Because their relationship was based on a Q&A session, before Lark could even question what Sphinx meant by safety, Sphinx already told him to think about it first.

Looking over to Gushi, who was practicing a defensive stance on the coffee table, Lark whistled him over. While patting his light-blond hair, he said, “My stylish slime come over here.”

Remembering the first time Gushi played with his hair, Lark laughed as the slime bounded jubilantly onto the top of his head. He wondered what kind of hairstyle the slime would finish by the time he and Sphinx were done. Not forgetting why his slime was sitting on his head in the first place, Lark hummed thoughtfully as he perused through Gushi’s dossier on the SIM app.

The only reasonable explanation for Sphinx’s insistence on ‘wearing’ Gushi was due to the Patching skill. If Gushi activated the Patching skill throughout his time in the Mind Space, then he would be impervious to spiritual and mind attacks. And it's not like he would be able to use Gushi’s other skills whilst in someone else’s Mind Space. Could he?

“Ding-ding!”

He winced at Sphinx’s overjoyed voice.

“So you can think,” Sphinx teased and all Lark could do was look at his watch in confusion. The word, impossible, may not have been the right word he was looking for given the existence of magic, but magic wasn't supposed to be this one-size fits all kind of explanation. For now, he had to rely on the magical voice in his head to explain it to him.

“You’re on the right idea that Gushi’s Patching skill can provide you with realistic and outside protection. I'll give you that. But here's where your brain stopped working…” Without stopping to make fun of Lark’s soured face, Sphinx kept chattering. “When we enter the Mind Space what do you visualize yourself wearing?”

Lark opened his mouth for a few seconds before closing it. When he entered his own Mind Space, he was wearing the clothes he wore right now: a simple T-shirt and pleated pants. He also had the watch and spatial ring on. Humming thoughtfully, he answered,“What I wear matters before going into a Mind Space because I can use them in that space.”

“Let me fix that sentence for you,” Sphinx said delicately. “It's what you own that can go into the Mind Space. The watch and ring are seen as a part of you due to the magic in them. Gushi wouldn't be able to enter the Mind Space separately unless the slime is hiding a Mind technique, in which case the slime’s intelligence would be insanely higher than anyone in this room. But not to stray off topic… only one ‘entity’ can travel inside the Mind Space. You. And what is recognized as a part of you, can go with. Before you can say that Gushi is a part of you like some weird metaphor I can't understand, he isn’t entirely yours until you perform a binding agreement with him. This can happen in various ways, but the easiest would be to get a Pet Contract. But since we don't know anyone with Contract Magic, we can get away with wearing Gushi and have the magic channeling acknowledge you and him as one entity.”

Lark reflected on what Sphinx said, and recalled that the ‘scan’ with Gushi and Wangshi was recognized as one item. Then he asked about weapons. “If I wanted to bring other forms of protection with me, what could I bring?”

“Since this is a stealth mission, I wouldn’t recommend bringing anything to load you down.” He could hear a soft tinge of annoyance underneath Sphinx’s advice. “…But here’s the deal, if you bring in something that is potentially dangerous like a weapon or poison, there’s a higher chance of being discovered due to the Mind Space’s acuteness to danger. It’s hard to explain, but there’s an extra function or invisible membrane that tries to protect the Mind Space homeostasis.”

In another effort to lessen the confusion spreading on Lark’s hard-pressed face, Sphinx continued. “Change is difficult to process. And the Mind Space likes stability. Anything that threatens the equilibrium needs to be assessed, hence there’s an undeveloped mind defense that can at least alert the person of any changes in their mental state, forcing the Mind State to either adapt or attack. Currently, Wangshi is restoring memories, in other words, adapting to the magic his Mind State openly acknowledged and accepted. During this period of recovery, his mind is in a vulnerable, but stable state.”

Stable vulnerability? Lark clicked his tongue. Not only concerned with his caretaker’s health, he worried about what would happen to his own state of mind if he ran into some unforeseen trouble.

Familiar with role-playing games, Lark was unprepared to roll the die. Dungeons lured adventurers with shiny shit and other shit that could kill you like monsters and traps with the gambling promises of more shiny shit. But never mind the dungeon dwellers. Lark looked at Wangshi’s pale face. He was more wary of the people surrounding his beloved caretaker; basing his belief on that Wangshi was found in the Sierra Desert with bloodied clothes and bandages, clearly, Wangshi did not travel through the world gate willingly.

“Are you ready to risk taking a dangerous, but rewarding path?” Sphinx ventured, and the Trinity Watch transformed. Taking on its sundial appearance, the watch materialized roman numerals and etched them atop the brass baseplate. A copper gnomon cast a shadow onto the chapter ring. As the sun passes over the sky, the thin rod would shadow over the numerals throughout the course of the day. A solar-powered watch was not as convenient as a digital one, so while Lark was not used to using this mode, there was a distinctive change from the previous times he showed it off in front of Mishka and Sky. Instead of the compass rose hidden under the magnifying glass in the center, Lark saw the pyramid glow in silver light and watched it illuminate the numerals on the outer ring.

“That’s new,” Lark remarked. Unperturbed by the design changes in his watch, Lark stared blankly at the silver pyramid.

“Well, I told you I would guide you like a needle on a compass… You could act a bit more excited!” Sphinx said, dissatisfied with Lark’s lack of shock, then added, “While you’re in the Mind Space, it’s best if you and Gushi don’t separate.”

Sphinx’s warning neither dismayed nor heartened Lark’s concerns. In fact, he stiffened all over with only Gushi gelling around on his head.

Raising his head after a brief moment of indecision, he reached towards Wangshi’s face and said, “It’s now or never.” As his hand connected with the glowing square on Wangshi’s forehead, he felt an immediate calm wash over him, pulling him into the deep chambers of sleepiness.

If he could describe the experience as a color, it would be a mix of yellow and blue. Once his hand made contact with the seal, a tidal wave rushed towards him and from himself, sunlight burst forth, tangling the two energies together until they became one current. And once again, Lark heard the bell. Straightway like a call, it jolted him into the current.

Monstrous vibrations decreased gradually as Lark found himself kneeling on a grassy clearing surrounded by trees and blue skies.

Despite the greenery, the air tasted dry and arid as he sucked in a deep breath. Making sure Gushi was still glued to his head, he tapped the sides of the smooth, silver body. When Gushi squirmed, relief flushed through him. “Glad I'm not alone here pal.”

“You still have me! We’re about a kilometer out from where the events are taking place,” Sphinx quipped and the numerals on Lark’s watch glowed. The ‘X’ letter on the sundial ring was in red. “Go in that direction. Your caretaker is in danger.”

Sprinting into action, Lark ran in between the dark green trees and shrubs, scanning them as he went. As the knowledge filtered through him, he learned that the trees and plants he was passing by were all over hundreds of years old. He was in a place known as the Ancient Jade Forest, where many areas were left untouched due to the rumors of haunts and curses. This rumor was largely perpetuated by the fact that while the forest was unaffected by the Astral apocalypse, no one could find any evidence of survivors seeking refuge here or any creature for that matter. Furthermore, all daring adventures who ventured inside ended up missing for days, until they came out using the same entrance, relatively unharmed and amnesiac.

Suddenly, Lark’s legs pumped faster… what the hell was he doing in such as scary-ass forest?!

Back in Fuego’s class, he could finish a mile in less than six minutes. Calculating as he jumped over a fallen log, he should be out of here in about four minutes, hopefully.

There were three kinds of trees in this forestry named: Maila Logs, Birdsong, and Kirkswood. As for shrubbery, there were over twenty species. Each one with a commonality for surviving on little water and lots of sun. And as the rumors went, no living souls were in these parts.

“Hang on, Gushi!” Lark mumbled as he dashed down a rill, a narrow channel that had flowing water.

“Follow the current,” Sphinx ordered. “It’ll lead us out of the forest quicker.”

Complying with Sphinx’s request, Lark traveled aside the stream. Scanning the water, it appeared to be connected to a larger body of water known as the Cursed Springs. With fists clenched, Lark’s heart thundered furiously as he cursed this wretched Mind Space with scary settings. What the hell was Wangshi doing here?

It took a few twists and turns, but finally, Lark exited the dense forest and appeared before a large flat area covered in gray sand when Sphinx warned him not be seen by Wangshi’s comrades. In a timely fashion, he ducked behind a rock formation as a group of people and a really big looking dog carried a man out of the water.

“Quick use Perception!” Sphinx said.

“You haven’t explained how I can use Gushi’s skills,” Lark complained in a low voice as he peeked at the group. There were women, men, and animals berating a boy that looked almost the same age as himself.

“Tell the slime to do it already! The effects don’t have to be explained!” Sphinx scolded.

“Fine,” Lark mumbled and asked Gushi to use his skill. Forming an antenna, Gushi’s silver bubble bobbed up and down in Lark’s field of view. Different from the scan skill, Gushi’s Perception didn’t feed information straight to his brain, instead, Lark just felt its powers. Everything from his sense of smell, hearing, and sight heightened. If a blade of grass twitched from the wind, he could feel it whistle through his ears, feel the dancing motion with his eyes, feel the scent of the dry wind carry flames to his nostrils. Whilst estimating its distance to himself, he could also tell of the object’s nature. For instance, the Birdsong trees behind him contained spiritual properties and he could also tell that the wind stopped short in front of the ancient forest as if there was an invisible barrier it couldn’t push through. But rather than going around the barrier, the flow of the wind disappeared. Just like that. Poof.

Shivering from this newfound knowledge, Lark shifted his focus to use the skill on the crowd. There were fourteen living beings in front of him, all with neutral dispositions. He could hear what the older woman with flame-red hair and a broadsword on her back was saying to the boy with silken green robes.

There was a guilty, and apologetic look on his face, while the woman’s face knitted together like an angry kitten. “What were you thinking, pushing your uncle into the Cursed Springs?”

“It’s a misunderstanding,” the boy said, as he fanned himself with a vibrant paper fan and stepped away from the growling, seven-foot tall dog next to her. “I was practicing some wind magic and didn’t think he’d be so unguarded.”

“It’s okay,” the man laying on the floor croaked as he coughed up water. Another man with hair as white as snow bent over him, whispering in a language Lark couldn't understand. White glowing hands passed over his chest, and his pale, blue lips turned pinker in every passing moment. “It was just a prank, I remember being mischievous in his age.”

Lark’s eyes widened at the soaked man. He looked exactly like Wangshi! With the goatee and tied-back black hair and everything! A slight difference, however, was Wangshi’s left eye; the glass prosthetic wasn’t there, and this man’s eyes were a deep shade of brilliant green. At his hip, Lark saw the object he and Sphinx were looking for. The sword!

“Item: Jian (magic weapon) (uncommon)

+15 STR, +25 DEX, +20 MG

+2% Bleeding effect, +1% Critical damage, +Bonus Wind damage, +Flying ability

Durability: 79/80

Belongs to Wang Shi of the Shi clan by contract.

Graded as a rank D weapon, this double-edged straight sword was created with wind-specialists in mind. Its light weight allows the wearer to handle both flexible and explosive sweeps.

Attached to the open pommel is an enchanted embroidered tassel. Carved into the hilt is a green power crystal with one Celestial rune that strengthens wind-techniques.

The dark scabbard is dressed with inlaid cloud stones and an artistic rendition of the mighty Quilin lays in the center. The lines of the creature’s mane are painted in red, while its hoofed feet and scaly body is textured in pure white.

The blade has been tempered and layered over a hundred times. Its sharpness and elegance comes from the fine hammering techniques by the blacksmith and engraved onto the blade are Celestial magic symbols that allow the user to fly whilst in use.

Craft material: Green power crystals, silver ore, iron ore, crimson dye, pure white dye, and cloud stones.

70cm. 1.2 lb.

Created by Gaijan Poes(Blacksmith) and Aisha Sicility(Rune Artisan, Jeweler, Contract Mage)

Paid by Ba’in Shi with 25,000 credits.”

“Item: Love Tassel (accessory) (enchanted) (uncommon)

A red tassel patterned with a symbolic infinity loop. Made with a woman’s feelings of love. Protects the wearer against dark magic and evil intentions.

Craft material: Ice silk

Created by Yaling Shi”

Wang Shi? Ba’in Shi? Yaling Shi? Lark wanted to bury himself in a hole. Wangshi wasn't a singular name it was a first and last name! Ahhh! How could he have gone on for so long with this misunderstanding? He pouted. Wangshi probably thought it was cute that his five-year-old self didn't know any better.

But who were Ba’in and Yaling? Were they his family members? According to the item descriptions, they were the ones who gave Wangshi all his garb and weapons. Even Yaling’s gift, the Love Tassel, was not so simple. Assuming a woman’s feeling of love was one of the romantic kinds… then wouldn’t Wangshi’s life turn out tragic as he had not seen the woman who loved him for over ten years?

Huffing, the flaming female swordsman did not give up condemning the boy. “Need I remind you, we are not here to fool around? Your prank puts us in a difficult position when we need to dedicate our resources to finding our missing adventurer rather than fighting tentacled beasts! Arelli, why don’t you say something? You’re the one who had to rescue his helper!” She snapped and the blue-haired man she called out, shrugged in response.

“Cheh!” Slapping the fan into his palm shut, the boy snorted. “We’ve been here five days without leads, at least now we have a clue due to my actions.”

“Which is what exactly?” The swordsman folded her arms across her shiny breastplate.

Fishing from his sleeves, the boy pulled out a blue-coated weapon with a golden handle. At this, all the disinterested members of the party suddenly perked up.

A man in the group with spiky green hair, exclaimed, “Where did you get that?”

“It was embedded in the rocks where we pulled out Uncle Wang,” the boy answered.

“Item: Jitte (weapon) (spirit) (rare)

+15 STR, +15 DEX, +50 MG, +150 SPT

+15% Magic Defense, +25% Spirit Defense, +10% Poison

Durability: 49/50

Graded as a rank B weapon, this jitte came in a set of two. This weapon is suitable for battling monsters with a high spiritual base.

The range of the baton is 18 inches, but its short, blunt-edged appearance is meant to be deceiving. Hidden inside the steel baton is a second, pointed blade dipped in venom meant to paralyze the victims.

One-pronged tine, about 5 cm long stretches just above the hilt. Its function is meant to hook onto things. As for what things…you can leave it up to your imagination.

The hilt is made of gold, mostly as a display of wealth, but it is often said that the spirits are most fond of shiny objects.

1.8lbs.

Craft materials: Gold ores, soulsteel, spiritual essence, and blue power crystals.

Crafted by Grandpa Willowham.

Gifted to Vick Sparks.”

While Lark’s eyes nearly bulged out at the given stat points, the man with the green hair had the same look. His expression was one mixed with apprehension and sadness. Taking the Jitte away from the boy, the man grasped it with his own hand and took out its twin from his pack. As mana enveloped the two weapons in a blue hue, tears poured out of the man’s eyes. Squatting, the man scrunched his face together as if twisting in pain.

“Vick, what’s the matter-an? another feminine voice asked. A heavy-set armored girl, carrying a battle-ax, rubbed his shoulder. She didn't need to bend down like the rest because Vick was squatting right at her eye-level.

Lark bit his lip from trembling; he was looking at an actual female dwarf! And her armor alone could smash him with its weight; never mind the double-edged ax and steel shield she carried on her back. He wouldn’t want to be the one on the opposite side of her.

“I lent this Jitte to Maddox before he came here because he wanted a spirit weapon just in case. But if he doesn't have this on him…I fear the worse has become of him.”

Another boy with brown hair and a tanned face whispered to the man holding the spear, “Aulo, brother, does this mean the first part of the mission is done?”

“Perhaps so, but we still need to find the root cause,” the man, who was lightly dressed in only pants answered. Every part of his face to his torso was covered in silver tattoos.

The boy with a similar angled face and a singular tattoo on his shoulder frowned. Worry evident in his deep-set eyes, he spoke while gripping his brass knuckles, “Aulo, a rank A adventurer is likely to be dead, what makes you so fearless?”

“Don't be afraid Brother Quichu. I'll get whatever is killing these innocent people and I know everyone here will have our backs.” The man referred to as Aulo spoke with a grim understanding and his arms tightly flexed. Lark gaped. This Aulo dude looked like a bull without horns and bigger than any football player he'd ever seen.

“Brother Quichu, these tattoos on my body all tell our clan’s stories of overcoming trials. After this mission, you’ll get this one.” He slapped the giant sun tattoo on the side of his abdomen and beamed. “A trial against fire. To live and to fight amongst these burning plains, you show aptitude and grace towards the fire spirits. Although this mission may not end with the best outcome, we’ll do what is right by the adventurer and avenge his honor!” He spoke fervently, with his gray eyes alight with passion, and it appeared the rest of the group heard him as they all closed their eyes in a moment of silence.

Vick, standing up now, moved over to hug the boy in green robes. Despite making a sour face, the boy allowed Vick to communicate his gratefulness with a one-second hug, and then Vick held the boy’s shoulder in a serious manner.

“Thank you for retrieving this precious item. You're right. It does give our group a new lead that my friend, Maddox, may be dead…” Vick paused and his head shook violently.

“Vick! What are you doing?” The boy struggled as Vick’s fingernails dug into his shoulder blades. “Argh!”

“Young master, get away from him!” Wangshi shouted, flinging the red tassel at Vick’s thigh. The green-haired man screamed in pain as the impact burned the spot on his leg.

“Lark, quick! Scan everyone!”

Without hesitation, fourteen black boxes appeared in front of his hand. But one box had an annotated red exclamation mark at the top next to the name Vick Sparks.

What the… what's a Cursed Abomination?

The man who was fixing Wangshi, quickly swiped his palm at Vick, whose face was contorted into a hideous ghoulish figure. The bright flash of light hit him squarely in the chest and blew him over twenty meters in Lark’s direction.

What—shit! Lark headed back into the rill and climbed up to get away from the fight. Grimacing that he was back inside the Ancient Jade Forest, Lark crawled on the ground behind elderberry bushes and peeked through the leaves.

“What’s happening to Vick-an?” the dwarven girl named Rhea Smyth shouted as she brandished her battle-ax.

The dual-water blade user, Salene Peyton, answered, “He’s been cursed!” She examined Huan Shi’s arms and was relieved to see that his shoulders were only bruised and nothing looked necrotic or broken. She quickly deployed a water-based healing spell, while the red-haired swordsman bellowed orders to the surrounding members. The boy named Huan Shi shooed away Salene with his long sleeve and said that he could heal himself. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, “Don’t treat me like a kid! Just go!”

“Arelli stay behind and protect the injured. Henry with me! Everyone else form a circle around him - Don’t let him escape! Jaime, buff and barrier!” Silvina leapt on top of her Ice Wolf and charged towards the wailing Vick while a dark-blond haired man trailed behind her on his Griffin. Their entire group sparkled like diamonds in Lark’s vision, literally, due to Jaime’s light barrier and buffs.

“Lark, focus on that man’s spellbook!”

He had already noticed the grimoire in Henry’s hands even before Sphinx said so. Henry recited a magic spell that unbuckled the leather bindings and floated the book in front of himself. The leather bounded book was a lot smaller than the dictionary Sky borrowed from the library. Lark could feel the crisp papers rustle in the wind and magic power flowing out of the runes.

“Item: Earth Grimoire (spellbook) (rare)

+25 DEX, +100 MG, +50 SPT

+25% Magic Defense, +25% Magic Attack, +Bonus Earth damage, +Bonus stats if equipped with staff

Durability 55/55

Graded as a rank C magic book, this book contains twenty spells divided by (5)charms, (2)summoning, and (13)battle magic. All spells use earth as its base affinity.

0.75lb.

Craft materials: magic paper*, magic ink*, leather

Crafted by XXXXX

Belongs to the Gullivan family

Lark licked his dry lips. This was the second time the scan skill had blurs. First with his genetic condition and now he couldn’t identify the crafter of the spellbook, nor could he tell the specificities of the craft materials.

Sphinx explained, “The original crafter, didn’t want the recipe to be leaked and used some sort of cloaking spell over it. Which I guess is fine, because I don’t really care about how to make a grimoire. We’re more interested in the spells, aren’t we?”

Lark’s back shivered as he imagined Sphinx winking at him.

Returning his focus to the battle on hand, he noticed that the person named Vick finished his transformation into a Cursed Abomination.

Cursed Abomination (monster) (rare) (dark)

Conditions: The person named Vick has been taken over by an abomination and has turned into a ghoulish creature! His consciousness is fading!

Title: Cursed Human

LVL: 1

Happiness: N/A

STR: 100

DEX: 100

INT: 10

MG: 200

SPT: 10

LUK: N/A

Vick was on all fours and his eyes turned blood-red. His clothing ripped apart as his body engorged with black fluid. His blue veins changed into a thick brownish red and his once full head of green hair stood out in black clumps. Now, over eight feet tall with spider-like limbs, the abomination roared with a cry that sent chills down Lark’s spine and prompted the dwarven girl to freeze up. Sensing the girl’s hesitation, the monster dove for her first. With an inhuman speed, the monster ran on all fours, mouth slobbering, and plummeted its long legs right into her robust steel shield. Sand sprayed into the air from the kickback, caking the view of the battlefield into gray grime...