Riza had been to quarries before. Never up close but they were abundant enough that when she went wandering, she’d often draw close to an abandoned or disused quarry--no one dared to stray near an active one unless they had a death wish.

She had even climbed down one or two in her life--back when she was younger and looking to escape the world. There was a certain sobriety to how everything was just… there. Buildings forgotten to be locked, the doors and windows broken by vandals. Desks emptied, with only a few papers forgotten. Lockers only containing a few corroded old equipments.

It was like walking through a photograph. Life in stasis.

None of those quarries were anything like this.

Disregarding the hive of activity before her, even the mere atmosphere was different. Although, that should be expected when you come upon piles of corpses, not even fresh.

The stench permeated the air. Before she even stepped past the threshold, her group could sense the repugnant smell long before they found the origin of it.

Incessant flies attacked them, but mainly collecting around the decaying fresh, stripped clean of all armour and clothes and arranged clumsily. Riza swiped her hand through the air in an unsuccessful attempt to be rid of the bugs.

None of her group had said anything the moment they arrived. The two soldiers had wandered off, apparently understanding exactly where to go, leaving Lefie, Jakks, Riza, and the one she never learnt the name of.

She didn’t stick around long at all; seemingly unperturbed by the sights, she made her way further into the quarry, quickly lost to the seas of roving people.

The sights before them beggared belief; sheets of metal--punctured, crushed, bent, and snapped all over--stone bricks cracked beyond repair, and wooden beams splintered and tossed away.

A landscape of destruction laid before them, like the aftermath of a violent earthquake.

Except, there was no earthquake; one of this level of power would’ve surely been felt for tens of miles around. Perhaps even further.

The past days were tranquil in terms of natural disaster.

So, what caused all of this?

“New arrivals?” A tall, lean, greasy man asked from behind a desk. He kept his gaze on the parchments before him, spectacles halfway down his nose and the main source of light being from the lamp hanging in the centre of the room.

A strong, pungent smell filled the room, reminding Riza of tobacco but not quite. A metallic plate with a golden sheen laid in the corner of the room, emitting a wafty smoke pillar from a handful of sticks.

A type of incense? Nothing like I’ve smelt before.

“Er, yes. We just arrived. From Droya,” Jakks replied, taking it upon himself to be the spokesperson of their small group. Neither Riza nor Lefie minded.

“Ah; you must be from Andreya, yes?” He spoke with a voice Riza called only describe as ‘slick’--one of high bearing and with a naturally condescending tone. Authority must’ve fitted him like a glove, his greying and balding hair suggesting that’s been the case for a while.

“Yes,” Jakks replied simply.

“And she deigned not send me any reports on each of you,” The man said under his breath. “Very well. Tell me your ranks, level, and level cap.” He finally raised his gaze to stare at the three intruders into his demesne.

His eyes were piercingly cold and as hard as steel, the brown nearly the same colour as his irises.

“Um,” Jakks swallowed down his nerves. “I’m a Rock Neophyte, level 6 with a level cap of 15. She’s-” He began, pointing towards Lefie before the man cut him off.

“She’s capable of telling me herself.” Although he didn’t raise his voice, Riza felt compelled to comply.

Jakks didn’t say anything and just turned to looked towards the diminutive teenager.

“I’m a level 5 Water Neophyte with a level cap of 15,” She replied firmly, meeting the man’s gaze with her own less-intimidating stare.

“And you?” He looked towards Riza.

“Healer. Level 11 with a level cap of 15.” Jakks eyebrows raised upon hearing her level but he didn’t say anything.

“I see why you were the ones that were chosen--you especially,” The man gestured towards Riza. He wiped his quill off and laid it down, clasping his hands in front of him as he finished writing.

“The three of you will be stationed at outpost 3. There, you’ll report to Patrol Leader Haelin and you’ll be informed further as to your duties.

“For the next month here, you’ll be in a party with Skerry and Artiv. They’ll either be recuperating in the infirmary or training in the yard. I’d recommend getting to know them before you leave tomorrow.

“Unless you have any questions, I believe your business with me is concluded.”

“Just how many outposts are there?” Lefie asked, breathing hard, as the group of five casually sauntered down a wide tunnel. The place had obviously been mined, and periodic torches were lit and hanging along wooden rafters keeping the whole thing structurally stable.

How do they keep the torches lit up? They can’t have someone lighting them every few hours.

“About eight odd,” An armoured companion answered—the man named Artiv. His brown hair was very shortly cut and he had a neatly trimmed moustache on his face. His whole appearance gave him a rugged look, his thick arms belying the strength of his body.

“Are they all underground?” Jakks inquired.

The man chuckled before answering. “Aye. It’s a quarry.” Obviously.

“And are they all so far apart?” Lefie asked dismally.

“They’re a fair distance from each other. I swear, it’s like a labyrinth at times,” The other armoured person spoke, Skerry.

“How do you know where to go?”

“We’ve been here for a while. You learn the tunnels, the walls. Outpost 3 is basically a straight line from the entrance. Closest one as well.”

“What about outpost 1 and 2? Are they not as close?” Lefie asked.

“Outpost 3 was built upon the fiery ruins of outposts 1 and 2.”

“What happened to them?”

“Attacks, mostly. We’ll see if outpost 3 suffers the same fate.”

Outpost 3 did not, in fact, suffer the same fate, although they weren’t aware of that at the start.

When the group noticed the lights at the end of the tunnel, Riza was growing worried about whether they were the ‘fiery ruins’ that had been foretold or merely torches much like those she had passed an innumerous number of times so far.

As they grew closer, her nerves lessoned as the non-destroyed forms of walls and buildings came into view.

The walls stood tall, reaching the height of the admittedly tall tunnel, and were made of smooth dirt, it looked like. Not natural but impressive if made by hand and also most likely far weaker than wooden or stone alternatives. Magic, then.

“Can you do that?” Riza asked Jakks, pointing towards the walls.

“Given enough time and essence, sure.”

Past the walls and the makeshift gate, a burgeoning town was developing. Stone and dirt huts constituted most buildings that weren’t canvas and leather tents and those more permanent fixtures tended towards shops it seemed; Riza could make out the shining of weapons, armour, and even a leather worker in one hut.

Then, there were kitchens, outhouses, an infirmary, and even a brewery—though, maybe Riza should’ve expected that. People savoured whatever luxuries they could when in an army.

Their destination seemed clear; the two men led them towards the biggest and most impressive building—which, for mud huts, wasn’t all that big or impressive—where the Patrol Leader resided.

She was a gruff looking woman with a tanned complexion and one long, thick braid of black hair hanging over her shoulder. She was dressed loosely with no armour and standing over a desk, looking at a complex compliation of maps.

Artiv coughed to gain her attention.

“I know you’re there,” She said without raising her eyes. “Whatcha want?”

“Er-We’re here to receive our orders,” Artiv answered nervously, his previous levity nowhere in sight.

“Patrol from the tunnel 12 has just returned. Reports indicate all clear from the 500 stride distance. Head out there and you’re in for a long wait. I’d be expecting your return from 8 hours.

“If you need any equipment, restock while you can.

“You’re dismissed.”

“Why is everyone so rude?” Lefie asked indignantly while the group were waiting for Skerry to return from inside a hut. He said he was getting torches and lanterns and other items necessary.

“You get used to it. When ya been in power for so long, you stop giving shits about decency.”

“But still, they could be a bit nicer.”

“And they can be a whole lot crueler too.”

Lefie just grumbled, unable to muster a response before Skerry returned with a large sack he carried over his shoulder. He secured it to a buckle of some kind before taking his hands away, a belt wrapped around his torso.

“You’re ready to set off?”

If Riza didn’t know any better, she’d swear they were travelling through the same tunnel they walked through to arrive at the outpost. The walls were similar layers of dirt and rock, the wooden beams a similar state of decay, and the aching in her feet told her they were a similar distance in length.

But at the mouth of this tunnel was a sign denoting this as tunnel 12, and the lights were behind her rather than in front.

They had discussed what was entailed in ‘patrols’ and it seemed to mostly just be hanging around a set distance from the outpost down a tunnel, on the lookout for anything strange.

She rubbed her hands together, bringing them up to her face and breathing her warm breath into her cool hands, hoping to warm them up. I hope it won’t be this cold all the time.

Halfway down the tunnel, a wagon pushed by a group of soldiers passed by them. The wagon was much like many she had seen—a relatively rudimentary constructed made out of wood—but it carried the large corpse of a demon, its distinctive white skin bright from the flickering flames lighting up the tunnel.

The soldiers seemed solemn but not bloodied, like they were cleaning up someone else’s mess.

By the size of the thing, it must’ve been a greater demon. When it came into view, Riza subconsciously steered towards the side of the tunnel, making as much distance between her and the soon-to-be-passing wagon.

The way the muscles were outlined by the tight, taut skin, how white residues rested on the skin, and how the soldiers all wore thick, leather gloves exerted a small pressure on Riza’s mind.

Her walking slowed as she stared at the dead beast, feeling small even then.

And then, the wagon passed, Riza feeling slightly better. She became aware of how close to the wall she was—practically hugging it.

“Are there many demons in these tunnels?” Jakks asked nervously.

“Depends on if ya lucky or not.”

Shadows danced across the walls, never still and drawn from the stationary bodies of the group of five people.

A small lantern sat on the floor, unlit, while a campfire emitted a soft, orange glow on its surroundings.

Jakks, Lefie, Riza, and Artiv were sitting around the fire, weapons placed off to the side, leaning against the wall, and warming their hands over the open flame.

They were all apart from each other, longing for warmth but not comfortable enough with anyone to huddle and share body heat. At least they had been given cloaks.

Tens or hundreds of metres of dirt proved good insulation; without any source of heat, the tunnels were deadly cold.

Skerry sat, his back to the fire, staring down the open tunnel into darkness. Riza had no idea what was further in; they were at 100 strides now, where they were told to guard, and couldn’t go any further.

Not that she wanted to; the tunnel gave way to darkness, making it seem like the mouth to the void, trapping you if you took one step further.

Everyone was tired. The tunnels were long, the ground hard, and the surroundings incredibly boring.

“How long have you two been here?” Jakks asked, holding his body together as he rubbed his hands up and down his arm. His breath was visible as he spoke.

“‘Bout a year,” Artiv replied. “We joined together. Same village.”

“Then, you know what happened recently?”

“You mean the attack?” A nod. “Yeah. I know about it.”

“What...What caused all of that?” Jakks asked, clearly unused to that level of destruction.

“I...I didn’t see it myself. Only heard stories. I was in outpost 3 at the time, when the roof began to shake. Everyone cowered. Ran for buildings, into other tunnels. Was afraid the whole thing would come tumbling down.”

“It was a massacre,” Sherry chimed in. “The rumbling began, and then the shaking. We were scrambling around. No one knew what was going on.” He paused, voice heavy.

“It was giant. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It came out of the floor, below the dome, like a worm burrowing through dirt. An endlessly long and impossibly large white worm.

“It moved through the dirt like fish through water. One moment, it’d poke out of the ground, destroying and killing whatever was there. The next moment, it’s never ending body had curved around sank out of sight again.

“It attacked time and time again for around an hour, completely ravaging the base camp and killing who knows how many people.”

Silence reigned as each person imagined the sights on their heads.

An impossibly long serpent. And white. Was it a demon? The thought alone threatened to send her heart racing. A quick bit of [Meditate] cut that short.

There’s no point to thinking about it. You wouldn’t be able to do anything but run if it turned up.

And then, Riza suddenly jerked her head up and stared past Skerry and down the tunnel.

Huh? For the next minute or two, she just stared, eyes firm and head unmoving.

“You seein’ something?” Artiv asked, noticing her gaze.

“No, nothing.”

“Well, tell us if ya do. The demons here are different; they’re smarter.”

Smart demons. Big demons. An underground maze. What have I gotten myself into?

“You’ve mentioned the Seat of the Regent before,” Riza asked Jakks.

“I did,” He replied warily.

“What did you mean that people had been asked to move there?”

“You’re not from the Empire, are you?” She looked around, hesitant to say yes if ther others were listening.

“I’m not.”

“I’m not going to ask where you’re from—I doubt you’d tell me anyway. Are you even aware of the Calamity?” He asked, tone neutral.

Riza shook her head.

“You’re completely clueless, aren’t you?” He stared at her for a bit, as if contemplating who she was. “About hundred, hundred and fifty, years ago, there was a widespread calamity that killed most of the population. Destroyed numerous cities and towns.

“We’re still recovering from it to this day.

“People have been asked to move to the Seat of the Regent to build up its population—or so I’ve been told. Any small towns or villages were given the notice to move there for the past decade.”

“What...Exactly was the Calamity?”

“That is not a question you should ask,” Jakks said sternly, tone firm.

Riza sat silent, taking in the information, connecting the dots with everyone.

Is the Calamity old enough to be classified as ‘ancient’? Are the relics of the ancients from that era?

Or are they even older?

That’s not even going over what exactly happened. It sounds like Jakks knows but just won’t tell me; maybe someone else will tell me?

“The Seat of the Regent is a city?” Riza asked.

“It is.”

“Any other cities or are the rest just towns and villages?”

“Towns and cities. You can the remains of cities all over the place; they’re just not lived in. Moya has a few of them. Droya was and is mostly just villages. Agriculture.”

“And the Regent? Is he like a king?” Her mind recalled interregnum leaders from her own history.

“For one, never call the Regent a ‘king’,” He emphasised. “Two, don’t call the Regent a ‘he’. You won’t live long if you assume you’re more familiar with the Regent than you actually are.”

That’s...unusual. And good to know.

“But they’re the ruler? The emperor of the Empire?”

“They’re the Regent.” He said succinctly.

“Do the provinces have rulers as well? Like a state or prefectural government?”

“There’s leaders who reside over provinces but they’re elected every ten years.”

“So, it’s like a democracy? You vote for who rules over you?”

“It’s not our position to vote on matters like these. That’s left to the Regent, the Archons, and the Privy Council.” Riza assigned English translations to those words, seeing what fit best based on her rather limited historical knowledge.

This is good information. Can’t believe I didn’t look into the government earlier, but it’s not like I had the vocabulary to do so. If it was anything like on Earth, you’d need an encyclopaedic knowledge to accurately comprehend all the branches of power.

Riza stared up at the marked leather above her, tilted and blocking any light from seeping into the small tent.

Lefie was sleeping close by, sharing a tent between them, huddled under her blanket and cloak as she slept soundly.

Riza wasn’t all that tired. Her mind was wandering, unable to sleep but simultaneously unable to focus on any one specific thing.

She was trawling through all the information she had acquired over the past few days. A whirlwind of changes.

Why was she still here? She had plenty of opportunities to escape when on the road so why didn’t she? What was holding her here?

She shifted, turning on her side to stare at the other occupant.

When I walked down those stairs, into the crater, I was so committed to growing stronger and escaping.

So why haven’t I?

She tossed and turned, battling with herself in her mind. There was no clear answer; no definitive ‘correct’ course of action.

I’ll stay for as long as Lefie and Jakks are cooperative with me. I’ll collect information, learn more about this world. That’s why I’m still here.

And when I have no other option, when Lefie and Jakks prioritise their loyalty to the Empire over me, I’ll leave.

I need to get stronger.

Another day but the same damn tunnel; Riza was growing tired of staring at the boring, bland, brown walls hour after hour after hour.

“I thought we were going to be levelling up?” She asked after the boredom grew too much.

“You will, you will. It’s a slow process and you’d rather not rush it lest you get yourself killed,” Skerry replied.

Even with the reassurance, the utter lack of novelty involved in what Riza was doing was getting to her.

So, she did what she always did when bored; turn towards skills.

“Lefie,” She called, squirming closer to her friend. “Is now a good time to show off your skill?”

The teenager looked down the tunnel momentarily before answering.

“Sure.”

She held out her hand, palm facing upwards, as a small, blue orb began to appear. A soft, blue glow announced its appearance, shortly followed by wisps of water seeping out of Lefie’s fingertips before coalescing as a floating ball.

“How much essence does this take out of you?” Riza asked, unable to draw her eyes away from the sight. Even if she tried to close her eyes, she could feel the water exerting a pressure on her mind. Odd.

“Not much. About this size, it’s 1 essence to conjure it and then 1 essence to manipulate it every second.”

“That’s 1 kilogram?” She asked, remembering the skill.

“Kilogram? I don’t know how much is here; I sorta just go by feeling.”

“Do you have to generate it from your hand?” There’s a radius listed on the conjuring skill.

“No, but it’s harder to control the further away from me. The location is harder to control.” That makes sense. Further away, more possibilities for where it can be.

“How fast can you move it?”

“Like this?” Suddenly, the ball raised higher up in the air before darting around before Riza. Well, it’s not slow.

“Could you stand up?” Riza asked, causing the teenager to stand her full, albeit short, height.

“You’re about 150 centimetres. Could you start the ball at your feet and make it fly up as fast as possible? On the count of three.”

The ball cleared Lefie’s whole form in less than a second. Looks to be about 2 metres per second.

“Does it move slower with higher masses?”

“Not that I’ve noticed.” Interesting. So many parameters to this skill that just aren’t mentioned in the interface.

What followed from there was a quick physics experiment. Although she lacked precise measurement instruments, some data would be better than no data for it at least gave her a reasonably accurate magnitude.

Lefie was all too happy to help Riza in the experiment, moving the water orb to and fro, wherever she was asked, as Riza counted the time and distance, recording all the data on a table she had scratched out in the dirt.

Both Skerry and Jakks had come over to watch what they were doing, interested in the alien numerals on the ground.

A bit of differentiation later and Riza obtained a rough acceleration that Lefie could move the water at.

The water can constantly accelerate at 4 metres per second. Unfortunately, the tunnel is too small to see at what speed it reaches terminal velocity.

However, now that we have that, we can calculate the force of whatever mass she uses—in any direction as well, since gravity has no bearing on the water if she’s using [Manipulate Water].

“What’s all this?” Skerry asked when Riza sat back on his feet, finished with whatever she was doing.

“Maths.” She replied laconically.

“Maths? So, you’re a scholar of some kind?” He asked, intrigued.

“No-Well, maybe.” I’d imagine I’m far more educated than the vast majority of people here. I suppose that’d make me a scholar.

“You’ve been to the Seat of the Regent?” Jakks asked excitedly.

“What? No.”

“Oh.”

“This is just simple maths, as well. Nothing impressive.”

“Can I get rid of the water, now?” Lefie interrupted, her voice slightly annoyed.

“Oh! No, there’s one last thing I want to do.”

The teenager sat down in a huff but complied, keeping the ball of water lazily trailing an orbit around her head as she watched Riza hunched back of the table of symbols.

“One last thing; you struggle to attack with your skills, right?” Riza asked, remembering the images of Lefie holding a crossbow.

“I don’t think so. I can drown things,” She replied, voice neutral.

“But that doesn’t work for demons, right?”

“Right.”

“So, I’ve got a suggestion,” Riza began, suddenly afraid her idea wouldn’t work. I’d look like such an idiot.

“How much water can you conjure?” Lefie just stared at Riza deadpanned.

“Ah; you don’t know, do you.” How would I go about measuring stuff, then? I’d need to find something that weighs exactly 1 kilogram, have an accurate way to measure it, and then compare everything to that.

Do I know anything that has a precise weight? An average apple is 1 Newton. Do they even have apples?

“Do you have apples? A red, spherical fruit about this big?” She indicated with her hands the size.

“Apples? A few farmers grow them, sure,” Jakks said. Excellent.

“That’s off topic. Lefie,” She said, drawing the girl back into the discussion. “Do you have any skills or anything that multiply the mass of water you can conjure without changing the cost?”

“I’ve got the [Way of Water] boon. That doubles it.” Like [Lone Wolf]—presumably only applies to water skills, judging by the name.

“Can you flatten the water out?” No nonsense, she got straight to business.

After taking a few seconds to think about it, Lefie contorted the ball of water so it was a thin sheet.

“Lower it so it’s just above the ground,” She replied, standing up and hovering above the plane of water. She was outlining the square in dirt.

“Good. How much essence did it cost at level 2?”

“Eight.”

“Do the same thing; spawn the water and then flatten it.”

“It’s going to take a lot out of me though,” Lefie warned.

“That’s fine. This is worth it,” Riza replied. “I’ll protect you, anyway,” She said, still seeing the hesitation on her face.

Reluctantly, Lefie carried on with the experiment, creating more water that Riza outlined.

They only continued for level 3 before stopping. Three points would have to do—Lefie was growing increasingly uncomfortable with such pointless expenditure of essence, in her eyes.

The water being flattened effectively rendered it into a two dimensional shape. That meant that by measuring the different in area between essence costs, Riza would be able to work out the formula between cost and mass.

And, because she had access to the skill herself, she knew that 1 essence was equal to 2 kilograms of water, since Lefie also doubled the mass of water.

Doing all that, hunching over the floor with a stick in her hand, Riza was reminded of her time in the forest. Huh. I’ve missed doing this.

She was smiling when the final formula emerged.

“Lefie,” Riza called the teenager to crouch down besides her, the water already having been drunk by their companions when it was no longer needed.

“This is the formula for [Conjure Water]. It’s probably the same for [Manipulate Water] as well.”

Cost:Mass

1:2, 8:4, 27:6, 64:8...

2(Cost)^1/3 = Mass

“I don’t understand. There are no numbers.” Shit. I haven’t learnt the numerals in her language.

“Also, how is this meant to help me fight demons with my skills?” She asked afterwards, clearly a bit annoyed at spending so much essence and having nothing to show for it.

“I’m getting to that. All of this is necessary.” That did little to placate Lefie; she wanted results. “How fast can you change the shape of water? As fast as you can move it?” A nod.

“Okay.” Deep breath. The nerves were riding high. A lot of complicated maths and a whole bunch of assumptions.

“Let’s make a fundamental assumption here; pressure is directly proportional to damage. Therefore, by raising the pressure of water, you increase the damage it deals.

“There are three ways to increase pressure: increasing the mass of water, increasing the acceleration the water moves at, or decreasing the area of water. Have you ever dropped all the water you could conjure on something before?”

“Yeah.”

“Did that kill it?”

“No, but I was a lower level back then—I couldn’t conjure as much water. I did hurt it, though.”

“So that’s one way of dealing damage with your skill. By increasing the mass. However, that costs more essence.

“You also can’t increase the acceleration either, since that’s dependent on [Manipulate Water]. The fastest you can get water to move is simply by not using that skill and letting it drop to the ground.

“Therefore, the final way to increase pressure is to reduce the area. You do this by forming the water into a really tall but narrow cylinder.”

“I still don’t understand,” Lefie relented after thinking about it.

It’s classical physics; it’s easier to just show it.

“Do you still have some essence left?”

“I do but I regenerate it very slowly.”

“And I promise you,” Riza paused, staring into Lefie’s eyes, “That I will protect you if you do this for me.”

“What do you need?”

“We’ll start small. Conjure 2 kilograms of water, 1 essence, and form it into a tall but narrow cylinder.”

Lefie had no trouble conjuring water but with all the weird shapes she was being asked to mould the water, it took her a bit of time to get it right. I suppose that makes sense; it’s not like she needs to shape water much to drink it.

She did, however, make a cylinder, reaching nearly the height of the tunnel.

“Can you make it any narrower?”

“No.” She shook her head.

“Release the water.” Riza said after looking at the column from up close.

The liquid came crashing down all at once, suddenly no longer held mid air. The ground, unfortunately, was undamaged by the sudden assault.

“It did hardly anything.” Lefie complained.

“Then we either need more water or a smaller area, but a smaller area would make the column too tall.

“How about this; are you able to conjure 2 kilograms of water but use [Manipulate Water] on only half of it?” Riza asked, an idea forming in her head.

“I don’t see a reason why I can’t,” Lefie replied, conjuring more water and amassing it as a pillar once more.

“Can you imagine the smallest insect you’re aware of?” A nod.

“Are you able to let go of the water at the bottom of the pillar, the size of that insect?”

Another nod.

And nothing happened. The water didn’t move except for the smallest of drops falling to the floor.

“Lefie?” She asked, confused.

“I’m still controlling the rest of the water.” Ah. That makes sense. So, how do we tackle that problem?

“What about the exterior layer of water? Can you let go of all the water apart from the molecules on the outside?”

“I can try.”

Watching Lefie do all this was a bit frustrating for Riza; there was such a large delay in relaying her thoughts and then the lack of information Lefie could provide her as well.

But this was all in order to help Lefie. It was worth the struggle if it worked.

“Done it?” She asked, seeing how the teenager hadn’t responded yet. The water was still suspended in the air.

“I think so but something’s strange; my essence isn’t decreasing.”

Huh? That’s strange.

“Try moving the water column to the left.”

“Still nothing,” Lefie replied after doing so. A small trickle of water splashed out of the top, dropping to the floor.

The sight was quite surreal, emphasising the magical nature of a floating pillar of water.

“I think it’s because the essence cost is so low it takes a while for a whole number of essence to be spent. Think about it; it costs 1 essence per second to control 2 kilograms of water. You’re controlling less than 2 kilograms. Therefore, it costs less than 1 essence per second.”

“I suppose that makes sense. There’s just so many numbers...”

“You get used to it. More importantly, this is an amazing discovery by itself!”

“It is?” Lefie asked confused.

“Yes! If you assume that you’re only controlling half the mass of water that’s there, that’s huge! Say that it’s actually 4 kilograms of water up there; that would normally cost 8 essence per second to control. However, if you’re only controlling half of that—2 kilograms out of 4 kilograms—that’s only 1 essence per second!”

“Oh, wow. You’re amazing!” Lefie suddenly exclaimed.

“Back to the experiment,” Riza deflected. “Do the same thing with the insect. Imagine a really small hole.”

Lefie turned back to look at the pillar for a few seconds before the rush of water started.

What was over quickly took many more seconds this time, the flow of water longer lasting.

Once the flow was finished, all that was left was the hollow cylinder made of water hanging in the air.

“What do I do with this?”

“Whatever you want.”

That water dropped to the ground as well.

The water had long since turned the dirt to mud, and Riza’s precious numbers had been washed away, but she didn’t mind. Not when she saw the results.

It took a good minute or two or scrambling around in the mud before Riza became confident she found the hole. It was tiny! Couldn’t have been larger than 1 millimetre in diametre and who knows how deep it went.

“It doesn’t look that impressive,” Lefie complained, on her knees and hunched over the hole as well.

“You say that now but it cut through stone. A bit more water, narrower column, tighter aperture, it’d be able to cut through steel.”

“It’s a lot of work, though. To set everything up.”

“That’s just practise. If you get used to manipulating only a portion of the water you summon, it’ll be second nature.”

“I suppose,” Lefie replied with a half grumble. She still wasn’t fully convinced. Not a surprise. Most people can’t see a splash of water as dangerous.

When Lefie and Riza rose, Skerry quickly took their place.

“What are we looking at?” Skerry asked, on his hands and knees and sweeping his head all over the place.

“A very small hole.”

“I can’t find it.”

“Are you sure this will help her?” Jakks asked, having watched the entire ordeal from afar.

“I’m certain,” Riza replied, positively glowing from the success. She’ll be more dangerous than you can even imagine.

A few hours had passed since the experiment. Lefie was somber throughout, most likely mourning the loss of precious essence.

Riza, however, was ecstatic; there was a background excitement coursing through her which she couldn’t get rid of. She wanted Lefie to level up, to grow stronger, to get more skills. There was so much more she wanted to do in her mind.

Lefie had so much potential.

But even all this energy didn’t prevent her from noticing the tiny itch that had sprouted up in her head.

She was watching the tunnel, sitting besides Artiv who had missed the whole thing with Lefie.

Holding onto some bread, he was chewing methodically as he stared into the darkness before him, diligent in his duty despite his rough exterior.

Riza had sat down besides him when the feeling in her head didn’t go away.

She was growing used to it by now; it had appeared at the bottom of the crater, when the demons attacked on the road, and even, surprisingly, when Lefie had conjured some water.

She dismissed it at the time but now that it was back, it was definitely the same feeling with Lefie.

The implications of that, Riza hadn’t ruminated upon. She focused her mind on the latest ping on her radar.

“I still see nothing,” Artiv said.

“Neither do I but I’ve got this feeling-“

And then they saw it. Eerily silent, one white, massive spider emerged. Smaller than any demon before, it was still larger than a spider had any right to be—rivalling rats.

And then another. And then another. More and more spiders arrived, dashing down the tunnel towards them.

Riza stood straight up, quickly taking her knife from her sheath around her thigh, prepared to fight.

“They’re harmless,” Artiv said, raising himself and lazily walking over to the wall and picking up his spear. “It’s what they signal that you should worry about.”

True to his word, as Riza stood, a worrying bundle of nerves, the spiders sped right past their party, completely ignoring them.

“Jakks!” Artiv cried. “Build us some barricades.”

The neophyte quickly went to work, sliding to his knees and kneading the ground into shape. He pulled and prodded, extruding the dirt and stone upwards and outwards, building walls where there weren’t any before.

The earth didn’t move quickly and clearly took a great deal of effort but he accomplished his role, building several half-height walls as obstacles to stampeding beasts.

Lefie gathered her crossbow and bolts, looking at the thing strangely before steeling herself.

Skerry picked up his greatsword, joining them in waiting for whatever they were waiting for.

Riza had a feeling it was demons. She hoped it was demons.

Silence reigned. The flickering flame did terrible things for Riza’s mind, constantly startling her at dancing shadows across the walls, along the floors.

The cold air surrounding them made her body feel heavy and tense, her muscles stiff. Every ache she had gained was more pronounced.

[Meditate]. You’re in a group. You’re safe. Deep breaths.

The feeling pricked at her forebrain like a gentle prodding. It was greater than before, the spiders still remnant sensations at the back of her head.

But there was something in front of her now, too far to ascertain more details. Just something.

Do you want to join Skerry's party?

Yes/No

Riza frowned at the notification, dismissing it promptly.

Skerry gave her a guarded look but didn’t say anything. He’ll probably ask me after this is over.

For the next minute or two, silence reigned as the group stood tense, hands on their weapons as they waited alert.

Scrambling around the corner, clawed feet digging into the ground, pushing their large, cylindrical bodies forwards.

Their legs were short and stumpy, their white bodies as round as barrels, and their eyeless faces as eerie as they were silly.

Moles?

They moved quickly, progressing the many metres as fast as a wolf. The sight of them was disturbing but far enough away that the distance acted as a buffer for Riza.

As soon as the first one stepped within her range, its feet dropped from under it, tumbling over and rolling to a standstill, suddenly dead in less two seconds.

The furthest away mole skidded to a stop while the other one, making up the triad of demons, met the same fate as its companion, succumbing to the invisible force of [Leech].

“Don’t let it get away!” Skerry shouted when the third and final demon had turned around and began to run. Riza took a few seconds to move but Lefie was already charging, swiftly clambering over the defences Jakks hastily constructed and chasing after it.

She even fired a few shots with her crossbow, none of them landing.

As amusing the sight of a fat demon with short scurrying legs beneath it was, they served their purpose well, carrying the demon back around the bend it had emerged from and out of sight faster than Lefie could run.

“It got away,” Skerry said, his voice low.

“Is that a bad thing?” Riza asked.

“It’s a bad omen, is what it is.” Artiv supplied. “Scouting party, we believe. When a group of three appears, a larger pack often shows up a day or two later.”

They’re weak. Nothing more than prey, helping me to grow stronger.

“How’s Thorin doin’?” A scruffy woman asked her companion. Riza overheard, eating her soup and bread while sitting only a small distance away, the wooden bench cold and hard beneath her.

“Shit. Couldn’t be worse.”

“Shouldn’t the Healer be done with him by now?”

“He is. Doesn’t mean Thorin will be any better, though. He’s changed.”

“I’m not surprised. I doubt I’d do better facing a horde like that.”

“There’s been too many of them, lately. Scarily frequent.”

Eavesdropping was rude but Riza didn’t care; this information was interesting. Disconcerting. Too many? Hordes? Does that have anything to do with what happened today?

She did not sleep easy that night, her mind contorting in worry. Her dreams were plagued with restlessness, her body twisting as it ran away from imaginary nightmares.

“You don’t look well,” Lefie told Riza as they sat together, eating their breakfast.

“Didn’t sleep well. I think this place is getting to me.” And it’s not just the lack of light.

“Same.” Lefie’s slid slightly closer. “I don’t feel as good about this whole thing as I used to.

“I mean, back at the village, there were people around. Living. I felt like I was training to protect them—actually protecting them doing the storm. But here? What are we doing?” She said, one of the few times she displayed uncertainty and a lack of enthusiasm.

“I don’t know,” Riza replied solemnly. “I’ve got a bad feeling about all of this.”

“You too?”

Why don’t I just escape right now? Would Lefie come with me?

She looked around her, seeing all the soldiers and robed individuals eating breakfast, walking about, each a bastion of their own strength, none lower than level 5.

I’m in too deep. Too weak. I need to grow stronger. Her grip on her spoon tightened as she went back to her breakfast.

It was Riza’s turn to looked down the nearly pitch-black tunnel, eyes alert for any sign of movement.

Already an hour had gone and she was tired already, the stillness of the sight in front of her exhausting her brain.

She didn’t know how Skerry and Artiv had done this—she was going to fall asleep any minute now!

Finally, movement, but not what she was expecting.

A slow rumble resounded beneath their feet. And then the vibrations carried up through them, shaking the metal lantern, the ringing bouncing between the walls.

And then the walls themselves began to shake, loose stones tumbling down their rough facades. The ground shook, distilling the quiet.

The shaking grew more intense, threatening to knock them over as they all stood to their feet. A clanging sound rang out, loud and annoying.

“It’s happening again,” Skerry said, looking at each of them with a hint of fear in his eyes.

No one said anything, a mutual understanding between them.

The vibrations only grew stronger. Soon, they all had their hands against the wall, knees bent and struggling for balance.

“I’ll run back. Check on the outpost. Stay here,” Artiv got out before quickly picking up his weapon and walking back, hand trailing a path along the wall as each step took a degree of effort to not send him tumbling to the ground.

Lefie inched closer to Riza as Jakks wiped his hands along the wall, slowly pulling it towards them. There was a whole lot of wall and it took multiple minutes to even extrude it a whole inch but he was still going.

“What are you doing?” Riza nearly shouted.

“Strengthening the walls. Making them thicker,” He replied, falling back into silence as he concentrated on his work.

Eventually, the shaking fell to a standstill, only minutes after it had started. Less than an hour, and it was gone.

“Just like before?” Riza asked.

“Just like before,” Skerry confirmed.

A minute later, Artiv came jogging up, sweat clear on his brow as he took lungfuls of air.

“Tunnels blocked. Ceiling collapsed. Large blockage that way,” He said, resting on the wall while recovering his breath.

“Shit. How much is blocked?” Skerry said, running his hands through his hair in exasperation.

“Can’t tell. Couldn’t hear anythin’ from the other side, though.”

“Think you can do something about it?” Skerry turned towards Jakks, eyes hopeful.

“I’m doubtful,” He said after thinking for a few seconds. “But it’s worth a try.”

“How deep?”

“I don’t know exactly; at least ten strides.” Jakks said, kneeling on the ground with his ear against the blockage in the tunnel.

Riza had walked up to it, feeling her hand in the same gaps.

Can’t feel any wind. Could be airtight. That’s bad. Her brow furrowed as she realised something.

Why hadn’t I thought about ventilation before? I’ve had no issue with oxygen so far but we’re so far underground that there must be ventilation somehow.

Magic? No, that’s a lazy answer. If they don’t have to pump oxygen down into the tunnels, that suggests there’s a source of oxygen in these tunnels as well.

“How long would it take you to get through it?” Skerry asked.

“Hard to say. I’ve only got two skills that can move dirt and rock. One works quickly but gives me limited control, take more essence, and only moves a small amount of stone.

“The other works a lot slower but it’s necessary to deal with something this size and to open a hole that would be stable.

“Honestly, at just ten strides, it’ll take at least a day. Probably multiple.

“It’ll be faster if you two dig through with pickaxes.” Jakks gave his report, much to everyone’s dismay.

“It’s not worth it,” Skerry said decisively, the leader of the group. None of the others seeked to challenge his leadership.

“We’ll explore the tunnels and look for another way out. They can’t all be blocked.” He didn’t seem too confident in that hypothesis.

They had only made it back to their guarding spot before Riza jerked her head up suddenly, her brain firing signals before her. She stared hard into the darkness.

“Something’s in front of us.”

“Demons?” Artiv asked, having some trust in her abilities to detect them.

“Feels like it. A lot of them too.” The signals massive.

“Shit,” He mumbled under his breath, stretching out his arms as he flexed his muscles, holding his spear firmly.

Skerry raised his greatsword and Lefie her crossbow, though she spared a glance towards Riza.

But Riza was focused, eyes closed but not using [Meditate]. The skill blocked the esoteric sense, meaning she had to gather her mind the old fashioned way if she wanted to remain aware of the threat in front of her.

Jakks did much like he had before, building walls out of nothing in front of them. It was little and probably wouldn’t do much but it was better than nothing.

They wouldn’t want to be trampled, after all.

The waiting gnawed at her. Riza would’ve doubted herself if it wasn’t for the feeling in her mind. It was stronger than anything before that she could recall—almost painfully strong was its presence.

She was proved right once more, though she wished she hadn’t been.

The sensations moved, disconnecting and becoming more disparate as the horde approached.

From around the corner, much like before, they came. Rather than the three from before, they were innumerous. Too many to count and scrambling and climbing over one another like ants, they rushed into the tunnel, on a crash course for them.

In that instant, Riza knew the walls Jakks had constructed wouldn’t keep up.

She withdrew her own weapon, fully aware that she wouldn’t be able to kill the lot of them with just [Leech] alone.

I’m still too weak. She looked towards the teenager, remembering what she had said to her.

The dagger was heavy in her hand. Old faithful.

When the first came within the forty metre range, she didn’t strike down with lethal force, conserving her essence. Artiv looked at her quickly before turning to face the tidal wave of demons.

They’re weak. I’m weak. But I can [Heal] myself for thousands as health. I can [Heal] myself more than they can kill me.

Her heart was thumping hard, like being punched in the chest repeatedly.

Dizziness was threatening to overwhelm her, a combination of the intense sensations in her mind as well as the sight in front of her.

And what she was planning to do.

Lefie began to fire, the bolts landing in demons not because of her excellent aim but because of sheer numbers.

Her skills had limited range; only a two metre radius. Jakks was similar.

Thud. Thud. Thud. The beat of her heart mixed with the thundering footsteps in front of her. Time felt slow as she watched the wall of white approach.

And then they were close. She felt as light as a feather as Artiv and Skerry stabbed forwards, her body carrying her into the midst of her enemy.

She jumped onto the nearest monster not engaged, hand clutching onto its distended skin as she stabbed into its head with the dagger.

A swipe against her arm, blood trickling down her pale skin. The falling of a body two seconds later was accompanied by her mount falling beneath her, dead from numerous stab wounds.

She struggled to focus, her mind the foggiest it had been since forever. All she knew was the feel of her knife digging deep into flesh over and over again.

The flashes of heat, searing pain all over her body, was always cooled quickly as her brain reached out towards the numerous minds near her, the pools of power disappearing once she was done with them.

[Level up]

You have gained 5 stat points and 1 skill point

She barely even recognised the notification as the bodies continued to fall.

Halfway through the combat, with bodies littering the ground, her mind began to clear, lucidity beginning to return.

Her essence was running low but it would be enough. The other members of her group had killed many as well.

Even Lefie had joined the fray now, the demons having gotten close enough.

A tall pillar of water hovered above her, darting out to her next target before a flash of blue light struck down, the tower of water descending quickly and drilling through the pliant flesh of her enemies with ease.

One strike to the skull was more than enough to kill them, she found.

It didn’t take long to clean up the remaining vermin.

Chest rising and falling greatly, eager for oxygen, Riza was laying against the wall, recovering herself even as her health remained at max.

Name Riza Level 12 Health 100/100 Stamina 43/100 Essence

544/1344 Power 5 (5) Constitution 5 (5) Endurance 5 (5) Vim 6 (6) Essence

5 (67) Spirit

55 (280) Health Regeneration

100/day Stamina Regeneration

120/day Essence Regeneration

5600/day

Another 5 to spirit.

She felt ready to collapse, she was that tired—both mentally and physically.

The other soldiers were similar, leaning against the walls to recover their own energy. Even Lefie and Jakks were tired, the combat taking a lot out of them.

“I take back everything I ever said,” Lefie strained between breaths. “About the experiment. You’re fucking amazing, Riza.”

The swear words startled Riza—some of the first words she learned given their frequent use but also the first time they came out of the teenagers mouth.

“I’m as surprised as you are,” She replied breathlessly. “I didn’t expect the technique to be so strong.“

“You don’t understand. I used less than 200 essence!” Lefie practically shouted, causing Jakks to stare at her in shock.

“You’re telling the truth?” He asked, wide eyed.

She nodded, too tired to say anything.

He turned to look at Riza.

“You need to teach me something like that as well.”

The group didn’t immediately carry on exploring the tunnel; they rested for half an hour to recover their energy. Fortunately, not one was very injured from the fighting, thanks in part to the armour the soldiers wore and Riza’s own healing abilities.

With the help of [Meditate], she had recovered all of her lost essence. For Jakks and Lefie, however, they were still dry and would struggle to get involved heavily with any future fighting.

Lefie, especially, seemed to forgo any and all essence regeneration, it seemed. None-the-less, upon both Jakks and Riza’s insistence, she took [Well of Spirit] from the level up she had just gained, though it’d be a while before it’d have a large effect.

They continued down the tunnel at a leisurely pace, not wanting to tire themselves out unnecessarily, passing by the furthest distance they had been before and crossed into the unknown.

They rounded the corner at the end of the tunnel, walked through seemingly endless corridors, before they came upon a section where the tunnel widened somewhat, like a funnel.

And in this little area was a most unexpected wall.

“That’s...fog,” Riza said, staring directly at a four metre high wall of fog stretching from end to end. All other instances had the fog laying on the ground—not stretched like a canvas along a wall.

The orientation wasn’t the only strange thing about it; the feeling made itself known once more. Whispers of presence beyond the fog, faint and minuscule, like they were very far away.

She looked back towards where they had come from, with the blocked tunnel and sudden ambush.

Now that she was focusing, her ears picked up a very faint and quiet sound. In the silence of the underground, ambience was non-existent. Merely an echo of life somewhere else.

But here? Right next to this fog wall? Riza heard something. Something coming from the fog. She walked closer, almost putting her head to the strange manifestation of essence—much to the confused and worried looks of the others.

Sound. Sound she had heard before. Racking her brain for where she had heard it before, the memory finally resurfaced.

The stone tower in the forest. When I first found fog. It was the same noise as now; wind.

Why do I hear wind when we’re underground? Magic? Lazy answer.

Does this have something to do with the ventilation conundrum? If there’s wind underground, that suggests these tunnels link to open air nearby, which would mean plenty of ventilation for oxygen.

Strange.

As she walked away, a very vague idea popped into her mind. She looked at the fog wall some more, considering it, before Artiv said something.

“You done here?”

“I heard wind.”

“Many people start hearing things in these tunnels. Nothin’ ta worry about.”

Where the tunnels opened up to the fog wall, three other, different tunnels connected as well to the intersection. Arbitrarily deciding, the group began walking down another tunnel.

Riza walked in step with Lefie.

“Do you trust me?” She whispered in her ear behind everyone else.

The girl had to think about it, comprehending the serious tone of her voice, before giving a timid nod.

“If you level up two more times. Don’t spend those skill points. Keep them.”

“That’s...That’s a big ask,” Lefie replied tentatively. “Are you sure about it?”

“I’ve just got a feeling.” Riza answered, not wanting to say her full idea, her voice dripping with worry.

“Okay.”