"I guess I'll have to abstain from sleep until my things get here… Sad that I can't farm sloth," Rakna said while strolling on the roofs of Blacksteel where there wasn't anyone to bother him.
[Rakna, may I bring your attention to something?] Alexa spoke up.
"Hm? What is it"
[Please take a look for yourself,] she responded and opened the HL. Rakna's eyes brightened due to the contacts and an image appeared in his vision.
The second he saw it, his expression twitched. It was the images of him falling from the sky with his volcanic element surrounding him and the consequent regeneration of his arm. But what truly irked him was the voice being played along with it.
|| Sightings of Rakna Xiorra's twin brother outside of Blacksteel! His name is yet to be discovered but a witness who happened to talk with him confirmed his identity! || It said and transitioned to the interview of the young man who had approached Rakna earlier.
"That little piece of shit…" The therian growled out and lost control of his mana, turning his hair back to red again. "I should have erased his memories… Where did that footage even come from?"
"{You underestimate how easy it is to take videos,}" Fray commented. "{There were many more people other than that man who were waiting at the station. They happened to see you crash and filmed you. Good thing though that your werewolf form wasn't seen.}"
"Well, obviously! I made sure to turn back as fast as I could because I knew there were people! I just didn't know they would be filming me! Fuck, it's worse than Earth here… They probably only had a second to react before I crashed and they managed to film me anyway."
"{Well, it should not surprise you. People here have far higher reaction times and most HLs have a continuous recording feature.}"
"Tch, my HL did do that with Verias now that I think about it…" Rakna groaned. "Awesome. I have a third persona going around the net now."
"{Isn't that fun? We should give it a name,}" Higure said amused.
"Karna," he replied instantly. "If I had to give it a name, it would definitely be that."
"{That was oddly fast and enthusiastic of you…}"
"Can't help it when it's such a perfect fit."
"{But isn't that the name of Wang's Celestial Kindle?}"
"Yes, but it's not really about that. Firstly, Karna is an anagram of Rakna, which works perfectly in this context. And two, Karna is the son of Surya, the sun god, in Hindu mythology."
"{Oh, I see. It thus fits your volcanic star,}" Fray commented. "{Clever.}"
"Yeah, not that I intend to use it."
"{Knowing you, it's not going to go along with what you want but still turn out beneficial.}"
Rakna groaned and stopped at the edge of a skyscraper. He glanced at the ground and looked up at the sky with a hum. "Alexa, does Blacksteel have aerial defenses?"
[Affirmative. Blacksteel is the most secured city in the entire System. There are millions of cameras and high-level AIs monitoring the city. If they detect a threat, they will activate the defenses. There are many sensors as well. If large spikes of mana are detected, various contingency measures are set to be carried out.]
"Uh… so I guess launching something like Cataract into the sky is a bad idea?"
[…why would you do such a thing?]
"It's an example, okay? I wanted to experiment a bit… I wanted to test the phoenix constellation."
"{In the middle of Blacksteel?}"
"Why not? But whatever. I'll try it when I need to. Something I've noticed is that when I draw a constellation on the spot, the resulting spell seems to be perfectly adapted to the situation."
"{That is a phenomenon commonly known as conception osmosis,}" Fray stated. "{It is when your mind bleeds into your mana parapsychologically and stimulates the spell or skill formation.}"
"Right... big words. Anyway, Alexa, initiate a transfer to the 15th Plateau."
[Acknowledged.]
"{What are you going to do there?}"
"I'm going to try and promote to Rank VI. And practice my skills too," he replied and passively opened his friend panel to send Allan a message. "There. I had almost forgotten to warn him that we were on standby for a few days."
[Ten seconds left before the transfer. Since you left the 15th through the Pavilion, you will appear in the portal room,] Alexa informed him.
"Got it," Rakna nodded and the light of the System engulfed him and transported him right out of Blacksteel, leaving the roof he was on vacated again.
⠀
* * *
⠀
He was dropped off right in front of the large portal and after getting his bearings, he walked out of the room and passed by the front reception. The Nymph sitting behind it lifted her eyes from her screen and froze on the spot when she caught a glimpse of him as he walked up the stairs.
Of course, Rakna realized why when he literally could see the news talking about him displayed on her holographic monitor. 'This just goes to show how fast information spreads in the System. This incident happened barely over an hour or two ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if every Plateau knew about it already.'
"{That is because the System has a custom network. It connects Blacksteel's own one to any other compatible grid in other Plateaus. That is another one of the many things the Pavilion has done.}"
'Well, it's a pain in the ass.'
"{Says the one who took advantage of it to popularize himself.}"
'The Obsidian thing is different, okay? At least, it was on purpose. Sort of,' Rakna responded and started picking Quests on the board that seemed good for his level.
"{Well, you should have thought twice before using a spell that dangerous. It's because you could not control the trajectory that you crashed in front of so many people.}"
'But it was a nice spell though.'
"{It was reckless.}"
'But awesome,' Rakna shrugged off the lioness' scolding and closed the board when he was done picking Quests. At the same time, he heard a ping from his inbox.
⠀
❮ ◈ ❯
⠀
<Allan River> Rak… are you in Full Shift?
⠀
> …how'd you know?
⠀
<Allan River> Oh, I don't know! The TV?!
⠀
> Should've known.
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<Allan River> I won't ask you what happened for you to turn fully again. Last time was already bad. But I do wanna ask, how confident are you to change back before it gets dangerous for you?
⠀
> It's fine. You can request items from your homeworld at the shop. The doses of Poraxidium the old man left to me in case of an emergency will be here in 48 hours.
⠀
<Allan River> Phew, that's a relief. You have no idea how worried I was. In that case, it's all good. I got your message about Flavia. So, it's break time for a few days?
⠀
> You could but I recommend you do the same as me. Train. More specifically, go and try to increase your Host Rank. I'm already Rank V and I will be aiming for VI right now.
⠀
<Allan River> Hmm… got it. Good luck.
⠀
> Sure. Same to you.
⠀
❮ ◈ ❯
⠀
Rakna closed the window and walked to the Pavilion's reception. The Nymph employee stood up nervously when she saw him come over. "C-can I help you, Sir?"
"Yeah, you can. Is there any mapper in this village that you can point me to?" He asked.
"Y-yes! The chief of the guard, Fniera'vi, can help you. He is not a Host but he often patrols outside to be sure that no threat gets too close to the village's borders. He could offer you some intel."
"Ah, that guy, huh? Okay, thanks for the help," he waved goodbye and was about to leave when the Nymph nervously stopped him.
"Ah, wait! Um… if it's possible, may I know your name?"
Rakna groaned internally. 'Déjà vu…'
"{Hahaha, just be done with it, devourer. An additional identity can be useful.}"
He rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder. "Karna Xiorra," he said and left without waiting for her to react. When he was outside, he looked for the man who had welcomed his group when they arrived in the Plateau. He searched him through smell and found him near the walls.
"Hey," he raised his voice and Fniera turned toward him with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes?" He said then seemed to notice something. "You look familiar…"
Rakna sighed internally. He might as well commit. "I'm Karna. My twin brother came to this village a few days ago with a small party."
The Nymph's eyes lit up in recognition. "Yes, I remember now. Do you need something?"
"I was told to find you when I asked for a mapper. Can you help?"
"Of course. But the fact that I'm a Local doesn't mean I don't take any fee."
"It's okay. Can you tell me where the three closest Dungeons are for now?"
"That's a pretty hefty demand. You're going to do all of them?"
"Yeah."
"All right. It will be 10 000 Talys for all of it. I will need it in cash."
"Deal," Rakna said and withdrew the amount from his balance.
Fniera received it and nodded after counting it. "Wait a moment," he said and took out a map from a spatial ring. He drew a few things on it and handed it over. "I'm not a Host so I cannot transfer it to you but this generally works fine."
Rakna grabbed the map and looked at it. The location of the village was marked in the center and three spots around it had been circled. Immediately, the System scanned the image on its own and updated the digital map in the corner of his vision.
"Thanks," he said to the Nymph and gave the map back.
"You are welcome," Fniera stored it back. "Be careful while exploring those. I assume you want to leave now, right? I'll turn off the aerial defense for you."
Rakna nodded and a minute later, he was standing outside the village, popping his joints. He gazed at the dark forest in front of him.
"I'll grind until the Poraxidium arrives with an extra day or two if needed," he muttered to himself and sent a message to Flavia to inform her as well as telling her that she didn't need to worry about him if she saw the news.
"Okay," he grinned and his aura was deployed, increasing the temperature around him. Pronos then stuck his head out from under the scarf with a yawn. "Finally up? How do you even manage to sleep so much in a day? You should be the one with Sloth…"
The little guy hissed groggily and looked around to see where they were.
"We're in the 15th," Rakna provided to him whilst popping his neck. "It's perfect. Now that you're up, we can start. Are you ready to go?"
Pronos slithered to his shoulder and nodded at his question.
"Then let's see what this Plateau has to offer," he cackled and shot off into the woods.
There you go. A pretty harmless chapter to go on break after.
.
And you know what? Maybe I'll come back in two weeks with a one shot story ready. Though it'll be on Amazon.
.
I might also give you the first chapter (prologue) of The Sage of the Crystal Mountain.
.
But, to be honest, I think I'll be spending my time studying to finally get my driving license. I've been putting it off for so long at this point because... I'm lazy, and it's a pain in the ass.
.
But I have to do it one day. See ya!
Two days later.
Rakna sat on the dismantled body of a High Treant as he ate the heart of one of the carnivorous plants that littered the ground. He was currently inside one of the three Dungeons given to him by Fniera. In fact, it was the third he visited and he was in the process of finishing the fiendish stage.
He swallowed the last piece of the vegetable-like heart, feeling his mana and stamina regenerate, and watched as Pronos and a pack of wooden wolves tore apart the remaining eating plants.
These wolves were of course a product of his Call of Hounds and the fact that this Dungeon was essentially an underground jungle, they had taken the form of Wood Elemental Wolves. Physically speaking, they were as strong as the Shadow Wolves.
But they were capable of sprouting spikes from any part of their bodies and when they were cut apart, they could split up at the cost of decreased attributes.
Rakna dusted his hands and jumped off from the dead treant. When he landed on the ground, the wolves and Pronos finished off the last monster plant.
⠀
❮ ◈ ❯
⠀
You have completed The Swallowing Jungle's 17th Floor! Boss Floor Opened!
⠀
Do you wish to leave?
Yes/No
⠀
❮ ◈ ❯
⠀
"No," Rakna said out loud and dispelled the wolves with a snap. The earth split apart and revealed the tunnel to the Boss Room. Pronos leaped on his shoulder again as he walked down the stairs of the passage.
"Fuck, I'm tired…" He grumbled and yawned. "Aren't those 48 hours over yet?"
[Affirmative. Your items should be coming very soon.]
"Good. I'll finally be able to rest once I get the Poraxidium," he said and stepped down the last stair of the tunnel. He looked around with his hands in his pockets and hummed. The room was circular with walls made of stone while the ground was covered in a spotless patch of green grass.
Rakna smelled something and looked up. Immediately, something dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of him with a loud quake. A roar echoed and hundreds of green tentacles invaded the room from the center where a giant rose with veins and a mouth in its stem was present.
The therian quickly appraised it and its level was 50. It was thirteen levels under his own. Levels of the Wilden were apparently not necessarily a lot higher from one Plateau to another. Especially with Dungeons where the strength of its monsters was defined by the Dungeon itself.
Rakna eyed it with a disinterested look even as it slowly crept toward him with a long row of sharp teeth ready to chomp him down.
"Listen here, you damn flower, I'm sleep deprived. For some goddam reason, the Dungeon before this one had 46 floors and it took me 15 hours to finish. I don't have any patience left," he uttered and right as the Boss was about to impale him with its tentacles, it froze mid-action.
The appendages were the first to regain movement. They started shaking and it spread to the main body. The plant's mouth closed and made weak high-pitched sounds.
Meanwhile, a black aura was growing around Rakna. It took the shape of a large werewolf with a red skull mask. The temperature increased and he smirked. He took his hands out of his pockets and approached the Boss that was fearfully crawling backward to escape him.
"{So this is what you meant by a hundred times better…}" Higure muttered. She was quite frankly frightened. This killing intent was truly worthy of being considered an avatar of death itself.
"{This sensation… it has some similarities to the book,}" Fray added. "{The Kind Demon has taught the boy more than just fighting. Both of them are… ruthless to the core.}"
Rakna forced the Boss back against the wall and raised his hand. "A gift for you; this is a new spell that I haven't tried out yet," he said and a spiraling sphere of magma materialized in his palm. The droplets of lava produced by it fell on the ground and charred through the grass.
"Hey, ugly flower, do you know what coronal loops are?" Rakna asked as he charged the spell with more mana, making the sphere bigger. The Boss barely had the mental capacity to recognize other living beings; it had no idea what he was saying. And that only further increased its terror.
"Well, it was rhetorical. You stink of fear by the way. Anyway, they're essentially massive magnetic field loops that form an arc on the surface of stars. They carry plasma, are exceptionally hot, and are generally short-lived," he explained and raised his hand above his head. The volcanic sphere expanded again and a sort of halo formed around it.
"Let's see how you like it," he grinned. "[Natcattira Kirīṭam,]" he chanted and the sphere exploded and released the halo in a full 360° angle. It surged with a strident sound accompanied by a noise akin to gas combustion.
The halo expanded at a speed invisible to the naked eye and the next thing Rakna knew, the entire room had a massive circular melting trench dug into the walls. As for the Boss… it had been cut in two along with a number of its tentacles. The bisected parts fell powerlessly and ignited.
Rakna lowered his hand and his aura vanished as if it was never there. Pronos had an absolute look of shock as he observed the aftermath of the spell.
⠀
❮ ◈ ❯
⠀
You have learned a new spell!
⠀
---
⠀
Name: Natcattira Kirīṭam
Tier: 5
⠀
Conjure a condensed sphere of star energy and redirect its energy around it to form a crown of plasma and magnetic force. Proceed to release the condensed energy at once and transfer it to the corona.
It will expand in all directions and everything it touches will melt and be cut by the unrelenting heat. Caution is advised when using this spell near allied forces.
⠀
Max Crown Radius: 630 meters (10 times the Host's Level).
Cost: 60% of the Host's Mana Pool (Max Correction: 40%).
Attack: User's MA multiplied by 6.
Cooldown: 1 Hour.
⠀
---
⠀
You have completed The Swallowing Jungle!
Difficulty: Fiendish.
Number of Participants: 1 | Average Level of Participants: 63
Rewards: 30 000 Talys, Seed of the Gem Flower.
⠀
---
⠀
You will now be transported out.
⠀
❮ ◈ ❯
⠀
Rakna huffed as he read the spell's description. "A multi-directional spell with high attack and a vast range. The risk of friendly fire aside, it's the dream AoE ability."
"{It is indeed very good,}" Fray commented.
The therian nodded and closed the window. He was teleported out of the Dungeon right after and he appeared in front of a cavern covered in vines and moss. He yawned again but quickly sobered up when another System prompt chimed.
⠀
❮ ◈ ❯
⠀
The inter-dimensional transport has been finalized. The items have been placed inside your storage. The System apologizes for the wait. There was a delay due to dimensional turbulences in the place from which the items were taken.
⠀
❮ ◈ ❯
⠀
"Finally!" Rakna cried out and opened his Item Box. He pulled out the drug first and a vial of blue liquid appeared in his hand. He took a closer look at it and checked the label. "Good. There wasn't any mistake," he said and stored it back.
"{Are you not going to take it now?}"
"Are you crazy? I'll blackout the moment I use that thing," he retorted. "I need to inject it in a safe place. Hmm, there's only the Ordeal left to do for me to promote… but whatever, I prefer returning to normal as fast as possible. I'll do it later. Alexa; First Plateau."
[Understood.]
⠀
* * *
⠀
Rakna reappeared on the roof of the building he was on when he left the First and unhesitatingly jumped down. He free fell for a few seconds before deploying his wings. He used Stealth and flew right to the girls' hotel.
He retracted his wings mid-flight and flashed-stepped to the entrance with his hair and fur back to black. He hurried to the last floor of the hotel and ringed the bell at the girls' door. In just a few seconds, Evelyn opened the door.
"Ah, Rakna! You're back," she welcomed him happily. "I saw you on the news. Flavia told me about the full shift. Are you still…?"
"Yeah, I am. But I got the stuff that will turn me back," he replied and she could tell right away that he was different. The tone of his voice was very obvious, of course, but even his vocabulary seemed slacker.
"Welcome back," Nyx greeted him the moment he entered the lounge.
"Are you okay?" Flavia skipped straight to the questioning and worriedly examined him.
He rolled his eyes and snickered, something that took Nyx and Evelyn by surprise. Only the Chaos Witch was relatively used to it, though she had always been uneasy when she saw him like that.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired as fuck," he said and tossed her a vial of Poraxidium along with a syringe that came with it. "Help me out, will you? I will sit down and you will inject me this to the back of my neck, just above the spine. Don't worry about hurting me, the syringe's size is tailored for that use. So, you can stab it all the way in and press the button."
Flavia nodded seriously. "This should be less dangerous than last time… right?"
"I don't know. To be fair, there might still be a chance of causing irreparable damages," he said and took a seat on a couch. Flavia followed him and anxiously clutched the medicine. "But I don't have a choice at this point. Do it. I'll try not to kick the bucket, so don't make a fuss."
Nyx faintly smiled from the side. "You really have a loose tongue in this state."
"You've seen nothing yet," he laughed. "Sadly, I'm too tired right now. Flavia, go ahead."
She nodded and placed the vial on the small table. She grabbed the syringe and pierced through the cap to load one dose. "Are you ready?"
He nodded and turned his head so that she could see his neck. She took a deep breath and thrust the needle of the syringe into it. Rakna grunted and she pushed the content inside.
Without delay, he convulsed and his muscles contracted. The veins around his neck bulged as the drug spread through his nervous system. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
⠀
❮◈❯ Pain Resistance has leveled up! ❮◈❯
⠀
"Fuck, this crap hurts way more than I remember," he growled out, feeling his consciousness fade away bit by bit. His eyes were already flickering between red and purple while his hair was now a mix of black and red.
"Is it a bad thing?" He heard Flavia ask worriedly.
"Nah… it's a good sign actually… means... my brain signals… are still… working… properly," he said softly and his eyelids got heavier. The red finally went away from his features and he let himself fall on the couch.
"I'll take a nap… for a while…" That was the last thing he said before falling unconscious.
First day+ timeskip. There'll be a bigger one soon too.
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Also, I'm changing the update time to 6PM UTC. Basically, three hours earlier.
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Oh, and hi, I'm back by the way.
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