Thatch pulls me into a hug. “You did good,” he says. “You did amazing. Thank you, Snow.”
I blink. Slowly, just once, I pat his back. “Sure,” I say. “Yeah.”
[Level up! 15 > 17]
[Job up! Enchanter 4 > 5]
[Class up! Deconstructor 6 > 8]
Essence pours into me from my job packet, but I ignore it for the moment. My mana is almost out, but the points in vessel help. I’ve gained another point naturally, too, I note. I place all six stats from the level up in vessel again. Slowly, I let my gaze sweep over my party. The only ones missing are Bay, Dar, and my shadow friend. For a moment, as everyone fusses over Sylves, I look at the other groups.
I’m weak. Will any of them try to murder us? I stand tall on my feet, facing anyone in the cave with a challenging glare. A few meet my eyes, but none are hungry. They are… surprised? In awe? I blink.
Right. No attacks. Letting myself relax just slightly, I open up my status.
Name: Snow Okiyama - Ion
Floor: 1
Class:
Job:
Lv. 17
Heart: 14
Power: 5
Vessel: 56
Skills:
- [Suppression lv. 8]
- [Selection lv. 6]
- [Solidification lv. 5]
- [Deconstruction lv. 5]
- [Inscription lv. 3]
- [Flesh Restoration lv. 1]
My power has increased a bit more, naturally, which is nice. And I quite enjoy the look of my skills. Six of them. Two granted from the start, one granted by my class, the other earned but almost entirely granted by the essence from my job, and two I created myself.
[Flesh Restoration] once again fits into the little pattern. It’s almost funny. But I’m the most proud of it. It’s not a skill I came up with myself - it’s one I stole. Right from under the system’s nose, by pushing myself, by borrowing Inu’s and Thatch’s strengths. By practicing over and over, until it worked.
Even now, the version I use is a botched, malformed imitation of what the system can do. I barely managed to seal a wound shut, not to mention healing it. But it is good enough to be recognized as a skill, and that makes me happy.
Slowly, I lower myself to the floor, avoiding the large puddle of blood around Sylves. Opal is trying to make her drink a little bit of water, with moderate success. But she’s alive. Without a doubt, she’s alive.
Time slowly starts creeping forward again. We put Amelie’s bandage on the wound, helping to keep it closed, and not as exposed to the dust in the air. A cave probably isn’t the most sanitary area, really. Slowly, more people trickle through the glowing portal to the previous floor.
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Dar makes it through, and though the wolf sports a few cuts, he laughs boisterously as he makes it out. “Fahahaha! What a wonderful challenge.” Then, his eyes land on us. “And most of you made it, too. Good.”
Opal gives him a look, and places a finger on their lips. Dar shuts his mouth, and walks over, as he notices Sylves. “Ah,” he says. Nothing else.
More time passes. Thatch starts to fidget. Then, someone else comes through the glowing arch, a man I don’t know. He has fiery, red hair, and his body is covered in a half dozen cuts. He, like Sylves, is bleeding out.
The shirtless, buff guy, takes note of him and frowns. Then his eyes land on me. Very slowly, I shake my head. I have the mana, but I want to save it in case Bay needs it. His frown deepens, and he raises his eyebrows, as if negotiating. I hold up three fingers.
"Three requests? Why shouldn't we just ask for a healing potion?" the man asks, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Won't work," someone replies. "Tower hates handing out healing. Rewards are power, not survival."
At that, the man's shoulders fall. He looks at me, then nods.
“A mana potion,” I say, first.
Instantly, the man speaks. “I would like to use my minor request on a potion that restores as much mana as possible without any negative side effects.”
A rock spawns in his hand, and he doesn’t hesitate, giving it to me. Smart man. I absorb some of the mana inside of it, and instantly, a torrent of power floods back into my vessel. Except, my vessel is huge for my level. It’s noticeable, by now, with the way mana works. I can tell that no one here has as much of it as I do.
Still, the core does a good job at refilling some of it. I kneel next to the man, casting my new skill again, and his wounds knit closed. One by one, they stop bleeding, though the flesh still looks ragged. Then, I stand up.
The muscled man looks at me with a slight frown. “You could do more,” he notes.
I nod. “Yes.”
“But you won’t,” he notes.
Again, I nod. “Yes.”
“Why?” he asks.
Slowly, I sweep my eyes over the people in the cave. Him. The girl that used a clone before. The scrawny mage and their grimoire. A small smile spreads on my face. “I need enough power to feel safe.”
His frown deepens. “I’ll protect you,” he says.
At that, I actually laugh. It’s a derisive one, a snort, huffing out in amusement. “Yeah fucking right. And then what? Hold it over my head? Make me your personal healer? Nah.”
I see his eyebrows knot, as he thinks. “You’re paranoid. Humans should stick together.”
My patience runs out, right then, right there. “This talk is done,” I say. “You owe me two minor requests. Ask for more, and I’ll kill you.”
At that, the chatter in the cavern goes quiet. You could have heard a pin drop. The man seems stunned for a moment, then raises an eyebrow. “Really now?” he asks.
“Gem,” I say, using their anonymous name. We exchanged them during the walk to the ascendancy well.
Before the man can blink, our echo knight stands behind him, sword pointed at the nape of his neck. “Yepyep, that’d be me,” they say, smiling, with that same melodic cadence they usually talk in. There is that playful hint of amusement in their voice, even as they threaten to murder a man.
Mister muscular draws in a long, deep breath. He smiles, placatingly, and raises his hands. “Alright, alright,” he says. “Peace, peace. At ease.” His party settles down. “How about one more favour since you didn’t heal him properly?”
“Two more,” I say.
“One,” he offers.
“Three,” I raise the price.
“Two,” he replies with a grimace. “Fine, fine. Two more. What do you want?”
A small smile spreads on my face. My party probably earned some, too, so we can take care of immediate survival needs. What do we need in here? We have water. We can figure out light; in fact, I might be able to use my mana as a lamp. I still have the core. What else do I want?
I toss him my mana maze. “Ask for this to be improved into a better training tool for mana.”
He raises his eyebrows, then rolls his eyes a little. “Fine. I would like to use a minor request to upgrade this into a better training tool for mana,” he says.
Hah. He did have two minor requests from his challenge. I thought so, when he readily agreed to spend three on me. The cube glows a little, and grows, just a bit. It feels more magical, too. “Do it again,” I smile.
Slowly, he nods, then hands the cube to one of his party members. “You heard the healer,” he says. “Upgrade it.”
His party member, a young woman, eyes me with furrowed eyebrows. “Fine,” she spits, but still faithfully fulfills the request. The cube glows again, growing slightly. Before, it easily fit into my palm. Now, it’s about the size of a fist. I take it from here, and nod.
“We’re even,” I say, smiling.
“What’s your name?” the man asks me.
“Ion,” I reply, readily.
“I’m Maximillian. This is Rose,” he points at the woman. “And the guy you saved is called Pyro.”
Richard’s eyes light up at that last declaration. She lets out a small, excited chitter, but doesn’t otherwise move. I just nod at the man, then turn around. I have a new toy to play with.
is 40 Chapters ahead!!!