Spark infused quills filled the air like a swarm of bees. The aethervore teleported from spot to spot, faster than the quills could reach them. However, its ability to cast spells was significantly reduced. Dallion was fully aware that it wouldn’t be easy to defeat the guardian with scholar skills alone. His main goal was to aim at the magic symbols on the walls; those targets were a lot easier to hit and, thanks to the spark, be destroyed. With each destroyed symbol, two new would emerge, attempting to cast a new spell. It was almost like fighting the equivalent of a hydra made of magic.

Dallion kept splitting into instances, using athletics to run along walls and floor as he chased after the constantly shifting guardian. Sadly, each time the blade of the harpsisword would get anywhere close, the creature would vanish, like it avoided the quills.

Changing his grip, Dallion played a few chords. The sound matched the aethervore, establishing a connection just long enough for Dallion to instill caution and fear within it. The combination wasn’t one he’d usually go for, but it had the desired effect. With each next flash, the guardian became slightly slower, hesitating as to its next move. An ordinary person wouldn’t have noticed the difference, but Dallion saw his attacks getting closer to the target.

Spells stopped being cast, as a stalemate was achieved between the quills and symbols. The two skills had matched each other perfectly, providing Dallion with the advantage.

Got you. Dallion switched his grip of the haprsisword and did a new series of line attacks. Scars covered the walls.

TERMINAL STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 1000%

A line appeared on the guardian’s body, slicing it in two.

AETHERVORE has been defeated.

The vortex realm exploded, turning into strands of magic. Each and every one of them twirled around Dallion like a hurricane of yarn. The sensation was indescribable. Dallion could feel the magic pulsing in the air, smelling like fresh ozone. Was this what defeating a vortex creature felt like?

Go ahead and get the magic, dear boy, Nil said. You earned it.

Dallion couldn’t help but smile. With magic, even obtaining levels required work. Extending his magic through his fingers, he reached out and grabbed a strand. The moment it made contact, the fragment of magic was sucked into Dallion, filling his arm with warmth as it did. After the strand was absorbed, another was sucked in, and another. In a matter of seconds, the whole vortex had made its way into Dallion, becoming part of his magic.

You have assimilated the VORTEX, increasing your magic trait to 6.

“So that’s how it happens.” Dallion looked at his hand. There were no marks of any other traces that he had consumed the vortex. Not even his magic glow had increased. Regardless, Dallion could feel the change, like a slight fever burning on the inside.

The plain gray walls had returned along with the blue rectangle, reminding him he was back in the realm of the tile.

VORTEX EATER

(+2 Mind)

Congratulations on absorbing your first vortex. You never know, though. Next time it might be harder.

Getting achievements was always welcome. Compared to normal awakened, mages had it quite easy. Still, this was just a means of compensating for the inability to level up.

Suddenly, the blue rectangle tilted.

“Nil,” Dallion said. “Has this happened before?”

As he spoke, something hit him in the face—it was the floor. Everything started spinning. Dallion closed his eyes, but that only made things worse. He felt as if he were snatched by a hurricane and lifted somewhere high above the ground. Then, just as quickly as it had started, everything froze still. Cautiously, Dallion cracked an eye open.

A stone meadow was around him. The grass, the flowers, even the trees were made entirely out of stone, even if they felt surprisingly soft.

“Never a dull moment with you,” a familiar voice said.

Looking in the direction of the voice, Dallion saw a dryad dressed entirely in green traveling clothes.

“Felygn,” Dallion whispered. “What happened?”

“You fainted,” the Green Moon said, moving closer. Patches of grass emerged where he stepped, bringing color to the grayness. “Gives us a chance to talk.”

Reluctantly, Dallion stood up.

“I thought I was done after I defeated the Star.”

“A Star,” the Moon corrected. “And what made you think that would be all? There’s more in the world than the Star alone? All you’ve done is to earn the world a brief reprieve. Events are still unfolding.”

“What must I do this time?”

“Must?” The Moon shook his head. “You never had to do anything. It was all a matter of choice. You didn’t have to ask for my boons. You didn’t have to go south and free Dark. You still did, though, for which I’m thankful.”

No matter how it was presented, the choice wasn’t a choice. True, if Dallion’s ambitions hadn’t been so great he wouldn’t have gotten into a situation in which he’d need favors from the Green Moon in order to survive.

Reaching into the air, Dallion tried to summon his harpsisword. Nothing happened.

I’m in a dream, after all, he thought.

“Releasing Aether was the right choice.” Felygn patted Dallion on the shoulder. “I know you’re not convinced, but it’s better than the alternative.”

“For me, at least.”

“For everyone, even for the Star, though in a way you can’t understand.”

“Is that why you’re here? To tell me that?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.”

Yeah, right. Dallion thought. The Moons only appeared when they wanted something. The issue was that for the life of him, Dallion wasn’t able to figure out what. It had to be related with the Academy, otherwise—

“I’m really just here to talk,” the Moon interrupted. “It happens from time to time. Maybe in the past I’ve used these visits as a pretext to nudge you in the right direction, but you’re beyond that now. Think of it as a visit from an old friend come to give you some advice.”

“Advice from a Moon always comes at a price.”

“The rest are upset with you. Astreza is upset.”

The Moon of Awakening? Why would he be upset? Dallion wondered.

It wasn’t like Dallion had fought the Star for the fun of it. Or maybe it was the destruction of the Order’s temple that had angered the Blue Moon? Usually, it wasn’t difficult to tell, but this time, Dallion was at a complete loss.

“That will make your progress quite more challenging, so try not to bite more than you could chew.”

“I don’t understand…”

“You’re cursed, Dallion. You have been for some time.”

The shock of the statement made Dallion take a step back. This wasn’t something he expected; not that he might get punished by the Moons, but that no one had bothered telling him until now.

“Didn’t you notice that you’re level capped at level eighty?”

“But that’s normal.”

“Not for humans, especially otherworlders. For you, every second gate is supposed to block your progress, yet you’ve been unable to boost any skill over eighty. Why do you think that’s so?”

The Moon was right. Going by the standard logic, Dallion was supposed to be able to boost his skills till a hundred and sixty. Awakening gates were divided into minor and major. Major ones blocked skill boosting until passed. Since the second awakening gate was considered major, the fourth and sixth were supposed to be such as well. At present Dallion was three levels from the fifth gate—a minor gate—which wasn’t supposed to limit his skills, and yet something had.

“Where did I mess up?”

“As usual, you’re asking the wrong question. The proper question is whether there’s something you can do to earn back your favor.”

There it was again—the not-so-subtle hook. A voice in the back of Dallion’s mind whispered that he would be better off ignoring the entire conversation and just continue with his life. He had magic to focus on, so as to earn his way to get out of the Academy as quickly as possible. Euryale was still out there, and he had absolutely no idea what was going on with her.

“The gorgon is well,” The Moon said, reading Dallion’s thoughts. “So are most of your friends. However, there’s no guarantee they’ll remain alright for long.”

“Is this a warning?”

“No. It’s a fact of life. You think that just because there’s no Star right now, everything’s perfect? There are always forces at play and power vacuums are quickly filled up by something else.”

“Just tell me what I must do!” Dallion raised his voice. He was getting tired of all the riddles.

“That’s not something I can do, even if you are my favored.” The dryad suddenly disappeared, replaced by a giant green Moon in the sky above. “Astreza enjoys strife and achievement. Find a way to impress him and he’ll tell you what to do. Or don’t and enjoy the chaos around you. As usual, you have the power to choose.”

“That’s not a choice!” Dallion jumped to his feet.

No need to shout, dear boy, Nil said in an annoyed voice. It’s not uncommon to faint after an absorption. Usually, it takes a few times to get used to it.

“Huh?” Dallion blinked.

He was back in the realm of the tile. His conversation with the Moon had ended abruptly, as always, leaving him with questions and an uneasy feeling. The only practical information he’d received was that he was cursed, for some reason, and that something bad was about to happen; maybe not right away, but things were already in motion.

“Yeah.” Dallion shook his head. “Let’s go on with the next one.”

I wouldn’t recommend—

Dallion left the realm, returning to the real world. The stench made his eyes water all over again. The splash, resulting in him landing back in the sewer sludge, made him vomit. Clearly, an emotional return to reality wasn’t the best idea.

Never mind, the echo said.

“Are there any more further in?” Dallion brushed off the tears from his eyes while also holding his nose with his other hand.

Probably. There’s only one way to find out for certain.

Breathing as shallowly as possible, Dallion went on. It took a while for him to get used to the stench again. Given what he had just experienced, though, it suddenly didn’t seem too bad. In any event, it was preferable to the “chaos” that might befall the world.

The further in Dallion went, the deeper the sewer got. After close to an hour, he was knee deep in sewage. The only consolation was the knowledge that the runes outside of the sewers would let him wash everything off.

Not too long after, Dallion spotted another vortex, just as Nil had said there would be. This one was lodged in a tile on the side of the wall. Instead of entering its realm, Dallion used his Nox dagger to take it out. Since there was no need to go through the vortexes in immediate succession, it was much better to take it for absorption at a later time.

Given that the level of the sewage continued to increase, Dallion decided against continuing further in. Using his acrobatic skills, he dashed along the wall all the way to the exit. There, he stopped to finally enjoy some “fresh” water. Never had an illusion felt so nice. After spending ten minutes washing off the sludge from his boots and trousers, Dallion undressed and spent a long while relaxing in the stream.

Making use of his knowledge of symbols, he then rinsed his clothes and dried them up by drawing a heat symbol.

Better get a move on, Nil warned. Even with a pass, it’s not a good idea to be out after sunset.

“Monsters?” Dallion asked, getting into his now clean and dry clothes.

Rules and regulations. Also, people don’t like uppity novices, especially if they aren’t related to nobles.

“Right.” Two vortexes wasn’t bad for a first day. “Any idea where to go hunting tomorrow?”

More than a few. You better train your stomach, though. There are a few more sewage systems we’ll need to go through. After that, we’ll see how to proceed.