Dungeon Salvation

“I think I figured it out,” Rebecca whispered to Elias. He raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to elaborate.

How am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?

“Where Marco’s been all this time,” she continued, her impatience evident. “Just think about it. He left for a long time, came back with upgraded skills, a perfect foundation, and a tier 2 mana. We can both agree it’s obvious he went to another city, right? At first, I thought he might have gone to a Temple specifically designed to improve his foundation. Then, he probably consumed some natural treasures or went to zones with a high mana saturation to gain his mana type.”

“But what if,” Rebecca leaned in, her eyes gleaming with excitement, “he obtained his tier 2 mana outright, skipping tier 1 altogether? Can you think of a place that’s particularly helpful for acquiring wind mana? Think: expensive.”

“Expensive?” Elias mused.

He knew Marco’s father was a late-stage Master, so money wasn’t an issue. But going anywhere within the dungeon was free, as long as you were strong enough to survive. There weren’t any zones or Temples he knew of that required payment for entry.

“Want a hint?” Rebecca asked, grinning mischievously. “It’s not in the dungeon at all.”

Rebecca looked at Elias expectantly, as if her hint made the answer so obvious he couldn’t possibly miss it. But it didn’t help him at all. Seeing his lack of reaction, her grin faded.

“Come on!” Rebecca exclaimed. “He was at the Drifting Clouds Spa!”

That means nothing to me.

“Okay…” Elias said slowly. “What’s that?”

“You can’t possibly not know! It’s the best spa on the continent; all the celebrities go there,” Rebecca said, disbelief clear in her voice. “I heard they have beds made out of clouds. Actual clouds!”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with gaining a mana type?” Elias asked, still confused. He wouldn’t even pretend to know anything about spas and celebrities, even if Rebecca seemed to think he should.

“They’re particularly famous for a method that perfects their clients’ foundations,” Rebecca explained impatiently. “Apparently, during the process, you have a good chance of gaining insight into a mana type—and you even get to choose which one. They’ve constructed environments tailored to channel specific mana types, and all you have to do is meditate while they work their magic.”

“How can you be sure?” Elias asked skeptically. “There are plenty of places that offer similar services, and they’re all expensive.”

“Yeah, but those places usually do one thing or the other,” she said, frustration creeping into her voice. “They can either perfect your foundation or help you gain insight into a mana type, not both at the same time. And more importantly, they only offer this dual service with two kinds of tier 2 mana: wind and mist mana.”

“I don’t know, I’m not entirely convinced. I’ll ask him, and you see if you can read anything from his reaction,” Elias suggested.

“Hey, Marco! Did you spend all that time at some kind of Cloudy Spa or something?” Elias called out.

Even Elias could tell they had hit the nail on the head by the way Marco froze mid-step and looked up as if pleading with the heavens for patience. He stayed silent for a long moment, unmoving, before turning to face them. His eyes locked onto Elias’s with a mix of frustration and resignation.

“I already told you, Elias. I’m not discussing where I was,” Marco said seriously, his tone clipped. “Now drop it. Please.”

“Right, right, sorry,” Elias stammered, backing off. Then, he glanced at Rebecca and gave her a thumbs up, mouthing, You were right.

Rebecca giggled and did a small celebratory jump, raising her fist in victory. She looked like she wanted to say more, but visibly restrained herself, sensing Marco’s growing irritation. Elias doubted anything could truly anger Marco, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t get upset with them.

With the mystery solved, Elias realized he didn’t actually care much about where his friend had been all this time. It was one of those things you only wanted to know because someone else was keeping it a secret. Still, maybe they should visit the Drifting Clouds Spa if they ever got unspeakably rich—beds made of clouds did sound intriguing.

Having had enough of their nonsense, Marco drifted away from Elias to attract more monsters. Noticing this, Elias set his jaw and refocused on the grind. The monsters in this area posed little threat to their group of three, so they decided on a more aggressive strategy to maximize their experience gains.

Hours passed, and the group’s efficiency improved as they became more accustomed to working together, significantly outpacing their previous experience-gathering rate. They had already gained enough experience to raise one of their attributes by a level, and at this rate, they would level up another before needing to return.

Congratulations! Your Intelligence has risen to level 11.

“Ouch!” Marco yelped, slapping his thigh with a sharp clap. Elias shot a quick glance at him, and seeing nothing amiss, began to scan their surroundings for any threats. It was Rebecca who spotted the small creature first.

“Look, there,” she said, pointing toward what seemed to be empty air. Elias squinted and finally saw it—a tiny, hummingbird-like creature hovering in place. He quickly used Analyze.

*******

Vampiric Hummingbird

Uncommon

Level 16

A small, swift creature that preys on the blood of its victims, sapping their vitality with every bite. Its speed and agility make it a formidable opponent for inexperienced adventurers. While it can drain blood rapidly, its capacity is limited, allowing it to only extract a small amount at a time. When it needs to incapacitate its prey quickly, it injects a paralytic poison, making escape even more unlikely for its unfortunate target.

*******

“Don’t worry, Marco, you’ll be fine,” Elias reassured.

Probably.

The monster was significantly stronger than anything they had faced so far, at level 16, and it was a hyper-specialized monster at that. What worried him most was the paralytic poison the creature could inject. It already seemed far too fast to keep up with, and now they had to worry about being poisoned as well. Elias readied himself for the fight, activating his Overexertion (Common) Skill from the start.

With a burst of speed, Elias lunged at the diminutive monster, focusing intently on his Kinesthesia (Common) Skill to control his movements as if he were a puppet on strings. As the creature flitted about, he made tiny adjustments to his fist’s trajectory, determined to land a blow. When he was close to hitting it, he used the Attraction effect of his soul weapon to help land the hit. Unlike when he used the effect on larger creatures, the hummingbird seemed to be drawn toward his fist.

Despite his best efforts, the creature was simply too quick and managed to dive backward, overcoming the Attraction to his fist. To add insult to injury, the monster blurred and Elias felt a sharp sting at his side, followed by a chilling sensation as his blood was drained. He tried to swat it away, but it detached itself and darted out of reach, hovering just out of arm’s length. It was as if it was mocking him.

Thankfully, Elias’s Recovery (Common) Skill countered the exhaustion from the blood loss and the creature’s poison. Marco, however, had Tough Skin (Common) as his vitality Skill, which was useless in this fight, and the man’s eyes were drooping. Frustrated, Marco used his Dash (Common) Skill to close in on the monster, hoping to catch it off guard. His speed, combined with his Slash (Common) Skill, made his sword flicker, his attack executed in the blink of an eye. Still, it wasn’t fast enough; the creature was already out of reach when Marco began to bring his sword down.

“Alright, you circle it from the left, and I’ll go from the right,” Marco said, frustration edging his voice. Elias nodded, steeling himself for another attempt. This was no longer just a battle—it was a matter of honor.

“On three. One, two—”

Before Elias could finish counting, Rebecca appeared behind the hummingbird like a mirage, her knives already slashing the creature with deadly precision. The hummingbird dropped lifelessly to the ground. The two men blinked in surprise, not having noticed her move at all.

Rebecca grinned smugly at them. “That was easy,” she said, clearly pleased with herself.

Elias sighed in exasperation. “Let’s just go.”

If nothing else, this encounter served as a wake-up call, a reminder of the importance of improving his Skills. If Elias had a better Agility Skill, or anything that increased his speed, the battle wouldn’t have been so difficult—just as it hadn’t been for Rebecca.

“Don’t let it get to you, boys,” Rebecca said in mock sympathy. “I make it look easy, but being this awesome takes a lot of effort.”

“Yeah, yeah, keep talking,” Marco said, rolling his eyes. “I’m pretty sure I killed more monsters than you.”

“Alright, enough,” Elias said with a chuckle. “We’re close to hitting our second level for the day. Let’s grind for another hour or so, and we’ll be done.”

A little over an hour later, they had indeed managed to increase their attributes by another level. This time, Elias chose to raise his Spirit attribute. If he wanted to improve his Skills, he would need to evolve his Meditation (Common) Skill first. He needed to gain a mana type to call his own.

Congratulations! Your Spirit has risen to level 13.

*******

He moved like water, shapeless and fluid, each motion blending seamlessly into the next. There were no boundaries between forms, only the relentless tide. He left no room for escape, drowning his foe in an unceasing torrent of strikes. Every attempt at retaliation was effortlessly redirected or turned back against his adversary.

His body danced to the rhythm of the water, while his Spirit resonated with its frequency. Just beyond the edge of his perception, a melody played—a symphony of flowing rivers and crashing waves. He knew that with just a bit more effort, he could grasp it, make it his own.

Suddenly, the source of the music vanished as if it had never existed, leaving him to finish a dance without rhythm. Elias implored his Spirit to maintain the resonance, to become the source of that wondrous song, but it was in vain. He continued to move, shapeless and fluid like water, but it felt directionless now—a hollow imitation.

So close…

Among all the tier 1 mana types he meditated on and emulated during training, Elias felt a special connection with water. He had been striving to take that final step, to truly make water mana his own. However, whenever he neared that breakthrough, Peter would shut off the Basin of Elemental Conflagration, cutting him off from his only source of water mana. Without something to emulate, his Spirit would falter, like a cook trying to prepare a dish without a recipe.

The sound of clapping suddenly echoed from outside the ring, snapping Elias out of his thoughts. He turned to see Peter, smiling at him with obvious pride. The interruption drew Rebecca's and Isabela’s attention as well, bringing their sparring session to an abrupt halt. Glancing back at his recent opponents, he realized he might have gone too hard on them.

Isabela was glaring at him defiantly, her left cheek slightly red and swollen from a punch he had redirected from Rebecca. His girlfriend, however, offered him a small smile, though it was tinged with frustration. Elias responded with an apologetic smile and blew her a small kiss. She rolled her eyes at his antics, but her smile softened, becoming more genuine.

“Good job, Elias. You’re close to getting it right,” Peter said with a nod.

“Thanks, I guess,” Elias replied dryly, sighing.

“Now, why are you upset?” Peter asked with amusement.

You know why.

“I’m not,” Elias lied. Peter chuckled.

"It's true, I'm holding you back," Peter admitted. "If I let you meditate near a source of water mana, you'd transition your mana to water mana in minutes. But you have to trust that this is for the best."

"But why didn’t Rebecca have to wait then? She got her mana type more than a week ago." Elias tried to keep his frustration in check, but it still seeped into his voice. Even Marco had upgraded his Mana Bolt (Common) to Wind Blade (Uncommon), while he hadn’t even obtained a mana type yet.

"Don’t be jealous, Eli," Rebecca huffed, eager to take a jab at him after her recent defeat. She had joined their training sessions permanently, moving on from training with Vivian exclusively. Still, she rarely faced Elias in sparring; the gap in their skills was too wide.

"You’ve both improved greatly," Peter said, chuckling as he glanced at Isabela. "Especially you, Rebecca. That punch combo was nearly perfect—it almost landed, too."

"Technically, it did land," Elias quipped, pointing to Isabela’s swollen face. His sister’s glare intensified.

You dish it out, you take it.

Peter circled back to Elias before the siblings could start bickering. “Eli, your ability to emulate different rhythms and mana types isn’t something easily accomplished. It’s the result of more than a decade of guided effort. Don’t throw all that away right at the finish line just because you’re impatient for a week or two. If Rebecca could do what you’re doing, I would have made her wait too.”

Elias sighed, looking down. They’d had this conversation before. His father wanted him to convert his mana without a mana source to guide him—an incredibly difficult task with benefits that Elias wasn’t entirely sure were worth it.

Peter had explained that if he succeeded, his connection to his chosen mana type would be exponentially stronger. According to him, attaining a mana type the usual way was like lighting a bonfire with a match. The fire might burn just the same, but its source would always be something external. Conversely, doing it the way Peter wanted was like being the source of the fire itself—creating a more intimate, internal connection. This greater connection alone wouldn’t justify the effort, but that’s where the technique Peter was teaching him came in.

It was common knowledge that people adapted some qualities of their mana type—those with air mana could move more swiftly, and those with earth mana tended to have a more solid presence. But Peter insisted that if the source of their mana wasn’t truly their own, they would never fully master their own body, mind, and spirit.

Elias had never heard of anyone else doing things this way. The concept of adapting one’s fighting style to match their mana type wasn’t anything new. Everyone had a different method of accomplishing it, but the results were always similar. However, what his father was asking was more like adapting his mana type to his fighting style. Still, he trusted his parents with his training so far, and there was no reason to stop now.

I’ll succeed eventually. We’ll see if it was worth it then.

Elias perked up as a knock on the door caught his attention. Today was the day that Marco had promised to visit the dojo and train with them.

“Come in,” Peter called out. The doors slid open quietly, and Marco poked his head through. He smiled and waved before stepping fully into the training room.

“Hey everyone, how’s it going?” Marco asked jovially. He then turned to Peter, extending his hand for a handshake. “I’m Marco, Elias’ friend. We met a while back in the dungeon clearing.”

“Good to see you again, Marco,” Peter replied with a cordial smile. “I’ve been looking forward to your visit since my son told me you’re a skilled fighter. Please, join us—we’ve only just started training.”

Nodding, Marco removed his shoes and stepped onto the tatami, joining them.

“All right,” said Peter. “Elias, you’ll pair up with Marco as sparring partners now that he’s arrived, and Isabela, you’ll team up with Rebecca.”

Elias shot his friend a bloodthirsty grin, which Marco returned with enthusiasm. Before Elias could get too excited, however, Peter added, “Elias, remember what I told you. I won’t turn off the source of water mana this time, but I don’t want you to take that final step, alright?”

Resigned, Elias nodded in agreement.

He felt it before he saw the water flowing from the stone basin—a familiar melody resurfacing like a forgotten memory. Instinctively, he sank into a meditative state, attuning himself to the water’s rhythm. It felt natural—right.

Elias opened his eyes and locked onto his opponent—his friend. All traces of humor vanished as he focused intently on the fight. Sensing Elias’s serious mood, Marco set his jaw and concentrated as well.

Marco attacked first with an aggressive sidekick aimed at Elias’s side. Elias shifted his stance, absorbing the impact instead of dodging, and pulled Marco by the extended leg, throwing him off balance. Marco pushed off the ground with his other foot and kicked at Elias, trying to force him to release his grip.

Elias noticed a distinct absence of wind in Marco’s movements, confusing him. There was a hint of it, but it felt unguided, more instinct than conscious action. He hadn’t noticed this before in the dungeon, only now because he was attuned to the water mana.

Did he not adapt his fighting style to his mana type?

Back and forth, they traded blows, and as expected, Elias soon gained the upper hand. However, he hadn’t anticipated dominating the exchange so completely. Elias began to smother Marco’s resistance like a river engulfing a stone. He flowed around Marco’s attacks, diverting their momentum, and steadily wore him down.

Soon, Marco collapsed, exhausted, marking Elias as the victor of their spar.

“How did you do that?” Marco asked. “Your movements, they felt weird. I don’t even know how to explain it. It felt like I was fighting my dad.”

“I’m just emulating the rhythm of the water mana from that basin over there,” Elias answered, his confusion growing.

“I remember you saying something about rhythm and timing when we sparred in the clearing, but that was nothing like this. I’ve never even heard of anything like this, not below the Master ranks. When they move, every action is an expression of their mana.”

Huh, maybe this technique isn’t as common as I’d thought.

“See, Eli,” Peter said from the side, his arms crossed in self-satisfaction. “I told you this technique was valuable. You need to value the things we teach you more.”

“Marco, this is a fighting technique that I’m teaching my son. It’s indeed similar to the way Master rank adventurers align their body, mind, and spirit, but different in a few ways. If you want to learn it, I can teach you as well, but it will be more difficult to master it since you already have a mana type.” Saying so, Peter threw a meaningful look at Elias, as if to emphasize how much of an opportunity learning this technique was.

"I'll talk to my dad about it, is that alright?” Marco asked hesitantly. Despite not committing to anything, the man seemed eager to learn.

“Sure, no problem,” said Peter with a smile.

“Anyway, I want a rematch! This time let’s use our Skills.” As he spoke, Marco's hair and clothes seemed to flutter as if picked up by a gentle wind. Before stepping up to the sparring ring, the man muttered the name of his new Skill with a grin, “Wind’s Breath (Uncommon).”

Elias cursed.