After Master Therdreag shot forward from the gates, he stopped 20 meters above ground with the help of his greaves engraved with a powerful glowing runic word, depicting air, force and hardening.

He glanced down and shook his head as the height made him uneasy. After a brief adaptation, he conjured a newly developed double-rune that could locate strong sources of mana. It was developed by him and several other powerful runemasters for the Army of the Abyss a few years ago.

The blueish double-rune by the usage of refined mana rippled and pulsed with thin spheres, each exactly 150 metres in diameter. They quickly spread. Every time they hit something that exuded mana above the set limit, the runes created an arrow that pointed in that direction. Several more-powerful monsters nearby felt the scan and ran or hid.

The runemaster flickered around in the air until he reached the massacred miners’ camp. He examined the surroundings.

There were still quite a few mana crystals in the collapsed makeshift inn. He picked one and smelled it, after which he frowned in disgust, “smells like dwarven stomach,” he murmured, but still pocketed every single crystal. He was not the one to waste resources.

Yet again, he rose to the air and conjured the .

After ten minutes of flying and scanning the mountains, the three arrows lead him to the three visibly blighted, naked dwarfs. He observed them from a distance. One of them was convulsing in pain and purple fire danced all over his scarred body.

The second dwarf, a female, was holding him and even though the purple fire seared her, the wound regenerated almost instantly.

The third and also the biggest dwarf was erratically cursing, madly laughing and crying... All of that simultaneously. He attempted to forcefully move them, but the purple fire always lashed out at him and he could not heal as well as the female.

Three bags laid next to them. One of them was torn open, with gold, gems, and mana crystals seeping from it.

As he saw enough, Therdreag landed before them faster than the human eye could see and said, “so here you are… And all three of you! What a stroke of luck!”

He gaped at the changed dwarfs with a surprise visible on his face, “eh? Breadbeard?! Eriv?! Dori?!”

How could he not recognize them?! After all, they were his family! The changes were extensive but he could recognise them anywhere.

“Ya wanna mae riches?! Dream on!” Breadbeard, now completely green, taller and bulkier than ever before, rapidly charged at him with a clear intention to kill.

The surprise did not hold for too long. Master Therdreag was a competent and experienced warrior. He scoffed at him as he pushed his emotions aside. He conjured a large-as-an-adult-dwarf rune with arcs of lightning cracking around it.

An immensely powerful lightning bolt emerged from the rune. It raced towards Breadbeard’s body in a flash, halting him, but nothing much else happened.

Therdreag, a 5th-rank runemaster, frowned and conjured a new rune, but the enhanced miner was too fast. A fist landed under his ribs. He flew 15 meters back like a cannonball and created a nice, long furrow. The cannon god would be proud…

A few runes engraved on his clothes shined as he sent refined mana into them and created a fiery .

Breadbeard leapt next to him and began to hit the shield with a barrage of fists.

The sheer power slowly pushed Therdreag back, but the shield held firm and he regained his bearings. The powerful blows landed on the enhanced body of the blighted miner, his blood, coloured like moss, sprayed all over the place.

Breadbeard staggered with every successful blow from his opponent. Therdreag put all of his strength on the last blow to the Breadbeard’s ribs. A shock-wave of air appeared behind him and after a few moments of stillness, he flew 15 metres back.

Master Therdreag conjured another double-rune, this time a cold mist swirled around it. A big-ass ice spear slowly emerged from the rune and flew so fast even the blighted dwarf could not react in time.

It impaled Breadbeard's chest, pinning him to the ground. The wound froze and the cold slowly spread throughout Breadbeard’s body.

“Cousin, what happened?” Master Therdreag asked with a grave tone.

Breadbeard coughs out a bloody piece of lung and his eyes regained clarity. “Thery, I got blighted in the mine. Eriv too as I forced her to eat crystals…” he said with teary eyes, “there was a third one, runemae’str apprentice. Dafur was his name. I think… I… Hehehe… I killed that boy and the miners in the camp too… oh Dornus, what have I done… Hahaha! Ya wanna mae rich’s?… Thery, kill mea. Please,” he cried while crazily laughing, his eyes flickering between insanity and sanity.

“Bready… Haaah,” a tear dropped on the ground as Therdreag conjured another rune. An ice arrow emerges from it and penetrates Breadbeard's head through his eye, giving him the solace and peace he craved even before this ordeal.

“Thank you, Thery…” Breadbeard spoke his last words.

“Breadbeard!” Tears freely flowed from Eriv’s eyes as she shouted. “Dad! How coulda ya?”

“I’m sorry, child… truly sorry,” Therdreag apologized with a heavy tone and continued, “you two are blighted too. There are rules I cannot disobey,” as he said that, Eriv flinches and horror crept into her red eyes.

“But I can’t. I can’t kill you two. I will return to Arn-Dul and will be forced to report this. You know our laws. You and your brother will be hunted. Be smart. Survive. Consider going underground or even further; to the Abyss. Grow stronger, take care of each other,” his face was rigged with sadness.

He threw her two amulets, “these two amulets are for communication. They are ancient and the art of their creation is long forgotten. The gems and gold in the bags should be enough for you to buy some time in one of the many Abyss villages. Steer clear from Dwarven territory. Try the Druegars.”

“I’m sorry,” Eriv tiredly said, her tears falling into the purple fire.

“It will be fine, daughter. After you grow strong enough, we will meet again,” Therdreag promised. He collected Breadbeard’s body and two of the bags.

“Father… thank you,” she whispered as she looked at him.

He smiled at her, looked at his convulsing son with dismay, unable to help him. Then he flew into the air and shot towards the portal with incredible speed.

“Eriv, it pains!”

“Shh,” she whispered soothingly, “it’ll go away, be strong, ya’re dwarf!”

“Yes! I’m a dwarf! I’m strong!” Dori proclaimed. After three minutes, he stopped to convulse and slowly gained control over the purple fire. The flame stopped burning Eriv and retracted into his body.

“Maaaasssssteeeeer,” Dori twitched again as it sent a message directly to his mind.

“Dori? Somethin’ wrong again?” Eriv worryingly asked, completely exhausted.

“Dinna ya hear it?”

“What?”

“Someone hissed ‘master’.”

“I dinna heard anythin’. Are ya sure ya're okay?”

“Yea, sorry, sis. Ahh, it’s good to be alive,” he stretched.

“Dad was here,” Eriv suddenly said.

“What?!”

“He… he killed Breadbeard. He… was too far… But he let us go… he gave us these amulets, so we can communicate.”

“With father?”

“Nae, two of us!”

“Oh… good… We’re blighted, right?”

“Yea, look at your status screen.”

Dori examined it and proclaimed, “well, fuck… I knew that the mine was cursed.”

“We have to go underground, the best woulda be Abyss. Father left us with gold and gems. Some village’ll accept us for sure. We have to get stronger, so we can meet dur family again,” she explained as she slowly stood up.

“Yea… right ya’re. We have each other!” Dori grinned. He energetically jumped up and hugged his sister. She hugged him back, happy, she didn’t lose him.

Meanwhile, Therdreag was nearing his laboratory.

“Dornus dammit,” he cursed while thinking about his family and what he should say. A thought occurred to him, “but wait… If those three got blighted in the deposit… Who activated the laboratory? Dafur, right? Isn’t that Tafur’s twin?”

He returned to the portal room and met his favorite apprentice, who explained to him what happened.

“Heh, it seems like my little disciple is hiding something! Hmm… Probably that he killed those two idiots. After this, I need to check the runes… there should be a log of what occurred here. Hopefully,” he thought to himself. “Let’s go, my little genius! You should not have hidden you are already at the 3rd rank! At least some good news, haaah,” he sighed and continued in a grave tone, “I need to report to the Assembly about two runaway blighted and you about the rift.”

They walked towards the portal that was slowly nearing its limit, and he asked with a grin, “and what did you say about the mana crystals deposit?”

☁☁☁☁☁☁

"I'll have to talk with guards about this. Stragglin to the Shul-Gahat's home… Ya're crazy as those pesky sun-dwarfs!" The druegar commented, grinning. He grabbed Dafur, The Mad ‘Druegar’ by the arm and began to drag him towards the entrance of a dilapidated village located inside an enormous cavern.

"Scout-Trago! Shoulda naet ya scouting?" A gate guard smirked.

"Go on sunlight, Nortz, I have a report to giv," Trago flipped him off.

Meanwhile, Dafur squirmed in Trago’s firm grip. However, the scout was much stronger compared to him.

For a moment, Dafur contemplated if he should try that new skill he acquired during the mutation in the lab. In the end, he decided against it and let himself be dragged around.

"We'll go to Shaman-Ganra together," the guard's face contorted in, poorly hidden, anger and led them into the village.

The village was simple; around 25 houses carved into walls, each could accommodate a 10-member family. A small square dominated the middle, illuminated with a few lanterns and a towering bloody altar with a statue depicting a, who knows which, Monster that seemed to have crawled from the depths of the Abyss. It had a plentiful amount of tentacles and a big eye above a menacing beak, filled with sharp teeth.

Around the square were built three buildings, constructed with some care, but not with the classical dwarven forte; a bustling, smelly mess hall, with open two walls and roof from different kinds of leather strips.

Against it was the armoury, constructed from thick metallic plates and with a heavily guarded gate.

The last was the shaman's temple that was the most extravagant out of the whole village. It was constructed from a dark stone, engraved with decorative silvery runes and even having a rooftop from metal plates. When Dafur examined it closely, he noticed several hidden ancient runes, matching to those in the laboratory. He realized the druegars made a village around this building.

"Go inside, Shaman-Ganra expects ye," Nortz, the guard, motioned for them to go inside as she returned.

"Ptui!" Trago spat on the ground before Nortz as he pushed Dafur inside.

The first thing Dafur saw was a messy room lit up by a small fire-attuned mana crystal. His eyes glistened with greed, but he was able to control himself. The next thing that brought his attention was the furniture material; wood! What was more, it was processed by dwarven carpenters! He could not believe his eyes.

Someone was trading with this village. Even though the law did not explicitly forbid it, a standard convention was to socially outcast anyone who was known for even meeting with them, unless on the battlefield. Though soldiers and runemasters were not social convention, the ordinary folks did not dare to even utter a word against them.

"If asked, answer. If naet, be silent," Trago turned to Dafur.

Dafur nodded, not wanting to bring even more attention. He was happy he was not already dead and eaten by these insane Abyss-dwellers.

The shaman emerged from the back-room, wearing a silky, transparent nightgown. Dafur blinked a few times, then gaped in surprise and briefly laughed until Trago covertly elbowed his ribs and shot him a knowing glance.

"What do ya wanna?" The shaman grumpily asked and his half-opened eyes slowly examined them.

"Shaman-Ganra, the Shul-Gahat was awakened by t'is littl' crazy boya," Trago went straight to the point, lowering his head in respect.

Shaman’s eyes shot open and he deeply frowned. "Woken up? Darkul dammit! Sacrifice is naet ready yet!" The shaman exclaimed. He paused, finally registering the former dwarf. "Crazy, ya say?" He grinned as his mind spurred.

"Yea, Shaman-Ganra. I found him in the Shul-Gahat lake. He claim'd he lost his 'stone' t'er'."

"Phe..!" Shaman-Ganra suffocated a laugh. Unfortunately, he failed miserably and laughed so hard it reverberated even outside, "hahaha! Lost his stone!"

Dafur frowned and attempted to say something, but an ethereal rune appeared before his face and silenced him.

The shaman, who conjured it, finally calmed. "Prepare him. He's naet from dur village. He'll make a fine sacrifice."

"Yea, Shaman-Ganra," he picked a nearby rope and bound Dafur. He wanted to evade, but the rune froze him in place. As he became more and more desperate, he activated his talent . It was self-explanatory, however, as a talent it had infinite potential, unlike its technique counterpart.

Golden lines emerged from his chest and shot towards the mana crystal and the rune, successfully connecting to them. The mana flowed towards him from the crystal first. As the mana entered him it burned him from the inside, causing immense pain. Then refined mana from the rune joined, destroying the golden lines as it coursed through them. He coughed a handful of blood and collapsed.

Shaman-Gahat was first completely perplexed, but as his refined mana destroyed the golden strings, he sighed in relief. As Dafur collapses on the ground, unconscious, he commented, "he's blighted. How couldn’t ya notice?"

"Nae, Shaman-Ganra, I'm sorry I put tha village in danger. I'll accept any punishment!"

"Glad to hear it," the shaman grinned like a Cheshire cat and he shouted, "Guards!"

Nortz, accompanied by another guard entered, "what do ya ne’d, Shaman-Ganra?"

"Guard-Nortz, bind Scout-Trago and take him to the preparation room. He just volunteered to be the next sacrifice.

"As ya wish, yar majesty," Nortz’s eyes lit up and his mouth curved into an even broader smile than the shaman’s.

"Guard-Tokg, bind the unconscious, take him to the Cage, and guard him!"

"As ya wish, Shaman-Ganra."

"Hmm…" the shaman pondered for a second while examining Guard-Nortz with a strange glint and made another decision, "get another guard and return, Nortzy," he lasciviously licked his lips, winking at her.

Meanwhile, Trago paled like he had seen the ghosts of Dornus and Darkul drinking ambrosia with the elven gods. Never did he imagine he would end up as a sacrifice. And to smear salt in the wound, it seemed that his former woman was sleeping with the shaman.

Meanwhile, Dafur woke up in the Cage, rattling the bars.

"Guards, tak' him with us, I wanna let him watch. If he won't listen, he'll end up as a sacrifice too."

It took around five hours to prepare the unwilling sacrifice, but strong assistants held him down, while the shaman's helper tattooed him with blood from Shul-Gahat's favourite; goblin. After that, they took them to the altar.

A crowd gathered before them. The shaman with two warriors behind, who were holding Sacrifice-Trago between their arms, jumped on the small platform.

"My fellows! Shul-Gahat has awakened and requires sacrifice! Sacrifice-Trago volunteered! Praise him!"

"What? Trago volunteered? HAHAHA! He's sunned!!" The crowd laughed while pointing at him. (A/N: Sunned - to be on the sun for too long and go crazy. It’s an insult.)

"HMPF! HMPF!" Muffled sounds escaped Trago’s gagged mouth.

"Druegars! Time is nigh! Com'! Let's see the mighty Shul-Gahat!" Shaman-Ganra ceremoniously proclaimed and led the crowd towards the lake.

"Shul-Gahat! Shul-Gahat!" The dwellers chanted the whole way, quieting only when they reached the beach.

Everyone silently stood around the shaman, while he conjured a rune that exuded a gravitational pull, strong enough to force Sacrifice-Trago to follow him into the water.

"Shul-Gahat! Sacrifice is ready! Come!" The shaman cried out and tapped the water several times.

After a brief moment, the Monster, looking exactly like the sculpture on the village square, emerged from the surface, erratically waving its tentacles.

"Somethin's wrong!" Shaman-Ganra scrambled towards the beach while the others watched in horror at their trashing deity.

One of the tentacles randomly encircled Trago and waved him around. The Monster sought to devour him, even putting him into its beak, but as it wanted to gulp him down, something made it projectively vomit..

Strong acid, mixed with the remains of it’s previous Lunch, half-melted darkened mana crystals and random rocks were distributed on the crowd, causing panic as it started to burn and melt quite a number of them, including the shaman and guards.

In the confusion that followed, Darfur found himself unguarded and unbound. So, he hightailed it towards the exit. As he ploughed through the panicked crowd, something hard hit him in the head. He caught it before it landed on the ground. "Stone?"

☁☁☁☁☁☁

Stone slid through the throat of the Monster and landed in the Monster’s stomach.

“This is a very strange place,” Stone stated, floating on the surface of the acidic pool.

“No way, you miserable shitstone!” Luci responded, sarcastically.

“You know, lately, you panic too much. Can you be more helpful like before? Like with the ants? And look, the shield holds.”

Lucifer gaped a bit as his mind blanked out of anger. He was fuming. If a person could observe him closely, he (or she) could see steam rising from him.

“… you fucking, miserable piece of shitty mineral! I will show you useful!”

“Sorry, Luci,” Stone apologized with a stony expression that could mean something like embarrassment. Lucifer very, very deeply inhaled. He continued to inhale as he didn’t have a body.

“Fine, apology accepted. Now, let me think for a bit,” Luci slowly regained his composure and focused on the situation.

“Is it bad if my shield levels up this quickly?”

“… that means we are dead if your shield collapses. The acid of 4th or 5th tier Monster is nothing to scoff at.”

“If you don’t cast your own spells, it should hold forever,” Stone flexed his insane mana regeneration.

“You are truly a monster… so small, yet so big…” Lucifer was glad for it. He could survive.

Stone tried to think of a solution too but the situation was above his… expertise. And he got bored anyway. So, instead, he recalled his tablets for distraction. ‘Thud, Thud’

As minutes passed, Stone observed the mana crystals around him to be dissolved and the released mana was absorbed by the Monster.

“Oh, Luci, I forgot… I am quite hurt from before.”

“One thing after another, please!” Luci said absentmindedly as he was trying to find a way out.

They felt a movement as the monster moved to catch a new prey. Two bodies of dwarfs dropped near them and slowly dissolved into floating puddles of tissue and harder bones.

Stone observed it with fascination. It never occurred to him that these… these… were so interesting. While Stone was searching for a new description for these creatures filled with strange things like blood, meat, bones and other tissues, Lucifer happily exclaimed, “I have an idea!”

He proceeded to explain to Stone what he had in mind; Stone would conjure as many souls as he could and use them to irritate the Monster’s stomach.

A few hours went by. Stone was fervently training the spell and involuntarily, his shield. Thankfully, his nigh-infinite mana and constant automatic refinement, made them perfectly safe.

Stone pondered for a bit and decided he liked training. It made him feel good. Not like levelling up, but still, it was pleasant and fulfilling to see the progress. While he thought about it, now in a calm situation, he decides another thing; he hates to feel weak, hates to be thrown around like a… like a… like a piece of stone.

“Oh, meatbags!” Stone cried out as his mind found the right word for those meat-filled beings.

“Some things never change...” Luci sighed and fell back into his thoughts as he was completely and utterly bored yet again. He could not train, because all of the refined mana was reserved for the and his survival.

While Lucifer was waiting for Stone to be done with training, he grasped several things too; he was still compelled to be helpful. Not due to Rules of Conduct for Partners, but by his talent, , which when he examined it, was legally the same thing.

“Fuck me sideways! Really!”

“Again, fuck this!” Lucifer cursed as he examined the tablet once more.

“What’s wrong, Luci?” Stone halted his training of spell Ants’ Souls and showed some interest, which was very… let’s say unusual for him.

“Nothing, nothing… Go back training,” Lucifer hastily answered. “No way in the eternal Universum, I will be commanded by this piece of shitstone. I wonder what that means that I am protected by his soul. That proves he truly has one. And if he trains this soul-based magic and he became a sentient mana crystal…oh dear fucking gods…” A possible future dawns on his overworking mind, scaring him to hell. “Better not to think about this. Well, I’m sub-raceless Ethereal. That in itself is an anomaly too. I will have to research this after we get out of this freaking underground,” his train of thoughts was interrupted by a strange realization, “Wait a minute… Did he show interest and didn’t complain about me being loud?”

“Okay, silence” Stone commanded those pesky messages to shut up. He returned to his training with his stony patience, but this time, he has a mind full of thoughts, ideas, and emotions, which is quite unnerving for him. “Luci?”

“What again? Shouldn’t you be training?”

“I can’t concentrate. My thoughts are so annoying and loud.”

“What thoughts?”

“Everything… I have many ideas, thoughts, and emotions I didn’t have before… It’s distracting. How can anyone concentrate with this?”

“Oh, you have not adapted yet… Well, you're a few months old. I will teach you a technique for this,” Luci says, happy he can do something. “Settle down and clear your mind, block every thought you have, ignore every sound.”

“How?”

“Do what I said.”

After five minutes, a new tablet materializes with a soft ‘thud’.

“Luci?”

“What?! Stop being distracted and focus!”

“But…”

“No buts! Hurry, so we can leave! I am not going outside the other way!”

“But…”

“Now, listen to me, do you want to get out of this monster’s stomach?”

“Yes,” Stone obediently replied.

“So do what I say!”

“But…”

“Gods dammit! What?” Lucifer gave up.

“I got a message that I learned a Meditation technique.”

“…”

“Luci?”

“What did you say? I think there was some interference.”

“I learned a Meditation technique,” Stone patiently repeated.

“… after five fucking minutes… five fucking minutes… I have seen wizards and monks who weren’t able to learn it decades,” Lucifer sighed in exasperation. “Good work. Now, go train…”

“Okay,” Stone replied. This time he had a clear head. But after another five minutes, he stops, wanting to ask something.

“What did I just say?! Train!” Lucifer yelled. He felt like raising a kid. Which..., as he thought about it, was exactly what he was doing.

“I wanted to ask…”

“For fucks sake! Again?! What?”

“What does the Meditation technique do?”

“Except it clears your mind and helps you concentrate? Ask the freaking Universum,” Luci growled, irritated.

Stone mentally beckoned the Universum.

Stone read it to Lucifer.

He figuratively nodded, “sounds right and pretty standard. Now, train! So we can finally leave. We need you to level up and find out how you will evolve. I wonder if classes will be open to you…”

“Classes?”

“Not now, I will explain later. Practise!”

"Loud!"

After five long hours of constant casting in the meditative state, the rewards were plentiful. Stone examined his journal;

"Luci, I am done. I think we can make it now."

"Too bad, he is not strong enough to even hurt this monster. It's a definitively 5th tier," Lucifer thought. "Good, conjure as many souls as you can and put them in the stomach entrance," Luci did not wait for anything and went directly for the goal. He had quite enough of this place.

Stone conjured three souls, waited for around 3 minutes, and conjured another 3. He repeated it until he had a maximum of souls summoned. 11 ants' souls emerged from his body with the help of refined mana and extremely weak mana-links leashed them to Stone. As the refined mana coursed towards the souls, Stone sensed he could control them as he wished. It was another new feeling for him. He liked it a lot. So much that Lucifer had to shout at him for a good 10 seconds.

"Loud!"

"I don't care! Now start moving them with a pattern I showed you before."

As the souls were moving around, the stomach walls contorted and convulsed.

"Gods, devils… anyone… Please! Cut open this monster and pull me out normally…" Lucifer cried while they rapidly moved back to the beak. He knew this was his idea. Still, that didn’t mean he had to like it.

"Hehehe, this is fun," Stone enthusiastically commented.

"Nooo! The gods have abandoned meee!" Lucifer yelled as they sailed through the air. After the brief voyage above the heads of screaming druegars, they hit someone's head. "Dafur?"

☁☁☁☁☁☁

Encyclopaedia Stonia

Druegars

Sub-race of dwarfs living deep underground, in the Abyss. They are descendants of runaway crazy and blighted dwarfs and are considered as half-monsters, because of their rumoured brutality, even stronger greediness than at the normal dwarfs and there are rumours that they practice primitive atrocities such as cannibalism. Of course, all of these ‘truths’ are accepted by the surface-dwellers as sapient creatures from Abyss call them. Actually, there is very little known about druegars.

They are almost rarely seen on the surface, except as slaves and experiments of high-ranked beings, as they hate sunlight because of natural weakness to it.

But thanks to the good adaptation to the underground, they have gained a racial talent called Dark Vision. It allows them to see in the darkness with ease. Of course, like any living being, they crave light too, just not the sunlight, so they use lamps, torches, etc…

Meditation

Some call it the basics, some call it an achievement. The truth is that it dramatically increases the efficiency of training mana-based spells. But it requires a calm, patient mind and clear focus. Many have tried to achieve the state of meditation but failed. Rumours say that it's one of the requirements to achieve higher tiers of wizard-type classes. Each race has a different aptitude. Dwarfs are known for teaching their kids that meditation is a waste of time that can be utilized better, like drinking beer or mining. Elfs, on the other hand, consider this technique as fundamental expertise; those who are not able to achieve it are labelled as weirdos. And Undead... well, they don't give a shit.

Dwarven equipment

The more powerful you are, the more powerful gear you need. With dwarven craftsmen, this rule's importance is doubled. Fortunately, runemasters are experts in engravings and forging great and sturdy equipment; from utilities to powerful weapons and strong armours. Their craftsmanship is sought by many, lest the optimal usage of their creations is in the hands of runemasters.