"Dungeon #9812-A4L3

Aspect Class: Infernal

Special Clearing Procedures: Dungeon #9812-A4L3 is located at █████████, an Abyssal Trench. All procedures proscribed for clearing Dungeons located in █████████ must be followed. All Mages assigned to [Scry] Dungeon #9812-A4L3 must undergo weekly aura screening. Failure to comply is grounds for immediate [Erasure]. Access to Dungeon #9812-A4L3 is limited to the [Cleric] class and it's subsidiaries.

All information concerning Dungeon #9812-A4L3 is classified by order of █████████, and only accessible by personnel read into the █████████ Project.

Observations of [REDACTED] are to be immediately reported, to the Director of █████████ Operations. Any attempt by personnel to extract creatures, equipment or█████████ are to be immediately reported. Any appearance of [REDACTED] [Lore] entries may be grounds for immediate █████████."

--Partial Record of Dungeon #9812-A4L3, Men in Blue Archives. AC 1███

'Time passes...

Activating [Earth Manipulation], I grasp the claw sized rock in my mind as I repeat my now familiar mantra:

"Annnnnd... one, two, three... LIFT!"

The rock rises.

"Annnnnd... down."

The rock falls.

"One, two, three... LIFT!"

The rock rises.

"Annnnnd... down."

The rock falls.

"One, two, three... LIFT!"

The rock rises.

***

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

Aethir: "He's doing it again."

Toriana: "Shh... training is very important."

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

***

"Annnnnd... down."

*pant pant*

'ding'

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

Congratulations!

[Earth Manipulation I] - 9 has tiered up!

[Earth Manipulation I] - 9 is now [Earth Manipulation II] - 1!

[Earth Manipulation II] has gained a Static Effect!

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

As the rock falls, my mana completely bottoms out. I wearily collapse to the ground as I recover. I bring up the improved skill to take a look at it.

Skill: Earth Manipulation II Lvl: 1 Effects: Move Earth, relative to skill level. Current Bonus: 4% faster/accurate shaping Static Bonus: 5% faster train speed Cost: 1 Mana per Second Lore: "I'm always down to [Earth]"- Elemental Saying

Scanning the changes, I see the current bonus has increased from .4 to 4% faster/accurate shaping. Small changes, but every bit helps. I can already feel the difference. I started with a small pebble, and now I've graduated to a small rock! I don't bother looking at the [Water Manipulation] info. I had leveled it to Tier II yesterday and it had the same current and static bonus.

Alright Crabby, you've completed the magic set. Time to move into physical training. I discovered on day II of my magic regimen that I could increase my stats if I worked at it. If I worked at it ALOT. If I work so hard my shell shakes and I almost immediately fall asleep. It's helped though. I pull up a summary of my progress.

'ding'

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

Congratulations!

Through dedicated training you have improved your body's natural* capabilities.

+1 STR

+1 DEX

*Note: Limitations due to Race apply.

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

Time to [Coast]!

*zoom* left.

*zoom* right.

As I [Coast] back and forth, I increase the difficulty, multitasking by singing a song Erica taught me.

"I like to eat, eat, eat, Crabbys and bananas!!!"

It's a bit morbid, but I'm sure that Erica wasn't *actually* referring to eating me.

Pretty sure.

Almost one hundred percent.

I'm just going to stop thinking about it.

As my stamina empties, I lay down and focus on recovering. I start the third activity that I've worked on in the last week and a half of training.

Coming up with better songs.

Nothing against Erica of course, but the "Eat Crabby," song only has one line and melody. It gets old pretty quickly. Figuring out songs gives me something fun and relaxing to do while I'm waiting for my stamina and mana to recover. Like they say,

"All work and no play makes Crabby a dull Crab!"

Hahaha..

Ha...ha..

Hmm.

Wait a minute.

Like who says?

I try to quash a rising sense of panic as I scour my memories, attempting to find an instance when ANYONE said that. I come up blank. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. I keep on referencing things that I've never seen or heard of, sayings and phrases that make sense but are unfamiliar. Then, there was that weird moment when I went full Aethir on testing the crab meat.

You never go full Aethir.

...

......

THERE IT IS AGAIN!!!!!

I scramble to my feet. Is it the [System]? The Gods? Are they trying to change me? Why do I keep coming up with this stuff? I bring up my screens, scrambling to read and figure out something, anything that would give me a hint. I go through my recent memories, then further, all the way back to when I first gained [Sapience]. A moment sticks out, right after Aethir summoned Lira and Toriana, and I struggle to remember his exact words. They were something like...

"...a mundane ...doesn't have the knowledge ...support cognizant thought. THEN he was.. as [Lord of the Coast], which ...class, includes ...skill [Knowledge: Noble]."

Okay, okay Crabby. This is something. I didn't think much of it at the time, but there are knowledge skills. They probably would let you know something. Okay, but I don't have that skill though. *checks status* Nope, don't have it. What else? I remember him saying,

"..[CORRUPTED] ..appeared, it's aura infect.. the crab."

I pale, clearly remembering the giant rotting snake that started this whole mess. Am I infected? I look at my body, then my screens. No... I can't be. That was the whole reason for the trial Crabby, and they fixed everything. I glare at my status and skills and titles, headache slowly forming as I fail to make a connection.

And yet.

My attention keeps on drifting to the [Lore] section. I ponder, claw on my mandible... [Lore]... I had mostly ignored it to this point, with the exception of that strange [REDACTED] evolution. But as I look through the quotes and references, these are all things I've never seen or heard of, yet they still somehow feel familiar.

There has to be a reason for it though. I don't imagine Aethir would add something extra to the [System] just to make a skill more exciting. So... if Aethir added it, then it must be needed. And if it's necessary, then there must be a need for a connection between the [System], [Knowledge], [Lore], mortal and Divine?

'ding'

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

Congratulations! You earned 1 New Title!

Would you like to view it now? Y/N?

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

Shocked out of my musings, I lift a claw and select yes. I'm struck by what I see.

Title Name: Bridge Between Feat: Have [Knowledge] of the [COVENANT], Have [Triumvirate Unveiled], intuit existence of the [AKASHA] Effect: +5% to WIS, INT, CHA, [DEF-UP] against [CORRUPTION], + [Knowledge] to [System] interface. Knowledge:

ETERNITY guards the AETHERIC GATES

Mortals guard the MATERIAL PLANE

The [SYSTEM] is the bridge between

ETERNITY flows from the AETHERIC GATES, through the [SYSTEM] to reality. By their nature, mortals cannot withstand ETERNITY.

[Knowledge] is an ASPECT of ETERNITY. [Lore] is the mortal contribution to [Knowledge]. Where [Knowledge] & [Lore] meet, the [AKASHA] is formed. The [AKASHA] is the collective unconscious of mortality.The [AKASHA] is the first line of defense against [CORRUPTION].

Due to the unconventional nature of your awakening, you have more of a connection to the [AKASHA] than others. You know things you should not, and reference things you've never seen.

Lore: "Have the [Knowledge], Understand the [Lore], Power the Will, and Even the Score." - {REDACTED}