The Boy had arrived at the location The Husk had provided. The journey to this point had not been easy. The monsters and beasts that roamed the area had made the place highly treacherous to reach. The Boy had contemplated abandoning the goal time and again, telling himself that nothing could be worth the dangers of the mountains. But, every time he made to turn back, a small voice whispered from the back of his mind that if the location was as valuable as the book he already had, then a little bit of danger was well worth the reward.

What The Boy had expected was not what he found. He had thought that this deep in the mountains, he would find a cave or a hut of some kind, but what stood before him was a large tower. The walls of the tower extended into the clouds. Each built from a black stone The Boy had never seen before. Impossibly clear windows dotted the sides of the rounded walls. The door, ornate and imposing, was crafted from the sturdiest metal The Boy had ever come across.

Inside, The Boy was greeted with an entranceway that one could only describe as grand. The floor was crafted from the same black stone as the outer walls, polished to a mirror finish. Around the room, in the arched alcoves, stood sets of jet-black armor, each one holding a weapon that looked far from ornamental. The stairs to the next floor, cut from the same black stone as everything else, circled the room before vanishing into the ceiling above. Across the hall from the door sat a table and two chairs in front of a large fireplace. Atop the table sat a single piece of parchment with clean writing.

Hello Boy.

If you are reading this, then that means you have reached this location and intend to use it to advance your goals.

While anything behind an unlocked door is free for you to use, the locked doors contain things that I would prefer you to avoid, at least until I deem it time to show you their contents. For your safety, I recommend sticking to the doors that you are capable of entering without issue.

As I mentioned previously, by using this space, you have agreed to research some things for me. I will not hold it against you to turn around after seeing the research topics, so do take care to choose what you wish to do before proceeding further into the tower.

I have four things I want you to research for me.

1. Curses and anti-curses

I do not care how you proceed with research into this topic; I merely wish for you to acquire knowledge on the matter.

2. Magical poisons

Specifically, poisons that feed off of mana to maintain themselves in the body of the afflicted.

3. Divine mana

I want you to find out how the priests manage to pull divine mana down to our realm, and how they manage not to be consumed by it upon pulling it into themselves.

4. Mana storage

I want you to find a way to store mana outside the body so that a second party can make use of it.

The Boy read through the note, thinking of everything that The Husk could do with the requested research before making his choice by walking towards the stairs to the next floor; apparently, the risk was worth the reward.

Proceeding up the tower revealed that more doors were locked then not, but those that remained open had extensively useful things. A fully stocked alchemy lab, a training room with a durable golem as an optional opponent, a library with knowledge and tomes the world thought lost, and a room that appeared to focus mana into itself to accelerate natural regeneration. Each room was a trove of potential for The Boy, but the tower seemed to lack an essential facility that The Boy desired highly after his long journey.

"YOUR FORGOT A BEDROOM YOU BASTARD" The Boy's scream echoed in the tower for his ears alone.

The Boy, now a man, sat at a desk looking over notes and texts pertaining to his current line of research. The light that floated above his head only resembled the one from his last meeting with The Husk, it's efficiency and brightness leagues ahead of its predecessor. The growing stubble on The Man's chin and the difference in his height revealed how long he'd been within the tower.

"You seem well, Boy" The rasping tone lacked the previous ethereal presence, coming from directly behind The Man, instead of from every shadow cast by his light.

"And you, somehow, seem less present than before." Said The Man calmly, turning to face his benefactor.

"Oh, not as frightened as you once were? Good, you're learning." Rasped The Husk, ignoring the contents of The Man's response.

The Man took in the appearance of the creature before him. The wrappings of The Husk were clean and fresh. They didn't have the same rotten texture as the last time he'd seen The Husk. The body of the creature somehow looked less gangly and more like that of a man, the more present flesh filling in the bandages more soundly than when they last met. While the face was as flat as ever, looking at it did not induce the same terror as it once had. The Man did not delude himself in thinking The Husk's words were right. He knew that the only reason he was not currently afraid of the creature before him was that the natural terror-inducing effects of The Husk were not as present as they once were.

"Well, how has the research faired?" Rasped The Husk.

"I see that your personality hasn't changed." The Man said under his breath. "With curses and anti curses, I'd say I did decently, considering the request's open-ended nature. I could probably cast or dispel most of the curses mentioned in the contents of the library." The Man hesitated for a moment before continuing. "The poison has been more difficult. I successfully made a poison that will eat through the mana of a person, but I haven't made one that acts like a normal poison as long as the victim has mana. I'd guess that what I have works as a rather potent restraint for mages, but it won't kill anyone." The Man paused, waiting for a reaction from The Husk.

"What of the other two?" rasped The Husk, showing no disappointment or approval at the results.

"Well, divine mana was an interesting one. I don't actually have ready acces to priests or clerics, but I did get some results." The Man dug through the items on his desk, looking for a particular set of notes. After finding what he was looking for, he proceeded with what he was saying. "From what little chance I had to observe someone using divine mana, I observed that they don't actually pull it into themselves, but request it be gifted to them. My theory is that this process stops the mana from burning them out, so to speak. These are all my notes on it if you want to read over them." The Man said, waving the parchment in his hand before setting it on the desk.

Digging into his pocket, The Man proceeded to the final topic. "Mana storage, that one was fun and also dangerous. For some reason, mana likes to explode when you force it to behave in a way it doesn't want to. Despite those setbacks, I made a lot of progress." The Man whipped his hand into the air, displaying a small crystal to The Husk. "This is it. Anyone can use the mana in this stone. Unfortunately, at the moment, the only one who can charge it is me. It's fully charged, so go ahead and take this one." The Man tossed the small crystal to The Husk, who caught it with ease.

"You did better than anticipated." The Husk rasped while examining the crystal. "Come with me. I will unlock one of the doors. I believe you have earned that." The Husk did not wait for a response before turning and walking towards the door.