Surviving The Myriad Worlds (A Multiplanar LitRPG)

"Try again," demanded Moeris, reaching down to grab him again.

Dante took one look at the descending hand and made a snap decision. He rolled the side, dodging the hand. He rolled a few more times for good measure, then scrabbled to his feet and set off at a dead run.

Yeah, screw doing that again.

"I was wondering when you would try evasion. The ability to recognize when you are in a disadvantageous situation and reposition is valuable for a soldier. Only … "

All breath was knocked out of him as something snagged his collar and effortlessly lifted him off the ground. Focusing on his aura senses for a moment, he saw that Moeris had grabbed the remnants of his shirt. Dante knew what would happen next. He struggled, trying to slip out of his ruined shirt, but Moeris grabbed his belt too, solidifying his grasp.

"You took your eyes off me. How do you expect to dodge what you can't see?"

This time, Dante was ready when Moeris threw him. At the apex of his trajectory, about twenty feet in the air, he activated [Temporal Reactions] to buy himself extra time. As he hung there, weightless, Dante shaped his aura so the bulk was beneath him and activated a charge.

His fall slowed, giving him enough time to get his feet under him and brace for landing. This time, he allowed his legs to crumple with a little resistance and then turn his momentum into a forward roll. It was clumsy, and he lost control of it near the end, but he was fine aside from some bruising.

You have acquired the [Acrobatics] skill

Dante was given no time to think about that as Moeris's foot impacted his ribs. He was sent flying yet again, out of breath and spinning rapidly. Dante had no idea which way was up or down. Desperately, he formed his aura into a wheel with himself at its center. This helped him decelerate as the ground neared, but his landing was more violent than last time and he rolled a fair distance before stopping. It was fortunate that he had not flown as high this time, or else he would have broken bones.

"You have to be ready for the follow-up. An enemy will not wait for you to recover. Normally, I would have attacked you when you were flailing in the air, when you are most vulnerable. You must always make sure you are in a position to defend."

Dante did not wait for Moeris to finish speaking, retreating as soon as he was able to breathe again. This time, he kept an eye on Moeris through his aura. The void that followed him closely was now easily noticeable. When the void was on top of him, he threw himself aside and successfully dodged the grapple attempt. Dante wanted to kick himself for not doing this before.

This soon became a rhythm. Dante would run. Moeris would chase and, inevitably, catch him. Whereupon he would be dealt an attack. Sometimes he would dodge, sometimes he wouldn't. Dante very much felt like a mouse who was being played with by a cat.

Dante quickly lost track of how many healing potions they went through. It wasn't even battle injuries that necessitated most of it. It only took a few minutes for his muscles to turn to jelly — perhaps more than he would have liked.

In a way, every time I am healed, it's like a complete workout. Which means that I have already gone through effectively weeks, if not months, of strength training.

The tutelage was not without benefits. Dante slowly grew better at avoiding Moeris's attacks, which was a welcome, although short, relief. Whenever too much time passed without Dante taking an injury, Moeris's moves would speed up or grow more complex. At least, it led to a few more welcome notifications.

You have acquired the [Dodge] skill

[Pain Resistance] has advanced to Level 5

[Specializations] are available

Dante did not know how long this lasted but, eventually, they were interrupted by a few sharp raps against the chamber door. Moeris dropped Dante, whom he had been prepared to throw once again. Dante crumpled into a pile, his chest heaving and heart racing. He only stirred when there were a few thumps next to his head. Looking up, he saw that two potions, a bucket of water, a rag, and a set of new clothes had been deposited next to his. Dante recognized one of the flasks as a healing potion, but the other was unknown to him.

"Clean yourself up and drink those. We will be moving to other exercises now."

With his last dregs of energy, Dante consumed the healing potion and sighed in relief as fatigue vanished from his limbs. However, he didn't recover completely. With each additional potion he had taken, their healing effect had become less pronounced, though the poison had also weakened. Moreover, they only healed his body. After hours of rigorous exercise and bloodshed, his mind felt thick and cloudy as if he had stayed up all night. Now that Dante thought about it, he could really do with a nap.

He eyed the other bottle, which was filled with a vibrant blue substance. Cracking it open, he gave an experimental sniff. Much like Dante had expected, it smelled awful — like rotten eggs and salt. On the other hand, a single wiff sent chills through his body. With just that, he instantly felt more perky and awake.

Is this their form of an energy drink?

Not particularly eager to taste it, Dante downed it in one go and grimaced. It tasted exactly like it smelled, but that was soon washed away by the electric wave of energy that went through him. Comparing it to an energy drink had been insufficient. Dante couldn't remember the last time he had felt so aware.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

A flowing sound, like a brook, made him look up and Dante saw that a man-sized orb of water was floating in the middle of the room. He glanced at Moeris and saw that the man was tinkering with one of the magical consoles in the corner. With more prodding at the glowing magical circle in the console, the orb lowered to the ground and spread across the floor. It picked up the various streaks of blood and cloth fragments as it rippled across the room, restoring the floor to its former pristine state. Fortunately, the water parted around Dante, saving his new clothes from becoming damp.

Speaking of …

Dante reached for the bucket and cloth and went to work. To his surprise, the accumulated gore came off far easier than he expected, leading him to believe that some cleaning agent had been added to it. He discarded his old clothes, which more resembled used bandages, for the identical ones that Moeris had laid out. He emptied the now pink water from the bucket into the shallow water around him. Moeris interacted with the console once more, and all of the water streamed down a drain he had not noticed before.

Just as Dante had finished lacing his new boots, he heard the turning of a key in a lock. He looked up in time to see Moeris ushering in a peculiar woman into the room. In his admittedly limited experience, it seemed like gaining levels had the overall effect of beautifying people. In his case, it had solved his malnutrition issues and made his features more symmetrical.

This woman defied that rule. She wore dark concealing robes and had poor posture, hunching in a way that suggested some congenital disease. She had huge dark bags under her eyes, and her pallor was ashy. It made her look sick, which was not helped by her tangled purple hair.

The woman briefly glanced at him, clearly unimpressed, before clasping arms with Moeris. "Senior Mage Vaso, reporting to Honored Attendent Moeris as ordered."

"Your presence here is appreciated, Specialist Vaso," Moeris spoke to Vaso with more respect than Dante had seen him use save for Ahzi. "Especially during your period of leave. Unfortunately, I will have to requisition you for special duty."

"This one hears and obeys, but wishes to notify Attendent Moeris that she has orders to return to the front in three days."

"As of now, those orders are null. You are to assist here."

"Affirmitive. What service do you require of me?"

"I want you to curse this boy with a Parasitic Mana Hex."

"Excuse me?" Dante said without thinking, alarmed. Two gazes fixed on him, neither friendly. Vaso was especially reproachful, looking at him like he was a piece of garbage she found on her foot. "Uh — that is, may I know why I am to be cursed, Attendent Moeris?"

If anything, this sharpened the look in the woman's eyes.

I must seem so arrogant to her, talking to royalty so casually. In that respect, I am lucky that Ahzi is laid back, otherwise I would probably be missing my head. It's hard for me to do, as I really don't respect them at all.

"It is necessary to unlock either [Vitality to Mana] or [Stamina to Mana]. Usually, such a curse simply stops mana from regenerating. However, your auras already use up all of your mana regeneration capacity. With that stopping, they will be forced to slowly drain your mana pool. Once your mana is low, you should be able to sense it for the first time. Worry not, such methods are not very dangerous. At worst, you will lose a few years off your life."

That sounds very dangerous! Can I possibly turn it down?

Dante hesitated, thinking of a polite way to refuse this 'boon', but it was already too late. With a casual gesture that used all five fingers to draw the magic circle, Vaso flicked a misty black bolt at him. Caught off guard, he was unable to dodge it and the bolt struck his chest. Dante scrabbled at the area and pulled up his shirt to reveal a black mark. It was the exact inverse of the circle Vaso had cast. When he prodded it, he didn't feel any pain or discomfort.

"A curse such as that can be maintained for as long as Vaso chooses," said Moeris, who had noticed his uneasiness. "It will be some time before the effects are noticeable. In the meantime, I noticed that you have begun to pick up the martial arts of our nation. I can offer you some simple pointers."

Dante agreed enthusiastically. After drinking that energy potion, it had been hard to sit still. Under Moeris's watchful eye, he began to run through the forms that Pauwna had taught him. Moeris would frequently offer critiques, seemingly not content with anything but utter perfection. Most were small things, primarily related to adapting the forms to his body type.

"Even though the tyranny of levels eventually eliminates most of the physical differences between the sexes, a few remain. Men typically have greater reach while women have a lower center of gravity. Both are advantageous in unarmed fighting, but require different techniques to complement them. This is without mentioning that Naula tend to be longer limbed and willowly, which obfuscates things further. This is why the forms that the Naula taught you need to be relearned. "

It hadn't been the first time that Moeris had made this point. During the course of the old soldier's instruction, Dante had kept slipping back to his old, practiced forms. It was rather unlike him. Instinctively, he knew that he should be hanging onto Moeris's every word. This was a rare opportunity and he wanted to win the man's approval. Dante knew that, and yet he struggled to pay attention.

It was a strange feeling, to be so full of energy and yet so apathetic. He was lucky that Moeris had been demonstrating an uncharacteristic level of patience with him.

… Yeah, like that would ever happen. Something is deeply wrong here. Is it that mysterious energy potion I drank? Or …

"It seems you have noticed it," said Moeris, distracting Dante from his musings. He was shocked to see a faint smile on the man's lips, though it disappeared so quickly that he questioned whether it had been there at all. "Go on, chase the feeling. My instruction can wait."

Dante half heard the man, enough to know that he had been given permission, and sat down. He activated [Hyper Focus] and all such secondary concerns fell away. There was something unnatural about his mental state. A certain despondency where Dante struggled to feel the peaks of his emotion. It reminded him of some of his darker times, but this was different. External.

It was then that he felt it.

A connection, much like the one that had formed between him and the great being in death. It had no physical form, unlike aura, but it had a beginning and an end. The end was firmly blocked off and felt malevolent. This, he had a feeling, was Vaso. The beginning led deep inside him to a place in his mind that he had never been.

In the few times Dante had heard mana spoken about, it was often related to water. Flowing, pooling, and the like. He understood why now. His mana drained from his core. Down his new connection to Vaso, that one was a veritable waterfall of sprung mana, but through many more established routes. Each of these smaller streams was a mere trickle in comparison, but there was an untold number of them. Each led outside him and spread into the world, where he could faintly feel his auras taking hold of them. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't concentrate on that now.

For his mana was fast emptying. He wasn't quite sure what would happen when it did, but he knew instinctively that it would be bad. Dante had to stop it.