Sam pulled up her character sheet as she stood over the body of the crusterra queen.

Name : Samira Watter

Age : 16

Level : 9

Experience : 13582/14200

Condition : Healthy

Health : 112/314

Health Regen : 8.25/min

Mana : 34

Mana Regen : 1.875/min

Physical

Strength : 13

Endurance : 11

Perception : 5

Agility : 5

Constitution : 26

Mental

Magic : 5

Intelligence : 6

Wisdom : 5

Fortitude : 7

Willpower : 8

Attribute Points available : 0

Traits :

Body of stone : Your body has a deep affinity with the earth. Your natural armor will increase with your level. Every 10 levels adds 5 natural armor. Your health is increased by 15%. Current Armor Bonus: 5%

Cost: None.

Skills : None

The experience boost from killing the queen was the only thing progressing her level at this point. It was hard to kill, but as long as she kept moving, the beast was manageable. The smaller crabs were nothing too her now. They were slow, and one swing of her weapon would destroy whatever portion of their body it made contact with. She ran literal circles around the behemoth, hitting each leg that came into reach. It attempted to keep her in front of it, as that is where it could do the most damage, but she stuck to its side while reducing its legs to splinters. Once it was unable to put weight on them, she would step to the middle and destroy the two nearest her to their base. This allowed her access to the beast’s body. In remembrance of Alec, she would break a hole in its side and step in, smashing her way to the heart. It was a messy, bloody affair, and she left the dungeon without stopping to wash.

She stood in front of the guild appraiser, loot on the counter in front of him. This was the second time she had defeated the dungeon, and she had only bothered to loot the queen this time. The man behind the counter went through her loot, including a skill crystal earth spike, apparently a rather common drop from the queen, and paid her. In gold. She had made more money in the past two trips into the dungeon than her parents made during harvest season. She couldn’t enjoy it though.

There was a bubble of empty space around her as she traveled to see Master Swanson. She did this every day after her dive, hoping for some sign that Alec was still alive. Part of her still hoped that he would simply show up one day, getting lost in the forest while doing something stupid. The other part of her knew something had happened. She couldn’t prove it, but she knew that Kevin had something to do with it. She would simply wait, get stronger, and seize the opportunity to find out the truth when it presented itself. Until then, she would continue diving the dungeon.

The problem with the dungeon was that, outside of the queen, there was no real point any longer. Most people got to level five and then formed a party with a group of peers and a higher leveled hunter to venture into the forest. There they would work on team tactics and split experience from higher level monsters. Sam didn’t like this idea, as the only person she trusted to have her back was Alec.

Master Swanson greeted her at the door looking haggard and smelling poorly. It seemed Alec’s presence had reinvigorated the old man, and now that he was gone, the master was slowly sliding back towards the apathy.

“Nothing today.” He told her. “I’ve asked around and no one has seen him since he left town that day. I’ve sent a man to follow the road to the North-East, told him to go as far as Yersmouth. Outside of that, there’s nothing else I can think to do.” He looked to the ground.

“I understand.” She said, it was beginning to sink in that she wouldn’t see him again. She had prepared to scour the forest when she found him missing, but the master convinced her to let the groups of hunters he paid take care of it. She was not experienced in the woods and would most likely run into a situation that she couldn’t fight her way out of with her current strength.

They said their goodbyes, and Sam turned towards home. She crushed the feeling in her chest and began walking. She would gain strength. She would find out what happened to him. She would take revenge.

-----

“What do you mean nothing?” Alec asked, annoyed. “There has to be something of value around here, why else would there be a town here?”

“I said there is nothing that fits what you are looking for, not that there is nothing of value here. There are crystal deposits to the north, stonewood trees to the southwest, and two portals within walking distance of the town. In its prime, this town was one of the most profitable in the empire! The knowledge of this tower alone was a beacon that drew people from across the continent.” Tobias said, as if speaking to a child.

“But none of them are what I am looking for…” Alec’s voice trailed off. “Tell me more about these dungeons. What level range are we talking about?”

He knew he was getting a head of himself, but if he could find a resource he could use here, he could finance his trait. While killing monsters was a great way to do this now, the higher his level got, the less experience he would get from monsters. Once you were more than five levels higher, you stopped getting experience from them at all. Cores though, you could use those at any point for the experience within. There were even hunters who specialized in diving lower leveled dungeons specifically for them. It was tedious, and you were lucky to get even one per dive, but it was much safer than fighting something within your level range.

“I don’t see you finding anything there either. The one you have encountered monsters from is a beast dungeon. It, like its name suggests, contains a variety of beast-like monsters. They will typically drop pelts, claws, teeth, etcetera. Obviously, you will have a chance of getting a core or a crystal from them as well. The other is an insect dungeon, which also tells you what you need to know. Chitin, insect bits like stingers and claws are found there. As for their levels, they used to be in the teens, but it seems much lower now. You fought much weaker versions, so the dungeons must be weakening.”

“The beasts were mana starved. How does that even happen. I thought that portals fed off ambient mana.” Alec asked.

“I’ve seen it before, though its usually used to get rid of an unwanted portal. Mages would seal off the portal using a formation of runes which channel mana away from it. They would then dive the dungeon repeatedly, forcing it to use its mana, until it no longer dropped beneficial loot or experience. They would then take the dungeon core and repurpose it. If it was a particularly nasty dungeon, undead for example, they would simply take the core immediately, though that offers much less benefit.” Tobias answered. “The mages here must have sealed these portals as well, though I was not consulted on the matter."

Alec focused his thoughts for a moment before moving on to the next conversation he needed to have. Until now, he had been focused on surviving. He had been reacting, rather than acting. His father taught him a great many things, though his education was cut short. One of them was to always control the situation, rather it be in life or in combat. Alec didn’t like remembering his teachings, they still hurt after all this time. He forced himself to remember a little bit now though.

His parents had been wandering traders. Alec wasn’t sure what they did before he was born, as they never talked about it, but from hints he had gathered, it was something else entirely. From as long as he could remember, he and his parents had traveled from town to town, buying and selling whatever caught his mother’s interest. She would drag them from stall to stall, her critical eye gauging items’ worth. She would haggle down prices like a master, but never to the point of cheating a merchant or vendor. She had taught him, but he never enjoyed it like she did. The gleam in her eye as she dealt with the merchant, or the skip in her step after a successful negotiation. Alec much preferred to pay a fair price and be done with it, even after all his years of saving every copper.

His father was quieter, more reserved. He allowed his wife to handle most interactions, stepping in only when someone offended her, or things looked to get out of hand. Where Alec’s mother taught him the intricacies of dealing with people, his father taught him the intricacies of dealing with himself. He would sit Alec down when Alec did something unbecoming such as being petty or getting angry over something that just wasn’t worth it. He would walk through the feelings with him discover what the true issue was and help Alec work through it. He also taught Alec several forms to walk through with a stick, explaining the importance of the mental exercise, as well as the physical.

He rubbed a tear from his eye. While his family was far from perfect, he loved them to his core. He was destroyed when they didn’t return to the inn that night. Even more as the days slid by without word. Eventually a guard had found him and explained that their bodies were found on the roadside, slain by bandits.

He brought himself back before his emotions overcame him. He tried to focus on what he needed now. Laying out the facts in his head, his current predicament was only tenable thanks to the tower he found himself in. Without it, he wouldn’t have a supply of food or fresh water. He could have tried the lake, but with no gear he would be forced to wade into the water and attempt to catch a fish with his hands. He doubted that would go very well.

He needed to find a way back to town, but then again, did he? He became an apprentice so he wouldn’t have to live the way he had been. He wasn’t too concerned with leaving that behind, though he did respect his master and enjoy their time together. He would at least want to let the old man know he was ok.

Sam was a different story altogether. She had gotten overly attached to him since they had awoken. He needed to let her know he was ok. On the other hand, he had an entire tower to himself here, not just a small room in the corner of a shop. He was used to the solitude, he had actually come to enjoy it. He would find a way to let her know he was alright while inviting her to come with him. That was the best outcome he could think of, and at the least she would know he was ok.

He knew he needed to grow in strength, but honestly, he didn’t really have a drive to do it. He would, obviously, but only because strength was the deciding factor for most issues in the world. He also wanted to get strong enough that he didn’t have to worry as much about hiding his trait. His needed the experience to fuel his trait, which could make him some serious money. With money he could start to actually live his life. He could do… well he would figure that out when he got there.

That was it then, and it was pretty simple. For now, he would build his strength. When he got strong enough, he would find his way back to town and let Sam and Master Swanson know he was alive. In the meantime, he would find a way to use his trait to create things to sell. He still wanted to open a shop, as that would be the best way to sell what he made. He even thought about learning how to smith his own weapons and armer, as well as other items. He could then enhance them with a harder to work metal, increasing their value greatly. He had already used the armorer bench, though he had hoped to learn an associated skill, to make the armor he was currently wearing. He could use the others to learn if he had the materials.

“You said this was a place of knowledge, correct?” He asked the disembodied spirit.

“A place of knowledge, HA! It was THE place of knowledge. Kings across the empire would send their servants here to learn the secrets we held.” Tobias replied.

“Are there any scrolls or books on blacksmithing or leatherworking? I’d like to learn at least the basics of both.” He hoped they had enough for what he needed and hearing the braggadocious tone the spirit his hopes were high.

“Meet me on the fourth floor and prepare to be amazed.” The voice faded away merrily. It seemed that the spirit really did love showing his gathered knowledge.

Alec made his way to the fourth floor. He smacked himself on the forehead as he saw the crystal wall. How could he have been so stupid. He had gotten sidetracked so many times that he had kept forgetting to sync with the system. He rushed toward the wall, ignoring what ever Tobias was trying to say, and placed his hand on the wall.

Syncing with host system.

He felt a tingling sensation spread across his body, beginning near the center of his chest. It faded to a slight burning sensation before fading away.

Sync halted at 46%.

Processing…

Estimated requirements for full synchronization:

Intelligence 20

Mana cycling 10

Meditation 10

(or equivalent skills/attributes)

The constant pain in his head faded to dull headache. He sighed with relief at the feeling. He had done his best to ignore it, but the pain had become a constant companion to him the past few days. He turned his attention to Tobias, realizing that the spirit had not stopped talking to sense he arrived.

“Not to mention the smiths of the Raocian Dynasty. Their work with enchanted blades made…” The spirit quit talking as he took in Alec’s facial expression. “Aaannnd I’m going off on a tangent again, aren’t I? To simplify, yes, we have any and everything you could ask for on these subjects. You can pull up what you need to know through the monitor wall.”

Alec did as he was told, laying his hand on the crystal wall. He thought of the information he wanted, focusing on the very basics of blacksmithing as a starting point. The wall lit up with instructions on various metals. It had diagrams with phrases that he didn’t understand. Melting point, chemical reactions, oxidation, and various forms each metal was good at taking. Some of it he could parse out by reading the description. Melting point, for example, seemed to be the required heat of the fire the metal was placed in for it to begin to melt. He focused on the phrase “Melting point” and received a detailed description.

He was taken aback at the sheer amount of information in front of him. He had imagined getting information on how to hit a piece of metal on an anvil to make it into what he wanted, but this was on another level entirely.

“Tobias, you can give me all of this information verbally, right?” He asked, an idea forming in his head.

“Of course, I have access to the entirety of the tower’s archived knowledge.” He stated proudly.

“And have you ever taught skills to anyone?” Alec continued.

“It depends on what you mean, I have tutored many people on many subjects.”

“Let me ask you clearly then. How would you like a new student?” He cut to the core of his questioning.

There was a brief silence before he heard the spirit squeal in excitement like a small child.

“Uhh, Tobias are you…” He was cut off by Tobias’s exciting reply.

“I see what you are getting at, now meet me in the crafter’s quarters!” The voice disappeared, and Alec felt his stomach sinking.

“This may have been a mistake…” He though, before heading to the stairs.