Primer for the Apocalypse

Gaining Space Magic Mastery was like incorporating a custom augment, except the epiphanies and connections to other concepts were more encompassing.

The initial rush of understanding made casting even complex spatial magics nearly trivial. It was almost like I’d spent the whole time with a hazy filter over my senses, and the skill had removed it, allowing me to finally see the patterns I needed to follow more clearly.

Of course, that was a poor metaphor since my vision had very little to do with anything, but it was the best I could come up with to explain it to Zavira when she asked what the skill did.

Upon learning that skills like Space Magic Mastery were available as rewards for the Trial, Zavira became very focused on getting to the next floor so she could find the next Trial and obtain Force Magic Mastery.

I was surprised that she didn’t know about such options, especially since disciples from her sect had been challenging the dungeon for hundreds of years. It was only after receiving a message from Master Kairos that I understood.

The dungeon placed everyone under a geas not to share certain information about the dungeon with those who were unaware. The restriction also applied to the watchers in the small city just outside of the dungeon, which was how the dungeon kept the footage from being shared.

I wasn’t sure how the dungeon managed to place geasa on high-tier individuals outside the dungeon, but the fact that it could was certainly noteworthy.

After the Trial, Zavira and I limited our hunts to the high and peak-tier portions of the floor. Neither of us felt like bothering with the weaker areas, even if they were nominally more appropriate for our advancement.

Between our improvements and the protective enchantments we wore, the two of us felt confident in handling anything short of a boss. Even that we managed by the time we reached mid-tier.

When we needed a break from fighting and crafting, we soaked in the pool I created out of an old pod. It was filled with stolen water from the springhead, siphoned using the small [Portal] enchantment I’d installed the day Niall had left our party.

The magic was just as effective in my artificial pool as it was at the springhead – as long as the connection remained open. Closing the small [Portal] caused the effects to quickly disappear, which was fine when the pool was not in use.

As we progressed through the fifth tier, Lisa monitored my alternate experience gains to ensure I didn’t fall short like I had on the previous floor. Now that I was using manatech even more often than before, my secondary profession was really showing its worth. I soon realized I had little to worry about as far as alternate experience went.

Zavira’s growth was slower, but not markedly so.

She decided to change her secondary profession to Trader shortly after we finished the Trial and had been handling most of our material sales since then. She got a reduced amount of experience selling through the kiosks, but every little bit helped.

I picked up Merchant as my tertiary profession when I reached level fifty, but Zavira had already reached her alternate experience goal by then, and the loss for her was minimal.

The fact that our actions created a small loss in experience gains for our former party member wasn’t even a consideration in our decisions. We’d only continued trading through him because it was convenient, not because of any sense of obligation.

While I wished him well and held no ill will toward him, I wasn’t going to hamstring myself or Zavira on his behalf. I was sure he’d understand and agree with our decision. The young Kastet was nothing if not logical.

Niall seemed melancholy when we met with him for the last time before leaving the floor a little over four years after Zavira and I completed the floor Trial. I could tell that he regretted choosing the other elites over our party, but he was proud enough not to make an issue out of it.

“It seems I have some catching up to do,” the Kastet said solemnly as I charged his [Restore] talisman.

I’d sent a message to those who’d purchased the talismans over the years, just in case they needed a recharge before I tiered up and headed to the sixth floor. Most challengers seemed supportive of our progress, though there were a few who were obviously disgruntled by our quick ascension.

Completing the fifth floor in only four and a half years was a remarkable feat, especially outside of an active war. It was about twice as fast as the quickest non-elite challengers generally managed. We’d only succeeded because Zavira and I were able to jump from one fight to another without needing to take the time to find new opponents.

“I’ll still honor our deal when you get to the next floor,” I assured our former party member. “It doesn’t look like it will take you very long,” I added.

He was already at level forty-nine, so we weren’t too far ahead of him.

“Have you obtained all of the benefits from the Hot Spring?” I asked as I handed him the recharged talisman.

Niall nodded. “I have. A few new elites are holding the site, but most of us have already moved on.”

“I don’t suppose you know of anyone who’d be interested in buying access to their own private Hot Spring pool, do you?”

Niall’s white-whiskered brows raised as he looked at me. The contrast between his whiskers and his navy fur had always stood out to me. The whiskers above his lips twitched a few times.

“I wondered why the two of you never used the resource after I left the party,” he said after a moment. “I thought perhaps you were avoiding me. I’m glad you did not hamper your growth out of a sense of discomfort.”

I smiled at the Void Mage.

I considered myself socially awkward in many ways, especially when I interacted with people from the Alliance. But Niall was still on a whole other level when it came to interpersonal relationships. I’d hoped he would grow more comfortable interacting with others over time, but it seemed my hopes had been in vain.

“We weren’t avoiding you, Niall,” I assured him. “Zavira and I understand why you made the decision you did. I just… didn’t want to take part in another war right away.”

“It seems that decision worked out well for the two of you,” he said with a nod. “I hadn’t realized I was holding you back so much.”

If I were to claim he was not holding us back when we’d clearly advanced much quicker without him, it would have been seen as disingenuous, and I knew the Kastet would not welcome platitudes. Thankfully, Zavira saved me from having to figure out what to say.

“It’s not so much a matter of holding us back,” Zavira interjected with a friendly smile. “You know Emie and I both fight best at range.”

“Perhaps,” Niall said stoically. “Regardless, I wish you both well.” He gave us both a slight bow before turning to me. “I will message you when I arrive on the Sixth Floor to exchange my mana for one of your E3 talismans, if the offer is still available?”

I assured him it was, and the Void Mage nodded once again before walking away.

He hadn’t bothered to ask about the private Hot Spring pool, so I assumed it wasn’t something he was interested in. With a shrug, I mentally moved it into the ‘to sell’ pile in my ring.

“I’ve said my goodbyes and sold the rest of the Tier Five material. Are you ready to leave?” Zavira asked.

I shook my head lightly. “I need to put a few more things on the market.”

It didn’t take long to list the regeneration-enhancing pod or the rest of the Tier Five weapons I’d decided to offload through the kiosk. We’d been farming the bosses in all of the zones except the dark one, and I’d collected a fair amount of materials to work with.

Most of those had been crafted into new weapons, though I still had a good variety of raw materials to work with in the future.

Zavira and I had explored the dark zone a little bit, but I had been deeply unsettled by the inability to see, even with [Illumination] enchantments. There had also been areas where Spatial Sense didn’t work, which I was fairly certain were Void pockets.

I wouldn’t have minded exploring such areas if I’d been able to see. But blindness was one of those things that I feared. It wasn’t totally rational, given my other sensory abilities.

Since nothing was forcing us to challenge the zone, Zavira and I had opted not to.

We were still able to fight plenty of creatures from the zone when they attacked the central city during beast waves, which happened twice during our time on the floor.

Most people believed such attacks were correlated to the number of people living on the floor. With two cities worth of functional non-combatants… there were a lot of people.

“Alright. Ready to tier up and move on?” I asked when I finished emptying my ring. It wasn’t truly empty, but it was closer than it had been since we entered the floor.

“Absolutely. I’ve been waiting for this for four years!” Zavira exclaimed.

“I’m pretty sure there are a lot of people who’ve been waiting to progress for a lot longer,” I commented as I exited the tavern housing the kiosk I’d used to list my merchandise.

“Then they should try harder.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

We headed around the portal platform and headed toward my apartment. Zavira had already emptied her residence and had decided to tier up in my apartment since it was within the protected central village.

Her apartment would have been fine, I was sure, but mine was closer to the portal anyway. Unless she changed her mind at the last moment and wanted to challenge one last boss, we’d be leaving from the central portal instead of heading out to one of the boss portals.

As the door to my apartment slid open, Zavira said, “Just thirty minutes, and then we’ll go. You’ve got the library and I’ll handle the social information gathering.”

Her words were unnecessary since we’d already discussed our plans, but I knew it was just her way of expressing her nerves. She’d been remarkably focused on progressing since learning about the skills available, and I couldn’t say I blamed her.

I was more focused on reaching the eighth floor, where I could leave and see my family. I wasn’t sure I’d do so right away, given how much time I’d have remaining when I returned, but it was still my biggest goal.

Zavira was less focused on reaching the exit point for the dungeon since she would probably remain outside for a long time. In fact, it was entirely possible she’d never return to the dungeon after she left.

Reaching the eighth floor only made it possible to return. It didn’t mandate it.

With a shared nod of understanding, I headed to my room for the last time while Zavira settled herself on the couch.

I focused my attention on my status and willed my level to increase, applying my three free points with practiced ease. One point into a physical attribute, and two into mental attributes. With a feeling of satisfaction, I closed my eyes and let myself drift off.

***

Name: Emie deEpíkairos

Level: 51* (6984/869300)

Profession: (P) Enchanter

(S) Manatechnician

(T) Merchant

Affinities: Time, Space

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Health: 320

Stamina: 520

Mana: 750*

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Attributes

Strength – 20

Agility – 23*

Vitality – 32

Intelligence – 75*

Wisdom – 57*

Perception – 31

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Spells*

Skills*

***