With Kayafe’s explanation, it makes sense now why the Aydomr was so strong; it had the skills, it had the years of experience. The Alpha Wolf, too, was weaker than the den bosses but gave us way more trouble, even killing two people. All the monsters we've been slaying in the dens, although built with high stats, aren't equivalent to their level or tier.

"We killed a Heroic monster; most of us are Major-tier; what would have been our chances if it hadn't just spawned?" I ask, somewhat nervously.

"Zero. Even for Grand-tier monsters, you'll have a tough time." Kayafe doesn't even sound surprised at the notion of a high-tier kill. "This is why dungeons are so valuable. Getting high tier and high level kills are great for evolutions, and dungeons are great sources of not only materials but weak monsters. That Treant, however, will be much more difficult for you because it will have its skills trained. Honestly, if you aren't at least at the same level you won't be able to kill it; not only is it a tier higher, but its level is higher, I assume."

"I am at level one hundred ninety-nine, the rest of my group is in their mid two hundreds, I want to wait until my Bond is at least level five hundred before evolving my class, and with my skills and classes, I can afford to do so," I inform her.

"Right, Heirloom progenitors need exponentially more achievements to reach higher tiers, so that is a smart idea.” Kayafe’s telepathic voice turns more serious again. “Your levels are simply too low, though; even if you do kill it, more than half of your group is going to die. Treants usually have a base endurance in the hundreds and base strength at least in the fifties. Their high endurance often leads people to hunt them for ingredients for mutagenic elixirs to raise one's base endurance."

"You can do that? How else can you raise your base stats?" I had not thought such things possible.

"Legendary points can also magically augment you; there are problems with it just like skills, so you'll have to be very careful about which ones you use. Magic-based legendary points don't work well on physical stats and can have mutagenic side effects just like elixirs. Your base stats seem to be based on your full potential, something written in the code of life."

I see, so it's based on your DNA, your full biological potential.

"Can the effects of those elixirs be passed down from generation to generation?" I ask. It should be possible if it affects reproductive cells.

"There have been no known cases of that, and the side effects often aren't worth it. For starters, the mental stats are much harder to augment with elixirs and often lead to impaired mental functions; even if the stats are boosted, there can be major negative side effects. It is much better to just get powerful skills and have good classes; stats aren't everything."

We spend a few moments in silence while I digest all that, before my awareness of my dwindling mana forces me to move on to my next question. "What kind of advice can you give me for making things with solidified mana? I have managed to make a Grand-tier item, and I do know that enchantments need space for the mana to be applied, so normally mana metal can't be enchanted unless specifically made to take that enchantment." It's actually kind of nice to have a mentor in mana-related things for once.

"You're already that far?” Kayafe doesn’t sound surprised, just curious. “That took me a long time to figure out. I suppose it's no surprise with how high your [Sense Mana] is. Items made with pure mana are one of the best you can get if made properly. Mana silk is good, but oftentimes normal mana-saturated ores and silk are just as good, if not better than it. Mana forging, on the other hand, can be crap or the best thing one can make and, as you've discovered, it's all based on making room for enchantments. Not only can you have a lot more enchantment allowance, but you can make it a lot stronger, enough that the enchantment can’t be worn away."

"But there are some things I just don't know; how did you make the Likeness of Myrou?" I ask. "It's almost as if it's a living, breathing thing. I understand that it has something to do with making liquid mana, but I don't know how to do it."

Kayafe gives a light chuckle. "It's tough to do, but there is a sweet spot between solid mana and liquid mana where it behaves as both but is neither; it can't stay that way for long and will take significant focus to prevent it from decaying into one of the other two states so you will need a high level [Multitask] skill for it, simply having multiple minds won't do it for you. You may have accidentally created this mana while enchanting, when two types of mana are combined. It's when two mana types are touching but not actually fused together."

"I see, so it goes from combined mana to fused mana to liquid mana. Liquid mana is just a mass of fused mana, right?" I ask, just for confirmation's sake.

"Yes and no, it's more of a quantity thing, but there is a distinction that I'm not too sure on."

This will require experimentation. What exactly is the difference between fused mana and liquid mana if they are made the same way? I suspect – and [Inquisitive Perfection] seems to agree – that it's when there is so much fused mana that the valleys within the MM force can't contain it all, like water overflowing from a cup, and thus it behaves as if the force isn’t there anymore. If there is a point between the two, the most definitive point between fused and liquid, it'd be the moment that enough particles of mana will be present to overflow the final and most difficult peak of the MM force.

I tell Kayafe my thoughts, seeing if she has anything to add.

"Interesting…” she takes a few moments to think, ”Yes, I think you're right on that. Liquid mana bypasses the MM force with little effect; ripples will form on it, but that's all. This applies for opposing type repulsion too, but it's one-way. Liquid wind mana will repel earth mana as long as the earth mana is not liquid."

With my questions on mana mostly answered – Kayafe has a habit of not addressing the question directly it seems – I change the subject.

"What do you know of teleportation and links?" I ask. Since I am here, I might as well get advice on this as well.

"I assume you mean part of a spell?" Kayafe asks. "You are right that a link is needed outside of a spell's teleportation. There are several ways to do this. The first is to form a link with space essence to form a sort of tunnel. The other is to link two different spots so that it is as if they are physically connected this method is extremely mana intensive, however, and scales with distance. The most common form of 'teleportation' using a spell is more a form of fast travel by forming a bubble around yourself and having that ride across a link. However, you must always have a destination, and this almost always means having a linking device at your destination. The technology is complicated and in most places they can't be made anymore."

"How do you make one? It is like making a spell crystal? My observations of the dungeon waystones show that it needs compartments to contain mana that is used to make a link, a sort of tether."

"If you're that far, then yes, you understand what you need to properly make one. Having a specimen to study must be helpful.” I almost fancy I can hear the faintest hint of envy in Kayafe’s tone at that, but it’s gone when she continues. “You'll likely be able to make link stones with just a few experiments. It's honestly hard to believe how far you have progressed in the understanding of mana at your age; I tremble at the thought of what you’ll be able to do when you are an adult. Keep practicing, keep studying, and one day you'll know everything there is to know about mana."

"Thank you for your advice and your warnings on the Treant. We'll train for it, test its abilities and prepare the perfect counter for it, even if it will take us months."

"It'd be even better,” Kayafe adds, “if you just get a couple dozen mages with [Group Channel]. Blasting it with enough force to wipe out an entire village should do the trick."

"It will take too long to train that many people with a new skill, not to mention they will have to drop a skill they value, and they'll be reluctant and resentful for having to do it."

"That's why you have an all-in-one channeling skill, a staple for caster mages."

"We’re out of time. Rest well, Kayafe."

"Good luck"

I end the connection and walk back down the Temple. We can still go into the den via the waystone key, but so far, only one group can afford to do it. This means we can still train in the dungeon, but it'll also mean that I will have to physically enter the dens too and put myself at risk.

I tell Esofy, who was sitting staring off into the distance until I got her attention, what Kayafe told me about Treants.

"So they can see through trees and control them. Once the Treant is dealt with, we'll want to upgrade the camps with full stone walls and maybe even buildings too, but what then? Will there be some monsters that hate us for using stone?" Esofy half-asks, pessimistically.

"Not to mention we'll need a source of stone," Jowaru says. She had also stayed behind to hear what I learned.

"We have not explored beyond the forest of the dungeon; perhaps there are more regions, perhaps a mountainous one where we can find a quarry?" I speculate.

"In any case, we can't do anything with the Treant yet, so we should focus on preparing and getting stronger. We'll meet back here in a month, the expedition is officially over and we've been spending too much time away from our friends and families." Esofy turns to leave.

I follow Esofy, getting on the same boat that Chyzu is waiting on, to go back home. The ride back is silent until we near our village, at which point Esofy speaks again

"Alysara... can you help me train some skills?" The look on her face is that of pure determination.

"Yes," I reply simply, nodding my head.

Esofy wants freedom, to never be caught again. She has a rare battle essence Bond, which may allow for some sort of escape, precognitive, or at best a teleportation ability, but first there's something that I want to know.

"What is the sum of your general skills?"

"One thousand forty-seven, why?" Esofy says after a moment.

Then there must be another requirement. The question is, what is it? Kayafe said something about ‘growing’ the Ultimate Class; I wonder if it is similar for a class gained by having one thousand total levels of general skills.

"You get a second class for having one thousand levels of general skills, or so I've been informed," I say, watching Esofy's expression turn to surprise.

"I've had no such opportunity, though. Many have had one thousand levels of general skills before," Esofy says, looking skeptical.

"There may be another requirement; I'll have to ask Kayafe about it." I say, promising silently to return soon.

Esofy nods and we stand in silence until we arrive back at the village, then part ways. I go home and greet my family, hugging the excited twins before going into my room to unload my stuff. I sit on my bed, the events of today finally hitting me.

We did everything right, and still, two people died... no, I was complacent, I didn't want to take the extra time to make the best armor we could have used... Vakelu and Gojune may not have died if I simply took the time to prepare properly!

I clench my fists, angry with myself. Simply to save time, I cut corners, and people died as a result. Then there's the subcamp. I knew the Treant was out there; I was simply too lazy to look for it. We may have known about the attack long before it actually happened, yet because I was so focused on getting levels for myself, dozens died.

I flop on my back. I want to hit myself so much right now for being a greedy brat. Why did we have to challenge the Heroic monster? For levels? For materials? That doesn't equal even one person's life, let alone two!

I have an ability to track mana traces; I could have easily found the Treant. I have an incredibly versatile skill to create armor to combat our enemies, and I either didn't use it or half-assed it.

Should we even go back? The Treant is supposedly even more deadly than the Void Slime.

I roll onto my side.

We weren't ready. I could have made more enchanted items. A bracelet filled with healing mana for emergencies. I could have prepared powerful spell cloth, I could have—

A knock on my door breaks me out of my thoughts. Mom and Dad are at the door.

"Aly, what's wrong?" Mom says, opening the door. They walk over and sit on the bed on either side of me.

I bite my lip in frustration. "I messed up. I really messed up." My voice cracks and tears start threatening to spill out from my closed eyes.

I tell Mom and Dad what happened, what I did and what I should have done. I tell them everything, of my selfishness and my laziness, not doing the things that needed to be done.

Mom hugs me, rubbing my back and purring to comfort me.

"You're too young to be doing things like this, Aly. You're too young to be worrying about things like that"

"If what you did was not enough, the others would have said something," Dad reassures me, placing a hand on top of my head. "Everyone thought you had done enough; it's not your fault, Aly. You are still a student; you weren't a leader of the expedition. You are still learning, and it's natural for you to overlook things; it's what makes us Runalymo. Perfection is for the gods, not mortals like us."

I just can't help but feel disgusted with myself despite their words. I let my tears flow and cry into Mom's embrace.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Papuyo sits across from Tato, listening to her grief. They are in the Temple, in a side room with a golden and silver table, standing on a metallic sculpture of sprouting bamboo. The chairs are likewise decorated, being part of the set.

"My niece always looked up to me. She always aspired to be like me, and now..." Tato's reddened eyes renew their tears.

"The dungeon is evil.” Papuyo says flatly. “All it does is consume, luring people with the glint of treasure to trap them.”

Her voice softens to a more gentler tone as she continues, “You didn't know, it's not your fault... but you can help others, you can stop them from entering that evil place. All you need to do is to join the Order of Myrou; become a warrior of our goddess, and together we can seal it back up."

Papuyo leans over the table and takes Tato's hand. "We need warriors like you. The Elders have already proven themselves heretics and threatened to abolish the priesthood; we need to defend this place. Will you join us? Will you help us defeat evil and bring our people back to Myrou?"

"Yes," Tato says without hesitation.

"We will need more warriors, we have around thirty, but that is not enough. You know the other warriors better than I do. Will you convince them to join the Order of Myrou?"

"Yes, Grand Priestess Papuyo."