The Fool's Freedom

Alan opened his eyes in the darkness. He had long given up on keeping track of time. The mana was raging inside him, moving smoother than ever. Something had changed yet again. A minute change, but a change nonetheless.

The rings of awareness and focus probably played into that. The small boost they gave to his senses had allowed him to peek further into seeing what Insights were all about. What those ‘laws’ or ‘ideas’ represented.

The damage he had sustained was all but gone. He took out a new set of clothes from the shadow inventory and focused on his attributes. Eleven levels worth of points awaited to be put in place. In tier one that would’ve been a fortune, and the number was still significant now. Perhaps more so.

The passive improvement was three times that, at 165 attribute points separated between three attributes. He once again silently thanked Thorn for giving him One Body, One Mind. Without it, he would’ve not made it so far. It was his bread and butter and his strange fighting style had largely evolved from it.

It was difficult to put them into anything but Mind or Will. The only other choice was Magic. Keeping the three attributes equal seemed smart since they contributed to his physical attributes as well. He was feeling the effects and improvements each time. The destructive forces of his will were, however, something hard to use against powerful foes.

It was a slow-acting pressure that cracked stone and broke skin. Most fights didn’t give him the time to apply it as he wished. The boost to his skills had been good. Without his Will manifested into each and every cast, then Alan doubted he would’ve made it this far. It was a small thing, but it had the potential to be much more. Shadows that broke and tore apart, a void that consumed. He wanted to wield such power.

[Sacrificial Attack] had helped a lot. Too much if he had to be honest about it.

It didn’t feel good being reliant on a finite source such as another’s life force. Even now Cole’s flickering thread of life weighted on Alan’s consciousness. It seemed overly cruel, what he had done. People were not resources to be spent for their own good. Good or bad, those were lives he was toying with. If he kept doing so, he would be no different than the Bone Lord or the Dragon that had been ready to break his neck.

The sudden moral dilemma left him shaking his head. Without thinking too much he put 25 points into Will, and 30 into Mind. Magic was still doing well, and he hoped that once the next ritual was complete, he would get another nice boost to it.

INFORMATION:

Name:

Alan Morgan

Race:

Shadowless

Bloodline:

Void’s Shadow | Progress: 1.9%

Class:

Shepherd of the Broken (Unique)

Level:

Tier 2 - 121

Insight:

Flow; Emptiness

Titles:

First Pathfinder; Progenitor; Scion; Inheritor; Madcap; Slayer; Dweller of the Spirit World; Enlightened; Mercenary(F)

ATTRIBUTES:

0

Strength

228 (OBOM + 208) +5 [15 base

Dexterity

229 (OBOM + 209) + 5 [15 base

Vitality

0

Will

902 (+208.2 from %) [694 base

Mind

876 (+174 from %) +5 [697 base

Magic

876 (R: EB +115) (+69.2 from %) [692 base

TRAITS:

One Mind, One Body; Empty Vitality; Shadowspeech; Broken One’s Will; Shadow Mind; Oathbound; Shepherd’s Shroud;

SKILLS:

Combat:

Synaptic Failure; Shadow Creation; Sacrificial Attack; Void Pierce; Chains of the Dark Servants; Severing Mana;

Curses:

Curse: Stolen Life; Curse of Buried Shadows;

Rituals:

Ritual: Enchanted Bones; Ritual: Infused Flesh;

Utility:

Warlock’s Body Mastery; Mortal Peril; Will of the Dead; Void Step;

BODY ENHANCEMENTS:

Shadow Space; Enchanted Skeleton;

Alan inspected his new attributes and took a deep breath as the change washed over him, and then froze. The little percentage next to his bloodline had grown. It was not by much, but he was certain it had been lower last time. What had he done? Was it his utilization of void, or the overall improvement of his body and mind?

This was certainly something to look closely into. The bloodline was unexplored territory, but hopefully, that would change in the weeks to come.

With a final survey of the surroundings and a last check of his status, Alan took the tunnel that looked like it was going upward the most. He followed the holes of light. It was not difficult to find the exit now that there was no ore to mess with his expanded sense of mana. While it was not like air or any material, it still followed patterns. The mana in rock walls flowed differently than the one moving through the air. It was a slight change, but he noticed it now. The process was much easier than it had been before.

Good things come to those who stumble awkwardly through the apocalypse, I guess…

It didn’t take long for him to reach the surface. A surface at least. It was another valley, but there were no giants around. Quite a few groups of jadari were patrolling in the distance, while part of them seemed to be gathering some sort of plant growing between the rocks on the other end of the valley.

None of the creatures came near the cave he had exited from. He looked up and tried to make sense of the position of the false sun illuminating the Dungeon. It was not that difficult. His mind was sharper than before, and he quickly found traces of what he was looking for.

The Kobolds.

They were sneaky little things, gathering jaderin ore and carting away while avoiding any confrontation. Alan was sure that a single jadari patrol would be enough to wipe them all out. Still, they took the ore, ignoring the constant danger.

He understood there was importance to it, especially how the one in the Dungeon was reacting with his mana senses, and blocking them off. How had the Kobolds learned what to do with it though? Had he killed another sentient species thrown into this new world? Did they have Sanctuaries too? This was the second time he was wondering about that. Were they like the cannibal elves, only having chosen different ways of surviving those first few days? Surely not. Their camps had been littering the forest before the change and what he had seen had been in no way a Sanctuary.

It could be an outpost situated to guard and access the Dungeon and its resources.

Fuck. This is too much thinking.

Alan stalked behind the first group he found, and finally, that familiar place where he had appeared upon entrance sprawled before him. He had come from a different crevice between the hills, but he was sure this was it.

This time, however, the kobolds seemed to have prepared. There were about thirty to forty of them standing still and watching the surroundings. No fires, no beds. Just [Warriors], [Archers], and [Shamans] waiting for him.

Piles of the jaderin ore were set about, but they didn’t stop Alan’s sense of mana, only disturbed it a little – something he hadn’t noticed upon entering the Dungeon or thought about after. The pieces closer to the surface were duller in look and lower quality. The ones he had taken from deeper into the mines didn’t lose the mana they held so quickly like those the Kobolds were farming. That spoke of different types or grades of ore, and a whole in-depth study awaiting Mr. Muge.

The large pile that the giant had fed on had also not been as dull as those. It was a small detail since the glow was almost nonexistent under the sunlight, but a detail nonetheless. It was not a shocking thing, but Alan expected to notice such things. His mind was always on fighting though. He had to change that, just a bit.

Maybe it had to do with purity or something. Mr. Muge’s identifier hadn’t done much in the way of helping him. It was limited in what it could do. No matter. It was time to leave the wretched place. If the ore was good, then others could come and claim it.

Killing the many kobolds was out of the question. There were no levels to be had from them, and he was honestly a bit sick of the slaughter in the Dungeon. It felt purposeless. His shadow inventory was full of jaderin ore, he had gotten some humble loot, and he was about to get rewards from the Quests. Hopefully. It was a line of thinking that made the voices in his mind whisper in frustration. Not that he understood the whispers, but the shadows did love slaughter.

Then again, there were only four levels until level 125… Another new skill awaited there. Hopefully. He needed something to make it all make sense. Something new and useful.

The shadows swirled around him and in a now familiar move tendrils of darkness appeared from his back and helped him climb up the rocks. The [Chameleon Ring] was doing its job, although the effect seemed much weaker than before. Was it broken or used up? Was that even a thing?

He didn’t dwell on it. Climbing around silently proved more difficult than he had hoped, but finally, he was near the large group and the exit. Without hesitation, he dropped down. The kobolds reacted instantly, yelling and attacking, but he was faster. His shadows intercepted a few stray arrows, and after a [Void Step] Alan plunged into the exit. It washed over him like cold water and he blinked.

On the other side, an even larger number of kobolds waited.

Oh, fuck me. I’m trying not to kill you guys. The shadows swirled around, making shields and pushing away from the ground at the same time he did. Breaking through the ranks like a ball of darkness was easy. He had caught them by surprise, thankfully.

The messages begged for his attention in the back of his mind, but Alan kept rushing, leaving the large camp behind. Few of those in the watch nests let loose arrows at him, but they were weak things that posed no danger anymore.

The forest swallowed him. Its eerie silence, broken only by the call of an invisible beast was oddly welcoming. The greenery made him feel at home, and the lack of anything to obstruct his mana senses made him feel free. Detecting the flow of things outside was many times easier. It was a dramatic difference from before.

Finally, he chose a place among a bunch of tightly clustered trees that created a natural shelter with their branches and sat down. Running through the monsters, no matter how much he outclassed them, was stressful.

Let’s see what else we got from this detour.

You have exited the Jaderin Mines

Congratulations! You have completed Dungeon Quest: Extinguish the Warrior’s Flame (Optional)

The Jadari of the mines are only a remnant of what they once were. Twisted by the dangers and the strange magic of the ore, they’re no longer sane enough to be allowed to persist. You have slain a great number of them already. Do the world a service, and rid the mines of their presence. Let what should’ve been lost fall into obscurity.

Reward: performance-based and received upon exit.

You have slain one of the four chiefs and killed many of their number. The leaders remain untouched in their city. The corrupted race still thrives in the depths of the endless mines. You have attempted and failed to rid the Dungeon of the plague they represent, but you have still earned a small reward.

Choose a reward:

10 Medium Healing Potions – Instantly heals most major wounds.

10 Medium Mana Potions – Instantly supplies a large amount of mana.

10 Mana Concentration Potions – makes the mana inside you more concentrated, allowing you to hold larger and purer amounts for an hour.

This… was a trash reward. He didn’t expect much, and yet he was still disappointed. Healing Potions were worthless to him, even if they came from the System. Mana Potions could be useful in a pinch, but he was a being of mana and his regeneration was enough to sustain him for a long while.

The ten concentration potions caught his eye the most. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what they did even after reading the descriptions. With a grunt, he chose them. Purity and concentration of mana were not concepts very familiar to him, and perhaps using them would allow him to grasp some more of the intricacies of the universe.

Congratulations! You have completed a Dungeon Quest: Face the Monsters of the Jaderin Mines (Optional)

Once a powerful tribal nation of warriors, the Jadari lost themselves to the power of the unearthed alien ore. The greed of few led to the fall of many. The mines were closed off to the world, turning into a self-sustaining habitat still hosting some members of the formerly great tribe.

You have slain one of the great monsters that the mines have given birth to and lived to continue your journey. Find the others and test yourself. Help the Jadari see the light.

Reward: performance-based and received upon exit.

You fought with bravery and wit and managed to triumph over two of the great monsters slaughtering any who dared encroach into their domains. There are more, but your contribution is nonetheless significant. You’ve earned a great reward.

Now we’re talking!