But there was no time to savor the victory. Another ghoul, its movements a blur of speed, darted towards Nevin. With a shout of warning, I lunged, intercepting the creature with a shoulder charge that sent us tumbling. We rolled, a tangle of limbs and fury, until my hands found its neck, squeezing with all the strength my enhanced muscles could muster. With a sickening crack, it went limp, its body disintegrating into the same shadowy essence as its kin.

  Around me, the battle raged. Crag was a tempest. I could hear him stifling his laughter as he dispatched ghoul after ghoul with brutal efficiency. Dori's blades danced, a whirlwind of death that left no ghoul standing. Even Urg jumped in this time, putting down a number of the monsters with dark bolts of black or green lightning.

  And then, as suddenly as they had attacked, the ghouls' numbers began to thin. One by one, they fell, their bodies dissolving into the ether from whence they came, until at last, only silence remained. We stood, panting, our weapons dripping with the remnants of our foes when the XP hit. It wasn’t much only 2,060, but I didn’t bother worrying about that. We kept moving. I could feel that we were close to the center.

  I continued to sneak the rest of the way, watching the ability move up slowly, but any progress was always good. Then we reached the bottom floor. There was a small circular room at the end of the final set of stairs. We’d already destroyed all the guards the dungeon had created, and now floating in the center of that room was the burning sphere that was the dungeon core. Behind it, floating against back wall was a skeletal form of a Darje. It was incomplete, but seemed to be slowly forming as though from a magical 3D printer. At least Azirin’s new body wasn’t complete yet.

  Samvek said, “The red corona around it means the dungeon core is unstable.”

  Nevin asked, “Mana overload or the hell mana?”

  He only nodded and said, “Yes.”

  “None of that matters, I can feel a small crystal inside the core. That must be Azirin’s phylactery. I’m going to try to pull it out.”

  Dori put her hand on my shoulder and said, “Don’t touch it.”

  I winked at her. Then formed a hand of force in the air. It was about a foot high and proportional to human measurements, simply much larger. I chuckled to myself, knowing that none of the others would understand as I said, “Eat your heart out, Bigby.”

  Then I pushed forward with my will, directing the hand. As it hit, the edge of the dungeon core, which was almost like a small sun filling the room, I began to feel resistance.

  The hand, shimmering with arcane energy, was a testament to my control and intent. While the choice of its form was a moment of levity in the midst of this deadly business, it wasn’t lacking in power, as I focused all my energy on it.

  As I pushed harder, the core's reaction was immediate and violent. The room trembled, stones grinding against each other as the dungeon itself seemed to roar in defiance. The force hand, steady under my command, pushed against the swirling energies of the core, each inch gained a victory against the maelstrom of power it faced.

  My focus narrowed to a single point, the world reduced to the space between the hand and the core. The resistance was fierce, an almost physical force that fought against the intrusion. Yet, beneath the chaos, I could sense the phylactery, its presence clear and distinct amidst the tumult.

  With a final, determined push, the hand breached the core's defenses. The rumble of the dungeon grew louder, a cacophony of sound that threatened to overwhelm. Yet, amidst the turmoil, the hand closed around the phylactery, its crystalline form gleaming within the spectral grasp.

  The moment of contact was vile. I tasted blood in my mouth and my body felt like I’d been dipped in raw sewage. I could feel the staggering evil and suffering which had gone into the formation of this crystal. The fact that it had been further warped by hell mana only added to that taint.

  As I began to pull the crystal free, a violent shudder ran through the very bones of the dungeon. The room shook, stones falling from the ceiling as the dungeon fought to preserve its heart. Crag raised his shield and once again shaped it to be much larger than it had been before. He used it to keep any falling rocks from me so that I could maintain my focus. Meanwhile, the hand, unyielding under my control, maintained its grip; the crystal slowly emerged from the heart of the blaze.

  The process was agonizingly slow, each centimeter gained a battle against the forces that sought to keep the phylactery ensconced within the core. The air around us was a tempest, mana and hell mana clashing in a tumultuous storm that threatened to tear the room apart. I injected more life and lightning mana into my construct, which seemed to weaken the hold even further.

  When I finally pulled it free, it throbbed and all of us were knocked down to our knees. Even Samvek stumbled back as the pulse of vile mana filled the air.

  Azirin’s voice filled the air. “Fools, I’ve mastered death. Your lives will be nothing but playthings to me.”

  There was a vise of darkness that filled the air. I was crushed down and couldn’t even sense what the others were experiencing. I was alone, bereft of my senses, bereft of my team. The spiritual energy of Azirin splashed against my senses, a beacon of rage, but that wasn’t the real threat. It was the tendrils of undeath mana. They were insidious, sinking through my pores and trying to force their way into my very being. They were stronger than I’d ever imagined possible, an overwhelming tide waiting to drown me.

  Panic was only moments away from consuming my mind, and swallowing rationality, when I saw it. A thick spiritual cord attached to the phylactery leading back to the dungeon core. It pulsed faster and faster like a beating heart. It reminded me of an umbilical cord and the phylactery was the one being fed the nutrients. That was how Azirin was feeding from the overloaded dungeon core, raising the necromancer’s power beyond anything I could match. I stood no chance against this. My own mana was being forced from my body, and if I couldn’t tap into a source of massive power soon, I was about to die and worse. This was the real trap of the dungeon, and I saw it too late.

  Chapter 42- Life From Death

  I had the will. I definitely had the need. If I didn’t survive this, then death would be but a pleasant dream as I dwelled in a limbo of torment subject to the whims of a twisted necromancer with a personal grudge against me and all of eternity to experiment on new forms of revenge.

  The only thing I was lacking was the raw power, but that didn’t have to be the case. I wanted to warn the others about what I was about to try. I didn’t even know if I’d be able to open my spatial storage while I was under this heavy of an assault. The undeath mana made me feel like my body was encased in cement. One that ate away at the life flowing inside my flesh while maintain a physical shell, like I was being hollowed out. It made me wish I had a trowel to scrap it away.

  I couldn’t even tell if my team was still here, other than Samvek. I felt his aura. He was fighting, but if even he was having trouble here, then what hope did I have? No, that was just the pressure. Not only was it trying to crush me, but the dark mana around me was trying to destroy my hope. It wanted me to give up.

  Sometimes the only way forward was to take a stupid risk. So, I ordered my spatial storage to open as I tried to summon out my one wild card. I felt the undeath mana try to clamp down and prevent me from moving, but I forced it open and then out popped a massive crystal.

  Congealed Mana Crystal (epic) – this item is attuned to the life aspect. It uses the power of the body and life aspect mana to perform wonders such as generating a force-field, destroying the undead, evolving a race, ????, ???? and perhaps other wonders given the right ritual.

  Note this item has been affected by your ability: Save for Winter. It is already beyond the tier cap, which can be raised by your ability, but it has become attuned to you. No one else will be able to use it while you still live.

  Mana total: 1,004,689/10,000,000

  As the crystal appeared in the room, light flared and I could once again see. The pressure on me was lessened to nothing more than an annoyance. I pushed up till I stood upright and looked around. The Galenians were all on the ground unconscious, while Samvek was on both knees and struggling not to drop any further.

  “No, you won’t escape me. Life is a lie, death is a trap, only my path creates immortality.” Azirin’s voice filled the chamber.

  I ignored him. The mana stored in the crystal surged into me and I cut through the resistance in front of me. “Your mind is twisted, but I’ll still free you.”’

  My power slammed into the phylactery. The fist of force I’d created began to flex into a crushing hand and I heard the lich scream. “No… we can bargain. I’ll free you. I’ll give you all the loot I’ve collected.”

  I ignored him. Those who don’t negotiate when they’re in power can’t be trusted when you have the power. It took far less effort than I’d anticipated, but then again, I had a truly massive reserve of mana to draw on. The phylactery cracked. Then it shattered and the lich’s soul was torn apart. I didn’t bother trying to salvage it. If it made it to wherever souls went, then so be it, but I wasn’t going to spend my resources trying to save such a vile enemy.

  An influx of energy hit me.

  You have gained 4,010 XP. You have absorbed the remaining Darje essence and now are the only living being with a trace of Darje DNA in existence. The Darje are now a dead race.

  Darje evolution is now complete. You must choose.

  Darje Undead Evolution- gain +40 Endurance and +40 Durability. Undead will no longer see you as a living being and will default to a neutral position towards you rather than immediately being hostile.

  Darje Lineage Evolution- gain +40 Vitality and +40 Mind. The Darje were a people who tended the land, raised their families and lived in peace. You now bear a fragment of their nature in you. All structures you build or oversee on your home world will come together more quickly, with reduced resources and greater durability.

  I pondered for a few seconds, but in the end, the latter simply felt right, so I accepted the Darje Lineage Evolution. I smiled too because for once—I hadn’t even been required to get covered in blood to gain the evolution.

  My team was still out but, Samvek groaned and then managed to stand with the pressure gone. He looked at me and then at the congealed mana crystal. He smiled then. “The footage made available for your battle for Proximus didn’t reveal what happened to the crystal. Most speculated that it was destroyed. That world is fairly backwater so only a few groups are likely to have sent a team to see if they could find it, but anyone finds out that you have it…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head.

  The meaning was clear. I needed to keep the existence of this crystal a secret, and especially the fact that I possessed it.

  “It’s only epic. Can it truly be that valuable?”

  He said, “Broadcast about it and find out. It’s epic tier because of the amount of power it has. Such crystals begin at rare and go up to legendary. They can only be created under truly dire circumstances and to find one that is attuned to life mana would be a great boon. Most of the sects would pay you a fortune for it, and any group with an interest in healing would kill for it.”

  I asked him about the question marks in the description of the item. Previously there had been four sets of question marks, but now two of them were filled in with “destroying the undead” and “evolving a race”. He simply shrugged and said, he didn’t know enough about such things, but that it probably meant I hadn’t met whatever requirements the system thought I needed to in order to learn another use for the crystal.

  “You can use it as a battery, but it will be best used for tasks which life attuned mana is best applied to. You still aren’t allowed to attempt a racial evolution, disciple. Study the manual you got, but leave it at that for now. When it’s time, I’ll help you or get you the resources you need if your path goes in a way that I can’t help with.”

  “And when will that time come?”

  He laughed. “Just reached uncommon tier and already impatient for what comes next. Have you forgotten that the path I’m teaching you is one of patience?”

  “You do remember, I’ve only got a year left.”

  “Right, but I found you a mission with the longest time dilation that your body could handle and you're more than twice as strong as you were when you began it. You still don’t even know how powerful you are yet. Consolidate your gains and then we’ll talk. Until then, you need to do a couple of things.”

  I listened intently. Samvek rarely was this clear in his instructions about the future.

  “First, this time dilation will have taken a huge toll on you. You need to relax on your world for at least a day. Don’t take a mission the first day you're back, maybe the second day if you aren’t feeling completely restored. As long as you don’t go more than two days without taking a mission, there are no consequences, correct?”

  I nodded. “I think so.”

  “Second, you need to find a fifth team member. It’s foolish to run dungeons with less than a full team until you know what you’re doing. It’s part of why so many Forerunners die.”

  I almost joked that we had him as our fifth, but I knew he’d only point out that I couldn’t count on him to save me. I had to be tested without a safety net.

  “Your team will also need to rest, So take a few solo missions then in two weeks we should meet up on Galen. I’ll make sure you’ve got a mission for it and be sure to bring your fifth team member.”

  I looked at the core. “What about that?”

  “That’s up to you. You can leave it be or destroy it. I’ll just remind you that it’s been tainted. So what do you think the system would want you to do?”

  “That’s the problem, I find myself wanting to spite the system.”

  He got an odd expression on his face. I wasn’t able to puzzle it out. “That’s a path to pain, but I won’t try to dissuade you. I’ll just tell you to pick your battles.”

  I turned my attention back to the core. I drew more mana from the floating crystal and then cast Lingering Grace on each of my team members. That proved to be the final step necessary for the spell to reach rare tier.

  Upgrade options for Lingering Grace- decide on a focus.

  Duration, healing potency, restoration, beyond life.

  Hmm… I discarded beyond life as a path I didn’t want to take. Duration was the least desirable. Potency was the obvious choice, but I was curious what restoration would add to the spell. I was living on the edge now, so I decided to take the chance.

  Restorative Grace -this spell will instantly heal 250 HP damage, remove any Uncommon level ailments, and grant continued healing of 15 HP per second for 5 minutes. There is a significant chance to remove higher tier ailments. Additionally, this spell may now restore the life of any being who died within the past 5 seconds per caster level.

  Tier: Rare 1%, Duration: 5 minutes. Range: 180 feet. Mana Cost: 160

  I grinned. It was awesome when a risk paid off. My team was soon up and moving. I filled them in on what happened, then we discussed the pros and cons of closing the dungeon permanently. In the end, we decided that it was for the best, especially since I’d get more world points for it. I just wished I could negotiate with the system for more benefits.

  Then I asked myself, why not?

  “Samvek, is there any way to negotiate directly with the system?”

  He stared at me for a moment. “Put that away. The longer you leave it out the more likely it becomes that the system will allow others to see you using it. Remember that any mission you go on can be broadcast by the system. It isn’t just the times where the audience is obvious like in the race.”

  I pulled the crystal of congealed mana back into my spatial storage without any difficulty. Living without spatial storage seemed unthinkable now. Then I looked back at Samvek.

  “That’s a very dangerous question. Don’t allow any clan elders to hear you asking it. I’m going to greatly oversimplify this for you. There are two camps. Those who believe everything is run by an impersonal system which doesn’t vary, it simply is and has its rules. For them, the only trick is for us to figure out the best ways to use the system, to know which rules can be bent and to learn the secret methods like the things we’ve trained on.

  “Then there are those who believe we all live under the gaze of the heavens. Some think that means some unified divine being who is beyond all our understanding, others, that there is a divine tier beyond legendary and those who reach that tier have some measure of influence over this realm.”

  Nevin added, “According to the histories I’ve read there have been wars that affected hundreds of worlds because of this debate. Powerful groups have been overthrown and others have risen. The last great war that I could find out about happened a bit more than a thousand years ago.”

  Samvek nodded. “Yes, and gave rise to the corporations. They officially take no position on the issue, although most feel like they treat it more like a system than the heavens. The corporations have only one guiding principle, namely profit. The wars between the sects and other groups like systomancers and even some of the clans caused a great deal of destruction. Thus, it created fertile ground for those who only wanted stability and profit.”

  I thought about it. “Okay, but is there a way to negotiate with the system?”

  He grimaced before answering, “You can sure try.”

  Clearly, he wasn’t going to give me anymore. So, I called out at the top of my lungs. “You want this dungeon closed permanently, right? So what will you offer me to end this threat of hell mana?”

  Only after I finished shouting did I realize that an all-powerful system would have been able to hear me whether I whispered or shouted. I started to blush when I got another notification.

  Forerunner Protocol 8b has been invoked.

  My vision went blank for a second and then I could only see a blue screen.

  What is it that you desire?

  I couldn’t speak, but I found that my thoughts caused words to appear on the screen.