Djinn Empire

The Capital, Aerys

In this city, tall buildings extended as far as the eyes could see. Some had their tops blended with the clouds. Djinns weren't giants, but this was the culture of their buildings. They liked tall structures, and tall buildings were equivalent someone's status in Aerys.

A giant fireball sat at the top of the tallest building. The fireball neither rested on the building nor had any support, it floated endlessly in the air. Djinns called this fireball The Eye. They would tell you The Eye had been there for over five hundred years, continuously burning and never extinguishing. Some would tell you it's immortal. But every Djinn believed The Eye was a sign of emperor Djinn: when the emperor was around, The Eye would shine with a red flame and when he wasn't, the Eye would shine with a black flame.

Right now, the Eye shone red.

At the last floor of this building, just below The Eye, was a confidential room where emperor Déniz faced emperor Djinn, another of the five emperors. The room was dark and the only visible thing on emperor Djinn was a pair of red eyes, burning like candles.

"Fellow emperor," emperor Djinn said. His voice like a burning oak wood. "You are putting us in trouble by coming here. We were allies and there was the arranged marriage thing and all, but you are clearly loosing this war. I can't commit my men to a loosing side. I'm sure you understand."

"I understand your fears," emperor Déniz said, "but I assure you I have a tangible plan. And the marriage between your son and my daughter is still on."

Emperor Djinn giggled, sounding like a boiling cauldron of blood. "You want my son to marry a corpse, and a terrorist? You can't be serious."

"No, no, old friend." Emperor Déniz took a step forward and shook his head with a pleading tone. "She is not dead, I'm sure you know. And if we win this war, no one will dare call her a terrorist."

There was a silent period before emperor Djinn squatted forward and his bright red eyes and brows came to light. "We are friends, old friend, but unless you can win, I'm not dying for you. The Salvation Army is pretty serious about this."

Instead of speaking, emperor Déniz took another step closer, and to the surprise of everyone, knelt down on the ground. "I am begging you to reconsider. Together we can... "

He was cut off by emperor Djinn's harrumph. "You are desperate, I have to admit this is unexpected of the great Bihanzin. But, as much as I would like seeing another emperor bowing before me, I value the lives of my men more. I'm.. sorry."

Bizare Djinn (crown prince of Djinn and Nusi's fiancee)

A part of Djinn empire lived in two big cities hundreds of meters below the ground. These cities were connected to the surface by a network of underground tunnels.

It was still a mystery how emperor Djinn found the two underground cities. His son Bizare wasn't as lucky. Despite having enormous resources at his disposal, he still couldn't find anymore cities.

Even now, Bizare was rounding up another expedition. He stood in front of five tunnels. Each tunnel was a thousand feet wide and endlessly deep. The insides were dark but you could make out the silvery lining of the edges.

One of the expedition members held a stone tablet engraved with glowing runes. The glowing runes dimmed one-by-one until the last color disappeared.

"What?" Prince Bizarre snapped. It was another failure.

The man holding the tablet shook his head. "Nobody survived."

"Send the last badge in." The prince ordered.

Knowing the prince's nature, he didn't object. He turned to the guards behind him. "Send them in, quickly."

In front of the guards were twenty people bound in chains. They took the first man, who didn't even struggle, and threw him into the first tunnel. The stone tablet in his hand glowed blue. With every person thrown in another color would appear. Twenty colors appeared in the end.

They waited for two-hours before the colors started disappearing.

One-by-one, they all disappeared.

"Tsk...useless bunch." The prince turned around and left. He was short with broad shoulders which accentuated his short stature. He had an abundant white hair that was touching his back. The same white eyes and a conning smile that made him older than he really was.

The person holding the stone tablet ran forward. "My lord, I didn't want to disturb you during the exercise. The capital has sent word about your... fiancee. She was spotted in the stolen dungeons, in the border between Déniz and Dhán. But... " He halted hesitantly.

"What? Spit it out before I cut out your tongue." The prince snapped.

"The rumor says she is unconscious. And... she is traveling with a red-haired stranger."

"WHAT?!"

Daniel Sereyenkov

"I'm going out." He said.

His assistant Dilti narrowed his eyes in surprise. There was no such schedule until the war was over. "My lord, may I ask where?"

"We are going to Jekyjs. Hurry up, we need to catch them before they leave for the battlefield. Hmm... forget it. I'm teleporting there right away."

"Right away? But, my lord, you are still not properly dressed. I'll get your clothes right..." Dilti started but his words stuck in his throat as Daniel disappeared.

"Dammit! He ran away like that."

Emperor Déniz

"Come back, alive." The woman said. Her voice worm and gentle.

"You won't stop me?" The emperor asked her.

"Would my word stop the mighty emperor?"

Emperor Déniz sighed. Even though, he was alone, even though his closest friend emperor Djinn had refused to help, he had to go. No going back now.

"What if I will be the winner? What if it's all for your beloved daughter Nusi?"

"I will ask you not to go." She said without hesitation.

They fell silent as they gauged each other.

"You know," Bihanzin said, "we have already discussed this for so many years? I have lost count. I just want you to..."

"I know, I know, just go. The army is waiting for you. Tell that bitch I say hi."

The woman turned into smoke and disappeared.

Bihanzin took a deep breath and headed to the door. It was time to address the army.

The actual palace was still underground, and the room opened into the winding corridor that led outside. As soon as he came out, he saw a familiar face waiting for him outside.

"I have been waiting." The familiar face said.

"What the hell do you want, Sereyenkov? And what's the big idea of sneaking in here?" Bihanzin asked.

"I didnt sneak, Kyru let me in. He said 'what could a single man do?'"

Bihanzin murmured something under his breath before he focused on the rebel leader.

"What do you want, Naked Man?"

"I have news, expensive news."

"I don't have time for games." The emperor walked past him toward the gate.

"If I told you a story of an Outsider giving out lightning Contract, would you listen to me?"

The emperor turned around. It was difficult to discern his thoughts from his indifferent look.

"Which Outsider?"

"I think you know."

Edard

"100,000 hours will take me to sage Awakening and then 200,000 to level 2, 300,000 to level 3, 400,000 to level 4, 500,000 to level 5, 600,000 to level 6, 700,000 to level 7, 800,000 to level 8, 900,000 to level 9 and 1,000,000 to level 10. Plus 100,000,000 hours for Renaissance Awakening the total would be 12,000 years. For a single class, I need twelve thousand years to reach the first level of Renaissance Awakening. The emperor has intentionally omitted the requirements for Deva Awakening, but from the past Awakenings I would say one billion hours. It's.. "

"It's impossible." Dylas cut in, "at least not in a single day. Unless if you are ready to hunt."

"If by 'hunt' you mean 'Curse' then the answer is yes. Though it will be slow since I can't take innocent people's longevity." Edard said.

"But you can pay them back when the war is over." Dylas argued.

"How? What if they die? A few hours ago, my longevity was less than sixty minutes. I would have died if someone has stolen one minute from me."

"But, you just Cursed a man near the Eternal Library, what is the difference?"

"That one tried to steal from me. I was just returning the favor. Don't worry, I have a plan. Besides, I'm not the only vulnerable one, the empires have dungeons to protect, remember? What will happen if these dungeons were to suddenly disappear?"

"And why would the heavily guarded dungeons suddenly disappear?"

"Oh... I didn't tell you, did I? You built the entrance but I brought the dungeons here. I imagine there will be other lone entrances somewhere. If I just deplete the dungeons of their support... "

He left his words hanging in the air.

"You pulled one hundred dungeons? That's not possible." Dylas didn't believe it. He couldn't believe it.

"I did."

"You are kidding. I know you are kidding."

"Suit yourself. The point is I can repeat the same thing, and this time it will be intentional and on a wider scale."

With everything going on maybe he is telling the truth. Dylas thought. A gleam of hope appeared in his eyes.

"If this is true then you have a weapon to strike the empires with."

"It won't that easy. The empires aren't idiots, after Tyrant they must have upgraded their defenses. I don't have problem depleting the dungeons but I need someone willing to steal them."

"That won't be a problem. If you deplete the dungeons they will become unstable, that alone is a bigger threat than actually stealing the dungeons. It's like knowing you will die and knowing the exact day you will die."

It made sense. If the dungeons suddenly became unstable, the empires would do everything to keep them. But if the dungeons were stolen then the damage was already done. Some might suggest waiting till after the war.

It didn't matter. He would attack the dungeons irrespective of the outcome. As for emperor Déniz, he'd planned an even bigger surprise.

"We still need to get stronger." Dylas said after a period of silence.

"I agree." Edard said calmly. "But I also believe we have been too focused on future Awakenings that we forget what we already have. Think about it, you told me a Primary Awakening cultivator can defeat a Secondary Awakening cultivator if the difference in their classes is too much. And it makes sense, a noncombat class can't defeat a combat one even if the noncombatant has a slightly higher cultivation base. This shows it's not always about the cultivation base, it's about the nature of the classes and their skills. No matter how you polish a dull sword, it can't win against a sharp one.

"You also mentioned that attributes play the most important role; they determine your speed, strength, intelligence and even health. If you have a class that gives you double the attributes of another class, it means every level you achieve is the same as two levels of that other class. Am I right?"

Dylas reluctantly nodded. "But that's rare, only seen among nobles."

"And you think those nobles are better than us? Even if my classes are average, I have five. Every time I level up, my five classes will give attributes equivalent to five levels of a single class. I think we have underestimated our progress, considering how many struggle with bottlenecks. Unless there's something I'm missing about the class Awakenings, I would say we have a chance."

"It just doesn't feel... possible." Dylas stuttered. He'd never seen or heard any sage who could fight Renaissance or a Tertiary Awakening cultivator who could fight a Sage.

"In the meantime, we need eyes outside." Edard said. He created two clones and sent one outside and one to the empires.

"What do you intend to do with that clone?" Dylas said, referring to the clone sent to the empires.

"A hunt." Edard answered.

They both smiled. The empires would soon realized they'd messed with the wrong person.

"So emperor Déniz told you he wants to kill emperor Daljári Báyir? That's... expected. But I didn't expect the crown princess to be adopted, I can't imagine what happened. You have also faced emperor Fáyra, that's really cool. You have met two emperors in a single day." Dylas said, thinking about what Edard had told him about the clones' mission.

"It would have been cool if both weren't trying to kill me, or trick me. I kinda feel there's much more going on. Bihanzin said he saw an opportunity and he picked it, what was he talking about? He has also said the war has been going on for long and they are only concluding it today. There is this Triple-factor man, he is just too mysterious to even talk about. I mean, who summons people from another realm just for fun? His bounty is 3.5 billion which is crazy, by any standard. I remember those snakes saying he was about to die but it seems that was a relative term. Like someone who had lived a thousand years and only has ten years remaining on his ticket. The family of Dé, I think those guys are just crazy vampires. I can't remember offending them in any way. There is the fact that this corpse... woman is alive. It's too complicated for God's sake."

"It feels like you are being targeted." Dylas said. "The family of Dé aside, I don't think the crown princess was in that cave by accident. What if she was waiting for someone and that someone was... you."

"This may be news to you but sixteen hours ago I'm not in Màsar. So there's absolutely no way anyone will know I will be passing by that cave. It was just an accident. Obviously."

Dylas raised both eyebrows and shoulders together. One just wasn't enough. "I had a hunch. Your accent was strange, your dressing foreign, you don't know about Contracts, you don't know about the races and you don't even know about classes and attributes. More importantly, you are being chased by the Dé. You fulfill every criteria for an Outsider. But I still feel you are being targeted, I don't know how or why, but I have a hunch and my hunch is never wrong."

"You think emperor Bihanzin Déniz planted that corpse for me to find it? Why? How? It just doesn't make any sense. If I'm someone important then maybe, just maybe, he might benefit from binding me with his adopted daughter. But I'm not. Besides, this fucking family is chasing me for no apparent reason. Why the hell did they hate Outsiders so much? We are not a plague and my world is certainly better than this shit."

"Maybe you are important, you just don't know it yet. In this world, every skill and class is inherited through carefully arranged marriages. I don't see a way a nobody would have five outstanding classes and unfathomable acquired skills. What if Bihanzin is hoping for a helping hand from your family? They were probably the ones who have summoned you."

Edard burst into a laughter. It was theoretically possible but he knew it wasn't. He liked nothing more than to find his family but this just didn't feel like it. Everything felt too strange, rushed, out of place... Besides, the man who summoned him, the Triple-factor made it clear he wasn't the target.

"WHAT?!?! YOU WERE SUMMONED BY THE TRIPLE-FACTOR?!?!" Dylas jumped on his feet. Raising two eyebrows and shoulders wasn't enough.

"Yeah. He did say he was looking for something, something better than a Dragonelf."

"YOU ARE A DRAGONELF!? YOU ARE A FUCKING DRAGONELF?!"

Now he was gasping. Outsiders were a common knowledge ever since Queen Dé made it her business to hunt them. But Triple-factor was bad news, very bad news. And a Dragonelf, well, let's just say a Dragonelf was... too much.

Dylas's heart skipped ten consecutive beats, and he took another minute to calm his breathing.

Then he slowly asked, "you were summoned by the Triple-factor? And you are a Dragonelf?"

Edard nodded with a shrug. This was the first time he was open with Dylas, the man was bonded to him by Contract. He could not betray him.

"Then let me say this: Edard, you were absolutely targeted. And this is probably why the Salvation Army is too serious about assembling their forces to come here."

"Well, Bihanzin said the same thing. I understand why the Army would be interested in me, considering the identity of my summoner. What I don't understand is why would Bihanzin have an interest in me? How did he know I would pass by that cave and planted the corpse beforehand? What does he gain from all of these?"

"No, no, you don't understand. You are definitely important. You are too important. Bihanzin will target you, I will target you, anyone looking to cause trouble will target you."

"Stop with the exaggeration and tell me exactly what's going on." Edard snapped.

Dylas huffed and puffed, trying to calm himself down and think of a better way to say it. "A Dragonelf is... not from this part of Màsar. A Dragonelf is not from the lower plane. A Dragonelf is originally the ruler of the sky city before The Descent. After The Descent, the Urúrú killed all the Dragonelves and changed the sky city into the current Holy Land. Just by being a Dragonelf, you are a mortal enemy of the Holy Land and the Eternal Throne. If someone wants to hide a Dragonelf they would definitely do it outside Màsar. And that someone must be powerful enough to defy the Eternal Empire. Oh my... "

Dylas burst into a laughter. It didn't sound like a happy laugh, it was more of bewilderment and awe. "It's all clear now. Bihanzin targeted you because he's hope in the people behind your back. He wants to seize this opportunity to kill emperor Daljári. It also makes perfect sense that the family of Dé are working for the Holy Land. They knew you were coming because they were informed by the Holy Land and the Salvation Army. And that's why they attacked you as soon as you arrived."

The two fell silent as they went over everything. It was an unexpected situation to say the least.

It took some explaining but finally Edard realized Urúrú was currently the only race living in the sky city, unlike before The Descent when every race used to live there. The Holy Land, the Eternal Empire, the Eternal Throne and the immortal dais all belonged to Urúrú.

And Urúrú were his mortal enemies. Or at least mortal enemies of his race.

"So you are saying the family of Dé are attacking me on the orders of the Holy Land? And that Bihanzin intentionally targeted me hoping for a helping hand from the people behind my back? But that would be lame, unless if the people behind my back are insanely powerful. Powerful enough to stand against the Salvation Army, the Holy Land and the empires. Also, I don't think I have ever been here before."

"Does the world you come from have Dragonelves?" Dylas asked. He was certain Edard was originally an indigene of Màsar. Some people transported him to Earth to evade the Eternal Empire and now he was back. Whether Edard's coming back was planned or accidental was another matter.

"What will you do?" Dylas asked.

"Well," Edard took a deep breath. "For now, it's safer to accept your theory. That I'm important, that someone purged my memories so I can't remember anything, that I was born here and transported to Earth to evade capture, that the family of Dé are working for the Eternal Empire and that's why they are trying to kill me, and that Bihanzin targeted me hoping for a helping hand from the mysterious power that hid me outside Màsar. And that we are truly fucked."

"Yeah, we are." Dylas nodded vigorously.

"I won't bet my life on this... mysterious power you talk about." Edard said. "I don't even know if it exists. We need to escape. Hide somewhere and break into Deva, then analyze things later."

"But how do we escape? I don't see any way out, those people outside are there to prevent us from escaping." Dylas pointed out.

"I didn't say we will escape without a fight. If you are being hunted you have to hunt back. Tyrant has mentioned something about a one-way dungeon, can we even go out?"

"We can." Dylas answered. "Such rules do not apply when you jump from one rank to another. As long as we survived the D-rank dungeon we will be free to leave. I'm more concerned about Tyrant throwing us out into the lion's den. He might do it supposedly for revenge. Dungeons can be wicked."

A sudden silence filled the room. It sounded like something Tyrant would do, which meant they were in an even greater danger than they had realized. Completely surrounded by enemies, and the only one who could save them was them.

"How do you feel about accepting my Contract now that you feel I'm a Dragonelf?" Edard asked. It would be understandable if Dylas felt regret.

"Well... to be honest I wouldn't have accepted it if I knew. But it's surprising, I don't feel any regrets. I feel... proud."

"Proud?" Edard blinked and squinted his eyes.

"Who knows, maybe you are a royal even among the Dragonelves, which means at one point you have entered the Eternal Palace up there in the sky city. I feel damn proud."

Edard laughed and said, "don't raise your hopes too high, you may be disappointed. I maybe an insignificant bug at the bottom of the food chain."

"Somehow I doubt that. An insignificant bug hidden away in another world? I think you.... "

"Okay." Edard snapped. "Stop it, you are making me feel... awkward. More importantly, I can't run with you and this 'suspended animation' woman slowing me down. Which brings us to the pocket dimension." Edard said.

Dylas took no offense. He knew he was slow compared to Edard. "You were explaining how you can put me in this pocket thing of yours."

"It's a skill option during my Tertiary Awakening. Apparently, I can put you and the corpse in it. It will act as a storage of some kind and I can retrieve you at anytime." Edard explained. It sounded like he was creating his own world so he wasn't sure. Sometimes you have to use a skill to know it.

"That sounds amazing." Dylas said. He knew of small storage devices that could store a limited food and precious items but never a life. The problem with storage devices was they used a runic architecture with runes that were unstable against life energy. Storing any living being could easily break them, depending on the strength of the being.

Edard saw a flood of information as they spoke.

*

+15 hours from Curse.

+33 hours from Curse.

+5 hours from Curse.

+9 hours from Curse.

+12 hours from Curse.

+51 hours from Curse.

*

Curse has reached level 10 (Tier 2) which is the maximum proficiency for a Tier 2 skill.

Curse has reached Tier 3: quality has raised to +7min/sec for 1min. You can transfer the power of Curse through your blade.

Curse has reached level 1 (Tier 3)

*

"Anything...?" Dylas said, observing Edard's expression.

"One, the hunt has begun. Two, I have an upgrade that will boost my swordsmanship."

Dylas widened his eyes in surprise. "A swordsman? A nice choice. You know, your friend is generally regarded as the greatest swordsman in Màsar."

"Which friend?"

"Emperor Déniz of course. Do you have any other friends?"

"One more word and I'm leaving you behind."

"Okay, I won't say anymore. But emperor Déniz has a unique sword, they say it's conscious and can even talk. Only he can hear."

Edard's eyes flashed. His interest was piqued. "A talking sword? Are you serious?" He shouldn't be surprised after seeing all the things he'd seen. But he was.

"Yeah, an exaggeration maybe, but he is really powerful, even among the Devas."

"Lemme tell you a secret, my sword is not an ordinary sword either." Edard whispered, creating a sword from Dragon-essense. It's shining blue steel shone in the dim light of the landscape. "I can create sword from nothing, well not nothing but close. My sword also absorbs the life energy of the opponent and transfers it to me."

"I agree that is awesome but other swords can do that. Excellent craftsmen tend to create weapons that empower the holder. The common way to do that was to steal the opponent's strength and transfer it to the holder. And your blade looks... dull, and short."

"Shut up. It's dull but it cuts the goblin boss with an unbelievable ease, and saved your ass."

"Does it have any other functions?" Dylas asked. He still wasn't impressed. Edard had a hunch he was pulling his legs but he still couldn't lose.

"My blue sword absorbs the longevity of the opponent and transfers it to me. Is that common as well?" He didn't test it but he knew it would.

"Er... that's not common but the family of Dé should have something similar. Anything else?"

"Damn you! My sword can exert gravity. Is that common as well?"

For the first time, Dylas flinched. "Gravity? How?"

"Well, I don't have it, yet, but I can choose the skill anytime."

"What do you mean you can choose the skill anytime? You passed a skill like that?" Dylas was stupefied.

"It was an upgrade so I know it won't disappear. Besides, I got Violet Push in its place."

"Dragonelf, that's unfair. Usually, only one good skill pops up during an Awakening, why do you have two good skills to choose from?!"

"It wasn't just two actually, it was five or six. I can't remember."

"You are serious?"

"I am."

"Shit. Fucking Dragonelves."

"Yeah. Fucking horsekins. So how would you rate my sword if it has gravity effect, life energy drain, longevity drain and a dimensional cutting edge?"

Dylas fell silent. The combination was definitely unheard of. But... "It would depend on the type of Dance you use."

"Dance?" He had the Elven Dance but that skill hadn't leveled up like ever.

"The way you hold and swing your blade. Each school has its Dance and a simple blunt sword can defeat yours if properly Danced."

"Really? How many Dances are there?"

"Uncountable. But the prominent ones are not more than ten. Your friend graduated as the best student from the best school. The Southern Dance Academy.

"We have the Dance of the Dhán. The dragons have the Energy Dance and the elves have the..."

"Elven Dance." Edard completed.

"Thank you, but that's not the way it's called. No Dance ever has the name of its users. It's considered mundane and... weak. The elves call it the Dance of the Fury. The Valkyrie has the Perpetual Dance. The Ischáyoj has..."

"I have the Elven Dance." Edard cut in.

"Elven Dance? But that's..."

"Weak and mundane? I don't think so."

"Well, er... you are right. I'm not a swordsman so I can't judge." Dylas said.

The conversation was interrupted by Tyrant.

You have five minutes remaining.

Edard quickly distributed the benefits from the Quest and focused on the rune on his neck.

Name: Dragonkiller

Race: Bluewyvern

Age: 8 hours

Growth rate: 0.1kg/m²/day

Longevity: 10,016 years

Willpower: 50

Dragon magic: 18

Intelligence: 21

Loyalty: 29 [Mark Edard]

Skill(s): Fire Breath level 10, Solid level 10, Earth Golem creation level 10, Underground Travel level 10 Longevity suppression level 10

Edard caressed the rune excitedly. If he joined with the dragon his battle prowess would rise exponentially.

Are you sure you want to change Dragonkiller's name to Lorenc? Y/N?

He pressed yes.

Lorenc was the name of his dog back on Earth. Yeah, it was a bit off naming a dragon with a dog's name but to him they were just pets.

After changing the name he moved his attention to the D-rank rebuff. According to Dylas, it could kill anyone who was below Sage. Edard wasn't a Sage yet but he would be in twenty seconds.

First was psychomancy.

You have Awakened psychomancy to Sage Awakening for 100,000 hours

Choose an Awakening skill

1] Mind Loop: create a Loop inside your mind to trap anyone accessing it without your consent. A Loop is different from any prison or shield, it traps the intruding mind in an ever repeating nanosecond. Strength increased with levelling up.

+10 resistance per level

+6 willpower per level

2] Master Puppeteer: control and dominate the command center of the mind. You can control the body movement of any target at or below your cultivation level.

No. of targets at a time: 5 (+1 target/level)

Distance from targets: 1km

+14 intelligence per level

3] Reality: create an entire dream world and implant it in the mind of a target. World is as real as the material plane.

Duration: 5 minutes (+4min/level)

+8 intelligence per level

+5 vitality per level

4] Mind Read Class: every time you read someone's mind they will be aware. Even if you read it when they are unconscious they will still be aware that someone has tempered with their minds. Mind Read Class eliminate that drawback, you can successfully Read any unprotected mind without the target knowing.

Cost: 180

+11 intelligence per level

+4 willpower per level

Alternatively, you can have a second upgrade for Intimidation class.

Intimidation class (2nd upgrade): strength of intimidation field raised by 260%.

A Mind Shield has ten levels, each level stronger than the one before it. A Mind Trap is more advance and powerful than any mind shield. A Mind Loop is even better.

This upgrade allows you to break any Mind Shield like an egg. It gives you a chance against a Mind Trap. And it helps you escape a Mind Loop.

+8 intelligence per level

+9 willpower per level

Reality didn't change much, except the improve in timing. Mind Read Class was almost the same. But Master Puppeteer? That was a record breaking skill. Edard immediately decided. He even used his Blessing Drops to check out the skill upgrade from the Skills Sea.

Welcome to Skills Sea.

Do you want to see Master Puppeteer's first upgrade for 18 blessing drops? Y/N?

Do you want to convert your Blessing Drops to longevity? Y/N?

Do you want to buy weapons? Y/N?

Do you want to sell something? Y/N?

He chose the first option.

Master Puppeteer will upgrade to Maestro Puppeteer: besides movement you can now control speech.

+21 intelligence per level

Distance increased to 50km

He was about to activate it when his eyes rolled over the 2nd upgrade of Intimidation. Between Mind shield, Mind Trap and Mind Loop, Mind Loop was the most efficient defense against any mental intrusions. Probably the only thing that could defend against the emperors' psychic prowess.

He wanted Master Puppeteer but he needed Mind Loop.

You have activated Mind Loop.

Psychomancy has reached level 1/10 (Sage) 200,000 hours

+11 intelligence

+6 willpower

He went blank for five seconds and when he regained consciousness it was there. An invisible net of runes surrounding his mind like a basket. He needed to test it to know its effectiveness but he generally felt safer than yesterday.

He turned to Violet Rose.

You have Awakened Violet Rose to Sage Awakening for 100,000 hours

Choose an Awakening skill

1] Meteor: control the movement of celestial objects via their gravitational orbits.

Interval between usage: 1hr

+6 agility per level

+12 strength per level

2] Focus: ability to focus the power of gravity on a pinpoint (1 to 5mm), increasing both effectiveness and precision. User can affect the blood flow and internal bodily functions of a target.

+7 strength per level

+8 willpower per level

3] Crush Class: gravity effect for Crush will automatically rise to 20x; you can also transfer 10 units of gravity to any bladed weapon through your hands.

(1 unit equivalent to a Crush)

Cost: 40

+8 strength per level

+7 willpower per level

Alternatively, you can have a second upgrade for Violet Push.

Violet Push (2nd upgrade): this will automatically reduced the interval between use to 1 sec.

Choose one more layer of protection:

1] Mind shield? Y/N?

2] Longevity Protection? Y/N?

+6 strength per level

+4 willpower per level

Focus was the only skill that repeated itself. It was a nice skill but it just couldn't compare to the rest.

Meteor was cool. A single meteor could change the flow of a battle. But the interval between usage was just too much. The war would be over before he'd another chance.

The second upgrade of Violet Push was good. Unexpendable if he was considering a Mind Shield. But now he had something better. A Mind Loop. He would still be missing longevity protection but he had an intuition Curse would give him that.

And his swordmanship needed Crush Class now more than ever.

You have activated Crush Class.

Violet Rose has reached level 1 (Sage).

+8 strength

+7 willpower

The best thing was he didn't need the violet glow anymore. The power of gravity would pass from his hands into the blade.

He turned to Lightning Elementalist.

You have Awakened Lightning Elementalist to Sage Awakening for 100,000 hours

Choose 3 Awakening skills

1] Thunderbird Class: By activating this Class you can convert 1000 units of nature energy to a lightning bolt every second.

The more units of nature energy converted the more potent the lightning becomes. Giving appropriate time you can virtually create the most powerful lightning element ever seen.

Cost: 0

+7 vitality per level

+7 willpower per level

2] Lightning Contract Class: You will gain 200 Seals per level and a superior control over your followers.

You can even shut down your follower's ability to control life energy if they break a Contract rule.

Cost per Seal: 500

+12 willpower per level

Alternatively, you can upgrade Lightning Ancestor to Lightning Ancestor Class

Lightning Ancestor class: transform your entire body into a lightning for 90 seconds.

+10 seconds/level

You can move and perform all physical functions in lightning form.

Cost: 450

+21 resistance per level

Well, this was unexpected. Three skills at once? Probably that was why the class hadn't given any new skills since Primary Awakening. It was as they said: every class Awakening was unique.

You have upgraded Lightning Ancestor, Thunderbird and Lightning Contract.

Lightning Elementalist has reached level 1 Sage (1,000,000 + 1000 experience).

+ 7 vitality

+ 19 willpower

+ 21 resistance

This was something new. The cost for leveling up was increased to one million instead of two hundred thousand, plus experience. The system had probably realized he wasn't using lightning much and the 'experience' was its way of rectifying that. Well, the three skills would balance that.

He had more control over his lightning body, more Contract Seals and more Thunderbird scam.

He turned to Cloning.

You have Awakened Cloning to Sage Awakening for 100,000 hours

Choose an Awakening skill

1] Invisibility Clone: create an invisible clone that can be used in battle.

Plus one clone per level

+5 vitality per level

+6 intelligence per level

2] Clone Acceleration Class: create two different clones: speed clone and space clone.

Merge with a speed clone to leave an afterimage behind that can be controlled remotely for at least ten seconds.

Merge with a space clone to teleport yourself through both space and solid objects. You can teleport any object touching your body at an increased cost.

Distance: 50 meters (+10/level)

Cost: 50

+6 intelligence per level

+6 vitality per level

+6 agility per level

Alternatively, you can choose to upgrade Clone Messenger to Clone Messenger class.

Clone Messenger class: create an upgraded messenger. You can merge with a clone to boost all skills, stamina and life energy by 25%. Each clone can use the original's skills at 80% power.

All information learned by the clone can be transmitted telepathically.

Maximum distance of a clone from the original increased to: 40,000km (+2000km/level)

Cost of a clone: 250

Cost of running a clone: 3/sec

Half life: 55 hours (+4/level)

Clone material: flesh and blood

Maximum number of clone(s): 4

+8 vitality per level

+9 willpower per level

Well, invisibility was good. You could hide behind your enemy and strike them where they least expected it. With upgrade, the invisibility might increase to involve the clone's soul and mind. Making it invisible to skills like Mind Sense and Soul Sense.

Clone Acceleration class was a repetition but it was still enticing. He still wasn't sure how his 'afterimage' skill would compare to a teleportation. And until then he would be putting it on hold.

The upgrade for Clone Messenger was too great to pass. Every feature was upgraded, plus he could merge with the clones to boost his skills and regeneration. If he was planning to take on a higher level cultivator then this was the chance. He could even communicate with the clones telepathically, irrespective of the distance. The clones would not be a weak ectoplasm anymore, they would be flesh and blood.

Definitely worth it.

You have upgraded Clone Messenger to Clone Messenger class.

Cloning has reached level 1 (Sage)

+8 vitality

+9 willpower

He finally turned to Dragonbreath.

You have Awakened Dragonbreath to sage Awakening for 100,000 hours

Choose an Awakening skills

1] Pocket Dimension: expand the internal space of solid objects by pumping Dragon-essense into them to create a stable storage. Alternatively, you can fold up space using an Anchor to create a pocket dimension.

Capacity of a storage: 100 (2/level)

Cost of a storage: up to 550

Capacity of a dimension: 2 (size depends on ether)

Cost of a dimension: 2,250

Cost of maintaining a dimension: 3/sec (increase cost depends on the size)

+20 willpower per level

NB: all storage devices and pocket dimensions would collapse if you die or lose consciousness for an extended period. Pocket dimensions can only be accessed at 100% life energy and vitality.

2] Open Annihilation Class: absorb your opponent's life energy with Dragon-essense.

Percentage of life energy taken per exchange: up to 10% of their total reserve (+1%/level).

Life energy absorbed after killing a target: up to 60% of their total reserve (+5%/level).

Cost: up to 100

+7 intelligence per level

+8 willpower per level

Alternatively, you can have a second upgrade for Dimensional Annihilation.

Dimensional Annihilation (2nd upgrade): increase in the dimension cutting power of your sword. You can send a blast of Dragon-essense from your blade.

+8 intelligence per level

+10 vitality per level

All the skills were outstanding. But he'd already decided. Without the pocket dimension, Dylas would die and he'd carry the corpse on his back to the battlefield. Unacceptable.

You have activated Pocket Dimension.

Dragonbreath has reached level 1 (sage)

+20 willpower

The window disappeared and was replaced by another.

Mark an Anchor? Y/N?

NB: Anchor must not be part of your body.

He looked at his sword and he decided.

You have Marked the hilt of your sword as your Anchor. Connect to the Pocket Dimension through it.

NB: destruction of Anchor destroys the dimension.

Well, he didn't expect that last part. A sword hilt could be easily destroyed but also easily accessible.

The space around Edard warped and distorted before it suddenly folded on itself and disappeared. Everything turned back to normal.

"Wanna try?" He asked Dylas.

Dylas was reluctant but he nodded.

"I have to pull you in through my sword. The hilt of my sword."

Dylas looked at him with a questioning look. To answer his question, Edard appeared in front of him and tapped his chest with the hilt. An eleven inches wide vortex appeared around the hilt and pulled Dylas inside. The only thing left behind was Dylas's scream cut halfway into his throat.

Edard followed behind.

The entire space wasn't enough to accommodate them. Dylas ended up squashing Edard. Edard instinctively activated Push and blew the horse away. He quickly shut the whole process up and they appeared outside. He needed to expand the space first.

Just thinking about it brought another window.

Ether available: 0

Expand space using ether? Y/N?

Assign cultivation manual to absorb ether? Y/N?

He assigned the Immortal Dragon.

Immortal Dragon is searching for an ether source....

One source found.

Initiate absorption? Y/N?

Edard hit yes. The Immortal Dragon caught two currents of energy: one golden, the other brown. The golden energy was identified as nature energy and it was flowing from the highest floor of the dungeon to the outside while the brown energy was identified as ether and it flowed in reverse.

Time to repay the ungrateful bastard. He thought.

He tapped into the brown energy.

Dragon Immortal has found an ether current.

Initializing absorption....

Absorption activated at 100/sec.

Tyrant

A tremor ran through him. There was a fear in his heart which wasn't initially there. Stealing longevity was normal: dungeons and cultivators were always stealing from each other. Even taming beasts that belonged to a dungeon could be considered normal to some extent. But tapping into a dungeon's ether supply was definitely unseen. Never in his memories had he ever heard of this.

Immortal Dragon?! What the hell is that cultivation manual?!

Now more than ever he wished he'd never met the red-haired bastard. As a dungeon he'd no option but to fight for survival. Edard had made a huge move by tapping into his ether but he was still certain about his success. He'd a three-step plan: kill Edard using Dragonkiller; if he survived kill him with the Ancient-rank rebuff; if he somehow survived the rebuff then he would use the most powerful floor to kill him, once and for all.

The red-haired would not survive the three-step plan. He would not rest until he saw his corpse.