would see it," Lee said again. "I literally couldn't avoid seeing it if it was there."

"Hmm. Okay. Then what about all the mana everyone gets from Three? Maybe they're using too much?"

"That's..." Lee studied what his Mana Mind could see and then shook his head. "It's a drop in the bucket. I alone use more mana than everyone else in here."

"We can take a walk around the building after lunch. Maybe you'll spot something."

"I can already see everything!"

"Yeah, yeah. You can see mana, but maybe looking at it with your own eyes will make a difference."

"I... might as well." Lee highly doubted that his eyes would ever pick up more than Mana Mind, but it wouldn't hurt and he had to do something. Especially with a feeling of impending doom that he wasn't sure was coming from his worry about Three or his fear of what the next invasion might bring.

They'd come out of the last invasion with no casualties or even serious injuries, though he suspected Saira was wholly responsible for that last part. Well, technically, Z had come back a bit worse for wear, but Lee didn't care about that. What he cared about was that the alien had fought against what he said was a peak D-grade...

Z was incredibly powerful compared to anyone else here, and for him to come back so injured... Lee needed Three to be at its strongest next time. They couldn't afford anything less.

Lee glanced at his fort's status, and his attention slid to their updated resource. Blood-Iron Mine. Their reward for going out and fighting the invaders. He wasn't sure if it had been worth the risk after seeing Z's condition, but May was absolutely thrilled when they brought back the first pieces of the red-tinted metal. She'd gone on a crafting bender that lasted... well, she was still at it right now, but at least she'd finally started taking naps.

Her new creations were all a step above the older equipment, and that was undeniably a great thing. Lee had so far resisted the urge to demand a new set of armor for Alejandro—the runes on his old one would keep him safe for now—and settled on enchanting a new sword for Z. The alien claimed that between the higher-tier metal and the runes, he would fare much better against another peak D-grade.

Of course, there had been another major benefit from risking battle with those D-grades. They all dropped D-grade cores, and Lee currently had one of them in his pocket.

[Skill Shard](D-grade)

Limit Break (Epic)

Go even further beyond.

Allows the user to transcend the limits of their power, but not without cost.

While active, the skill will drain mana, stamina, and health. The rate of drain is dependent on skill level and how far the user pushes beyond their limits.

When deactivated, the user will receive a backlash to all attributes for a duration ten times longer than the skill was active. The further the user pushes beyond their limits, the greater the backlash when the skill ends.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

Higher skill levels may alter these effects.

Skill Level Effects (Novice):

+1% All Effective Attributes

Requirements:

Mana Core/Channels [Requirement Not Met][N/A][Adaptable]

Adapting to this Skill will require 50% Adaptation and may alter your Class.

Adapting this Skill to your Class will require 1% Adaptation but may drastically alter the Skill.

Adapt Yourself and Learn Skill: Y/N?

Learn Adapted Skill: Y/N?

Consume and Destroy Skill Shard to gain +100 All Base Attributes: Y/N?

Bradley and Alejandro were at the top of the list to take those cores when they got close enough to evolve. Bradley might even get there today... Unfortunately, the attributes the core offered went down the closer anyone got to D-grade. Plus, this one was probably worth far more as a skill... it was just a matter of deciding who would learn it.

Saira was another obvious choice, both for the skill and evolution, but she'd refused to evolve until after her baby was born. A choice that Z had backed up. It wasn't necessarily bad, but he also agreed there was a small risk of... side effects.

Lee supported her choice, and he would do whatever was necessary to ensure her safety until she was ready. Which brought him back to Three and the vague feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong.

While he ruminated, Lee kept watch on Gabriel in the garage. So he knew when the boy finished drawing and came looking for him. "Gabriel's coming too, Jamaal. You mind fixing something for him?"

Jamaal smiled as he set three steaming plates on the table. "I expected as much and have prepared his favorite."

It was mac and cheese. Most of the kids loved the stuff, and Lee couldn't blame them. It just wasn't as good as a breakfast burrito. Still, the fact they had pasta at all was fantastic. It, among other things, like cheese, was a benefit of having so many non-combat residents in the fort. Luxuries. Lee only hoped that they didn't end up paying a toll in human life for those luxuries later...

"I got it, Uncle Lee!" Gabriel said immediately upon entering and while holding up his plate for inspection. "Can I make it now!?"

Lee pushed out a chair in front of the steaming plate of mac and cheese. "Eat first while I look at it. We won't be making any runes in Jamaal's home, right?"

Gabriel deflated, then went after his food as if trying to set a world record for the fastest person to eat a plate of mac and cheese. Lee looked over the proposed rune while he did that.

"I checked it over and over!" Gabriel said between bites. "It won't explode!"

"It looks good," Lee agreed. "So, assuming it works, then what's the next step?"

Gabriel froze with the fork halfway to his mouth. "Umm..." He thought about for a few more, much slower, bites. "Oh, make it faster?"

Lee smiled and nodded. "Yep. It will need to be a lot stronger if you want it to roll while carrying some weight. Also, you might need more than an on-off switch. Like, say, a way to speed up or slow it down?"

"Oh." Gabriel stopped eating and then only moved the food around on his plate. "I forgot about that. I can adjust the switch..." He said it while he stared longingly at the plate in Lee's hands.

Lee chuckled as he slid it over. "Here. You can think about it while you eat."

Then he could no longer ignore the man looming beside the table and Lee looked down at his own food dubiously. It was very red and smelled... spicy, among other things. Amy was already going to town on her meal, and she grinned at him with a sinister expression. Though he knew she was enjoying it.

Buff Gained: [Devil Sauce]

He'd expected that much, but the flavor that exploded in his mouth was... intense and complex. It was delicious, no doubt about it, and Lee cleaned his plate only a little behind Amy. Of course, by then he could see Jamaal still watching him out of the corner of his eye in the kitchen.

"It was fantastic, Jamaal," Lee said honestly. "I didn't know food could taste like that..."

Jamaal beamed, even as he said, "Do I hear a but coming?"

Lee sighed. "But I still like your breakfast burrito better." He glanced at the aghast Amy beside him. "What? It's a perfect food with all the right flavors!"

"Don't listen to this Luddite," Amy said, rolling her eyes. "That was the best thing I've ever tasted!"

Jamaal laughed. "Thank you both, and there is nothing wrong with someone knowing what they like. Food is meant to bring pleasure! So one should always eat whatever they enjoy most!"

Gabriel was long done with his food and completely ignored everyone else as he worked on editing his rune design. Lee had to give him a shake before he even noticed they were leaving. "I'm going to walk around a bit. Just head to the garage when you think it's ready, and I'll meet you there."

"Okay!"

Lee was smiling as he left. He couldn't imagine having a better apprentice, and half the time, it felt like he was learning as much from Gabriel as he taught him. Or more. The kid was a total natural, and Lee had a feeling that he didn't even need a teacher. So long as he could avoid blowing himself up in his eagerness, Gabriel might very well figure it all out on his own.

His smile faded as he paced through the building and looked for... well, anything. It all looked fine, but he couldn't stop the feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong. Three was struggling. He couldn't see it, but he could feel it.

"God damn it!" Lee exclaimed when his circuit throughout the building ended back where he'd started, with no answers. "Why can't I find it!?"

"Well," Amy said. "And no offense here, but is it possible that you're just being paranoid and jumping at shadows? We've all been through... why are you looking at me like that?"

Lee only stared at her as a chill crawled up his spine. Finally, he asked, "Shadows?"

"It's nothing. I'm just saying that our lives can be stressful, and..."

"Amy," Lee interrupted. "I gave Three the Shadowstride ability!" How had he forgotten about that? What if they were under attack from the shadows right now, but Three was fighting it off? Alone.

"You gave it to... Three? You can do that!?"

He probably should have told her about that. He'd told Alejandro... he also hadn't been as diligent as he should have been in trying to give more skills to the building. Not that he'd seen any results from the first skill... until now. "Three, take us into the..."

Lee froze and sent frantic thoughts toward the building to cancel his request. Either way, nothing happened, and he looked toward the courtyard full of children with a sick feeling in his stomach. "Three," he whispered. "Can you take only me and Amy into the shadows? Only us, no one..."

"What!?" Amy exclaimed, drawing her sword. "Wait!"

She was worried about nothing because they didn't go anywhere. But something still happened...

Lee turned and stared up at his apartment, where the front door had just opened. "Come on, Amy!"

Amy didn't come on, and instead she latched onto him and kept him from going anywhere. "Absolutely not! You don't know what we'll face in there!"

"It's the only explanation!" Lee growled, tugging uselessly against her grip. Why was she so damn strong!?

"I didn't say we weren't going," Amy said. "But we damn sure aren't going alone! You have an army, remember!?"

That was a fair point. "Go get whoever you need. I'll..."

"You'll wait!" Amy glanced up at his apartment and then tightened her grip. "Those shadow creatures..." Her soul trembled, and Lee remembered all too well how her fight had gone that night. "We need the best for this. Alejandro, Bradley, Z... maybe even Saira. We can even wait for Bradley to hit D-grade. Last I heard he was..."

"Three is under attack!" Lee hissed, well aware of all the people who might overhear him. "We can't wait any..."

Amy shook him slightly with her grip on his arm. "You said this started yesterday. We can wait a few more hours and do this right!"

"I..." Lee glanced toward the children again. "You're right. Okay. Start calling them, and..." He swallowed. "We might want to evacuate Three. Just in case." He had no idea how the skill would work, and if it took the entire building into that darkness...

She already had a disc in her free hand before he finished talking, and Lee saw her eyes widen at the last part. "Alejandro," she called into the disc. "We have a... situation." Then she tightened her grip on his arm. "Don't you dare think of going anywhere without me!"

"I won't," Lee said sincerely and honestly. As much as he wanted to rush to Three's rescue, he knew what the stakes were. Whatever might be happening over there, it wasn't over yet. Three was still standing on this side of the shadows. But that would change in an instant if he got himself killed.

Amy must have felt his sincerity because she let go of his arm and kept sending out messages.

The people who were already in the fort arrived quickly. Namely, Maria and Saira. Lee told them what he suspected while Amy tried to get through to Bradley, and they immediately started the evacuation.

"They will be safe under my tree," Saira said as every bit of the fort that Lee could see in his Mana Mind started preparing for war.

Lee did the same by creating a few plates and sticking his light runes on them. Not a normal light, but the ones he'd used to defeat the shadows before. They were beyond bright, even in the noonday sun, but not painfully so. Instead, it felt as if someone had turned up the saturation level of reality. Every color was sharper, every line more distinct, and every shadow banished. The lights didn't care about obstructions and seemed to shine even where there should otherwise be darkness.

"Take these." Lee handed all three to Saira. "Just in case." He could make more, and he started on that immediately.

He'd only made one more when Z entered the building, coming over the roof at a blinding speed and landing in front of Lee with his sword already bared. "Ready. What is the threat?"

Lee explained what he suspected and what he planned to do about it, and Z calmed down considerably as he did, even sheathing his sword and canceling his boost. Then Z tapped Lee's glowing plates. "Shouldn't take these. Will be a beacon. More harm than good."

"But... that's how I killed the last one."

"Good on this side. Not in the shadows. Been to the shadow before. Always move fast. Stay quiet. Light will harm, but also draw more." He stared down at Lee's plate as he traced a finger over the rune. "This light too strong. Too pure." There was a touch of awe in his voice, then it turned into fear. "May wake the sleepers."

"What..." Lee swallowed nervously. "Is a sleeper?"

Z shook his head. "Never seen myself. Would be dead if so. But heard stories from those who have. Leviathans. Dead gods. Mad gods. Sleep in the deep shadow. Wake for blood. Why you never stay long. Never fight, if possible. Spilling blood draws more. Endless. Until you spill enough and wake something worse."

"Then how do we fight?" Lee asked, almost pleading, as terrible visions danced through his head of giant monsters pounding Three into rubble.

"Shouldn't fight. But if must fight, do it in the dark." He touched his sword. "Use steel. Kill fast. Keep moving. Shadow is dangerous. Not meant for us."

Lee took a deep breath. "So, I guess I'll need some armor then."

Amy and Z followed on his heels as he headed for the garage, but only Z kept talking. "Shouldn't go. You are a beacon. May draw more attention. I will go with your soldiers. Will protect them."

He stopped walking as what Z said sank in. Stay behind? Again? It was bad enough when the monsters came knocking at his front door, but somehow it felt even worse when they didn't, when he had to watch his friends and family go into danger while he stayed behind. In safety.

"No," Lee finally said before continuing down the stairs. "Three hides me on this side, and it can hide me from whatever is over there, too."

"Possible," Z said thoughtfully. "You assume building exists in the shadows?"

Lee stopped again. That was indeed what he'd assumed. Was he wrong to think that? "Wouldn't it? I mean, Three is obviously here, but if something's attacking it from the shadows, then that means it must exist over there as well, right?" He'd seen that flash when he first gave Three the shard...

"Unknown. Is madness to build a fortress in the shadow. Doomed. But you are impossible. If fortress gained skill to cross over... I can't say. But suggest scouting before crossing. I will go. Caution always the correct choice when dealing with shadows."

"Deal," Lee said. Z was the most expendable person he had. Well, there were probably some actually useless humans that were more expendable. But Z was the strongest he had that he was willing to sacrifice if necessary. "You'll go first."

That was how he found himself with a crowd of armed and armored warriors in his apartment. A sharp contrast to the emptiness of the surrounding building. Lee didn't like it. Three wasn’t meant to be empty...

"Why in here?" Bradley asked. He was the last of them to arrive, and as of a few minutes prior, the newest and only second D-grade in the fort. He'd also taken the limit break skill... after confirming that humans were so far among the lucky races when he gained another three non-class skill slots.

"I think it has to be in here," Lee said. "Either because this is where Three absorbed the skill, or..." He had another theory, but he didn't want to say it out loud. "It doesn’t matter. Are you ready, Z?"

"Ready." Z stood with a bared blade in hand.

"In and out. I'll tell Three to bring you right back. Just make sure the building is still standing."

"Understood."

"Three," Lee said, using verbal commands only for the benefit of everyone else. "Take Z to the shadow and bring him right back."

He didn't even finish talking before the world flashed with the same negative colors as the first time. When reality reasserted itself, Z was gone. Lee didn't see how it worked, and not even Mana Mind could tell him what had happened.

"Holy shit!" Bradley gasped, along with a few other whispered exclamations.

Bring him back. It flashed again, and Z was back. His soul was... well, Lee wasn't really sure what Z was feeling, aside from a touch of fear and awe. "What did you see!?"

"Three stands." Z hesitated slightly. "This room stands."

Lee didn't like the sound of that. It was too much in line with his darker theories. "Is it under attack!?"

"Yes. War rages in the shadows."

That was enough for Lee, and he looked once more at the people who had volunteered to stand by his side. Aside from the obvious, like Bradley and Alejandro, Martin had also stepped up after leaving his students under Saira's protection. He wore no armor, but his sword shone with a powerful mana density to nearly rival one of Lee's runes.

Lee was glad to have him, especially considering how the man had shown his abilities in the first shadow fight. That wasn’t mentioning how much stronger he would be now.

Jackson was here as well, outwardly stoic, if not inwardly, but ready to fight all the same. He'd brought his whole hunting team along, and Lee swore to remember their names and faces after this was over.

Mar was in the room, but she was only seeing Bradley off. She would remain behind with Meathead, where she was strongest, and help watch over the children alongside Saira.

The others were all fighters that Lee had seen around but never really interacted with. Some were parents of the children who lived in Three, and almost all of them carried the soul-link. They were heroes who had stepped up to save him in the past, and now they were doing so again.

"Everyone ready?"

Nods and murmured agreement came back from most. Mar squeezed Bradley's hand and backed out the door, but no one else followed.

"Three, take us in."

Reality didn't change colors this time. It rolled over, flipped upside down, and spit them out into a nightmare.