The Fool's Freedom

After what felt like an eternity of annoying pain and strange sensations through his bones, Alan opened his eyes and breathed in. The dim mana crystals clattered to the floor and rolled before turning to fine dust.

+15 to the Magic attribute.

That was well within expectation. But the next part of the System messages came as a surprise.

A high concentration of vital energy was detected in the reagent.

Additional effect gained.

+5 to Vitality.

Oh shit.

Error! Vitality cannot be raised.

Due to the trait [Limited Vitality], your Vitality cannot be raised above the value of 5 by any means.

Vital energy is converted to magical energy.

+2 to the Magic attribute

Alan exhaled and relaxed. This was a much better outcome than he had expected. If the fucking trait had decided to punish him for his actions…

Fuck.

Still, that was a flat +17 to his Magic! And he still had 15 free attribute points. Mind made the most sense – it had become his most important attribute apart from Magic with his new skill that tied his speed to his Mind attribute.

No, he still didn’t fully understand Will, but it had been very important so far. He put 7 points in Will and 8 points in Mind. Now both had a base value of 74, before applying the Title bonuses.

That evened out his Strength and Dexterity, bringing them both to 42 after [One Mind, One Body] was applied.

And his Magic had reached 104. He did feel a bit different, better.

Alan looked to the side and saw the girls talking. The elves were grouped not too far away, with Davis napping on his bag. They hadn’t noticed he had woken.

He had a sudden urge to close his eyes. The flow of mana was more obvious than ever now. His regeneration did seem a bit faster in the Dungeon than it was outside, but the difference was minuscule and unimportant.

What was important was that he could almost sense the flow in the surroundings, the invisible energy that was in everything. The stone beneath him, the ever-burning flame of the torches around the hall, the living and the dead… his bones and flesh. All contained a constant flow that was as present as the air they breathed. No, it was even more.

Alan’s consciousness let itself go, following the small streams of mana that were everywhere around him. It was a wonderful feeling, like drifting upon the wind or calm warm water that seemed to envelop the world.

Eternity seemed to pass before he opened his eyes once again.

He had never felt so present, so free.

Congratulations! You have gained insight into Flow.

Energy is everywhere and many can sense it in one shape or another. Few realize how fundamental it is to life and existence itself and how many states and currents exist even in the most devoid of energy places. The world is shaped by movement.

By being one of the first hundred in your world to do so, you have been granted the title: Enlightened

Title: Enlightened

Few are those who dig deep enough to sense the world around them, much less to understand it. Being one of those who have glimpsed into the fabric of reality is an achievement unmeasurable by Level or Class.

You can sense others who have touched upon the building blocks of existence and wield their power.

Alan exhaled and breathed in and almost felt as if the world did the same. He stood up. The System hadn’t given him any numerical bonuses or skills, but he knew something was different. It was a change on a level much more fundamental than his newly enchanted bones or risen stats.

There was also a new tab on his Status page called Insight.

INFORMATION:

Name:

Alan Morgan

Race:

Human

Class:

Warlock

Level:

18

Insight:

Flow;

Titles:

First Pathfinder; Madcap; Slayer; Friend of the Spirit World; Enlightened

ATTRIBUTES:

Strength

42

Dexterity

42

Vitality

5

Will

89

Mind

86

Magic

104

TRAITS:

One Mind, One Body; Limited Vitality; Tongues of the four corners; Survivor’s will; Shadow Mind

SKILLS:

Warlock’s Body Mastery; Synaptic Failure; Shadow Weapon; Ritual: Enchanted Bones; Mortal Peril; Monochrome Armor

BODY ENHANCEMENTS:

Shadow Space;

“Alan, are you okay?”

It took him a few seconds to understand the words of the voice that seemed to drift over from miles away. He turned and saw the worried expression of Ashlyn.

“Better than ever.”

He frowned and looked around. Florence was sleeping on the ground, wrapped in Ashlyn’s cloak. The elves and Davis were nowhere to be seen.

“How long has it been?”

Ashlyn hesitated, “More than a day, give or take. I sensed you finish your ritual but then… you closed them again and something happened. I am not sure what, but… have you changed? Apart from your ritual?”

“Yes, I think I have.”

“The werewolf blood?”

“What?” Alan laughed, “Oh no, no. I won’t go fluffy on you, relax. I just realized some things and got rewarded by the System. It’s…” he frowned. How could he explain what had happened? He didn’t fully understand it himself.

“I can’t quite explain it yet. It’s new and… foreign, yet as if it had been a part of me since the day I was born. A concept of reality that I seemed to take a glimpse into? Pretty low on the totem pole, but still something.”

Ashlyn looked at him with confusion, then nodded. “I am sure I will understand with time.”

That was Ashlyn, ever so supportive. He took a step toward her and she backed away.

What?

“Full offense meant when I say you smell disgusting. Please, do something about that before hugging me or whatever.”

Alan looked down. There were traces of the werewolf blood all over him, and there was also a thin layer of something black covering his arms. Had that been there during the first ritual?

The [Cleanse] charm appeared from his shadow inventory and he quickly used it. The sensation was like he had just dried himself after a long warm shower. He sighed.

“Selfish asshole!” She snatched the charm from his hand.

“Wait, Ash! It has very limited charges!”

“I don’t care. I will get you a new one after we exit. I cannot remain this dirty for a second longer.”

Alan almost continued arguing but he gave up. She was right.

With a flash and a sigh, she threw the charm back to him and stretched.

“Uhm, can I use it too?”

Alan looked toward Florence, suddenly aware that he was standing shirtless in front of both of them. It was not a big deal, but he hadn’t had many opportunities to be ogled by a pretty girl in his past life.

“Uh, yeah, uhm. Go for it.” He threw her the charm and took out a new shirt from his inventory.

“So you just give it to the hot girl, but you argue with me, huh? Fucking men.”

“Come on, Ash. It ain’t like that. And you are a hot girl as well!”

“Yeah, but you have no chance with me. I’d say your chances are pretty good with Florence.” Ashlyn smirked and walked away, leaving the two to stew in the moment's awkwardness.

“Uhm…”

“Yeah…” Goddamn it, Ash.

“Right, thanks for the [Cleanse].”

“No worries.”

Alan took back the charm. It looked like it still had some life left in it. Mr. Muge was a must-stop after they were done with the dungeon. He quickly put on his leather armor, or what remained of it. It seemed that damage to his [Monochrome Armor] which appeared as a layer of shadows, also affected his clothes and physical armor. It was a small price to pay for a skill that good.

“Where are the elves?”

“Out to scout. Ashlyn made them leave you alone. Davis wanted us to wake you up and get this done with. He seemed a bit agitated.”

Agitated? Davis?

“I see. Well, let’s not keep them waiting.”

A second later Ashlyn came back, from wherever she had walked off to and took her cloak from Florence. Alan now noticed that she had a new arrow quiver strapped to her back and threw her old ones to him. He barely caught them.

“What’s that about?”

“Store them for me in your shadow bag. I got this one as a reward from the quest.”

“Oh? What does it do?”

“It’s called Duplicating Quiver. As long as I have mana and an arrow, I have a limitless supply of arrows.” Ashlyn beamed.

“That’s useful. Nice. What did you get Flo?

“Wand of Fireball.” She held out an unremarkable but smooth stick. “It lets me cast a Fireball three times per day. It was the best choice for me since I lack offensive skills.”

“Apart from breaking hearts,” Ashlyn smirked from the side.

“Great thinking.” Alan praised. “Did you guys have the option of picking your items?”

“Yeah, it was a list of three.”

“Same.”

Following Ashlyn’s guidance, they quickly found Davis and the two elves’ trail. They passed by some dead imps on the way. The groups were indeed smaller than they had been when the eight of them had first traversed the tunnels to reach the boss room.

Now they had to find and kill another boss. Alan thought about everything as they slowly searched for the rest of the group

The werewolf blood seemed like a much greater gain than they had anticipated now, as he still had plenty for future rituals. There was also the possibility of returning to the Dungeon for more later if it proved useful. Were Dungeons farmable?

No. The System had mentioned they wouldn’t be able to return. Which sucked, but it made sense. What would stop someone from going through a Dungeon once and then farming it and through it the System itself ad infinitum?

It was possible to destroy a Dungeon though. Hm.

It did not take them long to find Davis and the elves. They were a sullen bunch, although Davis tried to be cheerful.

“Sorry for the delay. My skill takes time to work.”

“It’s fine man!” Davis smiled

Reyvalur was frowning at Alan and looking him up and down.

“You… are different.”

“Aren’t we all? Those were quite a few levels and a nice quest reward.”

The elf shook his head.

“No. I feel something similar when I speak with our Chief. The feeling is different from you, but also similar. Hm.”

Damn, his senses are sharp. Is he Enlightened too? No, most likely not.

“I don’t know what to say, man.”

“I apologize. I was simply curious. It is rude of me to pry into your secrets.” Reyvalur bowed and Alan took a few steps forward, helping him raise.

“It is fine. We have fought and bled together.”

The elf smiled and nodded.

“We should go. I trust everyone is in their best condition now?” Jaerdra interjected.

Everyone nodded.

“We would like to finish and exit this place. We have lost… too much.”

The group continued in silence. The occasional imp group was not a challenge and neither were the four Fallen Blood Petal Gatherers they suddenly ran into after walking towards the upper floors of the Dungeon.

The fight was quite simple and Alan didn’t even need to call on his [Monochrome Armor]. His new stats were quite a massive improvement, and his control of [Shadow Weapon] and [Shadow Slash] had grown significantly too. He felt as if every expenditure of mana was lessened and happened faster. It had been almost instantaneous before, but now he could feel the seamlessness and flow of mana between each cast of [Shadow Slash]. He could even determine the strength of the skill with ease!

Was that what that strange experience had gotten him? A higher understanding of mana and how it moved through things or powered skills? It seemed like every question that was answered brought along a thousand more.

Nothing to do but to keep pushing.

The toughest battle they encountered was against a group of five strangely damaged Skinned Corpse Servants. Alan contributed to the death of two of them, and he didn’t even level up. What, apart from them, was out to get the monsters of the dungeon?

Ashlyn spent some time examining the corpses. “The monsters might be fighting amongst themselves.”

“What makes you think that?” Reyvalur asked.

“Most of the wounds are done by claws or teeth. A beast. Not a human or an elf.”

Alan thought for a second, “We haven’t seen any beasts…”

No. We have.

The sudden realization hit him harder than he had expected. He saw Ashlyn looking at him. Florence was a bit slower on the uptake, but she also realized it.

“What is it?” Davis asked. He had been strangely quiet.

Alan looked toward Ashlyn and she nodded. “We… met something else. It was kind of dead, we think… or in a state of death. A werewolf.”

“Shadows curse it.” Jaerdra suddenly barked, surprising the lot. “Sorry, bad habit.”

Shadows, huh…

Reyvalur was frowning. “Werewolves… we had werewolves in our world. They were one of our greatest enemies.”

Jaerdra nodded. “Yes. It took a lot of us to fight a single one without the System. With it… well, if werewolves have access to the System, we are dead.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought over the information they had.

“I don’t think Dungeon monsters have the same access we do. They are punished to be here, remember?” Alan said. “And, remember what the Blood Corpse guy said. He mentioned a doctor and an understanding. So, I think if there are two bosses in this Dungeon and some sort of story we have to figure out, that this is part of it. It makes sense.”

“Maybe the doctor is the werewolf?” Florence interjected.

“Possible, but he was using the one we saw to harvest his blood. At least I assume that’s what it was used for. The constructs were nothing scary, apart from the first time we met them. He might have turned himself into a werewolf, or he might have a few monsters similar to one in his control. Either way, he is probably not much stronger than the Boss we killed. But we are.”

“I agree.” Reyvalur held the handle of his pommel with one hand and the shoulder of Jaerdra with the other. “Let’s do this and go home.”

The tunnels got cleaner, the imps became less frequent as they walked through various rooms and tunnels searching for the last fight.

Pushing open the pristine set of double doors of white-painted wood that were as out of place as possible, they entered a large hall.

“Finally!” a voice exclaimed. “First serious visitors since this place became a Dungeon, and you go to the creepy guy first, ugh.”