Soul of the Warrior

Reivyn, Teilon, and the three roommates strolled through the streets of the Dungeon Town. Reivyn and Teilon would comment and point out the changes to the other three boys, explaining not only how it looked when they came to the town last time, but also what it was like during their conscription.

Reivyn's four friends weren't built the same way he was, and they grew restless just training inside the manor complex all the time, so they decided to add exploring the Dungeon Town as part of their schedule. Reivyn wasn't against socializing and spending some time away from his own combat-focused training, but that didn't mean he couldn't grasp the opportunity of walking through the town to train other Skills.

Kimberly had stayed behind at the manor, as Melissa, Larissa, Alisia, Erin, and Haylen had arrived the day before. She wanted to spend more time with the other girls, as she hadn't had many opportunities to interact with them as just girls. Erik had also accompanied the sisters, along with another young man who was identified as having the same role as Erik, but for Alisia.

Reivyn kept a mental map in his head as they walked the roads, and he attempted to add as much detail as he possibly could. He had only ever gained Levels in his Map Making Skill when actually drawing the maps before, but he also hadn't attempted to create and maintain a detailed map in his mind while also performing other tasks. There was no Mana involved in the process, but Reivyn could still feel that his Dual Casting and Ambidexterity Skills seemed to marginally improve his multitasking abilities.

While working on the mental map, he also Inspected anything and everything that caught his attention, as well as all the people walking around doing their own things. He would also walk closer to other pedestrians, trying to get the perfect range for his new Sense Threat Skill to activate in order to try and Level it. It was a completely passive ability, but if he focused his will on the Skill, he would get a sense of the distance and range of Levels of the other people. When possible, he would wait to Inspect a person until after his Sense Threat Skill had had a chance to activate on them, and the added confirmation seemed to give a bit of a boost to the Skill.

Whenever a passing pedestrian would make eye contact with Reivyn, he would also greet them in a friendly manner, and if they were amenable to a short conversation, Reivyn would introduce himself and his friends in order to learn their names and work on his Social Memorization Skill.

"What's up with you?" Teilon asked after the fifth incident of Reivyn starting a conversation with some strangers. "You're not usually this outgoing with random people."

"I'm using the opportunity to train my Skills," Reivyn replied. It seemed like the perfectly natural thing to do, and he saw nothing strange about it.

Teilon rolled his eyes before sharing a look with Tom, Vane, and Trick.

"See what I've had to deal with?" Teilon asked.

"Actually, that's a pretty good idea," Tom said after a moment of thought. "I haven't really been paying all that much attention to the small talk, but now that you've mentioned working on your Skills, I think I will too. Do you have the Social Memorization Skill, Teilon?"

"Nah, I'm not as Skill-happy as Reivyn is," Teilon denied. "I've really only focused on my core Skills and haven't branched out all that much."

"You should really consider working on getting it," Tom replied.

"Especially since you're going to be moving up to the Eldiar Academy. It will be more important than ever to be able to socialize with the other students," Vane added.

"There will still be a gap between the nobles in Eldiar and the other students, but the talented students that secure a quota to move up from the lower Region actually have an easier time bridging the gap between them," Trick said. "The nobles up there are more inclined to pay attention to those students in order to try and rope in talent for their families. The affluent families like ours will do the same thing."

"We also have an advantage over other talented students, as we'll have an in with the Bluefayres due to our relationship with Melissa's family," Tom said. "They're only a branch family sent down here to scout talent, but that's exactly the point. Basically, you need to work on your Social Skills."

"Speaking of, I just unlocked a new Social Skill," Reivyn joined the conversation. "Do any of you have the Skill Gab? As soon as I unlocked it, I felt that it was easier to come up with words to keep a conversation going in a more meaningful way."

Reivyn inspected the Notification that just popped up as he ended the talk he had struck up with another stranger.

Skill Unlocked!

Tier 2:

Gab (0 ->1)

"Huh, I knew about the Skill, and I had always wondered why none of us had unlocked it yet, but I guess the trick was to hold a lot of random conversations with random people," Trick said with a contemplative look. "Usually, people in our circles unlock the Skill after attending enough social gatherings, but I guess the ones we had been to had too many acquaintances for it to count."

After realizing the trick to unlocking the Skill, the three roommates became much more enthusiastic about joining the conversations with random people. It took a little bit of time and some grumbling from Teilon - "Why are we working on Skills in our free time?" - but his natural personality was outgoing, so he eventually joined in the fun.

Reivyn was actually enjoying himself a lot more than he had anticipated. He always had fun working on his Skills, but this was the first time he had gone around talking to anyone and everyone around. He wasn't necessarily anti-social or introverted, but his mind would often be focused on more personal styles of training.

Reivyn began incorporating Observation into his Gab Skill while talking to people, and he found that he could more naturally bring up topics of interest to other parties by speaking about things he noticed about them. After complimenting several girls and causing them to blush, he received yet another unexpected Notification.

Skill Unlocked!

Tier 3:

Silver Tongue (0 ->1)

Reivyn's ability to express himself verbally and non-verbally immediately became more smooth upon unlocking the new Skill, and he felt all of his social Skills synergizing with each other. He could practically feel his Skills growing at a fast pace.

The group of friends rounded the corner of a building, moving into the more centralized part of town where the earliest commercial ventures had been established, including the taverns and inns. Reivyn and his friends came to a halt as they arrived in front of a familiar face. They stood stunned for just a moment until the other party greeted them with a smile and walked over.

"Ahh, Reivyn," Prince Galwit said. "What a coincidence running into you again, all the way out here."

"Yeah, a coincidence," Reivyn replied politely. Who would believe that? He thought wryly. Everyone knew you were going to come here, and it's doubly expected from me, knowing what I know about you.

"Are these your friends? Mind introducing me?" Galwit was the epitome of an "approachable noble."

"This is my best friend from my hometown, Teilon," Reivyn patted his buddy on the shoulder. "And these are my roommates from the Academy, who you've previously seen accompanying me: Tom, Vane, and Trick."

Each of the Party members offered a polite greeting in turn. Teilon followed Reivyn's lead and simply said hello, but when it was Tom's turn, he made to give a bow to the nephew of the King of Eldiar. Galwit reached out and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"No need for that, now," he said, the friendly smile still on his face. "I'm just here as a student and Adventurer, far from the seats of power." He made no move to introduce his own followers to Reivyn's group, and Reivyn could see that Ren was still one of them. His Sense Threat Skill brought that back, even though he was no threat to Reivyn anymore. He had gained a considerable number of Levels from where he would have gauged him the last time he saw him.

Teilon also spotted Ren with a frown. He had never had any personal dealings with the young man, but he knew all too well who and what kind of person he was. Tom, Vane, and Trick had heard tales of Reivyn's time in the Lord's Retinue, but they didn't recognize Ren as the antagonist from the stories.

"Well, I won't keep you gentlemen," Galwit said to the group. He turned his attention back to Reivyn. "You should find the time to come visit me at the manor I've rented, sometime. I've heard that you're likely to secure one of the quotas. Eldiar would be glad to have a young man of your talents joining our ranks, and I believe I could offer some valuable assistance.

"Graduating from the Academy isn't the only path available," he gave Reivyn a meaningful look. "The nobles can offer sufficiently talented students an appointment, and they're technically considered graduates upon accepting."

Galwit motioned for his group to follow him, and with one last smile and wave, he departed. Reivyn stood and watched the other young man go, a complicated look on his face.

"What was that all about?" Teilon asked after a moment.

"We told you we ran into him outside of the Cobbled Ruins during the first semester," Trick answered.

"It seems like he's taken a special interest in Reivyn," Vane said. "It's not actually that surprising when you take everything into account."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Teilon said with a frown.

"Why do you say that?" Tom asked, glancing at Teilon.

"Did you notice his followers?"

"Yeah," Vane said. "I recognized several talented third-year Magic Academy students."

"There were some third-year Knight Academy students, too, but that's not the point," Teilon nodded his head before shaking it. "One of his followers is an old 'friend' of Reivyn's: Ren."

"The guy who tried to get Reivyn killed?" Tom asked, his eyebrows attempting to climb to the top of his head.

"One and the same," Teilon said. "I'm not sure what to make of a person who keeps company with someone like that. Reivyn hasn't given his opinion on the matter, and he seems perfectly fine on the surface. I'll withhold judgment until I've seen more, though."

"If Reivyn can bury the hatchet with Ren, then Prince Galwit would be a great connection to have once we move up to Eldiar," Tom said. "There's basically nobody higher than him that we could get as backing. The king's actual children aren't likely to scout talent and introduce them to the Region."

"I'll think about it," Reivyn said, coming out of his thoughts. "If Ren doesn't cause any trouble with me, then I have no reason to find trouble with him. He was just a bully who didn't know when to quit, and I could care less to have anything to do with him, but Tom's right about Galwit. My parents agree with Teilon, too. Everything is fine on the surface. It's okay to interact with him, but we should still be cautious until we know more about him.

"Alright, enough standing around. Let's keep going."

"Eww," Erin exclaimed, holding her nose. "These creatures stink." Melissa's Party stood in the first-floor boss room, surrounded by the smoking remains of the orcs and ogre.

Reivyn had accompanied Melissa's crew for their dive into the Dungeon, trusting his other Party with his roommates and friends to handle the first two floors of the Dungeon on their own. He had decided to join the girls' Party for their expedition for a couple of reasons: He wanted to give his friends an opportunity to perform on their own without the knowledge that Reivyn could step in and save the day, and he wanted to witness the prowess of Melissa and Larissa's friends.

Erin was a Wood Mage, and she was more prone to using her Spells to control the movements of the enemies. The Green family was known for their cultivation of special plants and their expertise in farming. Erin wasn't much of a fighter, as her family dabbled in more peaceful industries, though she did give her full effort in the Dungeon. Reivyn wasn't too concerned about turning her into a proper Adventurer or anything, though, as it clearly didn't interest her.

Haylen was an Earth Mage, and he had been told that her family generally specialized with Earth and Metal. They were known for their metallurgy and smithing endeavors. As an affluent family in The Capital, even though they were in a Tier 1 Region, they had access to materials from Eldiar. Many of the magical weapons and gear that could be found in The Capital had their hands in their creation, one way or another, whether it was mining the lesser materials, smelting the metals, or the forging itself.

Her Metal Spells were also fairly potent in their own right. Her Metal Bolt Spell was manipulated expertly and was a deadly projectile. She also acted to apply magical buffs to the bodyguards' weapons and armor. It was the first time Reivyn had seen proper buff Spells through the System's Class Spells. Up until this point, he had only been infusing mana into his and others' weapons and gear in the crudest way possible. He made sure to especially note the way the Spells worked on the gear for later, personal application.

Alisia was the last Caster that he was unfamiliar with. She was much less flirty and more serious once they had entered the Dungeon, and her magical prowess had surprised even Reivyn. She was a Lightning Mage, and her Class Spells were some of the deadliest ones of the entire group. Her bodyguard was also about the same level of competency as Erik, and the two had clearly worked together multiple times in the past.

Overall, I'm impressed, Reivyn made his judgment. This group is perfectly capable of consistently defeating the second-floor boss room, and I would bet they're able to allow one or two of the Spectres to empower the Dullahan. I don't think they'll be able to defeat the full Hard Mode boss, though. That guy hits like a truck, and I was only lucky to find the trick to beat it on accident. Knowing the trick and being able to act on it are two different things.

"Get used to it, girlie," Haylen said. "We're going to be here for a couple of months, working on our Skills and gaining Levels."

"Hmph, I know we'll be here for a while, but that does not mean I have to 'get used to it,'" Erin replied, turning her nose up. She immediately regretted her decision and lowered her head again, pinching her nose once more. "I'll be happy to move on to the second floor where we can get away from these nasty monsters," her voice came out nasally.

"Well, if you insist, we can take our break on the other side of the doorway leading to the second floor," Alisia suggested. "You did say that there's just a couple of roaming bands of mundane skeletons in the first hall, right?" She directed her question to Melissa. Melissa nodded in affirmation. "Then it's settled. We'll go to the next floor, and we can kill the normal skeletons, first, before taking our break."

The other girls shared looks and nodded their heads. Erik and Tahl, the other bodyguard, just watched impassively. Reivyn was more of an observer at this point in the Dungeon Delve, so he didn't offer up an opinion. Once it was apparent that the decision to take the break at the beginning of the second floor had been agreed upon, the two bodyguards simply turned and headed to the exit.

The break lasted about 15 minutes, and it was the same as any other break Reivyn had had with any of his Parties. On the last delve he had gone on with his own Party, he hadn't yet decided to restrict his own supplies to try and bring the exact amount that would be needed, but this time his pack was considerably lighter. He rationed the food appropriately, and he was pleased to see that he was properly satiated with an equal amount of food supplies remaining.

Dad was so insistent on it, I wonder if there's a Skill associated with proper gear and supply management?

The second floor of the Dungeon flew by, and Reivyn was further impressed with the other girls' and Tahl's ability to adapt to combat against the Revenants. It was apparent that they had gotten a lot of advice from Melissa, Larissa, and Erik beforehand, but they were also able to easily implement the tactics into their combat.

Reivyn was right again when they got to the boss room, and they only prevented one of the Spectres from empowering the Dullahan. The final boss of the second floor was strengthened enough to provide a challenge for the Party, but it wasn't outside of the bounds of their abilities, and nobody was ever in any real danger. Erik and Tahl expertly exchanged places in dealing with the ball and chain weapon as well as the mad Charges from the giant boss.

There was also the addition of a System treasure chest after the fight containing two pieces of gear. There was a sword and shield dropped in the same vein as the armor that Reivyn had previously gotten, and they went to Erik and Tahl, respectively.

"You guys did really well," Reivyn complimented. "I feel like I was completely unnecessary." He smiled to show that he wasn't bothered by it.

"Are you sure you're okay with simply observing to sate your curiosity?" Melissa asked. "You didn't do any fighting at all, so are you even going to get any Experience?"

"I still got the Experience for defeating the bosses and completing both floors last time, even though I only got a smidgen of Combat Experience from the second floor with the others, so I should get at least a little bit this time, too," Reivyn shrugged. "Also, it wasn't really about curiosity. I wanted to gauge your abilities so we could further split up the groups into smaller parties and pair people up appropriately. We can talk about that all together once we and the other Party are back at the manor."

"Okay," Melissa replied simply.

"Well, if you want to, why don't we go check out the third floor?" Alisia suggested. "We can just go in for a moment, see what it's all about, and if it's anything too dangerous, we can just run away. No big deal. You guys did say that there weren't any other types of enemies during the Dungeon Break besides those giant demons, and you guessed they were from the medicinal soup of the rare boss encounter, right?"

"You have a point," Reivyn conceded. "I'm down with checking it out, as long as everyone else is."

The other girls nodded their heads, and the Party decided to take another quick break to make sure they were in tip-top condition. They didn't eat another snack, as they had just had a break before attempting the boss battle, and Reivyn was still on track to have the exact right amount of food for the dive.

"I'm going to actively participate as one of the vanguards this time," Reivyn notified the others. He was wearing his heavy and medium armor instead of the robes just in case. "We can have Erik acting in the center, as he and I are familiar with each other already, and Erik and Tahl are familiar with each other. This way there shouldn't be any conflicts."

"Sounds good," Melissa said.

The Party quickly replenished a bit of their Stamina and Mana, and the three young men took up their positions in the front to explore the next, and hopefully final floor of the Dungeon. They took the stairs leading down past the newly opened door and advanced in the same way they had tackled the second floor, just with an additional melee combatant.

The environment was indistinguishable from the second floor. The halls were the same carved stone bricks, and the stairs opened up to a hallway. There were no enemies of any kind in sight for a couple of minutes, and the man-made hallway eventually turned into a natural cave once more. There was a distinct demarcation where the bricks disappeared as if the ancient inhabitants hadn't finished building their underground fortress.

"Ugh, I don't like this at all," Erin whispered. It was quiet enough that her voice carried to everyone.

"I feel suffocated," Haylen agreed.

"It's like there's a force squeezing my chest and lungs," Alisia added.

Reivyn turned his head to look at the female Casters behind him. They were walking along with obvious signs of discomfort on their faces. Reivyn happened to catch a glance of Erik, as well, and the other vanguard had sweat dripping down his face where none had been before.

"What's the problem?" Reivyn asked, confused. I don't feel any different.

"I don't know exactly what the reason is, but we all feel pretty uncomfortable down here," Melissa answered. "It started once we passed the last bricks. You don't feel anything?"

"No, I feel fine," Reivyn replied. "Just let us know if it becomes unbearable. There's no reason to keep going just to give me a chance at contributing."

"Will do."

They continued their journey deeper into the Dungeon, and the girls didn't indicate that they were any more uncomfortable. Reivyn kept it in mind, but he maintained his vigilance. After another couple of minutes of walking with no monsters of any kind, the sound of mining activity could be heard coming from up ahead.

The corridor opened up into a huge cavern, and there were Revenants in every direction that the ethereal lighting extended. Many were holding pickaxes and striking the walls, but just as many were standing around, fully armed and armored. Their gear wasn't rusted and falling apart like the other Revenants, though, and they appeared to be very high quality.

All activity from the Revenants halted as soon as Reivyn, Erik, and Tahl stepped past the threshold of the corridor. Every single one of them turned to look at the three vanguards. Reivyn's stomach dropped at the scene, and he realized where they were.

"Back to the second floor!" Reivyn shouted as the Revenants started to sprint towards them. Not only were they no longer hindered by the lack of mana density, but they even seemed to be empowered beyond what they were on the surface during the Dungeon Break. "Run! I'll keep an eye on them so they don't do their instant movement technique!"

The other members in Reivyn's Party didn't hesitate or ask questions after seeing the horde of Revenants come at them. More and more kept appearing from beyond the limits of the Dungeon lighting, an apparently endless amount. The shrieks of several Spectres reached their ears as they retreated.

Reivyn couldn't turn around and sprint like the others, but he was still in the corridor, so he couldn't easily be surrounded. He activated his Elemental Weapon ability, but it felt like he was fighting the Mana to keep it in place. He used his familiar Fire Affinity, and the flames looked like they would sputter out at any moment. He infused more mana into the Skill, but it didn't seem to help the stability.

What's going on? Why is it so hard to channel Mana? Reivyn thought with growing alarm. It feels like I'm trying to push the Mana through a strainer or something.

The first of the Revenants quickly reached him, and he engaged them in combat while continuing to retreat. The attacks from the armed and armored Revenants came hard and fast, clearly at a superior Skill Level than any of the Revenants encountered on the second floor. Reivyn judged that they were firmly above the Expert mastery and higher than either Erik or Tahl's. He sensed with his Skills that the two bodyguards had turned to join him in blocking the Revenants.

Erik dashed up to Reivyn's side and attacked one of the front Revenants. The skeleton's sword wove its way around Erik's blade, taking the attack head-on with its armor, and Erik had to scramble to get his shield in place to block the serpentine thrust. The monster's sword connected with Erik's shield, and a loud gong sounded out as he was hurled down the corridor, nearly losing his newly acquired magical sword.

Reivyn's eyes opened wide in surprise at the sudden turn of events, and something similar happened shortly after with Tahl. Reivyn was once more alone as he fought harder and faster than he ever had before.

"The Mana doesn't appear to restrict their abilities!" He shouted down the corridor. Several elemental Spells came zipping down from the girls. In the brief moment that Reivyn could see the Spells, they seemed ethereal, like they were going to disappear at any second. They practically bounced off of the Revenants, doing little to no damage at all.

"Magic isn't working against them, either!" Reivyn yelled. "Go! Get back to the second floor! I got this."

The mention of the uncomfortable feeling as well as the general lack of potency from the Mana Skills and Spells, coupled with Reivyn not feeling any different, gave birth to an idea in Reivyn's mind.

The Mana density was increasing on the outside because of the introduction of Abyss Mana mixing into the ambient Mana. The Mana density in the Dungeon has slowly been increasing the further we go into the Dungeon, so does that mean the Abyss Mana has taken over to supplant being the dominant ambient Mana?

Reivyn didn't have time to think too much, and the thought entered his head in but a moment. He was still wary about using his Tier 5 Abyss Affinity, but he had to do something.

Reivyn concentrated and accessed his Abyss Affinity. Instead of infusing his own Mana Skills directly, he mixed Darkness with the Abyss, and using the concept of Consuming once more, he gathered up the local Abyss Mana. He Manipulated the Mana to infuse and surround his Skills, and he noticed an immediate improvement. It still felt like he was straining to release his own Mana, as the Veridical nature was still dominant, but now his Elemental Weapon was once more cleaving through the Revenants like it did on the higher floor.

He continued to methodically retreat as he held off the Revenants, allowing Erik and Tahl to recover and catch back up to the girls. They had given up attempting to assist Reivyn, and they ran for their lives to the second floor. Reivyn could hear the Spectres getting closer, and he guessed that there had to be ten or more about to reach him.

Reivyn used his Dual Casting Skill to channel another version of Elemental Weapon, but this time he used it more as a way to use his own body as a focus for a free-hand Spell. He wove and knotted his Mana to replicate Larissa's custom Spell: Inferno Blast, the combination of the individual System Spells Inferno and Fire Blast.

He pulled in more of the Abyss Mana, and he built up his Spell, adding layer after layer of knotted weaves until the group of Spectres finally entered his sight. He waited until they got closer, still hacking and slashing, dodging and parrying, and then suddenly released the Blast once the Spectres got near. He strained his abilities with Dual Casting, and he used a large chunk of his remaining Mana to cover his entire body in a Mana Shield.

The Inferno Blast exploded out of him, directed towards the monsters that were crowding through the tunnel, and a huge fiery wave launched forward. The Spectre's screamed in outrage and pain, and thousands of bones of tens of Revenants shattered and blew apart as a secondary explosion of bone shrapnel. There were no more Revenants or Spectres in the immediate vicinity.

It seems like that Spell even destroyed a bunch of them well outside of visibility.

Reivyn panted for breath, feeling the beginnings of a Mana expenditure backlash. He hadn't used too much Mana to send him into a full-on incapacitating migraine, but he could feel the pressure building and throbbing behind his eyes. He surveyed the carnage he had wrought, and then turned and sprinted to catch up with his Party, the feeling of channeling his Mana through a sieve lessening greatly once he reached the bricks once more, his friends having taken up position to be able to keep an eye out for any approaching Revenants once they were back in the Veridical zone.

Definitely need to come in here with a more powerful Party, Reivyn thought. I'm not going to risk exposing my Abyss Affinity to anyone, not even Teilon, and the hindrance down here is too great for anyone in Tier 2. It's time to contact my parents' subordinates.