The blinking light in the bottom left of his vision let Reivyn know that there were more Notifications to be viewed. I guess my soul coming into balance was more important and got a pop-up all on its own, he thought as he pulled the notification up. Skill Unlocked! Tier 2: Poison Resistance (0 ->1) Huh, where did that come from? Reivyn was confused. He thought back to the recent events, and realization slowly dawned on him as he put the pieces together. The only thing I had that wasn't from my own personal belongings was a drink that Galwit gave me when I met with him. Dad said that a spiked drink could give Poison Resistance, and the Masked Man told me he had lowered my inhibitions. I assumed he had used his Skills to do so, but I guess he's not as all-powerful as his aura would lead to believe. Was Galwit lying to me and with the Masked Man the whole time? But then my Sense Truth/Lies Skill would have been wrong. I'll need to discuss this, as well as the war the Masked Man was talking about, with my parents when I get back. Reivyn picked himself up from the ground. He looked towards the gate that led to the Abyss Realm, but there was no longer any feeling within him that there was anything there for him. He turned and walked back toward the entrance to the Veridical Realm. The view of the various Realms and the flickering sparks was still as breathtaking as ever, and Reivyn took it all in as he walked. He felt better than he could ever remember, and his mind was clear but other than that, he didn't notice any major differences from finally fully unlocking his Bloodline. Reivyn was about to pull up his Status page to check it out, but a change in the sparks caught his attention and distracted him. He looked up as millions of sparks stopped flowing with each other in whichever direction they were headed as they began to swirl about. Reivyn's Danger Sense didn't go off, but he still got a feeling of foreboding witnessing the scene. The lights coalesced together to form a large apparition. It didn't have any specific form, and it continued to grow larger as more and more of the lights were drawn toward it. The hair on the back of Reivyn's neck stood on end as a threshold seemed to be reached. The combination of lights birthed a sort of awareness, and Reivyn felt it bear down on him. Now his Danger Sense did explode. A large funnel of swirling lights came crashing down towards him as Reivyn started sprinting towards the gate. It smashed into a barrier that formed around the bridge. When nothing was happening, it was invisible, but there was a sort of energy protection around the bridge protecting it. I guess that's how I'm able to breathe in this environment, a stray thought entered Reivyn's mind as he ran all out. The spark apparition splashed harmlessly against the energy barrier, but it quickly reformed and made for another pass, aimed directly at Reivyn. More and more sparks joined the giant funnel, as well, and the pressure it emitted grew larger and larger with each passing moment. Reivyn's heart pounded in his chest as he made his mad dash to safety. The gate to the Veridical Realm was only a couple of seconds further, and he marshaled his Physical Stats to their maximum potential, trying to shed even a fraction of a second off of the time needed. Reivyn's heart fell, though, as a sound reached his ears. A loud crack rang throughout the area, followed shortly by a deafening sound that reminded him of shattering glass. A suction force arrested his movement, his hand outstretched with the gate mere inches from his grasp. The powerful force lifted him up and tossed him back the way he had come, but it also launched him out and away from the bridge. Whatever atmosphere had been protected by the energy barrier followed with him, and the sound of the wind drowned everything else out. Reivyn's body was whipped by the wind and he went tumbling out into the void, his body rotating about, end over end. He almost immediately became completely disoriented, and the large bridge he had just been on snapped out of existence and became just another thread tying the two Realms together. The thread grew taut from the forces impacting it, and then, it snapped. Reivyn was barely aware of it disintegrating into motes of energy that dissipated in the void. Pain wracked his body, and his eyes bulged from the instantaneous drop of atmospheric pressure, and he could feel the blood in his body rush to his head and other orifices, trying to escape. Time slowed to a crawl as he mustered every last drop of willpower he had to envelop his entire body in a Mana Shield infused with the Eternal Affinity. He had no thoughts other than to try and keep his body as it was. The sparks charged toward Reivyn after they destroyed the barrier, completely encapsulating him. A different kind of pain than he had ever experienced engulfed him. It wasn't as bad as what he had been through from whatever the Masked Man had done to him, but there was no defense or Pain Resistance to protect him against it. He felt a burning, piercing pain in his chest. It felt like his very being would be torn asunder, and he could feel the depths of his core being ripped from his body. He could feel an insatiable hunger coming from the apparition of sparks as they pulled at his innermost self, trying to separate his soul from his body. He didn't have time to think or come up with any sort of plan. He acted instinctually as the familiar Mana Weapon Skill was activated with the familiar whip. He launched it out as he passed close to another thread bridge, using the momentum to stop the tumbling of his body. He yanked himself out of the torrential sparks. His body flew toward the thread that he had wrapped his whip around, and as soon as he came into contact with it, it expanded into another bridge. He slammed into the energy barrier of the new bridge, his vision swirling as he struck his head at the sudden transformation. His Danger Sense was still pinging off the charts, and he quickly scrabbled to his feet. The lack of atmosphere made it difficult to run, though, and he was quickly attacked by the apparition again. The soul-wrenching pain returned, and he was peripherally aware of the new bridge being shattered into a billion pieces. The might of the apparition continued to grow exponentially. It didn't cause any kind of physical damage, and the apparition itself wasn't the cause of the destruction of the bridges. They simply destroyed the barriers, and the desolate environment did the rest. Reivyn's body was once more sent into the emptiness of the void, but he wasn't tumbling about uncontrollably this time. He found his next target and once more launched himself towards a thread. He didn't stop at the first one this time, though, as he needed to build up some distance between himself and the sparks chasing after him. The soul pain was replaced by burning in his lungs, as the lack of oxygen for an extended period of time started to catch up to him. He had to carefully balance between spending enough time to gain enough distance from the sparks and maintaining his consciousness while doing so. His vision was already starting to go dark around the edges, and the strain of the Mana Shield wouldn't last much longer. His Mana was dropping fast, and he could feel a significant drop in his Health each time the sparks tried to rip his soul out. Reivyn swung from thread to thread, the spark apparition plowing through them and destroying them as it chased him. There were only so many left, but he would die from losing consciousness before he risked destroying all of the remaining threads. The sparks acted completely on instinct and that lack of ability to think and plan allowed Reivyn to gain distance from it as he altered his trajectory each time he launched himself at a new thread. Heart pounding and vision turning black, Reivyn finally landed on another thread. He had only gained himself about a ten-second lead from the sparks. He had no idea how to get himself into the interior of the energy barrier, and poking a hole in it would just destroy the bridge. He had a sudden inspiration from his recent experience with Mana frequencies. He operated faster than he ever had before. He activated his Mana Sight and peered within the structure of the barrier as deep as he could. He gained a feeling of a mesh between Veridical and Abyss, so he infused his eyes with the Affinities. What presented itself before him was a complicated threading of the two Mana signatures. There were complicated, twisted braids and patterns within the two types of Mana, and they themselves were also twisted about each other in a complicated weave. Reivyn mustered every last drop of his abilities and willpower, and he forced a similar infusion into his Mana Shield, switching his Eternal infusion out. He didn't have time to carefully build the weaves and layers. He forced his own Mana Shield to match the patterns and weaves. He felt a tremendous strain on his mind as it resisted him. After three seconds of pushing as hard as he could, he felt a snap in his mind as his Mana shifted to the correct design. His Mana Shield's "frequency" matched that of the energy shield, and his body simply fell through the barrier to slam into the ground. He took a gasping breath, warding off the impending descent into unconsciousness as he once more took off for the Veridical Realm's gate. He learned his lesson from the last time, and instead of just trying to reach the gate with his hands, he lassoed himself to it with his Mana whip. Reivyn mentally congratulated himself on the maneuver as he felt the sparks once more slam into the bridge he was on. The suction force tried to suck him back out into the void once more, but he used his immense Strength Stat to pull himself to the gate. Reivyn still had his Mana Sight activated, and he noted that the mana frequency of the barred gate was the exact same as the energy barrier, and he still maintained the same frequency with his own Mana Shield. He had no time to try and open the gate himself as the sparks were almost upon him. If this doesn't work, I'm dead, Reivyn thought as he trusted his instinct. He sailed through the remnants of the air scattering into the void, and he slammed into the gate. It appeared to be a swirling mist from this side of the Realm, and he was elated to find that he simply passed right through the portal. He maintained his momentum, though, and his body hit the ground, hard, and rolled for several yards before coming to a stop. Reivyn lay panting for breath, vision completely dark as he entered a pitch-black room. Suddenly, a blinding light shone from behind him. Reivyn turned his head, protecting his vision by infusing Darkness Mana into his eyes. There was another gate that mirrored the one he had passed through with Galwit in this new place, and lines of light crisscrossed it. They expanded across the entire surface of the gate as they intensified in brightness before the gate suddenly exploded into rubble, forever detaching from the void bridge leading to the Abyss Realm. Reivyn laid his head back on the ground, his arm over his eyes as he tried to recover from the ordeal. He slowly regained his breath as adrenaline still pounded through his body. Reivyn's Danger Sense once more pinged, and he reacted instantly, rolling to the side. Something slammed into the ground where he had been lying, and Reivyn quickly scrambled to his feet, arming himself with his sword and shield once more. It was completely pitch black, but his Blind Fighting and Spatial Awareness Skills allowed him to react to another strike directed at him. A spear slammed into his shield with enough force to launch him backward. He sailed through the air before crashing into the wall, the wind getting knocked out of him once more. Reivyn quickly reoriented himself and assumed a ready stance. He infused Gravity into the soles of his boots and seeped it out into the ground, locking himself to the ground. He brought his Mana Shield up once more and used Eternal Mana to reinforce it. Lastly, he activated his Elemental Weapon with the Fire Element. Terror flooded his being once more as Reivyn laid eyes on his assailant. What he had thought was a spear turned out to be a metallic leg coming to a sharp point. His gaze followed the leg to the torso of a giant spider, larger than he himself was. The spider reeled back and screeched at the sudden light brought by the flames of his Elemental Weapon Skill, and Reivyn seized the opportunity to dash forward and slash at one of the legs. His sword bounced off the metallic leg with a ringing sound, the vibrations from the contact hurting his hand. The spider shrieked once more as it brought its giant body down on Reivyn, attempting to sink its fangs into him. Reivyn barely had time to see the green ooze dripping from the fangs thicker than his forearm as the weight of the beast slammed Reivyn to the ground. He managed to block the fangs with his shield though, and the spider once more brought its body up, readying for another bite. Reivyn braided Piercing Mana through his Elemental Weapon as he thrust his sword up at the softer underside of the spider. His sword pierced into the flesh this time, and the wound instantly cauterized as he burned the inside of the spider. The spider leaped back from the sudden shock of pain, crouching down as fluids leaked out of the hole from the stab. Eight eyes studied Reivyn. Reivyn was able to finally study the spider as well. The body of the spider was slightly larger than an adult human, and each of its legs was several yards long. It was shiny and black, appearing to be made out of metal, and Reivyn could attest that it was more than just for looks. He noted that the spider was leaking Abyss Mana, its connection to the source having been cut off. The Mana density in the air was still considerably higher than any he had experienced before, even with the source of additional Mana having been destroyed. He didn't know what Tier Region he had landed in, but he could tell from the speed and power of the spider that it was at least a mid-to-high Tier 3 monster. It's more dangerous than the Revenants, at least, but that doesn't tell me a whole lot about the Region or Dungeon, Reivyn thought. For all I know, this could be the starter boss. The spider didn't let Reivyn consider it for long, though. It lifted up once more, tilting its body to bring its spinneret to bear, launching a string of sticky substance towards Reivyn. He flared his Elemental Weapon and parried the webbing, burning it before it could cause him any problems. The spider took the opportunity to lift its two front legs and charge Reivyn once again. Its speed was slightly faster than Reivyn, but Reivyn was nearly a Master with the sword at this point. Now that he wasn't blind from the darkness, he dodged to the side of one limb as he parried the other. He expertly directed the momentum of the attack away from himself instead of trying to bear the brunt of the impact, keenly aware of the power behind the strikes. Reivyn fluidly circled his sword around and once more stepped in to stab at its face. The spider reacted lightning quick, pulling its head out of range, but Reivyn simply extended the flame of his blade, scorching the spider's face. The spider's body once more reacted to the pain as it pulled up and back, exposing its belly once more. Reivyn took a risk in overextending himself, piercing the spider once more just below its head. He morphed the Piercing braid into the Sharpness Affinity, and he brought his sword down, disemboweling the spider. The spider let out a wail as its body collapsed, its insides spilling out as its legs scrabbled about frantically, attempting to do anything to stop its lifeblood from leaking. Reivyn stepped forward once more and beheaded the creature, ending the struggle. Reivyn sank to a knee, propping himself up with his sword as he once more panted for breath. He had barely had time to recover from escaping the void between Realms when he was thrust into a life-or-death fight with a terrifying monster. He launched a bright Light Ball Spell into the air, illuminating the entire room, searching for other threats. There was webbing all around the walls and ceiling, and there were several large sacks hung from several of the webs. Reivyn couldn't sense any life or movement from any of the webbings that were clearly victims of the spider, but he did notice an egg sac off in the corner. He wasn't willing to deal with hundreds or thousands of smaller spiders exploding out at him at any time, so he Dual Cast a Plasma Beam and Inferno Blast Spell at the sac. It exploded with the fiery remains of palm-sized spiders flinging out. "Ugh, disgusting," Reivyn said aloud. There was nothing else of note in the cavern that he found himself in. There was an alcove that lead to the supposed exit, and Reivyn could sense that it was the entrance to this Dungeon. "This reminds me of the Boss Dungeon in the Tier 1 Region," he mused. "There's no telling where I ended up after escaping from those sparks in the void. I've never heard any rumors of any spider Dungeons in any nearby kingdoms, either. With how big the Realm is, I could be anywhere. "At least most of the threads connecting our Realms were extinguished. I might have accidentally ended the war before it could begin. "Imagine spending decades, or longer, to scheme to reignite an ancient war between Realms, and then I destroy those plans completely on accident." Reivyn threw his head back and laughed. Reivyn was actually extremely worried and anxious about where he had ended up, but he needed to latch onto the one positive thing to keep himself calm. Reivyn sat down on the ground and pulled his belongings out. He had one set of field rations in his pack and a full water skin. He looked back and forth between the rations and the corpse of the spider, but he shuddered in denial at the idea of supplementing his food stores with the creature. If worse comes to worst, and I can't find anything else, I can always take the leap to butcher the spider, Reivyn thought as he put his rations away. Trying to get a gear management Skill really bit me in the butt, this time. I have no idea how large this cave is on the other side of the Dungeon, and I don't know if any monsters or beasts I find will be edible. I don't know where I am, and I don't know how far any civilization will be from here or in which direction. I am in quite the predicament. Reivyn sighed as he tried to keep calm. There wasn't anything he could do about those situations except slowly explore his options when the time arrived. If his hunch was right, and this was the weakest starter boss of the area, then he could be in way over his head. Exhaustion replaced the adrenaline that had kept him going, and, knowing that he was safe in a separate Dungeon dimension, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep. He would need to be at full energy to tackle the challenges ahead.