I looked around, twisting from side to side as I did. Everything felt normal. As normal as it could being dumped by a shift in reality into a pocket reality. The primary visible feature of that pocket reality seemed to be a blank stone room as far as I could tell right at this moment. Looking around, that was all I could see of where I was. A blank room formed by rough-hewn stone blocks. My aura flared out, exceeding the limits of the room. I could feel the passage on the other side of the room, which was obviously where I was supposed to go to make my way forward. More concerning than the immediate way forward was what my aura senses were telling me. The room I was in wasn't huge, only about twenty feet by twenty feet. Maybe eight feet Tall. So my aura at max strength exceeded the size of the room by a bit, and what I found on the other side of the walls was enough for a twinge of worry to crawl its way up my spine.

  Nothing.

  There was nothing on the other side of the dungeon walls. Just a vast floating abyss that was filled with mana, with raw magic. The moment any serious amount of nervousness began to mount in me, a familiar surge of comfort pushed it back. In that moment, I was very grateful for having a familiar; I wasn't sure where I'd be without her.

  Probably an emotional wreck.

  That seemed correct. I turned away from contemplating the existential crisis that was dungeon physics and location and started walking towards the doorway. On the other side of the doorway, I could see a small slice of what waited for me. It looked like a wide open savanna plain, orange grass swaying gently as if there were a light breeze on the other side.

  As I stepped through the doorway, the stark contrast between the stone room and the sprawling savannah before me was jarring. The orange grass rippled like waves, stretching as far as the eye could see. The sky above was a deep, unnatural purple, dotted with unfamiliar constellations. I had my doubts that this area was as expansive as it seemed. My time hunting the surface world of the Soul-Sheer had revealed many things. Including that it had its limits. Invisible walls had marked the end of my ability to travel further afield in there. I was willing to bet it would be the same here. Only now I would likely be able to feel the emptiness I was sure waited on the other side of those invisible walls. My aura pulsed outward, seeking any immediate threats. Nothing. At least, nothing close by. But in a dungeon, that could change in an instant.

  I took a deep breath, tasting the air. It was dry, with a hint of something metallic. My familiar's presence hummed at the edge of my consciousness, a comforting reminder that I wasn't truly alone in this alien landscape.

  "Well," I muttered to myself, "no point in standing around."

  I started forward, my boots crunching softly in the strange grass. Each step sent a small cloud of glittering particles into the air – spores, maybe? Or some kind of magical pollen? I made a mental note to be wary of any effects they might have. I'd decided I would stay human for the moment. Changing now offered no immediate benefits since there wasn't anything to fight yet. As I trudged through the orange grass, I kept my senses on high alert. The eerie silence was occasionally broken by a distant, echoing cry that sent shivers down my spine. Whatever made that sound, it was outside of the reach of my aura; I wasn't eager to meet it unprepared.

  I stared at the screen in front of me for a moment. A mix of excitement and concern similar to when the System had offered me a quest in the Soul-Sheer. I'd been lacking direction at the time. This felt too similar for me to ignore it.

  Was the Soul-Sheer the System’s way of training me to clear dungeons?

  The thought percolated in my mind, digging its roots in as it grew in the back of my mind. A cry from above broke me from my musing. My gaze snapped upwards, and I activated [Analyze] by reflex alone.

  The creature descending upon me was a sight to behold. Its wingspan easily reached twenty feet, with feathers the colour of burnished copper that seemed to shimmer and change hue as it moved. The body was sleek and streamlined, clearly built for speed and agility in the air. Its head was adorned with a crest of elongated feathers that swept back, giving it an almost eagle-like appearance. It looked meaner than any eagle I'd ever seen or heard of, and the way the light glinted off its talons and feathers brought razor blades to mind.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Yeah, no, not going to want to be on the wrong end of those. I activated [Sprint] and lunged to the side as the beast dove, seeping low over the grassy plain. My leap carried me just far enough to avoid the wings of the massive bird monster. Good thing too, I watched as its wings sheared all the grass in its passage like a scythe through wheat, leaving a twenty-foot wide section where the tall grass was a foot shorter.

  I grinned up as I watched the bird swoop back up into the sky. I hadn't had the chance to fight something that could fly before. This should be interesting. My blood was already singing, adrenaline pumping through my system. Unlike the matches I'd gone through back at the White Banner facility, I could use all my gear and all the advantages I enjoyed. Even if I was still restricting myself to human for the moment. I went over my options for battling this monster as it circled above, preparing for another pass.

  It looked like a good opportunity to test the Skill I knew the least about.

  The monster circled just beyond the limits of what I could track with my Aura senses. Instead, I tracked it with my eyes, waiting for it to dive again. I waited for over a minute, and then the bird monster's body tipped forward at a sharp angle, tucking its wings in tight to its body. It glittered like a copper missile as it began its descent. I didn't react despite my pounding heart. I stood on the ground staring up at it intently while it drew closer, plummeting from the sky.

  Thirty feet.

  Twenty.

  Ten.

  I lashed out with my aura, pushing [Aura manipulation] as hard as I could and triggering [Auric Vision]. My own aura was a field of grey that seemed to surround me in a massive sphere, contracted from forty feet down to ten. Where did all that go? It formed a spear-like protrusion pointed squarely at the approaching monster. The monster's aura was strange-looking, mostly translucent but with streaks of copper and silver laced through it. My aura-lance pierced through the monster's aura like it was nothing, tearing it apart. I deactivated [Auric Vision] to see the results more clearly.

  The monster seized in midair, its wings flopping limply as it began to tumble through the air rather than dive. I stepped to the side as the beast approached the ground. The impact rattled my teeth a little, and dirt exploded into the air. The monster's body slammed into the ground, digging a deep furrow in the soft ground at least ten feet long from where it hit the ground.

  There was no message from the system.

  The monster was still alive.

  I dashed over with my dagger in hand, only to find the bird lying there, wrecked from its impact against the ground. Its wings were bent in more places than it had joints to bend. I knelt down, focused my aura on it once again. I needed to know if I could kill with this strange ability of mine. Somehow, I doubted that it would be too strong. Long moments passed with no result beyond the occasional twitching of the broken monster. I'd crushed its aura under mine, grinding it down to nothing. Forcing it to retreat completely into its body. After several minutes, I decided there was nothing else of worth to be gained from the beast. I rammed my dagger up from under its head into its brainpan.

  I confirmed the prompt without a thought, and a brief glance at my inventory told me the loot wasn't anything interesting. A handful of [Metallic Diver feather]s. It might be useful for crafting if I had a crafting skill. I didn't, unfortunately, maybe the White Banner would want to buy them. I had no idea. The death of the [Plains Diver] turned the grassy plains into a hive of activity as the smaller monsters came out of their burrows, sensing the death of the area's major predator. I grinned as I rose from the fading corpse of the [Plains Diver].

  More experience.

  —-

  "What the hell was that!?" David exclaimed, staring at the screen of the mobile terminal he, Carl and Ed were clustered around. Dozens of people in various uniforms were scurrying around the building. The local police had cordoned off the area after some prodding. Thankfully, the local law enforcement agencies were usually fairly cooperative with the White Banner, even if they were irritated about being kept mostly in the dark. The cordon was mostly for show, but it still served a purpose, hopefully keeping random people from stumbling upon the dungeon. While they couldn't see it or even interact with it in any meaningful way, the White Banner as a whole had decided years ago that it was best to keep people away from active dungeon entrances.

  "I don't know," Carl replied, brow furrowed as he stared at the screen with an equal amount of frustration. He had no idea what Aiden had done. One moment the monster had been descending on him, ready to tear him to shreds, and the next it was limp, falling through the air, then smashing into the ground.

  "He went easy on Alex, Matt and Sofia, didn't he?" Ed said in a small voice while he stared at the screen alongside David and Carl. "I don't think he was lying when he said we only got to see one of his Skills."

  The trio was silent at that, staring at the monitor.

  —-

  I couldn't help but grin as I darted back and forth on the open plains. Dozens of monsters were harrying me, so I'd had to let Vipera out to relieve some of the pressure. We worked in tandem, tearing into the horde of monsters that surrounded us at every opportunity. I was glad David and Uncle Wolf had caved and kept others out of here. While I had a feeling Victor would have been capable enough, I didn't think the other four would have done well here. The weight of numbers might have buried them. Granted, with four or five more bodies, the horde I was currently facing would have been more broken up, but still. While I was maintaining pace, alternately striking down jaguar-like monsters that leapt at me with my dagger or sending the smaller bird monsters that were flocking the area into seizures with my aura, I was walking on a bit of a knife-edge. Still, I was improving rapidly, growing, even if that growth didn't show on my status sheet. My aura attacks were coming out faster and faster, and I needed to pay less attention to them. I didn't need [Auric Vision] now either. Now that I'd seen what it looked like, it was easier to visualize without the addition of the vision skill.

  I spun, my dagger flashing out to catch a leaping jaguar-like creature across the throat. Its momentum carried it past me, but I knew it wouldn't be getting up again. Vipera's hiss of satisfaction told me she'd taken down another of the bird monsters. We were a well-oiled machine, moving in perfect sync.

  I paid little attention to the System notifications, pushing them to the side as soon as they appeared. My focus was entirely on the battle, on the ebb and flow of the monsters around us. My aura made things so much easier while I was human. It was like I had the vision of my spider form, but better, as I could read fluctuations in my opponent's aura, which gave insight into what they were doing and planning.

  The battle raged on, a whirlwind of claws, feathers, and flashing steel. Vipera's lashed out, ensnaring smaller creatures and crushing them with brutal efficiency. Her electric blue energy pulsed brighter with each kill, creating an eerie strobing effect across her undulating body.

  I ducked under the swipe of a jaguar-like beast, its green eyes blazing with primal fury. As I came up, my dagger found its mark in the creature's throat. Hot blood sprayed across my face as I wrenched the blade free, already pivoting to face the next threat. My muscles burned with exertion, but I pushed through it, riding the wave of adrenaline that coursed through my veins.

  A flock of smaller avian creatures, more [Copper Skimmer]s, dove at me from above. Instead of targeting them with my aura like I would have if it were one or two of them, I clenched my dagger between my teeth to free my hands. I was still clumsy with my Mana; I lacked the practice needed to feel more skilled with it. I could still channel it into my items without issue, though. I weaved my fingers in a crossing pattern as web sprayed from the claw tips of my gloves.

  The group of fliers was hopelessly snared in the webbing within seconds; they didn't have the cutting advantages of the larger [Plains Diver] I'd killed earlier, either. For the moment, at least, they were stuck. The large bundle of webs and feathers flew past harmlessly as I side-stepped it. Things were going well, but that wasn't to say I wasn't taking hits. I was covered in small injuries, and my clothes were getting progressively more shredded as the battle went on.

  I was going to need to end this soon.