***The Wilderlands***

***Angrod***

“I still don't see how this is supposed to be a date!” Celes huffs and crosses her arms in front of her chest. “You could have taken me out on dinner. Instead, we are out here in the middle of nowhere.”

I smile. It seems like my ‘destined one’ dislikes nature.

The timid Sven searches the dense undergrowth with his eyes while following us. “I also don't understand why you would call an adventuring trip a vacation.” Then he finds Ghost in the undergrowth, and his eyes widen in fear.

My familiar was bounding around our group like a little kitten, totally overwhelmed by being taken out into nature. Like a watchdog, he is inspecting everything while staying close to us. It’s like he is a fluffy, little baby again. Only that this time, he is a dog-sized monster which weighs a hundred kilograms.

“I don’t understand how anyone could ever get the idea to keep a razorclaw as a pet!” Tanja complains. She and her friends were introduced to my unlikely companion just a few hours ago, so they still have to warm up to him.

“Oh, quit bitching, guys. And Ghost isn’t a pet. He is my familiar.” I wave my hand dismissively while leading the group of young men and women. “I thought this little trip was just the right thing to blow off some steam before I have to become the figurehead of a country.”

“If so, then you are cutting it close,” Sandra Andros shouts from her position as the last in line. “You have only fourteen days left, you know...” Her words are reprimanding, but her tone is cheerful while she skips along the path, totally oblivious of the supposed dangers of the wild.

According to my knowledge, the dangers of the world were tamed and defeated long ago. Cities and their immediate surroundings are constantly clearing out the dangerous flora and fauna which might harm civilians.

Which means that the uninhabited zones are not safe. Many adventurers – people who make a living by gathering rare materials and components – earn their bread and butter by conquering the creatures of the wild. Being an adventurer is its own profession in this world.

“Just wait until you see what I've planned. It's not only a glorified camping trip,” I try to calm them down. For the sake of a real bonding experience, I invited everyone after I had my military staff scout out the region and make sure that the trip won't be in vain.

There are also several drones up in the air, keeping out a lens so that our vacation isn't disturbed by unsavoury elements.

“So, what exactly do you have planned?” Margerie asks while scowling at her brother Stephen who is holding hands with Iris. Our mad scientist is huffing and puffing, carrying a backpack her own size. Loaded up with equipment and all inconveniences a camping trip might need, she is constantly surprising me anew with every hour she manages to keep pace with us.

“First, we have a day's worth of trekking ahead of us.” The badly maintained forest road which brought us here could only get us so far. "If it weren't for the fact that the regional woodcutter company was regularly harvesting stonewood oaks from this forest, there wouldn't have been a road in the first place. We would have had to fly in.”

“Don't understand what would have been so bad about that...” Margerie mumbles, struggling with her gear.

“I told you to moderate yourself,” Stephen reprimands his sister.

“I did!” Margerie complains. “I didn’t bring the War-Golem!”

I try to get my speech rolling again, trying hard to ignore what Margerie just said. “Then, once we leave the forested zone, we will arrive at the dungeon-”

“A dungeon!?” Tanja squeaks, suddenly giddy with anticipation. “We are going on a dungeon dive!? Is it a real one? Or just some goblin hideout? Wait, are you guys even cleared for dungeoning or am I going in blind with a bunch of noobs?”

Celes looks at her friend with an incredulous expression. “Sometimes I really wonder what kind of education you got in your childhood...”

Stephen raises his hand, sounding awkward. “I am afraid that I will be utterly useless...”

Iris makes a fist-pump while holding hands with her boyfriend. “Don’t worry! I will protect you!”

The boyfriend’s expression turns crestfallen with hurt pride. “Somehow… that doesn’t make it better.”

“Hold your horses, yes, it's a real one. Ancient underground ruins and all of that and it was never fully conquered. But, Celes and I are here. I've researched the topic, and we should be able to take care of anything that stands in our way,” I point out.

Actually, I am very interested in seeing an actual dungeon for myself. I have read about them in the books of this world. Ancient ruins and tombs, often infested with deadly nightmares. Sometimes they are conquered and looted by adventurers, but more often than not they never give up their secrets.

I harboured some theories about this world and investigating some ancient ruins might, just might, give me a few hints.

“The dungeon we are visiting was explored before. It has several levels and multiple exits, but it was never completely explored.” I shouldn't give Tanja too much hope that we manage to find something outrageous, like some ancient battle-gear or mysterious artefacts. That’s not how the real world works.

What I still want to take a look at is the architecture and maybe some inscriptions if any are left.

I was wondering if this world may actually be the same one in which Ascathon and Myrm fought their last battle. There are arguments for and against that theory, like the fact that the people of this world know a version of our history. Speaking against it would be the fact that there are no stars or two moons in the sky where our old world had only one... which I happened to destroy.

Anyway... it would mean that Seria is capable of moving entire worlds through the dimensions, a feat I didn't think her capable of.

“Once we make it through the dungeon, we should emerge on the other side of the mountain into a small valley. Depending on our speed, we can make camp there and fool around until our people fly us out with a transporter.”

“So it is a camping trip!” Margerie points out with a smug expression.

“Well, it is...” I admit unwillingly. “Combined with a little combat and survival training!”

“You don't have an actual plan, do you?” Celes asks disapprovingly. “Don't you want to do some serious training to prepare for the coronation? There isn't much time left and those bastards will try to kill you.”

I sigh and roll my eyes. “I have more knowledge and power than most people in this world. What can a week of training change now? I would rather test my powers in a real combat situation. Maybe we run across some creatures which will test our skills.”

“I doubt that.” Celes blows a strand of hair out of her face and increases her speed to catch up to me. “Everyone here, except for two people, visits the Special Class for combat training. Even if the dungeon is infested with a tribe of monsters we should be able to power through.”

Stephen corrects the straps of his backpack on his shoulders. “I just want to point out that this region is home to the rare ForestSprite. They are a protected animal that lives only in this mana-rich region. I won't condone any action that might harm these marvellous creatures.”

I frown. “What's a ForestSprite?”

“Some sort of oversized monkey,” Sandra explains helpfully. “Five metres tall, seven to ten tons in weight. They were hunted for their green fur. But don't worry. They are very shy and would run as soon as something disturbs their peace. They are herbivores, so no danger from that direction. I doubt that we will get to see one.”

We keep bickering as we make our way through the dense forest and up the mountain. From time to time I check our position by triangulating the coordinates with the drones while Sandra is so kind as to cut a path through a particularly dense area with a Windblade spell. Doing it like this is a little like cheating. No adventuring group would have access to this level of resources, but this excursion’s purpose is more recreational than real training.

Emerging from the forest, we enter the zone where the trees give way to grass, moss, and rocks.

Our goal is a square-shaped rock formation which emerges from the side of the mountain, clearly unnatural next to the mountain's limestone.

Chuckling, I hurry forward to reach the 'dungeon's' entrance.

We trek up the mountain for another half an hour until we reach the entrance, a gaping black hole in the side of the unnatural structure. It’s a jagged rift which seems unintentional.

“Okay, guys.” Tanja claps her hands. “Let’s gear up!”

I take off my backpack and remove the lightweight body-armour which I clipped to its side. The rest of the group follows suit until we are decked out in military-grade gear.

“Are you sure that this stuff will hold?” Stephen asks while knocking on his breastplate. He corrects his helmet, and Iris is kind enough to adjust it.

“Very sure!” Margerie educates her brother. “This is Enchanted Body-Armour Type I for infiltration missions. The plates are made out of a ceramic compound material and highly impact resistant, while the fabric was woven out of steelspider silk.”

I open my backpack and pull out a box, about three-quarters of a metre in length. Unclipping the locking mechanism, I open the box and retrieve several blades which are covered in runes.

Celes only raises an eyebrow. “You made yourself some weapons?”

“Sure. This isn’t some martial arts class but the real world. Why wouldn’t I use weapons?” I retrieve a pair of wicked daggers and throw them to her.

She catches them without effort and twirls them in her hands, looking surprised. “How did you know that I would like daggers?”

“Because you always use your hairpins. The way you handle them makes it clear that you are experienced with dagger-style weapons,” I explain and lift my hand, concentrating on the box full seemingly half-finished blades.

Twenty short swords without handles rise up into the air and arrange themselves in front of me. I have fifteen of them attach to previously prepared clips all over my body and use the other five to channel Lightglobe spells through their tips, making them seem like a set of narrow candlesticks.

Margerie whistles. “You enchanted the blades with prepared sets of runes so that you can channel different spells through them?”

I shrug. “It’s no big deal.”

Sandra throws me a curious look while tilting her head. “I wanted to ask that some time ago, Angrod. Why are you always using the same spells when you are fighting? It’s either telekinesis or some form of energy blast. You rarely use permanent effects like a LightingStorm spell or a summoning. Yet, you are clearly able to cast a multitude of different spells. Are you intentionally limiting yourself?”

“That’s because versatility is good, but it doesn’t help you in a pinch when you have to react instinctively. I concentrate on telekinesis because it offers good offence as well as defence. Telekinesis brings strong physical attacks to the table, while my energy attacks provide a different angle of attack. There is no point in including more spells in my training until I am able to handle a stable defence without consciously thinking about forming the spell matrix.”

I may have the memories of my old life, but I have to retrain the reflexes of this new body from the ground up. “In a real fight, having to think about which spell I am going to use is the difference between winning or losing. Against an opponent like Celes you get punished for every moment you don’t pay your full attention. There is no time to cast spells which take you seconds to prepare.”

“Well, you are running away most of the time anyway.” Celes huffs, frustrated just by thinking about our training duels.

“That's because of your fighting style. Your only strategy consists of breaking the enemy's defence with sheer force. And I have to admit, that's enough for you because you are a genius at inner mana manipulation. You don't waste any of your power while fighting. By facing your attacks head on, I would run a high risk of losing outright. I either have to evade or bunker down with everything I have.”

“Unless you have one of these babies with you.” Margerie retrieves a gun from her backpack, revealing the mystery behind its size. Once she slides the barrel into the firing mechanism, the weapon is as long as herself.

“Girl!” Tanja slaps her forehead. “That’s one of the new spellguns. I thought they are still under lock and key by the military.”

I cross my arms and Margerie looks at me with a guilty expression. “I might have taken it from one of Angrod’s laboratories? Only for a little field-testing!”

“What I wonder about is how you got access?” I ask. “Maybe I’ll have to replace my chief of security.” Looking around, I make sure that everyone is geared up and that Ghost didn’t run off. “Everyone ready?”

Tanja brandishes her own set of daggers, while Sven pulled out a rapier-like sword. Sandra assembled a mage staff with a violet crystal from her gear and Iris put on a pair of mean looking knuckle dusters.

The only one without a weapon of choice is Stephen. He put on his body armour, but otherwise, he is unarmed.

“Ahem...” He clears his throat when he catches me looking. “I’ll be in charge of healing and buffs once a fight starts. I can do at least that much.”

I shrug. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” With that, I take the lead, sending my five blades into the dark crevice to light the way down a steep incline.

“Make sure to lower your magical defences when I announce a ranged heal,” Stephen calls out, making sure that everyone knows.

“Can’t you just heal us?” Tanja asks.

“That would require a trained healer who is an expert in magical evasion.” Stephen shakes his head. “I am not proficient enough for that. Manipulating someone else’s body is too hard without their consent.”

“Huh? But aren't all spells manipulating the target’s body at some level? Magical protection just stops you from doing something inside the body!” Sven stumbles through a half-formed thought.

“That's the error most people fall prey to,” Stephen points out. “When I heal someone, I am manipulating their mana. Every person who is trained in magic learns to temper their unconscious protection against outside influence. That’s good if you don’t want to fall prey to mind-altering effects or curses.”

He raises a finger. “But it’s also a hindrance when someone is trying to help. Without your consent, it's much harder to rearrange the natural flow of mana within you. You have to prevent your unconscious defence from recognizing my intervention as harmful.”

I continue. “I could do everything I want to your body, as long as I don't rearrange the flow of your mana, I could teleport the air out of your lungs, or heat up the food inside your belly to cook you from the inside. If you are distracted strongly enough, I could go further and manipulate something small which really belongs to your body. But that's enough; I could pop a vein in your head, or slice the nerves inside your spinal cord. The point I want to make is that you can’t differ between a ranged healing spell and a genuine attack on your life. If Stephen doesn’t have the skill to bypass your defence, he has to call out his heals for you to know that it’s him and not some attack.”

“So why don't you do it all the time then?” Tanja asks. “Isn’t cutting someone’s spinal cord very effective? If I were as proficient in magic I would invest all my time in learning how to bypass my enemy’s defences.”

“Because everyone gets indoctrinated to set up a magic shield as the first thing to do during combat. Fighters do it by coating themselves inside mana or an aura, mages cast a real shield. Lower class magicians and fighters just think of it as the first line of defence,” Celes points out. “But in reality, it’s the last line of defence. If you are unable to stop a caster from manipulating your body, you already lost the fight. It’s much easier and faster to blast someone’s defence from the outside with a fireball than to sneak past.”

We continue onwards, deeper into the darkness until the narrow entrance opens up into a larger room. Leading the way, I am the first to step into the damp space. Moss covers the strangely vertical walls of the cave and I have to keep myself from smiling at the obviously artificial space. This has to be some abandoned facility.

Time and maybe earthquakes cracked the walls until water entered the space through small openings in the surrounding material. Previously filtered through the limestone outside, the water caused a petrification process until everything was covered by a thick layer of lime.

Stalactites and stalagmites are hiding the room’s true nature.

I am so busy with studying the surroundings that I almost don’t notice the suppressed growling from the far end of the room until a furry creature leaps out of the darkness beyond.

Manipulating my swords, I position them to intercept the thing, but Ghost jumps forward, his fur turning into chitinous spikes and claws. Screeching and growling, the two opponents collide. Fur quickly yields to claws and within moments the strangely humanoid creature is eviscerated.

Sending in my sword, I decapitate the monster which seems like a mix between an ape, a bat and something entirely different.

Behind me, the rest of the group files into the room until it’s Tanja’s turn. “Oh, goodies!” Almost dancing, she pushes past me and drops to her knees next to the body. Her dagger flashes in the light of my blades as she starts cutting, humming a happy tune.

Stephen only looks at her, horrified. “What the fuck is that thing!? And what are you doing?”

“Skinning it, obviously.”

“Skinning it!?”

“Yes. This is a nightcrawler. They are night-active and live in large family communities. I suppose we woke this one up since it’s still day outside. Nightcrawlers are bloodsuckers who live off larger creatures which likely exist down in the forest. Their wings are perfect for making leather, and the poison in their fangs is used as a coagulant for blood. Very expensive. It would be a shame to leave it,” Tanja explains as she folds up the skin which she expertly cut out of the creature’s leathery wings. Then she goes for the head, taking out two vials.

Stephen nods, deciding to impart some of his bookish knowledge. He didn’t recognize the creature from its looks, but given the name, he immediately remembers. “I’ve read about them. In some regions, they are regarded as vermin because if there is sufficient food supply, they multiply rapidly and might even form a swarm strong enough to cause trouble to small settlements. They are a danger to children. That’s why they are hunted with prejudice as soon as they are noticed.”

I purse my lips. “So there are more of them further down the road.” I point at the dark space which leads deeper into the facility.