Chapter 74: Breather

  “How much time do we have?” Alex slumped to the floor, wiping sweat and blood from his face.

  “What do you mean?”

  “How long until the dungeon forces us to the next floor if I don’t enter the portal?” He asked.

  “Ah, I see,” Obby hummed. “You can sit there as long as you’d like. The System won’t force you to go down. If you want, it will let you waste away and die here.”

  He accessed the quest log in his status screens and brought up the fucking Trial timer once more. The timer that itched at the back of his mind every minute he had been abandoned to this crazy undead dungeon.

  It was the new internal clock for Alex’s existence after all.

  “Well, we don’t have forever,” he eyed the portal to the next floor and sighed heavily. “I’ve played enough video games and read enough books to know that next floor isn’t going to be puzzles, or a mini-game.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s going to be the Dungeon-Boss, Obby,” Alex frowned as he pulled out the little sentient pebble and looked at it. “First level is combat, second level is puzzles and skills, the third floor is the big boss, obviously. Come on, get your head out of your… granite?”

  “So then what prep do you want to do?”

  “First, rest a bit to heal up my body.” He began pulling items out of his bracelet as he talked. “Then cultivate and absorb that essence fragment some more. See what I we can figure out about this damn dagger, since I’m still trying to understand what it’s doing with the bond it has with me.”

  “That’s a good plan, for once.” Obby chimed.

  “Maybe we even have time for this,” Alex held up the tightly wrapped scroll that Sylvaris had given him. He had only tried reading it once, and found the information far too technical for him to understand. It was like a PHD textbook on aether theory, spellcraft, energy manipulation, and more. But now that he had more experience and new skill ranks under his belt, he might be able to give it a shot. He pulled up his status screen.

  Seeing all those unspent experience points pained Alex more than he liked to admit. That mental anguish was offset by the impressive changes to the rest of his status page. His mental stats had the biggest change thanks to the puzzle rooms he had just conquered. The beatings he took from the lower level also helped with his physical stats.

  The most important change was to his willpower though, thanks to the new [Lattice Spiral] enchantment which pushed his willpower over the next threshold and giving him the next refined willpower tier. He found it interesting the push from the enchantment even gave him tangible stat gains. Did the glyphwork on his neck actually boost his willpower or…

  “Obby, I don’t understand,” Alex said. “Do my stats go up because by increase in power, or does my power increase because my stats go up?

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean do my muscles get stronger because my strength stat increases, or does my stat increase because my muscles got stronger?” He was very iffy on the cause and effect regarding how all that worked. “This [Lattice Spiral] enchantment for example, increased my willpower. Did the enchantment really increase my willpower, or did The System update my stat to reflect the increased effective willpower from the enchantment?”

  “Ah I see,” Obby intoned. “It’s a little of both actually. Spending experience points will physically change aspects of yourself which can be seen through your status display. Your aether attuned body ability probably works in a similar way. On the other hand The System will update your stats to reflect output or capability that you display or may express through things like your enchantments. Over all, it’s complicated. Chicken versus egg, and all that. “

  “Interesting,” Alex clicked his tongue as he thought through Obby’s response. There were implications in that answer that suggested he might be able to find ways to take advantage of The System’s rules to make himself stronger. Definitely need to be careful with that though. Doing things to gain negative attention from the Heavenly System is bad for your health, if the Sigil-binder Order is an example to go by.

  “Alright then, let’s get back to figuring out how to get stronger,” he smiled and swiped the status screen away.

  “In that case, your most obvious best option is working on your cultivation. With the higher willpower and enchantment, along with that Vital Essence Fragment, you can make serious progress.” Obby began coaching Alex through some ideas. “Like I said before, the fragment will help increase your mental stats as you absorb it as well.”

  “And whats going on with the dagger?” He asked. During the first floor of the dungeon he had been using the dagger rather extensively thanks to its ability to feed him aether after each of his kills. Unfortunately, as Alex had feared, the item had acted up rather violently and forced him to defend from some kind of magical attack. He didn’t know what was going on with the item and he hadn’t used it since that incident on the first floor.

  “That might be your most pressing matter, even if it doesn’t increase your power.” Obby pulsed and vibrated as he began doing that thing again, which Alex learned was him calculating or thinking. “The strength of the enchantment-bond between the dagger and yourself has been increasing every time you use the weapon. It’s building a bridge between it and your soulspace, very much like your connection with me.”

  “You’re saying this thing is also sentient?” He suddenly looked at the weapon with a twinge of fear. “An evil spirit ready to infect my soul? Take over my mind, or what?”

  “Maybe yes to all of the above? There’s no way for me to know as I am now. I can’t pierce the veil around its enchantment to see what’s going on under the surface. I can only say that something is happening. I highly recommend only using that thing further if you absolutely have to.”

  He tucked the item back in his belt, next to the defensive bone talisman. The bone, Alex at least knew wouldn’t turn on him, even if he wasn’t certain of its strength.

  Mulling over the items wouldn’t help it get stronger though. He had other things to focus, including the Vital Fragment from the Grave-Tyrant. Alex picked up the essence fragment and pressed it against his chest once more. Three braids began spinning above the aether gate at his neck and he closed his eyes. It took only minutes for him to fall into his meditation. His breath in rhythm to the potent aether energy he cycled into his body.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Breath in... Breath out...

  There was no sound in the void. Just the slow, steady rotation of the aether pulled by his gathering technique. It was dragged into into his chest like an ocean tide that never stopped advancing. A warmth spread through his limbs, soaking into bone and nerve.

  And then s tillness surrounded him on all sides, Alex floated in blackness. Weightless. Formless. Until it wasn't blackness anymore. A pale silver moonlight cut across the still air, revealing stone beneath his feet. The world built itself around him in layers bit by bit. Cracked tile, hovering sigils, low wind echoing across the vast expanse.

  And across the way, standing perfectly at ease, was Adam. His twin brother appeared perfect, polished. Dressed in full dark leather armor that somehow shimmered with arcane lines of silver aether across its surface. His posture was clean, his eyes sharp, the same face Alex saw in the mirror. But Adam’s was sculpted and honed in ways that his won wasn’t, more correct.

  He stared at his brother in confusion. Adam’s smile was thin. “Took you long enough to show up.” His brother’s voice echoed subtly in the realm.

  Alex opened his mouth, but no words came. Something about the weight in the air, the pressure of being seen, held his voice hostage. Adam folded his arms and paced slowly toward him.

  “You always do this, you know. Take the long route. Struggle for half the results.” He motioned to the space around them. “Two dungeon floors. Dozens of puzzles. And what do you have to show for it? You barely made it through. You nearly died.”

  “I survived,” Alex whispered.

  “Barely.” Adam tilted his head. “You call that progress? You still don’t understand how to use magic properly. You don’t understand Sylvaris’ lessons during those three long days. You keep failing.”

  “I’m learning-”

  “Are you?” His twin stepped closer. “Learning what? That you suck at fighting? You can’t even use the true [Demon Asura Style] yet. Show me the [Descending Demon Fist]. Go ahead. Prove to me, to yourself, that you learned. That you get it now.”

  Alex clenched his fists at his sides, the aether flaring in his body in reaction to his anger. He knew what he was supposed to do to perform the technique Adam was talking about, the stance, the breath, the rotation of inner energy. Yet he knew he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t manage the sheer strain of the [Descending Demon Fist] on his body, the crushing stress of the ambient aether on his spirit when he attempted it… Alex knew he hadn’t understood the proper way to use the technique. Not yet anyway.

  Adam didn’t laugh. That would’ve been too kind. He just watched. “That’s what I thought.”

  ? He circled Alex like a predator readying itself to pounce.

  “You still don’t get it. Not the movement. Not inhabiting the rage and the wrath to strengthen yourself. Not the connection between your body and the aether. Not the intent behind it all. That’s what magic is here, Alex. It’s not some trick. It’s belief and understanding.” His brother’s voice deepened. “The System doesn’t give power to people who dabble. It responds to those who understand themselves”

  Alex said nothing.

  “You’re a child. You’re scared.” Adam’s eyes flicked downward. “Scared of accepting your place here. Scared of leaving home behind. Still thinking like a soldier in the wrong war.”

  “That dagger,” he continued. “You know it’s cursed. You know it’s burrowing inside you. But you keep using it, don’t you? Because you’re not strong enough without it. Because deep down, you know the truth; if I was here instead of you, everyone would be saved.”

  Alex flinched.

  “If I was here,” Adam said again, quieter this time, “I would’ve completed the dungeon in half the time. I’d have mastered the Asura style. I would’ve learned how to weave intent through my actions and body into The System. I’d be able to see the puzzles, the path, the solution, and just walk it. I would have already proved myself to The System and gotten everyone back home.”

  His voice burned in Alex’s mind now. “But you? You’re just surviving. Just improvising. Like always. You’re never really in control.”

  Silence followed.

  The breath Alex held finally escaped. He looked up, eyes hard. His expression wasn’t defiant, but exhausted. Not the exhaustion one feels when defeated and broken. The kind of exhaustion that held its shape like armor, tempered from the fire and pressure of world itself.

  “I know,” Alex whispered.

  Adam raised an eyebrow.

  “I know I’m not the better twin,” he took a step forward. “I know I don’t really get it yet. I know I’m afraid. Hesitant. I screw up the aether control. I reach for power I don’t understand and bleed because of it.” He took another step. “But I’m still here. I’m still trying.”

  Adam didn’t move.

  Alex squared his shoulders. “I’m not you. I never will be. But I don’t have to be. I don’t need to be the family prodigy. I don’t need to win every fight sweet and clean. I just have to stand back up. Every time.”

  His hand clenched and Alex’s aether stirred. “I will understand this place,” he said. “I will master it. Not because I’m the best. But because I refuse to stay broken.”

  The void trembled, Adam, or whatever was pretending to be him, began to fade like sand sifting through the fingers of cupped hands, slipping through unseen cracks. His features unraveled but his voice echoed one last time.

  “Then stop fighting like a man who doubts himself. If you want to live, then strengthen your will. Carve your intent into The System like a sword into stone. Make your mark.”

  The last words hit like a bell. And Alex awoke.

  Aether rushed into his chest and his breath returned in large gasps. The [Condensing Spiral] technique was spinning faster now, cleaner, more synchronized. His fingertips buzzed against the essence fragment clenched in his hand, drawing lines of blood on the sharp edges. His eyes opened, sweat rolling down his face.

  Alex look around and found himself alone. There was no Adam, no judgment. Just the aether, and Alex in the silence of the second floor. His eyes darted back and forth as he searched for someone, anyone, looming nearby.

  “Are you okay?” Obby pulsed faintly in his rock which sat beside Alex. “You’re heart rate is sky high. What happened?”

  “I think I had… a vision,” he said. “I saw Adam, but it wasn’t him.”

  “Of course it wasn’t him. Your brother isn’t here.”

  “No,” he shook his head. “I mean, he wasn’t Adam. My brother was never mean or evil, never antagonistic like that. He is always kind and loving to me. That wasn’t him.” Alex felt his heart beat begin to slow, and his vision stopped spinning. He was okay, whatever vision he just experienced, it wasn’t real.

  That’s not true, he thought to himself. Whatever it was might not have been my brother, but it didn’t lie to me. What I said back was also the truth. The realization and determination still swelled inside his mind. Something happened, something he couldn’t explain nor quite understood, but somehow it had helped him. He wasn’t sure how.

  “Well, okay then,” Obby thrummed. “Why do I always get bonded to the crazy ones?”

  “Shut up you damned rock,” Alex stored the essence fragment in his bracelet then followed up with Obby’s pebble. He flexed his arms and legs, twisting his torso and hips with loud pops. He felt pretty much healed completely. Besides being tired, he was in perfect health. “How long was I meditating?”

  “About ten hours,” Obby said, “not horribly long.”

  It appeared Alex’s body was healing faster and faster as his stats grew. His vitality was the number one factor in that, but he suspected that his [Aether Attuned Body] ability also had its part. Even though the healing potion took care of the lethal wounds and injuries, Alex’s healing speed was miraculous at this point.

  He checked his stats to see the results from using the essence fragment in his gathering technique.

  Each of his mental stats did get a bump this time around. What a difference ten hours of use makes. He chuckled to himself, finding the difference in cultivation and growth, from when he first arrived to this world, to now. Items and wealth certainly make a hell of a difference, that’s for sure.

  The very minor change in his vitality stat also proved to Alex that healing his body after damage did indeed help increase the stat. It brought to mind the idea Alex had of just letting himself get injured and then healing over and over again to rapidly increase its progress, but Alex just wasn’t that insane, yet.

  There was more to look at as well.

  With Alex’s willpower now twice refined, and the vital essence fragment, his progress with his attuned body ability was accelerated once again. Alex figured the essence fragment had forty or so good cultivation hours worth of aether left in it. It wouldn’t bring Alex up to one hundred percent given how quickly the requirements increased, but he could get to the next threshold if he needed to.

  “Aether capacity is full, your body is fully healed. Are you ready for this?” Obby asked.

  “I think I need a damn nap actually, I’m mentally exhausted, even if my body is fine.” Alex was still sprawled out on the stone floor, and it was feeling more and more comfortable by the minute.

  “Sleep meatboy, I will wake you in three hours. That should be enough.”

  Alex only nodded and closed his eyes. Three hours really would be enough, he hardly slept that much anymore. His mind and body were just better and needed it less. It had been days though, and Alex needed at least a little bit of rest.

  He knew it would be only moments until he fell asleep. Just a snooze, just a snooze. Then it will be boss battle time.

  Alex was asleep before he could even think about counting kobold sheep.