*

The evening passed quickly as Aiden attended his piled up daily duties. There were many requests for resources, submissions for scouting territories, confirmation of newly formed parties, and a dozen other things that only he could confirm with his authority. Once finished, he left the Town Hall with Blizzy by his side, darkness greeting them. The city’s activity hadn’t lessened in the slightest despite the setting sun. If anything, the buzzing of recruits was louder than normal as they rushed around to form parties.

For the most part, he ignored the hubbub. Listening to recruits complain about being rejected for being ranked too low and try to finagle their way into teams wasn’t something he had the mental capacity to deal with at that moment. Though, seeing the lower ranked recruits did remind him to screen each party before they left to guard the portal to the incubator. He’d also have to find a way to stop lower ranked teams from trying to follow those heading to the dungeon.

If only they realized these precautions were put in place to protect them and not exclude them. He thought about how things had been in the school when everything had gone to hell. Can’t blame them though.

Once out the gate, he pulled up his ever-growing status window.

Name:

Aiden

(M)Power:

50

(S)Durability:

75

(M)Alacrity:

50

(P)Arcana:

100 (+15)

(M)Spirit:

50

Boosts:

Arcana Channel XXX

+15 Arcana

Dagger Proficiency XV

Inscription V

Mastery Augmentation V

First Discipline

Ice

Level

Rare X

Second Discipline

Water

Level

Uncommon X

Third Discipline

Wind

Level

Uncommon X

Abilities:

Icy Touch - C (5/5)

Hoarspike - UC (10/10)

Ice Shield - C (3/5)

Arctic Gale - C (5/5)

Crystalline Embodiment - R (6/25)

Ice Mastery: Shard (0/2)

Proliferation (0/3)

Glacial Fang - Rank I

Pool - C (0/5)

Dancing Winds - UC (2/10)

Mastery selection available!

Water

Wind

Rarity limitations reached for abilities:

Icy Touch

Hoarspike

Arctic Gale

Increase Rarity to further develop abilities!

The following attributes can’t be increased further:

Power

Durability

Alacrity

Arcana

Spirit

Seek Ascension to break through the limitations placed upon you and your kind.

Rarity limitations reached for equipment:

Silver, The Pen

Increase Rarity to further develop equipment!

Do you seek to understand Truth?

Mystery and Path selection available!

As always, the flood of notifications taunted him. There were so many things he wanted to upgrade, but no amount of Essence would develop them further. With the threat of the incubator, Aiden felt even more frustrated than normal looking at those prompts. Nothing had changed since the last time he’d checked, but he couldn’t keep himself from looking time and time again.

The two most obvious things he could do was select the Masteries of his Water and Wind Disciplines. The options had been available for a week now, but neither had anything that screamed out to him.

And he felt no hurry to choose either.

Both Masteries needed him to collect five abilities, but nothing stood out after he picked up Dancing Winds. Even though there were dozens of options in the Orrery he could choose from, he didn’t feel the need to rush.

Not when he could see something down the Ice Discipline, something powerful, just out of sight. The intrigue and mystery hidden in those depths of his Essence Map were maddening, being nearly within reach yet having no clue how to progress things further.

He’d spent countless hours at night with Anna testing countless ways to refine Essence, absorb different types of Cores, and reach out to V’Yenya or Sylia for any information. But the two system natives refused to ever answer any questions in a straightforward manner, deflecting and redirecting conversations.

They knew something, he was certain of that.

Speaking of the devil, Aiden thought as he approached the edge of the forest leading towards the quarry the Osh’Tika’Varu called home. V’Yenya’s hand rested against an emerald ball that Anna developed to make communicating with the natives easier. Seems they’re just finishing up.

Aiden approached, doing his best to reign in the frustrated aggression he felt towards the alien. However, when Anna glared at him, he knew he’d failed to restrain Apex Predator entirely. It almost made him laugh.

Almost.

In reality, even as strong as he’d become in the past month, V’Yenya still made him feel small and irrelevant. If anything, the more power he’d obtained, the more he realized the gaping difference between them. Like, if Aiden were a chihuahua, V’Yenya would be an english mastiff.

Which only served to further frustrate Aiden more. His people and city relied on him to be the backbone. If his progression stunted now, he didn’t know if he’d be able to continue to ensure safety for his people.

And here I was just saying the responsibility doesn’t get to me. Yeah right. Shortly after he reigned in Apex Predator entirely, V’Yenya departed.

Anna’s lips pursed in a line. Before getting to business, Aiden opened his arms. She embraced him and melted against his body, the tension she’d been carrying dissipating. They stayed like, neither wanting to move first.

So of course, Blizzy stood, rested her front feet on Aiden’s shoulder, and started licking his neck. Anna backed away and watched Aiden wrestle the little dragon to the ground.

“What a day,” she said softly, stretching her arms over her head and groaning as she arched her back. “Mmm, I could use a good bath and a shoulder rub.”

Aiden rolled off Blizzy and hopped to his feet, rolling his neck and shoulders. “You can say that again. But aside from the shit day, what’d V’Yenya say? Do they know anything?”

Anna bit her lip and nodded.

“Okay, and what did they say?” Aiden asked.

“They’ve seen it once before.”

He had to resist the urge to shake the information out of her, but he knew she was tired from the long day. “When?”

“With Galayu.” She looked behind her in the direction V’Yenya had left and then back at Aiden. “They’re confident the incubator contains something equal in status to Galayu. Many of them think it’ll be at a level of power we can’t face with brute force.”

“They’re confident,” he repeated. He closed his eyes and rubbed them. For a minute, they stood there in silence. Then, he pushed away all the negativity brewing in the back of his mind and focused on the present and what he could do then and there. “What about a book? Were you able to get one?”

As if summoned, Ares walked toward them from deeper in the forest, Anna’s pack tied to the harness on his side. She opened it, pulled out something more akin to a tome than a book, and offered it to him.

Blank Compendium - Rare

Crafted with the intent to store words of magic within.

“Think that’ll work?” she asked.

Holding the compendium in both hands, the Essence in his fingertips was sucked inside. The drain was subtle but present. He turned to Anna and shrugged. “I can test it out.”

Taking Silver, he opened to the first page. Drawing the Pattern he was most familiar with resulted in a glowing blue Arcana Insignia that sank into the page. He could feel the temporary power accumulation as the insignia tried to activate, but it passed, remaining dormant.

Aiden looked at Anna and nodded. “It worked.”

“I don’t know much about Patterns and Formations aside from what you’ve told me. Do you think it’ll hold up when stuffed full of everything from the dungeon?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Aiden said, snapping the compendium closed. He turned towards the dungeon and started walking. “Let’s go check it out.”

“This almost sounds like an excuse to be alone for a while,” Anna said playfully from his side. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“It just might be, but you’re also the smartest person I know.” He took her hand in his and smiled. “But don’t let Oli know I said that.”

“Swear on my life,” she said as she held out her pinkie.

“We don’t need to go that far,” he said with a grin, looping their fingers together.

Anna turned her head to look at him. “So, what happened at the meeting? Did I miss anything interesting?”

“Not a day passes that doesn’t have problems stacking on top of other problems while resting on a whole mountain of problems, literally.” Aiden explained what Isaac and Ian had told him, quickly briefing her on what she’d missed while with V’Yenya. “Today’s been a long day. You think I’d be used to it by now, but everyday just feels like it’s slowly adding up. My body feels fine, but the constant strain and lack of rest is wearing me down.”

“I believe you. You know you can count on me if you need a break or someone to talk to. I’m always here for you.” She smiled softly. “That’s the least I can do.”

“You already do too much. If I asked anything else from you, I think you’d have to start sleepwalking to get any rest at all.” He freed his hand from hers and clasped his fingers behind his head as he looked up at the sky above. “Then again, that’s what I’m doing already. Not sure what else to do. There’s just too much, all the time, without a break from the chaos. There’s no chance for rest, and the more days go by, it doesn’t feel like there will ever be a day we can rest without fear of our enemies moving against us in that moment of complacency.”

“You sound paranoid, Aiden. You should really take some time off. Who knows? Maybe the Patterns and Formations in the dungeon will give you a good reason to get away from managing Zion..” She played with two balls of emerald that illuminated the surroundings as they walked. “As strong and inspiring as you are, you are still only one person.”

Blizzy chirped from behind them where she and Ares mosied along casually.

“And a dragon,” Anna amended. “But even then, there’s a limit to what you can do without the help of others. Isn’t that the point of Zion? So we— any by we, I mean you— didn’t have to bear the burden of things alone? To be able to grow and create a safe space that gives hope and safety to any who find it?”

“You’re not wrong, but it feels wrong. Ever since we came to Midrath in the school, I’ve been doing everything to progress and keep moving. And honestly, I don’t know if I want to stop, to slow down. If I stop, I don’t know if I’ll be able to find the strength to be who I need to be.”

“And who do you think you need to be?”

“Zion’s leader, the fierceless and mighty Aiden Pearce. The one who fought the dungeon boss singlehandedly and came out on top. The one who ended the nightmare that was the school. The one who protects all of them from the true threats and dangers.” He stretched his arms high and yawned, shaking his head to clear the drowsiness. “I figured with all my Durability, I wouldn’t get tired anymore, but I feel more tired than ever before.”

“You’re burning yourself out by trying to be a superhero. Even though the system has made us capable of surpassing human boundaries and able to use magic, it doesn’t mean that our minds are still not that of a human.” She stepped in front of him and rested her hands against her hips. “Listen, if things are never going to settle down, you have to trust others to be capable of going a day without you every now and then. You can’t keep going like this. You’re giving parts of yourself away so often that soon there will be nothing left to give.”

“Until I know Earth is safe from the Shadowborn, I’ll keep doing what I have to,” he said, face grim. “We’re on the last Gate Hub quest. When we complete it—”

“You mean if we complete it, Aiden. Whoever created this quest is sadistic for putting something like that as the last requirement for claiming the throne. Even the Etherene’s lord hadn’t done something as ridiculous as what they— whoever they are— are asking of you. And even if you succeed, it won’t be tomorrow, next week, or even next month.” She huffed a frustrated breath. “You need to take care of yourself better. If you want to be a good leader, you have to. Resting is a key aspect to mental health, you know?”

Aiden nodded. “I do know, but I’ll keep going full speed until I don’t need to anymore. It’s what I’m good at.”

She pursed her lips, squinted her eyes, and crossed her arms. “Mark my words, I will get you to take a day off. In fact, I sense the tingling of an idea forming.”

Aiden pointed his finger towards her and sprayed her with a light mist. “I know that look, and nothing good ever comes from these plans of yours.”

“Not true. Everyone else likes them. You’ve just brainwashed yourself into a giant workaholic. I’m willing to bet that even the Valkyr have days off where they’re not warmongering against the Dragonborn.” She tapped her cheek and smiled deviously. “Wanna go ask them?”

“Dungeon time,” he said, pointing. “Also, wanna know a secret?”