The entrance to Dallion’s new section turned out to be not where he expected it. To start with, the entrances were two, each located at the corridor ends he had not selected during his last level up. If game principles were followed, each of the sections was supposed to grant him the respective skill when cleared. Then again, this wasn’t a guarantee.

Dallion also noticed that the linking had changed the rest of his awakening room slightly. For one, there were more walls on the starting area—one for each skill, and all of them painfully empty. The harpsisword plaque was now much more prominent, with a doorway to the nymph’s tower beside it. Dallion could assume that from here on any item he linked would receive the same treatment. The thought that at some point he would have a direct view into the shield’s realm was somewhat disturbing, but nothing that Dallion hadn’t seen before. After all, he’d had some pretty strange roommates in the past.

There was no doorway to the dartbow. Despite the many good qualities of the weapon, it had turned out that its guardian was more bestial than humanoid—a steel blade spider that could shoot its legs as projectiles. Dallion had attempted to talk, only to get attacked, at which point he quickly used his guard skills to escape the realm as quickly as possible. Apparently, only special weapons had guardians that he could lead reasonable conversations with.

The library had also changed in the most comical way. The small room that was before had become larger and more organized, containing vast amounts of neatly arranged books, displaying many of the things Dallion had learned. A massive double arch connected to an even larger library—the ring library—that was just as enormous as Dallion remembered it. The funny thing was that this massive realm was one huge room, making Dallion’s personal library seem like a lobby.

For some unknown reason, Nil and Nox had chosen to take residence in the smaller library room. Despite all his grumbling, the old echo appeared to have grown fond of the crackling, treating it as an overgrown cat. When Dallion had gone through there to check things out, he had found Nil on a rocking chair reading a scroll, with Nox dozing off in his lap. No questions were asked, no comments made. Dallion had only paused for a few moments before walking away, still struggling with the image burned into his brain.

The gate to his arena seemed to have gotten much closer than he remembered it. Nil’s general explanation was that each awakening room conformed to its owner’s development, taking on part of his characteristics. All that sounded like a lot of mumbo jumbo to Dallion, although he was happy that he wouldn’t have to walk a lot to get there from now on.

Finally, one more room had appeared—dubbed the trophy room by Dallion. The room contained plagues of all achievements Dallion had gained so far, arranged by attribute. While nothing compared to his gaming achievements, there were a pleasing amount of them. Most increased an attribute by two points, although there were two that boosted it by five.

Left or right, Dallion thought. If memory served, one offered acrobatic skills, while the other athletics. Given that he had a crafting skill, which he was still itching to try, Dallion decided to go for athletics. That way he could add proper throwing to his combat repertoire, not to mention he’d be able to swim, climb, and jump much better.

Taking a deep breath, Dallion opened the door and stepped in.

You’re in the halls of destiny.

Defeat your hidden fears and shape your future!

That definitely sounded dramatic. Dallion waited for a few moments, just to make sure that there wasn’t more to the rectangle, then tapped it away.

“Ready?” Dallion asked. Within a second, Nox had appeared, walking confidently a few steps ahead of him. Also, Dallion could hear the harpsisword strings vibrate. Only the shield was silent, but it wasn’t like he could comment at present.

Ready, Dallion thought, and went down the corridor.

Ever since passing the second gate, as it was called, Dallion wondered what the unexplored sections of his awakening room would be. As things were going, it was more like an awakening realm that would keep on growing. Thinking back, the village chief of his village had a vast number of doors in his corridor. For that to have occurred, he had to have done a lot of exploration and development. It was possible that his level was in the mid double digits. If that were so, then Dallion’s grandfather had to be even more impressive.

The corridor started off pretty simple, as if it were a continuation of the existing one. Dallion couldn’t see or hear anything other than his steps. Lit torches appeared on the walls at every five steps. This way Dallion at least didn’t have to worry about not seeing, although he was somewhat concerned that he remained a bigger target than the creatures he was going against.

“Nil, what exactly am I going to face?” He asked, holding his dartbow at the ready.

I told you already, the echo said, annoyed. Dark thoughts, notions of failure, fears…

“That’s a bit vague. Can you give me an example? Is it evil echoes of myself, or are we talking mountain sized monsters with a google eyes?”

Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were either, considering how stubborn you are in your laziness. The creatures depend on the realm, which depends on you. Can you describe a crack?

“Seeing that there’s one in front of me, I think I can manage,” Dallion said with a smirk.

Are you saying that all cracklings are cats?

“Don’t be stupid. They’re not all cats, but there’s no mistaking that black silhouette.”

Ah, right. I keep forgetting that you’ve never cleaned an area before. Don’t worry, you’ll see that when you become a proper guild member. Area cracks, especially those of big areas, are very different from item cracks. Groups form, sometimes even tribes or minor civilizations. There is even a theory that humans originally were cracks that managed to escape—

“Yeah, I’ve heard that story,” Dallion quickly interrupted. “So, you’re telling me that I could face anything?”

That’s what I’ve been saying so far, yes. There is no way to guess without having a basis. Once you come across a few creatures, I can speculate what else might pop up there, but not at this point. Ideally, clear a section and then I’ll share my thoughts.

“Thanks, Nil,” Dallion sighed. As useful as the old echo was, he did have a lot of bureaucratic tendencies. It was exactly as if Dallion was listening to an old teacher with tons of experience and a huge annoyance at the “arrogance of youth.”

Clear a section, he said, Dallion thought. That was much easier said than done. From the quick explanation received from Nil, the way to level up was almost identical to improving items. Each “section” of Dallion’s self had a guardian which when defeated would increase Dallion’s awakened level, as well as solidify the new section as part of his realm. The major difference was that the guardian was a more powerful echo than a guardian, and also, each section was in constant flux until completion, making each attempt different.

After close to a minute walking, Dallion reached the first challenge in his level… and it was not at all what he was expecting.

“Nil, I think I reached one of those spots I’m supposed to ask you about,” he said.

Let me guess, the echo said dismissively. You’ve reached another crossroads and need advice.

“Something like that. Only it’s not exactly a crossroads.”

Expanding into the darkness was one giant room. It was large, and as far as Dallion could determine, rectangular. What made it frighteningly unusual was that it was a three-dimensional puzzle maze composed of M. C. Escher drawings.

I never thought I’d have this in my head, Dallion thought. There were three sets of stairs starting from the small platform he had emerged from, each connecting to more and more options moving around in mind-boggling fashion. Even with only a small portion of the map lit up, Dallion was aware that he’d have some difficulty mapping everything out in his mind.

“Can you see what I’m seeing?” he asked.

No, I’m not your echo. I have to be there to see an unformed part of your awakened realm. You could describe it for me, however, if that isn’t too much trouble.

“Yeah… well, remember when I asked you to describe what I might face? I think I’m in a similar situation.”

Seriously, now…

“It’s a three-dimensional maze going along the walls, floor, and ceiling. I’m not even sure if there’s a difference between the walls and the ceiling. For all I know there might not be any gravity here!”

A lot of staircases twirling around ending in dead ends, with archways and bridges connecting different sections? The echo asked.

“That’s actually a good description.”

Well, if that’s all, you’ve stumbled in a paradox cube. I understand how it might seem a bit concerning, but there’s nothing extraordinary about it. A lot of personal realm sections have paradox cubes. In fact, you’re quite fortunate. Paradox cubes always yield an additional reward for completion.

“You mean like a skill?” Dallion’s concern was quickly replaced by eagerness.

Skills are one option. Achievements are also a possibility. However, it’s most likely that you’ll gain a metaphor.

“Oh…” Dallion felt far less enthusiastic, as if he’d received a participation ribbon for a prize. “Well, I guess that will improve my writing prose.”

While that would be a considerable improvement, what I meant—in terms that you would understand—is an item. You will most likely receive an item. Remember how your initial buckler and short sword didn’t exist? Those are metaphors as well.

“Why didn’t you just say that to start with?”

I did. I just forget that you have the memory span of a berserker flea and couldn’t remember discussions we had a week ago.

Strictly speaking, that wasn’t precisely true. While Dallion recalled part of that discussion, the metaphor element hadn’t been the focus of it, not to mention that it had occurred years ago by true time standards. Even so, the possibility of getting a new weapon seemed intriguing. Furthermore, now that he had forging skills, he could construct that weapon in real life, too.

“Okay, any advice on how I tackle this?”

It’s rather simple. All you need to do is make your way to the center. There you will face your guardian-echo. Defeat him, but do not leave the section. The moment you do it’ll become part of your awakening realm and you’ll lose any reward it might hold.

“Don’t know how to tell you this, but I don’t see any center.”

Oh, it’s there, you’re just too far away to see it.

At that instant, Dallion felt slightly disheartened. If the opposite “wall” was not a wall, but part of the inner section of the cube, this could take longer than he thought.

The reward is hidden somewhere within the cube. To get it all you have to do is find it.

“Can’t I find it first and then fight the guardian?”

That’s possible but unlikely. Remember, you have no indication where it might be. Defeating the guardian will not only allow you to increase your level, but also light up the entire section, making the search easier.

“So, like a sphere item?”

A crude comparison, but adequate. Of course, if you think you can get an achievement from it, you might try finding the reward first. After centuries of research, though, I can safely say that the chances are slim, especially since you’ve already earned a similar achievement.

“Defeat the guardian first, got you,” Dallion said. “Any further advice?”

Don’t let your doubts stop you, take advantage of the stubbornness you have, and ask me anytime you see something you’re uncertain about. There’s no shame in ignorance until it becomes a habit.

“Right.” Dallion put his dartbow again. Time to start this adventure.