Soul of the Warrior

The days at the Academy flew by. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Reivyn split his focus between spending a week or two concentrating on his classes and the curriculum and going out and about with his friends to explore the Dungeons and Adventurer Guild quests.

Reivyn's proficiency in weaves continued to grow, and adding the knots to his repertoire didn't hinder his expansion in learning new weaves and gaining proficiency.

These knots really aren't all that difficult, Reivyn thought as he practiced in the privacy of his room. The knots themselves have nothing to do with physical knots. Many of the variations would serve absolutely no purpose, or they wouldn't even be able to work in the first place. It makes sense considering the Affinities aren't based on physical reality, to begin with, so why would knots start to do so?

The only difficult thing about knots is their positioning, but even that becomes simpler with strong memorization. Master Feld said that the theory of why the knots work and what their positioning means on a fundamental level are more advanced courses. We'll get a bit of it in the last semester as year three students, but the Tier 2 and higher Academies go further in depth.

Patterns, likewise, aren't representative of reality. We've only just started exploring the patterns we can weave into our Spell shells with our strings, but from what I've gathered, nobody has to use the same pattern to get the same function. Master Feld has instructed us that the patterns are a tool to concentrate intent.

Reivyn had too many Affinities to explore the weaves and knots, so he still spent the bulk of his personal practice time on that subject rather than pushing forward into the patterns. He still worked on them, but his advantage in Affinities and their weaves was quickly turning into a hindrance as the class advanced to the new subject.

Keeping up with the others is the best I can do for now, but once I finish exploring the knots and positioning for all of my Affinities, I'm confident I can stride ahead of the others in regards to the patterns, as well. A solid foundation has been drilled into me as the most important point to focus on in the lower Tiers. The hindrance it brings to getting ahead of others who don't have nearly as broad a foundation is a small price to pay for the guarantee of going further in Tiers in the future.

It's the same concept of siphoning my Experience into my bloodline and unlocking it. While I won't gain as many Levels as fast as others, I'll have more choices and a broader future. Leveling up too quickly in pursuit of short-term gains is a well-known fallacy.

Despite only keeping up with the pack when it came to the new material, Reivyn wasn't deterred or demoralized from his purpose. He understood that the other students weren't sacrificing their potential in pursuit of power now, but he wouldn't waste his higher natural talent in mana Skills and Affinities just to keep pace.

The other main aspect of Reivyn's Academy life was the Dungeon explorations. The Dungeons in the first Tier kingdom were honestly nothing special to Reivyn, other than the Shadow Fort main boss monster.

Picking up Adventurer Guild quests was also a good way to accumulate School Credits, and many of them were commissions for acquiring materials from the wilderness or the resource Dungeons. Reivyn had convinced Tom, Vane, and Trick that using their school tokens to gain access to the quests was a short-sighted option, and they all registered as official Adventurers as well.

Reivyn added them as nominal members to The Frostfire Thorns, and they picked up several quests to gather materials for the local craftsmen when they went to explore the Dungeons. Reivyn found that conjuring a forester's axe and a miner's pick from using his mana Skills not only helped him increase those mana Skills, but the added concentration made it more difficult and actually increased his Leveling speed of Woodworking and Mining.

There were other quests from the Adventurers Guild that they accepted other than acquiring materials, too. There were several quests to cull the populations of wild goblins and ferocious beasts with prolific breeding in the forests and mountains surrounding the more civilized parts of the kingdom. The locations of the Dungeons were still considered to be somewhat within the range of civilized society, but it wasn't much of a burden to travel another day or so beyond to where the wilderness was still dominant.

The mountains near the Tier 2 Region border were nothing compared to the majestic range the Revenant Dungeon was attached to. That mountain range was famous for its breadth, though, and it spanned multiple regions. There were even rumors that the highest peaks far, far away stretched into a Tier 6 Region.

Reivyn wasn't sure if the rumors were accurate, but having seen the mountain range in question, he didn't have any reason to disbelieve them. The mountains he and his friends traveled to in pursuit of the culling quests weren't part of any larger ranges, though. They were simply solitary mountains consisting of only a few individual peaks.

The forests near the Tier 2 border were also grander than the ones found closer to The Capital and other cities. The trees were massive towers, and the sunlight was muted on the forest floor.

The ferocious beasts and monsters found in the mountains and forests of the Tier 1 Region, while dangerous to Lifestyle Classes and younger citizens, posed no threats to the Party of Combat Classers, and they quickly raked in not only contribution points toward their Adventurer Rank, but also School Credits to match them.

Their expeditions were free from worry, and they didn't have to deal with any more altercations from the arrogant Knight Academy students led by Lance, but Reivyn always remembered his lessons from growing complacent and kept a sharp eye out for any indication of conflict.

Jaret and the other two Magic Academy students that had accompanied Lance when he attacked them outside the Boss Dungeon had repeatedly assured Reivyn that they wanted nothing to do with any personal feud that Lance had with him or his friends, and they went out of their way to express goodwill when on campus.

The supposed cease-fire from Lance and his friends wasn't a permanent situation, though.

Reivyn walked through the streets with his roommates, bantering back and forth as they headed to the restaurant that they frequented when they met up with Teilon and Kimberly. They kept going back to the same establishment that they had originally all grouped up together that was owned by Alisia's family. It had a splendid menu that never disappointed, and they were treated to a small discount at the instruction of Alisia.

Reivyn and his friends weren't short on money. Even Teilon and Kimberly still had a substantial sum in their pockets remaining from when they sold the Experience Crystals they had acquired in the Revenant Dungeon.

They were meeting up to go on their final Dungeon Run, The Shadow Fort, and Reivyn had just gotten permission for their Party to explore the whole thing.

This will be the last Dungeon that we explore before the end of the semester, Reivyn thought as they entered their private room. After the semester is over, we'll take a short break with our families. Teilon and Kimberly will leave ahead of us so they can go home to spend some time with their families as well, and then we'll all meet up at the Revenant Dungeon to finish exploring the third floor.

Melissa and Larissa have expressed interest in joining us out there again with their other friends. We can spend some time mixing and matching our Party makeup to explore the Dungeon. It wouldn't make sense for all of us to go in together, even with how dangerous the second floor can be.

If there's another floor below that, I'll probably have to go in with my parent's subordinates instead of my own Party. I really want to complete the entire Dungeon, and the third floor is most likely going to be a challenge for us. There's no way I would subject my friends to the dangers of a fourth floor in that Dungeon if it exists.

Reivyn and his friends sat down at the table in the private room and ordered the food and drinks. They laughed and joked around, discussing the different aspects of the Academy and Dungeon exploration while they waited for Teilon and Kimberly to arrive.

Reivyn's roommates were in great moods recently, because they had all solidly taken a place in the top 10 of the Novice Rankings after all the hard work they had put in. Trick was still slightly higher than the other two, taking fourth place Ranking in the class. Tom was Ranked sixth, and Vane was right on his heels at seventh place. Nobody had ever come close to knocking Reivyn out of his first place Ranking.

The door banged open as the friends waited for the last two members of the Party, and Teilon and Kimberly came limping in. Teilon made his way to the closest chair and collapsed into it, wincing and holding his side as he settled into his seat. Kimberly was a little bit better off than him, and she only had the slight limp that she came in with, not having any trouble sitting in her seat.

"What happened to you two?" Reivyn asked as he filled a couple of cups with a beverage to pass to his friends. Teilon accepted it with thanks and downed the contents.

"Lance, that sneaky jerk, finally struck back," Teilon said after finishing his drink. "He and his friends had ignored us and lulled us into a false sense of security. Kimberly and I always kept an eye on him, but the other students that were supposed to make sure he didn't enlist any older students in a group battle got busy with their own things now that we're toward the end of the semester. He challenged us to a group battle like you predicted, and he showed up with four third-year students who are about to graduate."

"That guy has no shame," Trick said, gritting his teeth. "He better pray that we don't run into him at the Shadow Fort. Are you two even in a state to go to the Shadow Fort this weekend?" Trick directed the question toward Teilon and Kimberly.

"We only have some bruising," Kimberly replied. "Even though it was basically a team of third years against us and the lower Ranked friends we've made, they weren't able to secure a blowout victory as they had anticipated. We'll be right as rain from our own passive recovery by the time we reach The Shadow Fort tomorrow."

"Yeah, it's not in the way," Teilon said, wincing once more. "We don't have any broken bones or any serious injuries. Just a bit of wounded pride. The other people who witnessed the match, though, knew what was up, and our prestige hasn't actually dropped from the result of the match."

"I don't really care about your prestige in the Knight Academy, as long as you two are fine," Reivyn said. "If you don't feel up to going to the Dungeon this weekend, we can always wait a couple of days or a week before going."

"We appreciate that," Teilon said, Kimberly nodding along, "but that won't be necessary. We're really fine, and we'll be back to fighting condition before you know it."

Reivyn eyed his friends with concern. He could see the determination and fire in his friends' eyes, and he nodded his head.

"Alright, it's settled then," Reivyn said. "Did you guys get permission to explore the whole Dungeon?"

"Yup," Teilon answered. "No sweat."

"When we provided the administration with the makeup of our group and the deeds we've accomplished, as well as your ranking in the Magic Academy Novice class, they were perfectly satisfied," Kimberly added.

"Then let's eat!" Trick shouted. "We'll have lunch here, and then head to the Army outpost near the Dungeon afterward. We can even take the leftovers to eat on the way there. No reason to subject ourselves to field rations when we can have delicacies from The Capital."

Reivyn kept a critical eye on the condition of his friends, but after they had started eating and drinking, Teilon and Kimberly didn't display anything too obstructing. The friends enjoyed their meal and packed some to go before heading out to the last Dungeon exploration of the semester.

"The Shadow People are basically similar to the soldiers you interacted with in Magron," Tom explained as they walked through the heavily militarized outpost outside of the Dungeon. Several squads of armored soldiers were lined up to enter the Dungeon in an orderly fashion at the start of the new day. There was military discipline on display in all directions, and Reivyn was impressed with how efficient and thorough the soldiers of the Army were.

Reivyn had donned his armor and sword once more for this Dungeon. He wasn't going to take a Dungeon that had a Tier 3 Spell Caster for a boss lightly. His armor in the military environment made him feel more at home than he had expected.

This is the environment that Knight-Captain Reifold trained in when he was younger, so it's no surprise that they're a well-oiled machine, Reivyn thought. It seems that the Knight-Captain got his military bearing and professionalism because of the kingdom's standing Army, and not in spite of it.

Reivyn nodded his head in appreciation at the workings of the outpost. He turned his attention back to Tom as their Party entered the queue to enter the Dungeon. The entrance to the Dungeon was the gate to the ancient fort, the walls still standing in good condition after thousands of years.

"The troops in the yard will all be low to mid-Tier 2 soldiers, and they'll come at us with similar tactics as the squads of our own military," Tom continued. "Just because they're actually mindless monsters doesn't mean their nature as trained soldiers are any different."

"There will be some that are only grouped in small groups or ones that will come at us individually, but it's mostly squads," Vane added. "The interior of the barracks is a little different. They will all only be in small groups or individuals, but they're all mid to high Tier 2 Combat Class monsters."

"The real danger comes from the bastion itself," Trick said. "It's full of groups of two to four 'royal guards,' as they're called, and they're all Level 60 Tier 2 monsters. The lord of the Dungeon is a Tier 3 Caster with four bodyguards."

"Our magical abilities will be crucial to clearing the Dungeon in a swift and safe manner," Reivyn mused. "For the first two 'floors' of the Dungeon, I'll mainly act as a Caster in the back row with Teilon and Kimberly taking up the vanguard. I can step up to the vanguard position at any time I'm needed, but I'll take the lead in confronting the Dungeon lord. You guys focus on killing the four bodyguards while I keep the Caster focused on me, and then we can crush him all together."

"Sounds like a plan," Teilon said. "Kimberly will take up the main defensive position in the vanguard when it's a smaller group of enemies. She's much better with a shield and spear than I am. Depending on the size of the squads that we encounter, we might need you to step up to the front simply to keep them from moving around us and getting to the other Casters, though," he pointed out to Reivyn.

"Don't worry, I'm prepared," Reivyn smiled.

"Next group, enter," a crisp military command came to the Party. Reivyn saw that they were next in line, and he hurried his friends to keep up to enter the Dungeon. He didn't want to be responsible for holding the line up and gaining the ire of the soldiers.

Once they crossed the threshold of the Dungeon, Reivyn saw a familiar scene. The monsters were spread out throughout the open field. Some marched in formation, an endless loop from side to side. Some appeared to be practicing their martial combat Skills either against training dummies or other monsters, and there was one Shadow Man who was obviously the boss of the floor.

The monster in question was attired in splendid, shiny armor, and he had obvious accouterments that denoted he was an officer. Another Shadow Person followed him around, similarly attired but with fewer decorations, a clipboard in one hand.

Reminds me of my time as the Aide to Knight-Lieutenant Brand, Reivyn chuckled. He watched the soldiers performing their eternal duties. The boss of the first area apparently wandered the entire 'floor' randomly, and if they weren't careful, they could be engaged by him at any time.

"Make sure we don't accidentally get noticed by the boss until we've killed all of the other monsters first," Tom warned.

"Why? Is he actually harder than he seems? I thought you said he was Level 45 Tier 2?" Reivyn asked.

"No, he's nothing special," Tom answered. "But he'll call all of the other monsters still alive to attack us at the same time." Reivyn's instincts kicked in at the information.

"Oh? What happens if someone engages the boss monster first and kills the entire floor altogether? Is that a hidden Hard Mode?" He asked, an eyebrow quirked with interest.

"I'm not sure..." Tom trailed off. "You're not seriously thinking about doing that, are you? I've only ever heard tales of people fleeing for their lives when they made a mistake."

"Why? You scared?" Reivyn asked, looking at Tom with a grin. "I think that's a great idea. And if nobody has ever done it before, I'm sure it is a hidden Hard Mode."

"You're crazy!" Tom exclaimed. "You want to get us all killed just on a hunch that it might be a Hard Mode?"

Reivyn listened to Tom as he scanned the surroundings. There were several smaller buildings on the outskirts of the main yard. Those look like individual dwellings. I wonder... Reivyn pointed to the smaller buildings.

"What are those? Are there any monsters inside of them?" The others followed the direction he was pointing and spotted the smaller buildings he was talking about. They were little one-room buildings in a row. It looked like one long building with doors leading to individual rooms.

"No, there are no monsters in those buildings," Trick answered. "From what I know, there's really nothing in them at all. Just bunks."

Reivyn smiled as he walked toward one of the buildings, his Party following on his heels. He noticed that not only were there no monsters inside of the little rooms but there weren't any monsters relatively close, either. It seems like the Dungeon is simulating a typical day where all of the soldiers are either gathered up to train or are in the main barracks.

Reivyn inspected the rooms. He conjured an axe and hacked at the wood making up the building, and it sunk in like it would any other building. He dismissed the axe and contemplated the structure.

"Ok, hear me out," Reivyn said. "We can reinforce the walls with our magic, and we can punch some holes from room to room on the inside in case we need to escape. We can lure the enemies over here, and the doorway will prevent them from all getting to us at once. It might be a long fight, but it shouldn't be a dangerous one, and Kimberly, Teilon, and I can switch out taking turns standing in the door.

"Tom, Vane, and Trick, you guys can take turns standing behind one of us lobbing Spells over our heads at the monsters. With proper rotation, we should be able to easily handle engaging the entire 'floor' at once."

The other Party members looked at each other and considered the strategy that Reivyn had come up with.

"I like it!" Teilon said. "Might as well add some spice to the adventure, eh?"

"I don't see why it couldn't work," Kimberly added. "Especially if we make holes in the interior walls, we'll have a proper escape route in case things don't go as planned."

"Alright," Tom conceded. "We can give it a try. They are mindless monsters, all things considered, and they won't be able to come up with any counter strategies. They'll basically act like goblins and just rush us without any other considerations other than acting like soldiers. I doubt they'll even try to hack through the walls to get to us." Vane and Trick shrugged and nodded their heads in agreement, as well.

"It's settled, then," Reivyn rubbed his hands together. "We don't have to maintain the reinforcement the whole time. We can take turns as needed when we're not flinging Spells. I have the most mana, so unless I burn through a lot of it, I'll do most of the reinforcing to begin with.

"Let's make it happen," Reivyn said with excitement. I don't necessarily revel in doing dangerous things, but the Dungeons in the Tier 1 Region, despite their variety, have been pretty boring up until now.

The Party quickly made a tunnel of sorts through the interior of the long dormitory, and Reivyn exited on his own to engage the boss. He waited for several minutes for the boss to get closer on its meandering path, and once it was in range, Reivyn launched a powerful Fire Bolt Spell infused with Kinetic weaves and strategically placed knots for maximum impact.

The Fire Bolt slammed into the head of the boss, and the impact was so large it lifted it off of the humanoid's feet and he crumpled to the ground.

What happens if I kill the boss in one shot? Reivyn thought, slightly worried. His worries disappeared, though, as the boss stood up and let out a loud bellow. Its face had a large, smoldering scar on it, smoke visibly wafting away from the burn. All of the other Shadow People on the first floor turned to look at the boss. The boss drew its sword and pointed toward Reivyn with it, and the other monsters let out loud screams as they laid eyes on Reivyn and charged toward him.

Reivyn quickly retreated to the small fortification his Party had set up, and Kimberly stepped forward with Tom right behind her. Teilon was waiting to the side with Vane and Trick standing by. The monsters weren't that close to Reivyn, so it wasn't a close call or anything like that, but there were almost a hundred of the Shadow People welling up to get at the Party members inside the dorm.

Kimberly held them off at the door with Tom launching his Class Spells. They would have time to work on free-hand Spell weaving if they maintained enough Mana after they thinned the horde out.

Reivyn found himself just standing around, waiting for his turn while the others fought against the monsters. They weren't smart enough to try any other avenue of approach other than the open door the Party held fast.

This is actually probably easier than engaging all of the enemies on this floor individually while keeping a lookout for the boss, Reivyn thought. I'm pretty sure the actual boss already died, too. He really was nothing special.

The battle only lasted about half an hour, and Reivyn only took one turn launching Spells at the monsters. He took the last turn holding the door to let Kimberly and Teilon recover their Stamina, though.

The last monster fell, and it disintegrated like the Dullahan had after Reivyn walked forward, accidentally kicking it in the process. That explains why there's not a mountain of corpses in front of the building, Reivyn idly thought. There were several pieces of well-maintained equipment littering the floor where the monsters had occasionally dropped a piece of loot.

The Party sifted through the weapons and armor, but there wasn't really anything standing out, so they only took a couple of the more expensive-looking pieces that were most likely dropped from the boss.

"See, no problem," Reivyn said. "Considering how easy that was, I'm guessing that this is actually a pretty well-known tactic, and either people don't actively spread it, or you guys just never heard of it before."

"Probably," Tom conceded.

Nobody had come even close to the danger levels for Health, Stamina, or Mana, but they still walked over toward the barracks with a plan to rest before tackling the next portion of the Dungeon. As they walked over, Reivyn spotted a chest that hadn't been there before, sitting on the ground next to the entrance to the barracks.

"Told you so," Reivyn said, pointing to the chest. "I'm betting that a System chest isn't normally rewarded upon completion of this area, is it?" Tom and the others shook their heads. Reivyn clapped Tom on the shoulder with a wide grin on his face. "Have faith in me, and I'll lead you to all sorts of good stuff."