The Path of Ascension

PoA: Minkalla Chronicles Floor 1

Minkalla Chronicles Floor 1

Sajan took a step forward and paused. The darkness around him was oppressive, and with only his spiritual sense able to give him any feedback, he was stumbling around like a blind man.

That in and of itself would have been fine, but he was terrified, and despite not being able to feel it, he knew he was sweating through his armor.

When his team entered Minkalla, they had been four close friends who, upon reaching the peak of Tier 13, wanted an opportunity to grow.

As dwarves and members of clan royalty, they should have lived lives of luxury and been able to idle their time away, but they were only branch members of their respective clans, and life wasn't so easy for them. They werent treated badly; even Sajan couldn't say that, but they were given none of the treatment that the clan heirs were given.

But the four of them wanted that treatment, and they knew that Minkalla was their best opportunity to turn their fates around.

Except, they had gotten the worst floor possible for their skillsets.

They were strong in a stand up fight, and while they had issues fighting with their senses blocked on the first level, they had no luck left on the second level.

Carla had just vanished from their group, and none of them had seen her leave or a monster take her.

One moment they were four, then they were three.

It had caused them to race ahead, but it hadnt helped. Oh, it had gotten them away from whatever killed Carla, but they ran directly into the next ambush.

Tselha went down in a spray of blood, but they never sensed what hit him or how it punctured his armor.

Sajan and Yon Seung-Hee simply ran. Ran with everything they had to get away from the horror they were experiencing.

When Yon Seung-Hee veered off, Sajan followed him, but was a few steps behind and, therefore, slower.

Yon Seung-Hee had forgotten the number one rule of Minkalla, and it cost him his life.

He had found a person. Another cultivator sent in from one of the other Great Powers.

Before Yon Seung-Hee could get closer than twenty feet, the man in what Sajan now knew to be sect robes moved.

Sajan was able to turn and flee, but with his spiritual sense, still had to watch as his last friend ran directly into a spray of needles.

The Sect cultivator didnt bother to chase Sajan down, seeming content to rob Yon Seung-Hee's body.

Sajan knew his time was almost up, but refused to just sit there.

So he took a step. He looked around, trying to see if anything moved.

Then he took a second step.

Over and over, he slowly moved through the tunnel he found himself in, hoping he could find a ruin with a boss that someone else had already cleared. If he found it before any monsters respawned, he could get to the third level, get to the safe area, and leave this pit of nightmares.

Sajan took another step forward and checked his surroundings.

He was desperate to save himself from death, and was extra careful as he inspected what was all around him.

Sajan only noticed the boulder next to him changing in his spiritual perception the instant before the turtle's mouth snapped over his head.

***

Claude walked through the pitch-black halls of Minkalla as if there was nothing wrong.

And to him, there was nothing different from this floor and the rest of the realm.

He had been born blind due to a genetic defect, and while the local healers did their best, his condition wasnt life-threatening, so he was relegated to a lower priority list that the Tier 35 or higher healers would get to eventually.

Genetic defects were hard to heal, and needed both specialized training and high Tier skills.

Claude never blamed anyone for his condition. It was just a string of bad luck that struck him, and he never knew anything else, so he missed nothing.

His parents and teachers always ensured that he was able to live a fun and fulfilling life, despite his lack of vision.

He would have gone on to live an ordinary life, but during an assembly held by the local guild when he was just six years old, he was sitting off to the side, not able to play the more physical games they had set up. Suddenly, one of the organizers came over to ask why he wasnt participating.

He tried to explain to the man that he was blind, and the games were too fast paced for someone unable to see.

The man, he later learned, was named Sufyan, and was the vice leader of the Tier 22 guild that used the planet as a feeder location. He refused to accept Claudes blindness as a reason to sit out from the games.

Abandoning his other duties, Sufyan spent the rest of the time with Claude, walking him through the various games and explaining how they worked. He watched over as Claude practiced them over and over, until he got a feel for how they worked and how to use his hearing and touch to overcome his lack of sight.

Others had done the same thing, making sure he was taken care of and able to participate, but somehow, Sufyan was different in both methods and execution. He expected Claude to push himself, and settled for nothing less than Claudes best.

When he managed to beat the high score of the ski ball table, Sufyan gave him an offer that changed his life.

Entrance into the guilds Future Heroes program.

He took that opportunity, despite his parents' worry.

There they trained in both body and mind, and Claude was pushed.

While the trainers made sure he understood how to defend himself and advance, giving him the chance to walk through things like obstacle courses before he was expected to run them, he was ultimately held to the same standards as everyone else.

From three hundred kids, they whittled the numbers down by ten percent every year, until the small group of remaining Hero candidates underwent Awakening together.

Claude struggled, but through effort and perseverance, he managed to stay far enough ahead of the curve to keep his place and earn one of the five sidekick positions the guild had.

They didnt get to Awaken earlier than the general population or anything, and there was no ceremony or fanfare, but it was one of his most treasured memories. He had earned his Awakening through sweet and blood.

His Tier 1 Talent turned everything around.

It allowed him to swap the perceptions of anyone he touched, himself included.

It didn't allow him to control their body, but he could see what they saw, feel what they felt, smell what they smelled.

And they would have to deal with being blind.

Even better, it worked on rift monsters.

Claude abused that ability and shot through the Tiers, reaching Tier 3 with his grappling melee style.

His next Talent turned him from mere sidekick material to proper Hero quality.

His sense of touch was expanded to a degree relative to his Tier, as an extra sense he and he alone experienced at all times. As a Tier 3, he had been limited to only a few inches away from his skin, but at Tier 12, his range was measured in hundreds of feet.

And even Minkalla couldn't change that.

The floor of ever present darkness was home to him. Every step he took allowed him to see from the monsters' perspectives and blinded them.

Not that most of them needed their sight, but it allowed him to see their position through long training, practice, and triangulation.

A monster in the tree above him fell, trying to land on him, but its perception was switched with a monster three trees over, and its timing was all wrong.

A chopping motion with his hand sent out a spell that bisected the monkey-like monster mid air.

He was long used to seeing through others' viewpoints, but for those without training, it was debilitating.

His Talent touched someone creeping through the same forest as him, but he pulled back, seeing that they were human and seemingly in no danger.

Claude was a Hero. He wouldnt hunt down those weaker than himself in cold blood.

He paused as his Talent touched someone else, stalking the first person, dagger drawn.

It happened so fast, they didnt even notice him steal their perception, but it was more than enough for him to learn all about them.

They could somehow smell through Minkallas restrictions, and were using their Talent to hunt other cultivators down.

Claude had smelled the three sets of blood on the man's armor.

Claude was a Hero. He wouldnt hunt down those weaker than himself in cold blood, nor would he allow someone else to abuse their Talent for murder and assassination.

Running through the forest was easy, as Claude stole the senses of monsters and bugs alike using them to see his path. With his Talent, it only took him seconds to reach the stalking assassin.

The assassin reacted quickly, and spun to slash out with a dagger that a nearby slug sensed was infused with mana.

Claude stepped to the side as he threw his Talent at the assassin. The man tried to resist it, but his spirit wasn't strong enough to block the swap of senses, and he wasnt kind or gentle in his application. Instead of just swapping the assassin's senses with his own, he swapped the man's senses with a nearby beetle.

The assassin stumbled as his body and senses were no longer in sync, and Claude grabbed the hand holding the dagger and twisted. Bone broke, but before the man could fully react and pull away, Claude kicked the man in the knee, shattering the limb and causing the assassin to fall.

Kicking out his boot took the killer in the temple, crushing armor and skull.

When he felt the rush of Genesis Energy and felt how great it was, Claude shook his head. The assassin had more Genesis Energy than was appropriate for this part of the floor. With this influx, he already had enough of the mystical energy to get the exit reward for this level.

After looting the man, he checked on the previous target of the assassin, and after seeing that he was still creeping along, he turned to leave.

Claude strolled through Minkallas first floor like it was home.

The darkness was exactly that.

Home.

***

The Pack was strong. They would not fail.

Xicual flew overhead, as while his gaze was impeded by this challenge of Eternal Darkness, his senses remained the sharpest of them all. All that was beneath him was included in his spiritual senses, and Minkalla dared not, or could not suppress the power that was his by birthright.

Thus, it was trivial to notice the hidden, false lion about to pounce upon Vol Kiar. He sent his warning and unleashed a mighty thunderbolt upon the intruder, wounding it. Teria and Asloc finished off the lion, savaging it with fang and spell.

He unleashed a triumphant cry despite there being no one able to hear its majesty, and continued scanning the terrain around his Packmates. With him watching out for them, nothing would fell them, and they would emerge victorious.

Then, two things passed through his mind very quickly. The first was recognition of a brief flicker of movement from above him. The second was a pair of hardened talons.

The feeling of flying, not under his own power, was the last thing he felt as he heard his packs questions of where he was through their [Mana Mind]s.

***

Axel took deep, deliberate breaths as his team fell around him.

They were exhausted from a brutal fight with the boss of the ruin, and while biologically oblivious to the exertion, they needed to rest.

Not wanting to be caught off guard, he pulled out a few of his rechargeable mana stones and used them to partially refill his mana pool.

Through AI, as that was the only way to communicate, he asked his team leader, What did we get?

Hallie was the only one standing and able to move. As a melee fighter, she had come out of the fight in better shape than the rest of them, who had to expend most of their mana to take the giant down.

Dispelling the ruin reward, she jerked but said nothing.

As they were all focusing on their spiritual perception, they all saw the circular orb fall to the ground.

Axel almost didnt recognize the orb, but Hallies reaction was enough to tell him everything they needed to know.

Skill orb.

Skill orbs, like skill shards, enabled anyone who cycled essence through it to copy the skill to their spirit. Where they differed was in the fact they were reusable. Not forever, but enough. Even better, it was possible for higher Tier cultivators to modify the skill while it was still in the orb. At its most basic use, it could save literal centuries of work spent adjusting the skill in question for anyone lucky enough to get access to the skill orb.

Jacqueline, their archer, asked as she sat up, What skill?

And that was the million credit question.

If it was something cheap like [Cleanse], the skill orb would be useful and sell well, but if it was a combat skill, the price would multiply beyond their belief.

Hallie looked at the orb and didnt say anything, giving everyone else time to crowd around her.

Their leader tapped her finger on the orb in a well known thinking habit.

Axel could feel the nervous energy and had to ask, Anything yet?

Despite not being able to see her do it, he could hear from his leader's voice she was rolling her eyes. Nothing yet. Now shush for a minute.

All four of them waited with bated breath, but finally, after what felt like an hour, Hallie said, Its not in my normal database. I need to use [Analyze] to check what it does.

Axel clenched his fist. That was a good sign. It not being in the databases they purchased meant that it was rare, and rare always meant valuable.

Another agonizingly long minute later, Hallie finally spoke. [Analyze] is telling me that the skill inside stops involuntary movement, but I don't know what it would be. It's not in any of the corporation's Tier 8 skill databases that we bought.

Unexpectedly, it was Jacqueline who spoke up next. I bet it's [Steady]! Its popular among archers because it pretty much stops any external effects, whether unsteady footing, biological motion, or most minor weather conditions from interfering with your aim. Ive wanted it, but the skill shard pretty much only appears in Federation territories, though theres a smaller supply that the Sects are reported to have.

Rachel, their remaining teammate, poked Jacqueline and gestured for her to hurry up. Yeah, but is it valuable?

Jacqueline nodded. Extremely. Or at least, that's how Id rate the normal skill. I looked into getting the skill shard, and after import cost and tariffs, the Tier 8 skill costs tens of megacredits when its available. I can't even imagine what the skill orb version would go for.

Axel leaned forward. How rare is it in the Federation? If we can figure that out, we ca

Hallie chopped down her hand, cutting his sentence short. We can only speculate, and it won't be that accurate. What really matters is if one of the big Corps wants it. And if it's only found in Federation space, we can guarantee they want a nearly unlimited source of the skill, no matter what it is. That its combat-relevant just makes it better.

Her shoulders moved as she raised her hand. This has the possibility to have a value measured in gigas or teras, if not more. Do any of you think we can get better loot before the fourth floor?

Axel shook his head. He suspected the evaluation she gave the skill was on the lower side, and that they could make more, but that made his decision easier. They never intended to delve past the fourth floor of Minkalla, and now they earned something that could ensure they had an easy road ahead of them if they just left now.

There was the fact they couldnt come back once they left, but getting out alive meant they got to enjoy their prize, after all.

I vote we exit now. He spoke first.

A few seconds later, Jacqueline and Rachel agreed with him.

Hallie, seeing that nodded firmly. Then we immediately change from a Genesis Energy gathering delve to a reach the safe area and leave delve.

Having said that, the four of them turned their gaze to the distortion that would take them to the third level, and started looking for another ruin with a boss so they could leave.

***

Xavier was worried.

He and his team had managed to fight their way past the first guardian of Eternal Darkness, very grateful for the orientation package that theyd gotten while preparing for their time in Minkalla. But now, he wished that hed listened to the old man and spent a few more weeks learning about the peculiarities of each floor.

Now, on the second layer of Eternal Darkness, everything was too empty. He kept waiting for some monster to jump out of the tall grass they were walking through, or some great hidden hazard to unveil itself and kill them all, but there was nothing. So, they continued to walk aimlessly, desperately hoping that they werent going in circles, and that theyd find whatever horrible twist this challenge would eventually reveal.

He almost felt vindicated when their scout, Kathy, collapsed without warning, but that part of him was quickly quashed by panic for his friend and teammate. He and the rest of his team rushed to her side, and he summoned flames in preparation to strike at whatever invisible monster had finally revealed itself.

I dont understand, Alex messaged. As the groups de facto healer, he was in charge of healing their fallen friend. Shes not wounded. I dont see what the problem is, she just collapsed.

As if on cue, Nathan collapsed almost on top of Alex, and Xavier unleashed a blast of flames where he had been standing, unafraid of setting the grasslands on fire thanks to his Talent.

Its the same thing! Alex protested. No visible wounds oh. Oh no. Xavier! Drop the flames!

What? he protested. Why?

As his body suddenly collapsed out from under him, Xavier was just barely able to process the final message.

Its not an attack, its heatstroke!

***

Sun Li waited.

She had been told that Minkalla was a great hidden realm of treasure and rewards, capable of forging even the meanest of talents, such as herself, into the finest of blades. Thus, she had been most eager when the time had come for her to claim her destiny.

She knew not what awaited her, for according to the Sect elders, knowing of the challenge beforehand would lessen the tempering this forge would grant, and would therefore be a shameful display of weakness. She was farmborn, she would not abandon this chance to prove herself worthy of the chance she was given. Unlike the spoiled Young Masters, who did not truly rely on their own strength, she would reforge herself and emerge radiant and victorious.

That the first trial was one of patience that she had not been expecting, but in this strange space, where even her body did not exist, it was understandable. She had tried to walk around, yet nothing had happened. Even her spiritual sense returned nothing existing beyond her core, not even her body.

She was at least most certainly capable of waiting. She had done so her entire life, after all, and this was not even the first time she had been tested in this manner. She had waited to be selected from her village as one of the fortunate few to be elevated to a higher station in life, she had waited to be granted access to the greatest meditation points, and she had waited for instruction on how to forge the Tempestuous Spears techniques from their undignified, barbarous original forms.

It was that very practice she was exercising even now. When the only thing she could sense was her spirit, that meant she could meditate, and thus bring her techniques to the standard demanded of her.

If Minkalla sought to test her patience, it would not find her wanting.

Her final thought, as the last drops of blood dripped from her impaled body, was that of boredom.

***

Han De brought his wrist around as he fed mana into [Flaming Descending Fist].

The skill hit the monster, but didnt kill it as he hoped. It shook its head in what he hoped was pain, but instead, the beast opened its mouth back up and tried to bite him.

Turning and activating [First Dawns Spiritual Might], he fled back into the swampy area.

The technique was meant to empower his strikes, but he had messed up the flows somewhere, and had turned the technique into a fleeing one. Shameful, but it had kept him alive a number of times.

He was turning around a bend in the solid ground when his foot slipped, sending him tumbling into the water of the swamp.

In his panic, he swam downward as he tried to escape the sucking mud and water plants.

As he was calming down and getting his bearings, he stopped moving altogether.

There was something beneath him.

An empty space where there should have been more mud and dirt to his spiritual sense.

Swimming down, he dug through the mud and nearly sucked in a mouthful of sludge in his shock at the prize he had revealed.

Hed heard of this! Hed overheard two Young Mistresses discussing these hidden crystals. Theyd called it a spiritual challenge. Great opportunities and rewards came from these for anyone who could overcome the risks.

Clenching his fist, he pulled himself through the barrier that kept the water and mud at bay.

This was his chance for greatness.

If he could beat this challenge, he could turn from a coward into someone strong and respected.

He just needed to be willing to spend the Genesis Energy he had accumulated to activate the pillar of crystal.

Han De hesitated as his hand was an inch away.

If he did this, there was no going back, and he might not be able to run away from whatever challenge was inside the pillar. He didnt know what awaited him, but the crystal whispered tales of grand foes and rewards gleaming with the power of the sun.

He could die here.

And that thought terrified him.

He knew his sect brothers and sisters wouldnt have hesitated to put their lives on the line, but he was different. Han De wanted to live. He enjoyed safe delves in rifts of his own Tier or lower, when he knew each monster that would appear along with its strengths and weaknesses.

It made things safe.

Safe was good.

He bit his cheek as the same cowardly thoughts overcame him once again.

Han De wanted so badly to be different. To be strong. To embody the ideals of the Sect and make the Sect Master proud.

Firming his will, he put his hand on the pillar and felt his Genesis Energy leave his body like it was being sucked away.

He expected to be pulled away, but nothing happened.

It had taken his Genesis Energy and done nothing, like some common street rat.

For the first time since he came to Minkalla, an emotion other than fear filled his belly.

Anger.

It had cheated him!

Taking a deep breath, Han De inspected the crystal before him. With his spiritual sense, he could see his Genesis Energy flowing around inside its crystal form. It looked pitifully small inside the pillar, like a cup with just enough water to cover the bottom and make noise as it sloshed around.

And that's when he understood.

He didnt have enough Genesis Energy to activate the pillar.

Looking to the Genesis Energy he had spent, he looked outside to the swamp where the monsters he couldn't kill lingered.

He was now stuck in a dilemma. Kill the monsters, or leave his precious Genesis Energy in the pillar.

Han De refused to be weak.

With a firm heart, he exited the hidden area and swam back to the surface.

He just needed to plan and figure out how to kill the alligator-men that roamed the swamp.

It took him a week and a half, but he eventually managed to find, track, then ambush one of the smaller monsters.

The fight was brutal, but he prevailed with a heavy kick that shattered the monster's teeth and long snout.

He roared in victory as the Genesis Energy washed over him, and a precious technique shard fell to the ground.

Picking it up, he had his [Spiritual Self] inspect the technique.

[Spiritual Arrow] was only a Tier 8 skill, but it was a ranged technique that he didnt have yet. It wasn't one in any of the Soaring Clouds Sect's manuals, but he knew the Deep Sky Ravagers Sect used the skill in conjunction with a kick to impart devastating power at close range. However, he didnt know the proper modifications to make.

That made it hard, but not impossible, to replicate the changes. He had seen the technique in action during an exchange of pointers between Young Master Long Zhiyuan and Young Master Deep Bite.

Young Master Deep Bite had been angry that Young Master Long Zhiyuan killed his junior brother in the Culling, and wanted to humiliate Young Master Long Zhiyuan. Except in a reversal no one had expected, he had, in turn, been defeated soundly, bringing shame to his glorious Sect.

But during that fight, Young Master Deep Bite used [Spiritual Arrow] three times, and Han De had seen each and every usage.

He clenched his fist as he returned to the spiritual challenge. He had to try. Three weeks later, he exited the hidden room and challenged another of the alligatormen. The fight was easier, but not easy by any means, and Han De took a cut to his forearm that would take days to heal if he didn't want to waste a potion.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. As the time passed, Han De killed more and more alligator-men, earning items and techniques, which he slowly incorporated into his fighting style. He arsenal was refined with each round of life and death combat, until one day, he was pulled into the spiritual challenge.

***

Winona ran, intellectually aware of her breathing heavily, but barely able to sense it for herself. Minkalla had been sold as some wonderful dreamland, where wishes could come true, skills lined the floors, and killing Imperials would grant her actual, inherent rewards. But from the moment she appeared inside to find herself all but blinded, it had been nothing but a nightmare.

She was blind, couldnt hear anything, couldnt feel her hands, and even her spiritual sense had almost collapsed. Had Minkalla permanently blinded her? Was she doomed to live the rest of her life as a cripple? What had caused her to suffer so?

The rest of her team had appeared around her, and it seemed they might have suffered a similar fate? Without being able to talk, she had no clue what any of them, even darling Vale, were trying to say. Still, theyd been together for enough Tiers that even only being able to barely sense each others presence still meant that they could fight, though not as well.

Bianca had fallen to a fireball from Vale, after hed mistaken her for a monster sneaking up on them. Vale and Noah had found some crystal in a hidden room that ate up all the energy theyd been rewarded from their hunting, then ate them as well.

Now Winona was all alone, desperately trying to find her way out, wherever that may be. A flicker of movement underneath her was the only warning she got before she was suddenly engulfed in some kind of massive, living bag. She tried to cut her way out, but her glaive was too unwieldy in the tight space, and not even being able to see her target meant her struggles were fruitless.

With her dying breath, she cursed Minkalla and all its conspiracies against her and her friends.

***

Alvin walked through Minkalla with his team, observing the surroundings as much as the darkness around himself.

They were a group of strong Tier 14's who never managed to create their Concepts and were reaching the end of their lifespan.

He personally only had around a dozen years left before his body started to rapidly decline with the onslaught of age.

This was his one last chance at life.

His wife had already left him when she earned her own Concept centuries ago, and was able to keep advancing.

His team had left him the same way.

All because he couldnt complete his Concept. He had long ago figured out his Image, a chair sitting in a ray of light coming through a window, but he was never able to figure out the accompanying Phrase.

That lack had resulted in his floundering around at this Tier for the last thousand years.

Still, that time stalled at the peak of Tier 14 didnt mean his skills had slipped. If anything, remaining at the peak of his Tier had allowed him to refine his fundamentals.

A lot of people looked down on people like Alvin, but that was a mistake.

None of the peak Tier 14's willing to enter Minkalla as a last-ditch effort were weak. Training was the number one recommended way to discover your Concept outside an ascension, and they all trained until they bled.

There was no better motivation than death's cold hands wrapping around their throats, especially with the knowledge that taking just one step in their advancement meant they could live forever.

Alvin had bled more than any of his former friends and family in his pursuit of power, but it was futile.

The rest had died or advanced beyond him.

Minkalla was his final chance to succeed.

He just needed to make it to floor four, and then kill everything and anything that tried to stop him from earning enough Genesis Energy for his exit reward. The rest was secondary.

The theme rewards meant nothing to their group, and with the scaling cost of rewards and the scaling Genesis Energy rewards from killing monsters, they just needed to get to the fourth floor as soon as possible.

Alvin didnt want to be like Frank.

Even the thought made him shudder.

Frank had nearly joined their team, but at the last minute, decided to enter Minkalla off-cycle and try his luck solo.

Except, when he got to the fourth floor, there wasn't enough Genesis Energy readily available, as most of the monsters had been killed by the first wave of cultivators who entered Minkalla.

He tried to fight others to take their Genesis Energy, but he failed and was, in turn, defeated.

Normally that would mean death, but Frank was always good at running, and that trait preserved his life.

His next gambit was to try his luck on a challenge room.

By spending all of his accumulated Genesis Energy, he activated it, trying to double or triple his investment.

But he failed.

The next three years, he had tried desperately to gather the Genesis Energy he needed, but ultimately failed and was kicked out at the start of this cycle.

Now, unless he could find an ascension and use that to finish his Concept, he was dead.

And finding an ascension was more luck than anything else, unless you knew someone. Most of the Tier 45s who advanced didnt advertise, and the Empire was big. If you weren't nearby, you would hear about their ascension as an event that already happened, instead of as an opportunity.

Frank's story, a clearly pre-written message hed gotten the moment Frank left the AI-blocking field of Minkalla, wasnt common. Alvin and the others all knew that, but it happened.

Ascensions were luck. Minkalla off-cycle was luck. The only way for them to remove that as a factor was to enter with the first wave.

Alvin brought his sword around and decapitated the spindly monster that pulled itself out of the tree.

With age came a degree of wealth, and with wealth came skills. He had a full set of self-empowerment skills, and enough mana reserved in them to make him faster and stronger than all the monsters they faced by a massive degree.

The forest they were in seemed endless, and they were wasting time, which grated on all of them.

Finally growing tired of the delay, he growled into their AI comlink. Bethany, what are you doing? How can you be this lost? Are you a tracker or not?

The woman in question stiffened before turning around slowly. If you want to scout the path ahead, Ill walk behind you. Well behind, so I don't get splashed with your blood as you fall into a trap.

Despite knowing she could only see it with her spiritual sense, Alvin bared his teeth at her.

The woman was a half-decent scout at best. If she was even mildly competent, they would have been on the next and final level of this floor already.

Ramzi, the team's healer, raised a hand to try and calm them all down. He always played peace maker. Shut the fuck up, both of you. If I hear another fucking complaint from either of you, Ill let you both bleed out the next time you get injured.

Alvin turned and inspected his area of the forest.

He wasnt entirely sure that Ramzi was bluffing, and wasnt going to risk it.

Their archer, Jimmie, loosed an arrow as they started walking, and a bird-crab-thing fell to the ground not far away from them.

As the body dissolved into a skill shard, they moved on without picking it up. Tier 8 skills were quite literally beneath their notice. Essence stones and items were the only rewards they bothered to pick up on this floor.

They walked for another two hours until they finally found a circular clearing in the woods with a single massive tree standing alone in the center.

Irene, their nominal leader and the other frontline fighter with Alvin, stepped forward and said, Standard formation. Dont fuck this up, and watch out from shit dropping from above. Dont fuck this up.

As she advanced with her shield at the ready, Alvin stepped out to the side and readed himself to deal damage to the boss.

Bernard, their mage, loosed a volley of [Mana Bolt]s that took the mound of monster in the side when they were halfway across the distance.

Bernard was the only one on the team Alvin actually liked, as he basically never talked and did his job competently, which was exactly what he wanted in a teammate for this delve.

The monster stood, and Alvin cursed.

The boss was thirty feet tall, and had the lower body of a lobster with the upper body of a minotaur.

It also wielded a massive axe that screamed of an enhancement to his spiritual perception.

Irene [Dash]ed forward and took the hit on her shield without flinching, and Alvin took the opportunity to thrust his sword forward, using the extension enchantment in his blade to make it grow longer.

Now equipped with an extra ten feet of blade, he thrust forward and pierced a gap on the monster's armor, just where the fur of the upper half met the shell of the lower half.

Twisting, he opened the monster up, but was unable to finish it off. As he pulled his blade back, Bethany appeared on its back and slashed with her twin daggers before jumping away just as quickly as she appeared.

The two slash marks gathered mana until they exploded, rendering the bottom half of the monster little more than dinner.

As the monster fell, Jimmie shot one arrow, which took the monster in the eye.

It was an easy fight, as those things went.

All of them were seasoned delvers, and could delve Tier 15 rifts without much issue, so fighting at their own Tier was nothing to them.

Things would get harder, but the first three layers of Minkalla were just a warm up that could kill them at any minute.

The real issue was the other delvers, and they all knew it, which was why none of them used more than their most rudimentary skills. You could never know if others were somehow hiding in Minkalla and observing you, just waiting for a chance to cut your throat and take everything you gathered.

Bernard was walking over to the reward distortion when he paused.

Alvin was about to ask him what he was doing when a burst of energy expanded out from the mage.

Power oh so familiar.

Power he craved to have for his own.

The bastard had created his Concept.

Alvin clenched his fist as anger and envy overcame him.

Still, he didnt attack or do anything so stupid.

He wanted what the man had, but attacking him would do them no good.

Irene was the first to speak. Congratulations. Are you taking the first exit, or are you going to go deeper with the rest of us?

Bernard laughed easily, but Alvin thought he heard a note of worry in the noise. Still, that might have been his wishful thinking. Of course, Ill stick with you guys until the fourth floor. Im no ingrate after all.

Alvin sneered upon hearing that. It was too polite and political. He had no doubt that the man would be exiting when the rest of them descended to the second floor. The fact that he couldnt even stop Bernard from doing so stung even more.

Their team was carefully crafted to be a rounded unit with no weakness. Bernard was their mage and all around knowledge expert on enchantments and formation.

Without him, things would only be more dangerous.

Alvin cursed the man for his luck as they entered the last level of this floor.

It should have been him.

He deserved to create his Concept. Not the other useless waste of Genesis Energy.

Alvin wished he could go on without them, but knew it was better to play nice for now.

For now.

***

Eara was lost.

The first two layers of Eternal Darkness had been fairly straightforward. Annoying, yes, but straightforward. Her team had spent centuries preparing for Minkalla, after all, and theyd put in the time preparing for Eternal Darkness just as surely as theyd prepared for all the other floors.

And it had gone well. Theyd harvested Genesis Energy and amassed a veritable vault of skills, natural treasures, and items. Theyd killed monsters, navigated tricky labyrinths, completed challenge rooms, and made their way through two layers of the floor.

When they appeared in the third layer, they had arrived in a dense wood where space and distance seemed to fold in on themselves. Mists occluded their already-limited senses, illusions sprung up, even the most innocuous of fallen logs revealed themselves to be mimics, and a thousand and one other strange tricks and traps conspired against them. Still, they had prevailed. Naya pushed back the fog with her magic, Brian dispelled the illusions with his arrows, and Eara killed the mimics with her axe.

They were doing well, countering everything Minkalla could throw at them.

But then, Eara had taken a wrong step, tripped and stumbled between two crossed trees, and now she couldnt sense any of her teammates. The mists crowded in on her, the trees loomed unsettlingly over her, and while she knew it was just her imagination, she could practically hear her team yelling for her help.

At least the mimics and specters were easy enough to deal with, so she wasnt in immediate danger, but a simple fact remained.

Eara was so, so lost.

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