DPSHealer

Chapter 289 - Neighbors Visit 

Around one month has passed since I arrived at this mountain. Although nothing out of the norm happened, time passed really fast. During this time, I tried to be cautious in order to avoid being caught in the activation of the labyrinth, but that didn’t happen even after this much time and intervention. So, I decided to start the next phase of the plan.

I went deep in the labyrinth and fast as well to notice the differences, but after crossing what felt around fifty kilometers, the only changes that I noticed was that the ants became bigger… they came more resilient too and granted more experience and materials, but nothing aside from that.

‘At such distance, I would be around the third section of a labyrinth… their size doubled, but it isn’t the same equivalency.’

The labyrinth was making less and less sense as time passed. The deeper I went, the more the usual patterns of escalation seemed to be missing. Normally, the environment would change, and the creatures would become more dangerous. But here, everything remained strangely static. The ants had grown larger and tougher, but their presence didn’t signal a natural progression within the labyrinth. It felt like I was stuck in some sort of stagnant loop, where the usual rules didn’t apply. The walls, the floor, even the air seemed unchanging, creating an unnerving stillness that left me questioning what was truly happening beneath the surface.

Despite the confusion, the materials I collected continued to pile up, providing me with an abundant supply of resources. This was valuable, and I could still move forward with my plans, even if I didn’t fully understand the labyrinth’s behavior. The lack of change was unsettling, but as long as the resources kept flowing, I would continue to push ahead and see where this bizarre labyrinth would eventually lead.

‘In any case, it is time to put the plan into action.’ 

Before anything, I decided to load the remote cart that I made with some plates and then use the control to make the mechanical arms that I attached to it to unload the plates. The movements were simple since they were preset. Still, it worked… I made the cart go deeper in the dungeon and then I used the same commands. Then I went where the cart was and confirmed that it received them and worked properly.

‘I guess this confirms that I can control things from a distance with magic as well, even if my mana isn’t the one being used.’

My first idea was to use that to create a rail for the vehicle and make it expand itself day in and day out. I would just forget the rails. However, that would be filled to accomplish given that the corridors of the labyrinth had a curvature and I couldn’t count on that with precision. Besides, making all those rails and then take them back later would be a massive pain in the ass.

Since I confirmed that my plans of automation worked, I began to use and make more cogs to make the process of pulling the claws of the ants a lot faster. The only problem was that I couldn’t make the process of getting the mana cores as easier.

‘I guess I need to make those belts and then add the mechanical arms on the sides for them to do the same work… after that, I can focus on automating the forging process.’

It took me nearly two weeks to complete that phase, a process that should have been quicker but was delayed by several simple mistakes along the way. The mechanical arms, though functional, weren’t intelligent. Their movements had to be adjusted and corrected constantly, as they couldn’t adapt to unexpected situations on their own. 

The constant fine-tuning became frustrating, and at times, it felt like a waste of time. But despite the setbacks, I knew that this knowledge was valuable. Each misstep was a lesson learned, and the foundation I was building would save me countless hours down the line. This phase, though tedious, was crucial. It would serve as the basis for automating future processes and would be applied to many other projects. I had to remind myself that the time spent now would pay off in the long run.

“Da-da! Da-da!”

While I was thinking about that, Alissandra began to slap the borders of her seat on Glacien's back. I thought that she would be fine there while Glacien walked around the base, but it looked like she was getting annoyed since I was starting to work more while she was awake.

“She is too energetic… well, that is a good thing. I suppose we can use this energy helping her learn how to walk.”

She already could crawl well, thanks to that, I couldn’t leave my stuff around or she would grab it. Maybe it was about time to try to reach the deepest parts of the labyrinth… even if it takes more than six hours to come and go.

I helped Alissandra get up a bit with her unsteady legs as I watched one of the mechanical arms pulling the body of a giant ant from a magic bag and then adding to the belt that was moving. Soon enough, other arms pulled the claws of the ant and then others stored the claws in another magic bag. The process bad been working fine for a couple of hours and it only required a mana core on each arm. I still didn’t know for how long they would last, so I should observe for a while longer.

‘I guess this indeed will save me a lot of time. I just need to adjust the arms to work the same way to different materials…’

“Wahhhh! Wahhhh!’

“Sorry, sorry. It won’t happen again.”

I let Alissandra fall… while I covered the ground with monster fur. It was still painful for her to fall. It took a bit to calm her down… she was becoming more sensible to irritability as late. Or maybe this was my fault for working too much.

I decided to help her walk around spending her energy faster, but her legs were still pretty unsteady for her to take more than a few steps, even while my hands were holding hers. Her physical parameters couldn’t be upgraded yet, so it made sense.

Speaking of upgrades, I had accumulated enough experience to double the value of my attack speed and I confirmed that also helped with my skill of using my hands out of combat. I could assemble some parts faster than before and without making mistakes. Writing faster was also one of the bonuses of having such attack speed… the only issue was my patience being tested for saving that much experience.

Eventually, Alissandra got tired and fell asleep. It was about time for me to resume my work, but it looked like something else would keep me busy.

“Grrr…”

Glacien began to growl while looking to the side…. that direction was the entrance of the labyrinth, so immediately raised my guard and got ready to use my hand crossbow.

“What is wrong, girl?”

Glacien rose without a sound. Her movements were sharp as she got up from where she had been sitting. Without a glance backward, she made her way toward the entrance of the labyrinth, the only sound her footsteps against the ground. Her expression was unreadable, and it seemed like she had noticed something. As she neared the entrance, she slowed down for a moment, as if considering her next move. Then, without a word, she turned sharply and passed by it, moving toward the opposite side of the summit instead.

I had already checked the other side of the mountain. There was only a forest there, but five hundred kilometers beyond it, there was the border of Felyndor with a country that is mainly covered in a desert… 

“Was it about time for them to decide to take advantage of the situation?”

I didn’t know how the war was going on, but maybe it was about time for looters to start to show up from all directions. In any case, Roswald told me that the people of that country were similar to the beastkin, they even shared the land together in the past, but soon to some fallout, they split up and then got on bad terms… Thanks to the harsh conditions on their lands, it was pretty common for that land to be filled with bandit clans and it seemed that they were heading in my direction.

Roswald didn’t show up in a while, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t imagined that this wouldn’t happen. The chances that I would be found were still relatively small, but it looked like the enemies were planning to use the summit of the mountain as a vantage point.

“There are many ways that I can deal with this. I suppose disposing of them would be the best option since I would be able to keep doing what I want uninterrupted.”

In the distance and between some trees around the middle of the mountain, I was able to see some shadows moving. It was dark, so it would be hard to notice their approach, even with my eyes. I didn’t know how many of them were there, but I imagined that once a fight started, it wouldn’t stop with just a few attacks.

Just as I didn’t want people to find out about my hideout, they wouldn’t want people to know about their invasion, so they would want to silence me as well. They are probably aiming for the towns in the area that would have limited defenses, but the people there would still cause a lot more trouble if they knew that enemies were coming.

Chapter 288 - Unknown Helpers 

It took ten days for those three to return home. Along the way, they received the news about the things that had happened while they were away… the fact that the beastkin joined the dwarves side and the fact that Jacques and his little sister were leading the empire reinforcements for the elves and the fact that he found Regulus there and found him.

“... So annoying.”

Remi joked around on the start of the way home, but as soon as he heard the news about his older brother, he couldn’t help but get annoyed. Apparently, he was able to face Regulus and force him to escape without suffering any damage. From the perspective of some, Jacques, who was a vampire slayer, showed his true worth and skill, instead of failing to capture or defeat Regulus despite the obvious advantages that he had.

“What are we going to do, Father? Join Jacques on the front lines?” 

Ulric felt that was the best option. Even though they just returned from a very long expedition, it looked like the empire wasn’t proceeding with its plans at the planned pace. It was hard to say how much Regulus was the cause of that, though.

“We will wait for the orders to do so.”

That was probably for the best, but it was clear that Rayner was annoyed by being left out of the loop. His clenched fists and the furrow in his brow made his annoyance obvious, though he refrained from voicing it. He understood why decisions were being kept to a select few. Secrecy was vital in such precarious times, but that didn’t make the feeling of exclusion any easier to swallow after everything he did for the empire.

Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to blame anyone. It was better for those at the top to steer the situation. Besides, he trusted that the higher-ups would act decisively if things began to spiral out of control. They wouldn’t hesitate to do what needed to be done, no matter the cost. For now, Rayner could only wait and trust the system, though patience wasn’t his strong suit.

After they returned home, they had the chance to relax, but the atmosphere felt odd. The house was too quiet these days, as the kids were rarely at home now. Remi, in particular, felt restless. He couldn’t bring himself to stay idle for long, and the thought of simply doing nothing at home didn’t sit well with him. The place didn’t feel like it belonged to him anymore, not fully. He realized he needed to find a space for himself in order to have the chance of fooling around.

Ulric, too, felt a bit off. For him, the discomfort wasn’t about a lack of distractions, but rather the absence of the personal space he’d grown accustomed to during their mission. Sharing a home again after so much time away felt stifling, even if it was with people he cared about. The adjustment was harder than any of them expected, and though they were home, it didn’t entirely feel like it.

It took one month for them to receive some news about what was happening in the war… things were at a stalemate in the war, all thanks to the dwarven technology and the beastkin skills. However, the immigrants of the Skarnash Tribelands joined the battle even though they were supposed to be defending the coast from the Aquarians as well.

“Are we losing Elven terrain? Is that something that the clairvoyant had seen?”

Those three reunited after dinner to read a report that they received. Usually, Remi would feel satisfied knowing that things weren’t going that perfectly to his older brother, but the tide of the battle was completely on the enemy’s side now… it was no time to think of such things because his workload would only increase if the empire and elves lose this battle.

“The clairvoyant can see the future of people. While they can also see some large events, they see that it is a bit blurry what they see when too many people’s futures are involved since that many of them die every moment. The empire plans its actions based on that, but the outcome isn’t always guaranteed… even more so when irregulars are involved.”

Irregulars were people that escaped the grasp of the clairvoyant and made their visions even more uncertain… right now, they could only think of one person, but it has been months since Regulus had been sighted, it was difficult to say how much he could be involved in this. Considering his skills and how much time he had, he could be on the other side of the world by now.

“Do you think that he is the cause of this, father?”

“... Maybe he isn’t the only irregular that the empire is being mindful of. Also, the clairvoyant skills are more difficult to use when people that they don’t know become involved.”

Although he said that, Rayner was certain that Regulus was the cause of this. It didn’t feel like he was trying really hard to get in the way of the empire, but his actions had shown until now that when he wanted, he could and would, given that he wasn’t a fan of the empire.

“Even now the higher ups don’t tell us to move… what are they thinking?”

Remi hit the table with his fist and made it crack. He looked away, annoyed when he saw the gaze of his father. Destroying the property of their family wasn’t something that he could tolerate. Regardless, they had something else to consider… Things were changing, and they needed to be ready to move when the opportunity arises.

In the end, it only took one week for them to receive a letter that granted them permission to move and help in the conflict. Rayner felt a bit conflicted, since he was essentially receiving orders from his eldest son. Still, when he read the contents of the letter, he understood why Jacques was able to call for his help.

“What does it say?” 

Rayner didn’t answer the question, he just passed the letter to Remi, and then he also frowned while reading it before passing to Ulric. 

“Who are these people? We have the order to bring our soldiers, so what is the point of looking for these people, father?” 

“Your brother believes that they can be useful in this conflict.”

“Why, Father?” 

Rayner couldn’t answer that… he actually could, but he didn’t want to. His eldest son was truly following the path that he believed in and he was planning to do everything necessary to accomplish his goals while also following the orders given to him by the empire.

“You two aren’t used to gathering our troops and then leading them to the battlefield for weeks. You can take this role this time. I will look and recruit these people personally.”

Ulric didn’t like that their father was keeping something from them. He could see it in the way Rayner avoided answering their questions directly, ignoring anything that might reveal the full truth behind Jacques’ orders. Still, he knew better than to push the issue.

Still, there was a silver lining to all of this. This was a golden opportunity for them to gain merit and prove themselves. The chance to lead the family’s troops was a rare honor, one that traditionally fell to the eldest son, even while their father was still alive.

It was a chance to show that they were capable of stepping up, of shouldering the weight of their family’s legacy. If they succeeded, they would not only solidify their place within the family, but also earn respect from their soldiers and peers. As much as he disliked being kept in the dark, Ulric decided to focus on the task ahead. This was their moment to become more famous, and he wasn’t about to let it slip away.

Remi and Ulric began to get ready for the mission and started by packing their things. Remi felt that this was a golden chance… while Jacques was the leader of the reinforcements, he wouldn’t command directly the family’s troops and since Gerald wasn’t around, that would fall on his lap. Moreover, this was a golden chance of finding some Elven girls.

Ulric couldn’t help but sigh, realizing what his older brother was thinking about. Their troops were moving to make the conflict more even… if their father was going with them, then they clearly would have the upper hand in terms of fighting quality and experience. The best warriors that belonged to the Skarnash Tribelands had died in the war during the invasion, after all.

At the same time, Ulric couldn’t help but think how things would have been so much easier for the empire if they had treated Regulus a bit better. Their whole family was guilty of that, though. If it weren’t for him, they would have conquered the Skarnash Tribelands a lot faster and saved thousands of not tens of thousands of soldiers. This conflict probably would have ended sooner than well, since they would have returned sooner from that land to help things here.

It was truly unfortunate that the clairvoyant didn’t show up a bit sooner to warn them of that… an irregular that can escape their visions probably would have become a force that would be the downfall of their enemies instead of a real troublesome guy that gets in their way.

‘Since I am seeing things this way out of just convenience, I guess even if we were warned, nothing would have changed.’

Chapter 287 - Connections and Similarities (Thank you for your support, Blake Weltner, Eric Wharton, Glevnik and Seamus Kennedy!)

“This is a lot easier than I had expected.”

Thanks to the experiment that I made when that stupid longbow, I confirmed that I could make other things with several parts and still enchant them as a single object. What I didn’t expect was that I still could control them if the parts were separated. 

Right now, I was controlling a small cart with a remote control that had a mana core in it, even though the control and the mana core were supposed to be part of the kart originally. With a simple pull of a lever, the original object was supposed to make the vehicle move and there was also a wheel attached to it, so I could change the direction of the cart.

“I can use this to control a flying platform eventually… still, this really makes me think that it is similar to those remote control toys.”

As I watched the cart move, I couldn’t help but wonder: did the energy from the mana cores work like radio waves back on Earth? It seemed possible. Radio waves could carry information wirelessly over a distance, and if the mana core emitted some sort of magical equivalent, it might function similarly. Still, I’d need more experiments to be sure.

On Earth, a remote control sends audio waves or electromagnetic signals, modulated with specific frequencies to encode commands. These signals were received by the toy’s internal receiver, which translated them into mechanical actions. For instance, when one pushed a button or turned a lever, the control would generate an encoded signal that the car’s motor interpreted as move forward or turn left.

If mana cores worked similarly, they might emit waves of magical energy that carried encoded information to enchanted objects. The spell matrix within the object could then decipher those signals and act accordingly. Perhaps by tuning the flow of mana through specific channels or frequencies, I could refine the control even further.

The possibilities were endless. Could mana cores emit complex signals for multi-functional controls? Could they power larger constructs? I didn’t have all the answers yet, but I was determined to find them.

“I guess if something like this is possible in this world, then programming should also be possible… It might deviate a bit too much from my original goal, though.”

“Eee-hee-hee!”

Alissandra was happily laughing while her basket was at the top of the mini cart. It looked like she understood that she was moving thanks to some sort of magic method and she found that amusing.

Regardless, I didn’t know if I had a lifespan higher than humans, so perhaps trying to continue this research would be too grand of a goal to do alone. I was able to create new things faster thanks to my increased dexterity, but would that be enough to reach such goals? I could focus on the simplicity, but it would be a lot easier to just look for some people that I can trust or hire people to work for me and that was saying something since doing that wasn’t something truly easy to do.

I considered once again learning golems, this time, they would have to learn how to do things over time. That was an even more ambitious goal than the previous one, since I never heard of anyone pulling that off, but I should be able to do it eventually. It was only a matter of how much time I could put on this as well.

“I guess I would need to use all my parameters to the fullest to help with this… Dexterity helped in other unexpected aspects, so I am sure that the other parameters can do the same, I just have to learn how they can be of help as I keep improving them.”

Name: Regulus Dawnshield

Race: Dhampir

Health: 330/330 (0/3200) (1.1)

Regen: 6.4 per hour (0/4100) (1.6)

Mana: 720/720 (0/4600) (1.6)

Regen: 25.8 per minute (0/8100) (3.1)

Stamina: 380/380 (0/3500) (1.1)

Regen: 16.0 per minute (0/10.100) (1.6)

Strength: 140 + 180 (0/7100) (2.0)

Magic: 96 (0/6100) (1.6)

Dexterity: 495 (0/9100) (5.5x)

Spirit: 21 (0/2200)

Endurance: 30 (0/3100) (1.1)

Attack Speed: + 121% (0/7700) (1.6)

Movement Speed: 15.1 (0/7600) (1.3)

Stamina Conservation: 2.6 (0/20.000) (1.3)

Fire Affinity: 30 (0/3100)

Ice Affinity: 15 (0/1600)

Earth Affinity: 01 (0/100)

Traits: Minor Weakness to Sunlight, Minor Sensitivity to Holy Magic, Minor Aversion to Silver

Classes: Pathfinder, Shadow Scriber, Demon Hunter, Dreadful Enchanter, Shadow Assassin, Merchant, Armorsmith, Magic Forger, Sharpshooter, Pyromancer, Dark Paladin, Arcane Archer, Shadow Archer, Primal Archer, Lord of War, Warblade, Beastmaster, Captain, Blood Mage, Cryomancer, Shadow Inscriber, Leatherworker, Toxic Assassin, Toxic Sage, Alchemist, Linguist, Bard, Earth Mage, Time Mage

Aptitudes: Never Lost, Hunter’s Resolve, Malevolent Artifice,  Way of Shadows, Master of Trade, Master of Protection, Arcane Crafting, Master of Precision, Heat Master, Silent Observation, Dark Retribution, Mystic Marksman, Shadow Archery, Primal Marksman, Battlefield Presence, Ranged Skill, Relentless Assault, Animal Empathy, Maritime Captain, Blood Rain, Frost Wielder, Gliph Writer, Master of Hides, Toxic Mastery, Toxic Wisdom, Chemical Mastery, Master of Languages, Musical Mastery, Stone Resonance, Temporal Mastery

Experience: 45.598

To be able to confirm that, I would need to save enough experience to essentially double all the parameters all at once, but one at a time, that would make me confirm things with one hundred percent certainty. Still, this would take a while as well… probably a few months, even if I head into the labyrinth daily at least eight hours a day.

“Well, no need to rush… if I can stay here until Alissandra turns ten, then I won’t mind. With the proper education, she will be able to fend for herself at that age and she will have the skills and knowledge to do so as well. As usual, let’s just focus on efficiency.”

— —

Around the time Regulus was working on that new labyrinth, a group of people were leaving a ship on the southern side of the Bastion Empire. There was a carriage waiting for them, so they quickly got inside and then they began to move toward home.

“Ah, I will miss seeing the Aquarians… they were quite the sight for sore eyes.”

“Hey, cut it out…”

Among the disembarking passengers were Rayner, Remi, and Ulric. The three moved quickly toward a waiting carriage in order to return home. The twins had accompanied Rayner to the Skarnash Tribelands, but their return started earlier, once the Bastion Empire had taken control of all the towns in the region. However, Rayner, Remi, and Ulric had stayed behind to oversee the transition of power.

They worked to organize how the empire would govern the conquered territory, ensuring that systems were in place. They also focused on fortifying the empire’s position, knowing that holding the Skarnash Tribelands was just as important as conquering it.

The Aquarians had made it clear they would not aid in defending the land. Without their support, the empire’s grip on the territory was precarious. Their work in the Skarnash Tribelands was done, for now. But the repercussions of their efforts, and the vulnerabilities they left behind, would follow them back to the empire soon enough.

Despite Remi’s words while they were still on duty, Rayner didn’t say or do anything. He just kept staring to the outside of the carriage with his arms crossed while showing a serious expression.

“This will be one heck of a fun trip with our dad here with us.”

“Hey…”

“He isn’t listening. I went out with seven Aquarians. How many did you manage to catch?”

“I am listening. I won’t say anything about what you say or do when you aren’t in the middle of your responsibilities. You will bear the burden of those results, but you shouldn’t act like this when others are around.”

“So, is it fine to act like this when family is around?”

“No, it isn’t. You are putting too many weird ideas on your younger siblings.”

Ulric couldn’t help but frown, given that his brother escaped with only this much of a scolding. While both of them were already adults, he imagined that such a thing wouldn’t be enough to make them avoid that.

Ulric realized that their father had become a man of very few words once he realized that the higher ups in the empire decided to leave him out of the loop of the most important steps on its plan of expansion. He never complained, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t have a few things to think about.

‘Father worked hard in the last fifteen years to regain the trust of most people, but it looks like the higher ups don’t think that is enough… it is easy for people to overthink things and then assume that the hard work of these 15 years could have been just an act for another betrayal.’

Ulric didn’t think that their father would do such a thing, he also didn’t consider that bringing a half vampire back home could also be considered a real betrayal, but it seemed that he had some enemies that would make others think that was the case… enemies in the empire. That was very worrisome.

Chapter 286 - Thinking Large Scale 

“Worried about them? Well, the odds of them facing each other are pretty small. Still, I can imagine what you are feeling. By the way, Nimira wasn’t surprised when she realized that you thought that she was a guy. Her reaction was quite funny.”

I let out a sigh, still grappling with the fact that Nimir was actually a girl. It wasn’t just the surprise of her identity. Even now, I couldn’t help but be surprised at how seamlessly she had taken command of her circumstances. Despite my initial misunderstanding, it only deepened my respect for her. The world she moved in wasn’t forgiving, and yet she had carved out a place for herself with sheer determination.

What truly struck me, though, was her choice to stand by those who had supported her over the years, even if it meant stepping onto a battlefield. That kind of loyalty was rare, and while it was admirable, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. War wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Still, I understood why she made that choice. Repaying the kindness of others in her own way was part of who she was, and perhaps, in her mind, there was no other way to honor those who had believed in her.

‘Well, it is her life, so it is also her choice.’

“I need to get moving. Are you going to stay here for a while? I am not sure how long this job will take. From what I had heard, the current leaders of the orcs, goblins and ogres aren’t exactly easy to handle.”

“I can’t say for sure. I will do what is best in a given moment.”

“All right, finding me shouldn’t be hard while I remain on this land. So, I hope that we can work together soon.”

After saying that, Roswald left the tent and then began to run down the mountain toward the south. I didn’t know if he was being watched or followed, so perhaps I should have lent him a camouflage amulet to make sure that no one would find traces of this place.

Avoiding fights is impossible and other problems as well, but I want some time to prepare for all sorts of possibilities. Considering the progress that I made recently thanks to my parameters, it would be better to keep increasing my Dexterity as much as possible in order to achieve my goals.

I realized there was something I hadn’t dealt with yet, something I should’ve. I hadn’t taken the time to truly understand the differences my increased Dexterity brought to my combat abilities. The real extent of those changes would remain a mystery until I faced a serious threat. Without the pressure of a true fight, I wouldn’t know how much faster, sharper, or more precise I had become.

In hindsight, I could have asked Roswald for a sparring match before he left. Someone with his experience and strength, especially in melee combat, would’ve been the perfect benchmark to test me against. He was undoubtedly stronger than me in close quarters, but that was precisely why it would’ve been valuable. He could’ve pushed me to my limits, perhaps even beyond them, in ways I couldn’t replicate on my own.

“Well, perhaps I shouldn’t focus too much on that, given that I have to keep Alissandra close to me. More than ever, I need to make sure that the enemies wouldn’t be able to attack or get too close.”

I decided to do some tests when it came to that kind of fighting style. Firing fast and powerful arrows to annihilate the enemies was relatively easy, and I didn’t hurt myself when I only used Berserker. Still, when I added Adrenaline Surge, I could already feel my body suffering damage. It was still just to the point that my health regeneration cancelled the damage, so perhaps increasing my endurance a bit more would grant me the power to use other physical buffs.

The idea of increasing my defense in order to be able to attack heavier was quite interesting, even more so when I was an archer. Leveling up those skills would be necessary, but I could only do that for as long as my body resisted. I was young, so I could take the toll, but I was already punishing myself plenty with my rule to not drink blood under any circumstances.

‘Gyuuuuuuunnnnnn…’

“It looks like you are very hungry, Aliss. Try to grow up not to become an unruly child, all right?”

‘Gyuuuuuuunnnnnn…’

Alissandra kept staring at me with a blank expression that made me feel bad. I shouldn’t have said that when I was the one who was that hungry… I had started to feel a lot hungry recently, alongside my thirst for blood. I just hoped that this would make me look less scrawny. A bit more of a robust body would make me endure that fighting style a bit better.

While I was preparing the food, I heard Glacien approaching. It was time to process the bodies that she brought… even though I handed her one at the adept level, it was filled to its fullest. I checked the bodies of the ants… they didn’t look tasty, but I had to at least check if they were edible for someone like me. If that wasn’t the case, I would have to start hunting down the mountain. Or ask Glacien to do that for me.

“I have some in stock, but I guess I should head for those towns to buy milk eventually… Aliss will be able to eat other things soon, but I am not a chef. I can eat whatever is available and takes the least amount of time to prepare.”

High dexterity made the job of preparing decent food a lot easier, but it was only at the level of decent without skills or classes that helped with it. In any case, I have too many things to do now that I wasn’t by myself anymore… that was good and a problem as well. It made me realize that I needed some help.

I was an engineer before all of this, and that part of me hadn’t vanished. I understood how to streamline complex processes, how to take a daunting task and break it into manageable parts, and how to design tools to automate repetitive work. In theory, I could create systems that would save me time and energy, letting me focus on the bigger picture. But in practice, starting everything from scratch in this world was a massive pain in the ass.

I didn’t have ready-made blueprints for the tools I needed, no detailed designs for automation systems suited to this environment. If I wanted to make progress, I’d have to create those blueprints myself, piece by piece, through trial and error. It wasn’t just a matter of effort; it was about knowledge, materials, and time. Still, I couldn’t afford to let the challenge deter me. If I could build even a few simple tools, they’d pay off in the long run, giving me a solid foundation to streamline everything else.

‘I thought that I would be able to have some free time after making the tools to mass produce the amulets, but that clearly is far from the truth…’

If I wanted to really do this, then I really needed a flying fortress. The laboratory and the forge on the wagon were already too small. Adding that what I needed to do to process monster parts fast and also do all sorts of other things, I basically needed a large house or even a warehouse to do everything myself.

Achieving everything that I needed would most likely take years… but it was also something that I needed to start sooner than later. The final goal was quite exciting, so I could tell that my interest wouldn’t drop along the journey.

“All right, let’s do this!”

For starters, I decided to deal with the immediate task: processing the monsters Glacien had brought. The goal was simple: extract the claws and mana cores. Once that was done, I turned my attention to the ants. Cooking them seemed like a logical next step to determine their edibility.

The result? It didn’t taste great, earthy and bitter, with a texture that wasn’t exactly appetizing, but it wasn’t terrible either. Most importantly, it didn’t give me a stomachache, which was the baseline for success. At least I knew the ants could serve as a last-resort food source if things got tight.

With that experiment out of the way, I shifted my focus to something more ambitious. Using the claws of the ants, I began reforging them into something universally useful: cogs. Cogs were the backbone of countless machines and devices, from simple tools to complex systems. They were the first step in laying the groundwork for the kind of automation and efficiency I wanted to achieve. It wasn’t an easy task. The material was tough, and shaping it precisely took a steady hand and patience, but it was worth the effort. If I could create a small supply of durable, functional cogs, they’d serve as building blocks for whatever I decided to construct next.

Chapter 285 - Friend vs Friend

It was a curious system, but it also raised more questions. If the labyrinth was harvesting and concentrating mana in this way, what would happen if I disrupted that flow? Would the labyrinth collapse, or would it adapt in some other way? Would I be slowing down its growth?

I wanted to study the possibilities, but I couldn’t be reckless. Before anything, I had to make sure that the place wouldn’t collapse with my actions. I could leave that aspect in Glacien hands or paws? Her sharp senses would always notice if something was amiss, after all. She didn’t show that she noticed that something was about to happen in the previous labyrinth, but I wanted to believe that she learned from that.

“If you notice that something is slightly off, I need you to inform me immediately, all right?”

“Awoo!”

“Okay, you can go hunt them. Don’t forget to put the bodies in the magic bag.”

“Awoo!”

Her spirited response passed confidence, but I set limits for her, knowing her safety came first. She could only hunt until noon, ensuring she stayed close to the safer upper levels of the labyrinth. This limited her reach, but it also prevented her from venturing too deep into areas where she might encounter creatures far beyond her strength. The risks in those depths weren’t worth it, not for her, at least for now.

With Glacien on the hunt, I turned my attention to my preparations. If I wanted to uncover the secrets of the labyrinth, I couldn’t afford to go in blind. The possibilities of danger were endless, but so was the potential for discovery.

Turning the area into a minefield was dangerous, but it was necessary given that the enemies were ants. If they could dig into that mana rich amber, then they could rip apart the whole mountain  if they had enough time and numbers on their side. Still, that was only the first line of defense. I filled the area with arcane traps. I also marked the places where they would be. I also did some tests and confirmed that I could dig holes and they wouldn’t activate in those holes if someone stepped above it.

The second line of defense would be my own vehicle. While creating automatic turrets was still beyond my skill for now, I could make thanks to the enchantments that I had learned. I made a flamethrower. Instead of one, I made three of them and then connected them together, making them also draw energy from a single slot where I could attach mana cores. This would only make them last five seconds, but it was fine. Given that the power of the flames was still based on my magic, something like a need to reload every five seconds was nothing.

I’ve made promising progress with my flying fortress experiments by enhancing the helix mechanism with wind magic. The upgrades have solved the issue of lift, allowing the fortress to rise off the ground smoothly and hover at a stable height of about five meters. Watching it float was an incredible feeling, like seeing the first step of a dream come to life. However, while the upward thrust works flawlessly, I’ve run into a significant limitation: maneuverability. The platform can only hover in place and struggles to move horizontally or adjust its orientation. It feels like I’ve hit a wall, as the system wasn’t designed to handle anything beyond vertical lift.

To move forward, I’ll need to rethink how the wind magic is applied. The energy works well for generating lift, but redirecting it for lateral movement creates instability. When I try to push the fortress in any direction, the balance falters, and it either wobbles or starts to lose height. This tells me I need better energy control within the helix and perhaps structural adjustments to handle the stress of dynamic movement. It’s a frustrating challenge, but also an exciting one. With more fine-tuning, I’m confident I can figure out how to achieve both stable lift and full mobility, bringing the dream of a fully functional flying fortress one step closer to reality.

I can keep improving this, but the ideas that I had are still incomplete for the next few steps. I could keep going like this, but it would take more time if I had things planned.

While I was thinking about that, I saw Alissandra trying to move from her basket and being able to get up by herself. She could at least sit in the basket now. Her arms were still a bit weak and chubby to do anything else, but it seemed like a matter of time before… All of a sudden, I saw the part of the blanket on the back had been moving. Right where her wings were supposed to be.

‘I guess if she can move her arms and legs to this extent, then it isn’t surprising that she can move her wings. I need to be extra careful from here onwards to make sure that she won’t disappear while I am busy.’

That would be disastrous… even more so when Glacien wasn’t around to track her down. She still needs to sleep a lot, so it is better to help her burn the energy by teaching her how to stand by herself slowly. I should also teach some discipline as well. Basic stuff would do for the time being.

Kids are notoriously bad with rules. They tend to resist them or simply ignore them when they don’t see the point. But I’ve learned that once they understand how those rules can actually benefit them, they do just fine. The trick is helping them connect the dots between the structure rules provide and the freedom or opportunities those rules can unlock. It’s not always easy, but it’s a rewarding process when they finally get it.

With Alissandra, I had to approach things carefully. I knew that for her to grow and thrive, she needed to understand not just the rules but the reasons behind them, how they could help her navigate the world and live freely on her own terms. That meant working around her natural resistance and finding ways to integrate lessons into her experiences. I wanted her to develop a strong sense of adaptability and independence, so she’d be able to live and grow anywhere she chose without being held back by unfamiliar environments or expectations. It’s a challenge, but it’s worth it to see her take those steps toward becoming someone who can shape her own future confidently.

While I was thinking about that, I heard the sound of footsteps outside. I decided to check things there without making any noise, but soon I lowered my guard a bit when I found Roswald looking around. He couldn’t see the camouflage walls, but he could sense that there was something ahead, but he didn’t want to move without knowing what it was or if it was dangerous.

‘He found this place rather fast… or perhaps not, given that we have been here for a while.’

In any case, given that I improved the wagon to leave as little signs on the areas we crossed, that showed that his tracking skills were way above average. There was also the possibility that he tracked me by my scent, given that half vampires aren’t that common.

“Oh? It looks like you already found a place to stay.”

I opened the entrance and then Roswald found me. He looked cautious until now, but then he soon relaxed. In his hands, he had a piece of paper… he soon handed it to me. It was probably the map that I wanted, but it wouldn’t be necessary for a while.

“I am just passing by to give you this. I can’t afford to see how you are changing the scenario, at least more than I already did.”

“I see.”

I received the map and opened it. It was pretty detailed… I could count at least twenty labyrinths across the country. I could count as many towns and around five cities as well.

The orcs, goblins and ogres were close to the coast in the South. They were pretty far away from my current location and so were the big cities. There were some towns nearby, but the distance was at least fifty kilometers.

“It seems that you found them.”

“Yes, they are heading south. Do you want to hear how our conversation went?”

“If you believe that is necessary.”

Roswald was probably feeling a bit tired and could use some time to rest before continuing with his plans. He’d been pushing himself hard, and even someone like him has limits. I figured the least I could do was offer him some help. I had plenty of stamina potions to spare, so giving him a few seemed like an easy way to lend a hand.

That said, I knew stamina potions had their limitations. They could restore physical energy and keep someone going for longer, but they weren’t a perfect solution. They couldn’t completely dissipate the mental or muscle fatigue that builds up over time. Rest and recovery were still essential, no matter how many potions someone had. I hoped the potions would at least take the edge off and give him a bit more breathing room to focus on what he needed to do next.

While drinking some potions, Roswald told me the situation… As expected, the alliance soon found an issue right off the bat. The beastkin were already in alliance with dwarves and they couldn’t join another that readily. Their goal to increase the size of it to match the empire was probably the only option left… but I was only more interested in the possibility of Nimir and Clarice meeting on the battlefield.

Chapter 284 - Synergy

The next day, we returned to the labyrinth and soon I confirmed some interesting things… the damaged parts of the amber that the ants came from had been repaired and it looked like the ants were back to those spots.

“I know that they can be spawned this easily, but even so… why would the amber be restored too? Is it because it is part of the area where this labyrinth began to emerge?”

As I stood there, analyzing the amber walls, a new thought began to form. From everything I had learned so far, I had assumed the labyrinths could only generate inorganic resources, metals, minerals, and the like. Organic materials, by contrast, seemed to be the byproducts of the monsters themselves, like scales and mana cores. But even if that theory was true, there was something troubling about the sheer volume of amber surrounding me.

For the labyrinth to produce this much amber meant one thing: it wasn’t creating it out of nothing. There had to be a massive deposit of it within the mountain from the beginning, and the labyrinth was simply using it as a basis to cover the labyrinth. A resource-rich location like this would be a goldmine for crafting materials, but it also painted a picture of how far the labyrinth could reach.

“Still, if it’s able to manipulate resources this efficiently, who knows what else it might pull out of this place? What other secrets are buried here?”

The question was why, considering the knowledge that I had, something like a mountain of amber or even a hill shouldn’t be able to be created that easily. At least not naturally…

“All right, girl. Just lead the way. Let’s see how far you can go here by yourself. I will get the materials.”

“Awoo!”

Glacien began to run, but soon she stopped when the ants began to emerge. She didn’t hesitate to enhance her claws with ice to attack the creatures. Given the difference in size, Glacien could just smash them, but the claws of the ants were things that she didn’t want to underestimate and her instincts as a beast never failed until now.

Despite her caution, she managed to kill the beasts with relative ease, and then we proceeded after I got the materials. I decided to let her experience accumulate in order to see how far she can go with her current strength.

“No, don’t touch it. It hurts.”

Alissandra tried to move her arms to get the fangs of the ants that I snapped from their bodies. She didn’t understand my words that well yet, so she still tried to reach them. 

I let out a sigh since I did some tests with those yesterday and they were some nasty stuff. My Decay Arrows could ignore magical and physical defense, but these materials granted piercing effects. It essentially could rend things apart the tougher the things that they touch are. So, they can also be as dull as a rusty knife if the target has little defensive power. It was quite the interesting effect since I couldn’t understand the logic behind it well.

I did some tests to make defensive gear as well out of them. The compatibility was bad, but after some failures, I got a glimpse of the nature of the materials. That metal essentially could use more mana according to defenses of the target. I assumed that was the case based on the fact that I made a shield with the materials that could become harder while it absorbed my mana.

‘Perhaps I can find better applications for this material in the future… better stock it up, then.’

While I was busy thinking and gathering the materials, Glacien was already far ahead… I needed to streamline the process of gathering the materials and exploring this place as well. My first idea was to use my bike on rails, and treat this place like a mine, but any changes that I made in this place would eventually be erased by the labyrinth itself, so that was a waste of time.

The better option would be to process all the monsters outside instead and just store them in my magic bag. While I was thinking about that, I found Glacien eating some of the ants ahead and leaving the claws behind. I couldn’t see those things as tasty, but even Glacien wouldn’t eat every crap that she kills, so perhaps they had some nutritional value. It was another thing that I had to check in the future.

Name: Glacien

Race: Glacierborn Predator

Health: 450/450 (0/4600)

Regen: 4.1 per hour (0/4200)

Mana: 450/450 (0/4600)

Regen: 4.1 per minute (0/4200)

Stamina: 450/450 (0/4600)

Regen: 4.1 per minute (0/4200)

Strength: 55 (1.1) (0/5100)

Magic: 45 (0/4600)

Dexterity: 45 (0/4600)

Spirit: 44 (0/4000) 1.1

Endurance: 100 (0/7500) (1.3)

Movement Speed: 11.0 

Ice Affinity: 65 (0/6600)

Traits: Iceborne Prowess, Frost Aura, Minor Vulnerability to Fire, Enhanced Cold Resistance, 

Classes: Beast of the North, Elemental Predator, Frost Guardian, Icebound Stalker, Winter Revenant, Tundra Huntress, Ancient Hunter

Aptitudes:  Arctic Camouflage, Cold-Weather Adaptation, Predator’s Focus, Frost Manipulation, Apex Instincts, Pack Tactics, Frozen Resolve, Icycle Will, Frosty Scales

Experience: 22.254

“You are making progress fast since you are using more skills. Just warn me before you reach an area that is too dangerous for you to solo, okay? I can heal you, but it is better to be cautious, since those things can probably overwhelm us if we go too deep.”

“Awoo!”

Glacien wasn’t stupid enough to leave my field of vision, so perhaps I was just overthinking. Still, caution had always been almost like a surname to me. 

While Glacien was finishing her meal, I went to check the holes that the ants emerged from and then tried to rip apart the amber there… Even with my high strength, I couldn’t. Using my swords didn’t help either… I thought that these things could be mined like ore, but it seemed that my guess was wrong. Only the parts that fell when the monsters emerged could be used. I was able to break those parts with my hands alone after closing them, so it seemed that their durability decreased a lot when they were no longer in contact with the labyrinth itself.

I did some experiments with the powder that I made using the amber as well, but I only learned that when they were smashed enough, I could see them like crystal particles in a light brown tone. My knowledge regarding alchemy was still small, so I couldn’t compare that information with anything. Well, I had some ideas on how to find what that amber was good for…

Once again, we only hunted until noon, but we made a bit more progress, given that we were attacked 120 times. That meant that we crossed twelve kilometers if compared to the nine of the previous day. Come to think of it, I should have realized that there was something odd about this labyrinth the moment we were attacked the first time, given that eight ants showed up on the very first encounter.

‘This place is like a mountain of experience ready to be dug… However, I probably shouldn’t take my time here. There are far too many things that I am unaware of. I should try to reach the bottom as soon as possible… even if this place becomes as deep as that reverse labyrinth. Fortunately, I have the right skills for this kind of situation.’

After returning to the outside, I began to work on changing Alissandra’s basket to s seat where I could put Glacien back. That didn’t take much time. I just had to make something like belts to keep her safe there. She was at the age that she would try to get up and stay sitting, after all. With the belts, she wouldn’t move that much either.

After that, I began to work on the amber and the fangs together. Since they had a connection, I figured out that their compatibility shouldn’t be bad. I tried to add some of the dust amber to some of the stamina potions in all kinds of potions and see if the effects changed overtime, but until now, I didn’t notice any changes. However, when I shaped an amber like a mana core and attached to the handle of a knife that I made using the fangs, I got a result.

Whisperfang (Rare)

Lightweight yet razor-sharp, it is favored by those who rely on both finesse and magical prowess.

Attack : 15
Durability: 60/60

Bonus Effect:

Mana Regeneration: Restores 5 mana points per minute while equipped.

Pierce: Nullifies the durability of the target the harder they are at the cost of ten points of mana per minute.

‘Well, this is unexpected… how come the amber added this kind of effect?’

As I examined the amber walls more closely, a possibility struck me. What if the amber wasn’t just a static material but something capable of storing mana? That could explain its unusual properties. Perhaps, as it absorbed more mana, it became progressively harder and more durable, perfect for forming the walls and ceilings of the labyrinth.

But if there was a limit to how much mana it could store, that might also explain why the ants could so easily rip it apart. The amber in those sections probably hadn’t reached its full potential, either because it hadn’t been fully charged yet or because the labyrinth needed to constantly cycle the mana elsewhere.

“It’s like the labyrinth is optimizing its resources,” 

The amber here was solid, almost impossible , nothing like the brittle shards the ants left behind…

Chapter 283 - Amber

In any case, with a design like this, this place couldn’t be anything less than a labyrinth. It shouldn’t be connected to the rift either, despite the circumstances, since there are people in this world that are called the ant people. This was a bit of a worrisome situation, but pretty exciting as well…

‘I guess I won’t get many materials here, so I will have to make it work in different ways… Well, I can’t jump to conclusions just yet.’

I decided to rest properly tonight and then explore the labyrinth fully rested the next day. I will have to schedule my actions properly now between work outside and inside the dungeon, all in order to make things as efficient as possible. I wanted to believe that I would have time to make progress when it comes to the construction of my base, but I couldn’t be sure just yet.

Even if the place was well camouflaged, people with good senses lived in this land. Sooner or later, they would sense something abnormal here, just like Glacien found this place. Regardless, worrying endlessly would accomplish nothing. I just had to do my best as usual. 

Just to be safe, I put some Arcane Traps at the entrance of the labyrinth and then went to bed. The next day, as soon as the sun rose, I helped Glacien clean the entrance of the labyrinth and soon I could find the path downward. Since the drawing at the entrance was mostly made, I imagined that the labyrinth was almost complete as well, but the path going to the first floor was a slope instead of proper stair steps.

I took a helmet from my magic bag and then attached a mana core to a slot in the middle. In the next moment, it began to illuminate the interior of the labyrinth. It has been a while since those utility enchantments had been of any use, but it was good to have them in situations like this.

“Well, this certainly is creepy…”

The walls, ceiling, and the ground of the first floor were pretty uneven. They also made me recall paths that ants would have dug in a hole… however, the most weird thing was the fact that the walls and ceiling were covered by something that seemed like amber. When I touched it, it was pretty hard too. 

“This can probably be used for alchemy… somehow. Or maybe even smithing, but how this much was created?”

Amber is created from the fossilized resin of ancient trees, a process that takes millions of years. Trees produce resin to protect themselves from injury or pests, and this sticky substance seeps out of the bark to seal wounds. When the resin gets buried in sediment, it is shielded from sunlight, oxygen, and microorganisms that would normally break it down. 

As geological processes apply heat and pressure over millennia, the buried resin undergoes fossilization, transforming into amber. Sometimes, small organisms or plant fragments become trapped in the resin before it hardens, creating interesting sculpture-like objects. Amber has been prized for centuries for its beauty, and its preservation of ancient life makes it invaluable for scientific research.

This was a labyrinth, so this kind of place should be able to do all sorts of weird things, but even so… the amber also looked like it had covered the surface in layers that made the inside blur, so I couldn’t see the walls of the labyrinth properly. This was never a good sign. The lack of monsters for a labyrinth that was supposed to be active while hidden was also concerning. One didn’t have to be a problem to understand what was going on here.

“Lead the way, girl.”

“Awoo.”

I was carrying Alissandra with one arm so my support wouldn’t be as strong as usual, but I made some adjustments to my hand crossbow and against enemies of the first section that should be enough, even if the weapon lost some power in the process.

We only crossed one hundred meters before Glacien stopped moving and began to growl in anger. It looked like she sensed something… before long, I heard some weird noises coming from all directions.

As I stepped further into the labyrinth, a weird sound broke the silence, a faint cracking, like ice shattering on a frozen pond. My eyes darted to the walls, where the amber-like substance was beginning to fracture. Thin fissures spread across its surface. Before I could react, chunks of amber splintered off the walls, and from the exposed cavities, they emerged.

The first ant crawled out with an almost mechanical movement, its glossy black body glinting in the light from my helmet. It was about thirty centimeters long, unnervingly large for an insect, and its segmented body was etched with jagged black lines that pulsed, as though carrying some unknown energy. More of them followed, their sharp mandibles clicking in unison, and the surrounding air grew heavy. They emitted an oppressive. The amber coating their bodies broke off as they moved, leaving trails of golden dust behind. This was no ordinary swarm; these creatures felt like living weapons, crafted for one purpose: to eliminate intruders.

You received 05 experience points.

You received 05 experience points.

You received 05 experience points.

It felt like an overkill since I bombarded the ants with bolts from my crossbow. It could only have either the mana drain effect or the Bolt Creation effect. I decided to ignore that limitation by creating an amulet to create the bolts instead, while the weapon itself still had the mana drain. 

Naturally, the whole thing had to operate automatically since I could only use one hand, so I had to customize the weapon a bit. To make it possible to fight while carrying Alissandra, carrying her on my back wasn’t the best option, even if I would have full mana all the time to use Shadow Step.

‘I guess that these are big ants for this world… but only their fangs seem dangerous since they were able to dig through the amber.’

The bolts completely pierced through the bodies of the ants and that showed how frail they were… however, their fangs looked metallic. When I touched the tip, I felt it slicing my skin like it was made of butter. It was truly dangerous.

“To think that my endurance would be too low for a monster like this…”

I couldn’t identify the fangs as a single product, but perhaps I could reforge them to understand their properties fully. For now, I decided to carefully store them in a special magic bag.

I stored the amber in another magic bag to study later… My alchemical and medicine knowledge was still pretty basic, but I should be able to find some basic uses eventually, with a bit of experimentation.

In any case, while the amber covered the walls and the ceiling of the corridor, only certain areas broke apart and made the ants attack us. Those areas were mainly one hundred meters away from each other, which was weird… then why create all that amber? At the same time, once someone passed through those areas, they would find signs of the ants and where they would come from, right?

‘Maybe not… I have to confirm this later.’

For now, my goal today was to just reach the first floor of the labyrinth and then get our class. However, after a while… I realized that we had walked more than enough distance to cover the entire first floor of any dungeon or labyrinth.

“This is odd… what do you think, Glacien?”

“Awoo!”

“Try to be a bit more… descriptive with your explanation.”

Glacien looked at me confused, but soon she got up and then began to run in circles. At the same time, she began to lower her posture. She was quite the smart creature, so I got the message.

“So, the path is going in circles and downward, huh? It is almost impossible to tell when the corridor is this long. It feels like it was just a minor change in direction…”

As I stood there, staring at the emerging ants across the amber walls, a thought crossed my mind. Could I even call this place a labyrinth? Or a dungeon, for that matter? Something about it was clearly unfinished, like I had stumbled upon it during its creation or before it had reached its true potential.

Perhaps because I had arrived too early, I wouldn’t gain the expected benefits, no classes, and no aptitudes to boost my growth. Without those, the effort of venturing deeper seemed a lot less appealing, though I knew I couldn’t abandon this place entirely. If anything, it made the situation more complicated. 

“At least we are gaining experience here, right, girl?”

Glacien gave me a confused look as if asking, what do you mean, we? She didn’t have the chance to fight until now, after all. In any case, I did some tests and confirmed that the mana cores that the ants left behind could produce around twenty bolts, and they dropped one, every five of them. I wouldn’t run out of them thanks to it. With their fangs, I probably could make some bolts or arrowheads that would be extremely sharp. 

“Well, let’s keep going down until noon and then we can rest afterwards.”

Letting Glacien hunt by herself would make things work faster, but I didn’t know how high her defense had to be in order to endure those attacks. It was another thing that I had to learn sooner than later to plan ahead. The situation was a bit troubling, but deep down, I also felt excited…

Chapter 282 - Entrance 

A few more days passed and the hole that Glacien created was already over fifty meters deep. She was dead set on finding something there. It seemed like a waste of time, but I didn’t mind since I was busy with something else.

“It works, but the consumption of energy is really bad.”

A small platform was floating in front of me. It was essentially just a board with some helixes around that made the whole thing float to some extent. Thanks to the meditation amulets, I could make something like this now. However, with the current level of my skill, the amulets could only make something like that float for one second every five seconds.

I needed to put a lot more amulets, but they would only work like that if they were made with magic ores, otherwise, they wouldn’t store the energy. I also needed to find a way to store it and keep it flowing around the whole structure in order to increase efficiency. 

“Well, it is just the first prototype, so it can’t be helped.”

I decided to take a break to give Alissandra her breakfast, and I frowned when I saw her moving her arms and then trying to leave her basket. It looked like she had grown a lot and she was at that age where she wanted to move more. That was good, since it showed that she was healthy despite the circumstances. However, it was a bit worrisome since it showed that soon enough, I would have to keep my eyes on her most of the time to keep her safe.

The surroundings weren’t one of the most safe places for a kid, either. I didn’t know when she would be able to fly, but even so, she wouldn’t be free from the dangers of falling from high altitudes.

“I will have to be pretty strict with her… there are some kids that grow to be well behaved and still full of energy, but she is a harpy, so things can be a bit more complicated.”

Harpies grow into violent beings due to a combination of their predatory instincts and their deep-rooted connection to freedom. As creatures with powerful wings and a high-energy lifestyle, they inherit traits akin to birds of prey, aggressiveness, territoriality, and a competitive nature necessary for survival in harsh environments. Their need for independence drives them to resist authority or confinement, reacting explosively when their autonomy is threatened. This free-spirited nature leaves them lacking the patience and social structures that could control their natural impulses, leading to an aggressive and combative disposition.

Additionally, harpies culture and environment reinforce these tendencies. In hostile habitats, violence becomes a survival tool, whether for hunting or defending territory. Harpy societies emphasize independence from a young age, discouraging nurturing bonds and fostering a survival of the fittest mentality. This lack of structured guidance, combined with the fearlessness granted by their ability to fly and escape danger, can force recklessness. Over time, their environment and instincts coalesce into a personality that views aggression as both a means of self-expression and a necessity for survival.

I decided to help Alissandra get used to stay sitting on her basket and she soon began to grab the borders and tap on them. It didn’t seem like she liked those things surrounding her like barriers. 

I grabbed some pieces of fur from my magic bag and then put them on the ground and put her above them. She soon began to move her arms energetically while laughing. 

“I guess her nature as a harpy is starting to show off… I can’t stop that completely, but I can’t let her grow like the other harpies. She was already being hunted by them for unknown reasons and she doesn’t need to be hunted by those who aren’t harpies either.”

This will be hard. It is easier to raise a kid with two parents sharing the load. One can be more stern and the other can be more caring. A single one of them taking both roles is possible, but it is taxing. The chances of raising someone overly spoiled are much higher.

“Awooo!”

While I was thinking about that, I heard Glacien making a bit of noise. It looked like she reached her goal… I worried if she would drag out the skeleton of some monster from that hole, but soon she came out empty-handed, but in a good mood. Her tail was moving like a fan and since she was quite big, she actually made some wind move.

“Let’s see what you found, girl.”

I put Alissandra on my arms and then went to check the hole. It was quite deep, but there was a gentle slope on it that led us to the end of the tunnel. Although it was a bit dark here, I was able to soon see a stone monument or some part of it that Glacien had dug out. It certainly looked like the entrance of a dungeon…

“How did you sense this so deep underground, huh?”

Glacien looked proud of her achievement. As I looked at the stone monument partially buried in the earth, I couldn’t help but wonder about the nature of dungeons and labyrinths. Could they truly last forever? Their magic seemed lasting, but it felt hard to believe that anything, even something as powerful as a dungeon, could persist without ending at some point. Would there come a point where they simply stopped functioning, whether due to the depletion of their magical essence or the gradual decay of the forces sustaining them? It was a thought that I couldn’t put away, though I’d never heard of a dungeon stopping to work entirely.

This one, however, felt different. If its entrance had been hidden until now, it might be one of those rare dungeons still in the process of expanding. Such dungeons kept their true form concealed until the right moment, their entrances gradually revealing themselves as the structure grew stronger and more complex. If that were the case, then this discovery wasn’t a relic of the past but a glimpse into something still forming, still alive in its own way.

“Is this a dungeon? Awoo two times to confirm it, just to be sure.”

“Awoo! Awoo!”

“Is that so… Well, we have to hide our base and this entrance? You can dig tomorrow, just rest for today while I start making the camouflage walls.”

They will have to be quite large to cover what I wanted. I couldn’t use monsters fur either since it wouldn’t have enough enchantment slots for that effect and self repair either.

While I started working, Alissandra tried to grab my tools nearby, but they were too heavy for her. I kept the sharp ones always in my magic bag, just to be sure. I guessed that she was at the age where she wanted some toys, but I couldn’t work with that kind of stuff. Everything I had was made of magic metal or monster parts and she was at the age where kids explore the world by licking things, as weird as that sounded. I guess I could make a ball for her… if it was tanned well enough, it would be durable as well as perfectly clean.

“Giving you a ball at your age… I wonder if you would grow up to say that the ball is your friend as well as a certain protagonist.”

In the end, it took only one night to finish all the walls. Adding the self repair function wasn’t possible since they didn’t come with that many enchantment slots, so for a while I will have to fix the damage myself.

I checked the outside and confirmed that the camouflage was perfect. The walls made the whole thing transparent. Even from a close range with someone with eyes as good as mine, one would have to work really hard to find any sort of signs that there was something off here.

Glacien soon resumed her digging and then I continued working on expanding the base. Unless I wanted to raise Alissandra like a barbarian, I needed to show how people properly lived. I made some chairs, a table, and other parts that would make life more convenient like a bath, toilet that sent all the piss and shit down the mountain through a hole. I didn’t feel bad about that because that kind of stuff can make the land become fertile… perhaps not piss. 

Once again, the day slipped by faster than I expected. As the evening settled in, I decided to check on Glacien’s progress. She had made an impressive progress. The entrance of the dungeon now had a small opening, just large enough to offer a glimpse of what was beyond. True to her intelligence, Glacien had focused her efforts on uncovering the surrounding area of the entrance, revealing intricate carvings that hinted at the dungeon’s nature.

As I studied the exposed artwork, I found myself frowning and holding my chin, processing the imagery. The carvings showed a massive swarm of ants, all kneeling in submission before a towering queen. The queen, regal and menacing, was sitting on a throne constructed entirely of dragon bones, exuding an air of dominance and power. The sight was unnerving, both for the scale of the implied danger and for the strange, almost ceremonial reverence the ants showed to their queen. This was no ordinary dungeon; it carried the aura of something ancient, calculated, and potentially catastrophic.

“Not very subtle… I had never seen a drawing like this one.”

The drawings at the entrance of a dungeon usually showed their nature. Showing the monsters inside and the final guardian and their might… I never heard of one that showed a species of monster showing their dominance over others.

Chapter 281 - Ascended Tier

At first, I got a bit worried since I left Glacien to go and take us anywhere she deemed fit. She was a smart animal, but she was still a beast. My idea and her idea of what a good place should be were vastly different. 

Moreover, she kept zigzagging in some areas as if she didn’t know where she should go and I found traces of footsteps nearby, but we never found anyone in the way. She did her job well in avoiding troublesome people altogether. So, perhaps my worries were unfounded.

After three days, she eventually began to lead us to the summit of a mountain. That made me stop working to see where she would be leading us. The terrain was quite rough too, so I couldn’t focus on my work.

The mountain looked pretty high and while the wagon could be pulled in such terrain; it didn’t look like it was a place that was explored often. We could live in peace and calm here…

“I guess I need to make some camouflage walls to keep us from being seen from a distance. That would need a constant supply of mana cores, too. There are plenty of trees here, so I can make a decent house. Even if I am not a carpenter, my other skills and tools are decent enough for this. No worries.”

Glacien knew that we needed to make a base near a dungeon or labyrinth, so she shouldn’t take us to a place that didn’t fit the criteria. Eventually, we reached the summit of the mountain and then the wagon slowed down. However, I couldn’t find the signs of a labyrinth.

“Is there a labyrinth, or at least a dungeon here, girl?” 

“Awoo!”

“... Maybe it is a different type, then.”

Glacien instincts never failed until now, so I decided not to assume anything for now. The terrain was a bit curved, but it wasn’t a real problem. I could level this much in no time using a bit of magic, but maybe I shouldn’t since that would increase the area in which I had to hide. For now, Alissandra didn’t need to move around, so I could focus on a small area.

When the wagon stopped, I jumped from it and then checked the surroundings… yep, I couldn’t see any signs of a labyrinth. However, all of a sudden, Glacien began to dig into the ground. I didn’t think that she had anything to bury, so it made me wonder if there was something there that she wanted.

She kept digging for a while and gave her strength. Soon she was inside a hole. This might take a while, so I decided to work on making a decent shelter for the night. There were plenty of trees around, but it was annoying that I had to also get their stumps out and then cover their signs.

Still, that much work was easily done with a bit of magic, so when the sun was setting, I already had made a dog house that could fit Glacien and since she liked to sleep while curling up around Alissandra, that would be a good shelter for both of them.

“I didn’t need a blueprint for this, but it still came out perfectly… I guess my ability to visualize things improved with my dexterity, too.”

I went to check the hole that Glacien was digging and it was already ten meters deep. It was quite large too, so it seemed that she was determined to make the entrance of something here. I asked her for a suitable place close to a dungeon or a labyrinth, but I didn’t think that she might want to create one. 

There was the possibility that there was a hidden labyrinth here, but I never heard that they could exist underground without an entrance. If that was the case, it was hard to imagine how much the monsters could breed inside. An impossible army could be waiting for us down there… or at least a dungeon that is about to break and unleash who knows how many monsters.

“All right, you can start digging for oil or gold tomorrow. Let’s do something about all this dirt on your body.”

Water wasn’t a problem for us with the flask of water, so cleaning Glacien was easy. This gave me the idea of creating a hot bath here. This should be possible in the mountains… I didn’t have the chance to enjoy one since I was reborn in this world, after all.

A hot open bath while watching the stars in such a place. This looked like a pretty good idea. It would help me get rid of my edge and then live a normal life for a while. Living a normal life was a good thing, but maybe not so much about getting rid of my edge. I needed to stay focused.

“I should make a system like the wagon, where all the camouflage walls receive energy from a single spot. It would make it easy to expand it later. It would be easier to see how much energy is being consumed daily as well. I could also adjust the amount of energy being used according to the weather conditions and the time of the day.”

There were many other things that I had to consider first before something like that, so I definitely was putting the wagon in front of the horses. Still, I wrote down those ideas just in case.

Since I didn’t have to fight for a while, I could keep focusing on the work and improving the conditions of the place, but as soon as I have the chance to fight, I should go all out given that the world was about to enter an age of strife and I couldn’t fall behind.

“I want to live in peace for a while, but I need to get ready for war. People can only truly live in peace when their enemies know that disaster can happen if those people decide to fight in wars. To make sure that no one will bother me, it is time to put all those ideas into practice…”

I checked my notes and then read everything that I wrote down when it comes to ideas and blueprints. Some of them became useless over the years, but others were still very much possible despite being very difficult projects that showed a lot of my vision and greed as well.

My eyes stopped on a certain project… a flying fortress. That kind of thing would be really interesting to build and see in action. Still, all the parts necessary to make something like this would be insanely difficult to create. However, creating some small prototypes and going from there should be very possible even now.

“One step at a time… one step at a time.”

I finished giving Alissandra her meal, and I could tell that she was quite sleepy already. So, I put her in her basket and met Glacien curl around it and inside our new base, version 1.001. I didn’t do many things that were really tiresome that day, so I kept working since I wasn’t sleepy. The bow was almost ready, and I didn’t want to start a new project without finishing this one, and it should be over soon as well.

At this point in time, it had become a project that I was doing the same thing over and over again, but the focus on quality was still there. Soon enough, I confirmed the results of my hard work. The final version of the bow was massive. I couldn’t even pull the string to its limits given its size, which was almost fifteen meters. However, I could attach it to some platform and use it like a crossbow.

Frost Draconic Bow (Ascended)

Enchantment Slots: 08 

Bonus Effects: Cryogenic Seal: Arrows that hit the ground or surfaces create patches of ice, making traversal dangerous for enemies.

Glacial Spike: Charged shots create a large, icicle-like projectile that pierces through multiple enemies.

Winter's Wrath: When combined with frost magic, arrows have increased range, speed, or explosive frost effects.

Attack: 180

Durability: 300/300

I went from Mythic, skipped Ancient and headed straight into Ascended. I couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction thanks to it. The bow was that impressive and I finally could rest a bit. Maybe I could shave some parts to make it smaller and easier to use, but it was fine… It was better to keep this bow as a last resort to scare and surprise the crap out of my enemies.

As I tried to calm down for a short nap before the morning arrived, my mind didn’t allow me. The ideas for my next project wouldn’t stop flooding in, each more vivid and exciting than the last. Blueprints seemed to sketch themselves in my mind, and potential solutions to challenges I hadn’t even encountered yet started to take shape.

I tossed and turned, but it was no use. The excitement of creation had taken hold, and my excitement refused to let me rest. In the end, I gave up on the idea of sleep entirely. Thanks to the inspiration, I rose, gathered my tools, and began to work. The quiet of the night seemed to amplify my focus, the cool mountain air refreshing my mind as I delved into my next ambitious project. It was time to start working on my fortress.

Chapter 280 - Scaling the Alliance 

Raul left the tent in a hurry… he also needed to tell the others that the kingdom of Talimor also wanted to become allies, but this would be difficult under these circumstances since they were at war once they decided to help the dwarves.

“I can’t say that I am surprised to hear that the kid is alive and well. He was quite resourceful back then, but I didn’t expect that he would be able to defeat a possessed frost wyvern.”

“He certainly defeated, but he wasn’t satisfied with almost dying in the process. Still, for an archer, he was quite the fearsome fighter. I think that he would be able to put arrows on my limbs even before I considered attacking him. Putting that aside, I tried to convince him to help, but… he has a friend on the Elven side, even though he hates the empire.”

Roswald didn’t want to give many more details about what Regulus did in his travels since he knew that he would be found out and that Regulus would get really mad, and the others in the room also noticed that.

Vincent nodded after hearing Roswald’s explanation. Regulus’s involvement, or lack thereof, was a complicated matter. On one hand, his skill as an archer and a fighter could turn the tide in many battles. On the other hand, Vincent couldn’t ignore the issue around the young man.

Perhaps it was for the best that Regulus couldn’t become their ally, he thought to himself. A half-vampire who hadn’t drunk blood and was struggling with his thirst was a dangerous presence on the battlefield.

Vincent knew all too well how dangerous that thirst could become if left unchecked. The strain of resisting the primal urge to feed, combined with the pressures of combat, could lead to dangerous consequences not just for Regulus but for everyone fighting alongside him. The thought of him losing control in the heat of battle made Vincent worried.

Still, there was a flicker of hope in Vincent’s mind. Perhaps Regulus would find a way to balance his nature, but until then, it was better that he stayed out of the conflict. The war was chaotic enough without introducing another unpredictable element. 

At the same time that Nimira was angry at Regulus for not coming to see her after all these years, she also felt relieved, since he was that kind of person. She was also curious about this toddler that he was looking after. While it wasn’t on the same level, Regulus looked after her and that showed that he was still the same caring person, despite his difficult circumstances.

Nimira also would have been angry if Regulus decided to help them when he was looking after the little girl. He wasn’t the type to do half-assed things, and he was still mindful of the risks that he would take and give in joining such conflicts.

“Putting that aside… you are a bit late to offer this alliance, Roswald. Now that we have decided to help the dwarves, if you decide to help them as well, this conflict will only escalate even further, even if they agree on joining this alliance.”

“I understand… what I don’t understand is how come you guys joined them given that they started all this?”

“We couldn’t let the empire control all these lands. It is too damn obvious what they are plotting and they have such an advantage since they have this clairvoyant… we can’t deal with this person and we can’t exactly let the empire do as they please.”

Vincent stopped to think for a moment once he had a certain idea. Considering what he had heard, Regulus could be the key to solve this situation. If they find more information about what the empire knows about the rift, they could ask Regulus to make things harder for the clairvoyant to see things regarding the future. That would make them a lot less bold, but Regulus wouldn’t want to be part of this war.

While he could gain some allies in the whole process, even among those allies, Regulus would be able to tell that some people still wouldn’t like him and they perhaps could even cause problems for him later or try to make him fall for traps. Once the war ends, a lot of people would find his presence a nuisance.

“I didn’t imagine that you guys would be so ready to help the dwarves or that they would ask for help so soon. I guess this alliance will be a lot harder to start without you guys readily joining us.”

“Don’t be so discouraged… you don’t have to join this war so soon. We can still offer a different alternative to the council and then make them join once you show the alliance making some progress. The empire already has the cooperation of the Aquarians and the Elves now. If you head to where they are and convince them to join the alliance, this will make things a lot more convenient.”

“They?”

“The orcs, goblins and ogres. They aren’t a part of this conflict, at least not yet. The dwarves only asked for us.”

Roswald rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing as he considered Vincent’s suggestion. The idea of bringing the orcs, goblins, and ogres into the fold had value, even if it wasn’t without its issues. Despite having lost more than ninety percent of their forces in previous conflicts, these groups remained formidable. Their resilience and fierce combat skills made them valuable potential allies, even in their weakened state.

If they could be convinced to join the alliance, it would likely sway the people of Felyndor to do the same. The dwarves, seeing the growing coalition against the Empire, would almost certainly join in their commitment as well. With these factions unified, the alliance would become a force capable of matching the Empire’s strength, both in numbers and in strategic positioning.

Roswald’s mind began calculating the forces on all sides. If the orcs, goblins, and ogres joined, the balance of power would shift. The attacking and defending sides would have roughly equal numbers, an important factor in ensuring the conflict wouldn’t be a one-sided massacre.

Still, there was another pressing concern: the rift. Insisting on escalating this conflict while such an event was imminent would be too reckless, perhaps even disastrous.

“... I guess that can work. I am not sure if I will be able to negotiate with them. They aren’t the type to listen to people like me, after all. Still, it might be worth a try. They also lost a lot thanks to the empire and aquarians, so they have enough reason to help us. Where are they?”

“They are living close to the coast and holding back the attacks of the Aquarians.”

“I see… I don’t think that they aren’t fighting in this conflict if they are doing this much. By the way, can you give me a detailed map of your land? Regulus wants one to avoid trouble here.”

“He is trustworthy, but giving him such a thing would put me on the spot if the word spreads…”

“He is the type of guy who can keep a one hundred floor labyrinth under control by himself, and he actually would welcome such a challenge. It might take some time for him to get sick of such a place, if you understand what I mean.”

“I see… I have a place in mind, but I am not sure if it is the right place for someone looking after a toddler to go… What do you think, Nimira?”

“Humph. If he doesn’t want to see me, I don’t want to see him either.”

“That wasn’t what I was talking about, but oh well… I will find the map. You said that he has alchemy, enchanting and crafting skills, right? I am sure that we can help each other without making him fight for us or for anyone else.”

Vincent left the tent to look for the map and then Roswald decided to sit down and rest. He had gotten too used to traveling on the wagon, so he felt a bit sluggish when he was moving around… he felt slower, even though he certainly had gotten stronger after stopping the dungeon break.

Roswald wanted to rest, but it looked like she wanted to hear a few things about what Regulus had been up to, but she was too stubborn and prideful to ask directly.

“Speaking of which, Regulus wanted to improve his skills when it comes to dual wielding. While he is insane with the bow, he isn’t making much progress when it comes to fighting at close range.”

“... What about it?” 

“Have you improved since then? You were pretty good back then. I tried to teach him a bit, but it was difficult to do that while we were on the road. You might want to give him a hand some time in order to repay the favor, right?”

Helping Regulus with his dual-wielding skills seemed like a small gesture on the surface, but to Nimira, it represented something far more important. For years, she had carried a debt in her heart, a sense that she owed Regulus for looking after her when she had no one else. Repaying that debt could even the scales between them, wiping away the invisible line that kept them from standing on equal footing. They could become proper friends, unburdened by the weight of past favors. That idea sat well with her.

But there was more to consider. Nimira looked out at the camp, the flickering light of fires reflecting the faces of those who had become her family over the last four years. These people had taken her after they split ways, offering her a home. They were her responsibility now, and they needed her more than ever.

Regulus would have to wait, at least for now. Helping her people was her priority, and while the thought of catching up with Regulus and truly mending their relationship was nice, it couldn’t come at the expense of those who depended on her.

Even so, the idea lingered, simmering in the back of her mind. Perhaps, once this war was over and her people were safe, she could seek him out.

Chapter 279 - Parting Ways (Thank you for your support, Louis Dumeige, Garik Amirkhanyan, Max Brown, Kenneth Fazzone, and Ethan George!)

I could tell that Roswald wanted a reason to come to look for me and maybe try to recruit me once again with those kinds of news. It wasn’t like I couldn’t understand his point of view, but this was too much of a nuisance. 

While I was curious about how Nimir and Clarice would fare in this war, it was better if I didn’t get that much involved. My responsibilities with them were pretty much over. Whatever happened to them, it would be thanks to their own choices. I would feel bad if something happened to them, but not much more than that… perhaps I was being too cold since I considered them my friends.

Still, considering the whole situation, this was for the best. I couldn’t risk letting my presence be known. If I tried to intervene, the clairvoyant would find me. Besides, I had a responsibility over Alissandra. Getting involved in this conflict would be the worst thing for her.

“That won’t be necessary. Whatever happens to them, it will be the final results of their own choices. I won’t intervene.”

Roswald looked at me for a moment and then let out a sigh. He seemed disappointed, but that wasn’t much of a problem. Worrying about the opinions of others was the last thing in my fewest worries.

“All right, I will owe you for the quick trip, so I will come to look for you once I get the map in my hands. So try not to become too hard to find, all right?”

“I will see what I can do.”

I began to drive the wagon and then left Roswald behind. It was better not to ask about his next steps as well. That kind of information wasn’t something that I needed to know, after all.

“All right, Glacien. Take the reins and take us to some good labyrinth where we can set a good base of operations for a while.”

“Awoo!”

Glacien jumped from the wagon and soon began to pull it energetically. She truly liked doing that kind of manual labor. Even though I had the strength to do the same, I would never find this truly something exciting or enjoyable.

Things got a lot more quiet now that Roswald wasn’t around, but that didn’t bother me that much. For the first time in a couple of days, I decided to take a nap while Glacien took over things.

— —

Two days had passed since Roswald had parted ways with Regulus and he couldn’t help but let out a sigh while he was running. Moving on, his wagon was a lot faster, even though Roswald could use Shadow Step and even his movement speed was quite high. 

‘Quite the ingenious idea indeed… having an engine for each wheel and still makes them connected in order to increase their power.’

Two days later, Roswald was running, his body darting between shadows with the help of Shadow Step. Despite his speed and endurance, it was still slower than the wagon had created and used.

The design was ingenious, engines for each wheel synchronized to amplify their combined power. It was far beyond anything Roswald had seen in common use, and the simplicity of the concept hid the precision required to make it work.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Regulus had come up with himself or if the knowledge had come from one of the libraries in his home. Regulus always seemed to carry an air of quiet thinking, his mind perpetually wrapped around some unseen problem. It wouldn’t be surprising if the idea had come to him during one of those moments when the world around him seemed to fade into the background.

Roswald shook his head as he ran, recalling how Regulus had always been resourceful in ways that were almost irritating. He could take the smallest piece of knowledge, the most trivial idea, and turn it into something extraordinary. That quality had been part of what made him so surprising.

Still, Roswald couldn’t help but feel a faint admiration for him. Even in moments of exasperation, he understood that Regulus’ mind operated on a different level, always spinning, always solving something or improving it.

While he was thinking about that, Roswald eventually was able to see the camp in the distance of the beastkin forces. They were pretty close to the border already, so in one day, they would be able to reach the dwarven territory and after that, their movement speed would increase thanks to the help of the dwarven vehicles.

Once he found them and the scouts found him, Roswald slowed down and then lowered the hood that hid his face. Not many people in these parts would know his appearance, but this would be a good sign to show that he didn’t mean trouble. While he had soft human features, it was still very clear that he had beastkin blood.

No matter who he was, causing trouble in a place like this with thousands of beastkin nearby would be the downfall of anyone. As Roswald crossed the camp, he couldn’t help but feel the tense atmosphere. Beastkin are usually peaceful people, but their beast instincts would take over the more they get closer to a battlefield. It felt like that they could transform at any moment and attack him considering their eyes alone.

Eventually, Roswald was able to find Vincent’s smell and then headed in his direction. Some of his underlings were around, so they also recognized him and nodded at him. He nodded back before entering the large tent in which Roswald was able to feel his smell, but soon he stopped when he looked inside and then found two people on the sides. One of them was Raul, one of the beastkin that was with Vincent years ago.

The other was also with Vincent when Roswald helped them, but she looked a lot less welcoming than Roswald recalled. She still had the Hex in her eyes, but she looked a lot more confident than before, and it looked like she had gotten stronger as she grew up as well. Nimira was studying Roswald with her arms crossed and with a severe expression on her face. 

Nimira had grown quite a bit, before. She was a lot more shy, but she tended to open up fast to those who she felt that she could trust. She also no longer felt the need to hide her appearance. Aside from her cloak, she was wearing only some short pants and a sleeveless shirt that exposed her stomach. She still had some protectors on some parts of her body and she had a pair of short swords on her sides as well, but it was clear that she focused on mobility over anything else.

“Hey, guys! It has been a while! How have you been?”

Roswald stepped forward to greet Vincent, who smiled at his arrival, but Nimira stopped to block his path. She didn’t look pleased with his arrival for some reason. That felt a bit odd given that they were both half beastkin, and they got along before.

“... Why do you smell of him?”

“Like who?”

Roswald could feel Nimira’s gaze insistent on him, her sharp instincts clearly showing that something was amiss. Yet, instead of addressing her suspicion directly, he decided to play it dumb.

Still, Roswald knew better than to be too ready to give that kind of information. Regulus was a figure best left in the shadows, his presence and actions shrouded in mystery for good reason. Drawing attention to him, even unintentionally, could lead to complications Roswald wasn’t willing to risk.

Roswald had long learned the value of withholding information. Even among allies, a certain degree of caution was necessary. In this case, it wasn’t just about protecting Regulus; it was about maintaining the balance of what each party knew. The less anyone could predict about Regulus’ actions or connections, the safer they all were.

Still, as the silence continued, he held his ground. Letting her draw her own conclusions, no matter how uncomfortable, was better than giving her all the pieces outright. However, when it comes to him, Nimira wouldn’t joke or waste time.

“Don’t waste our time, Roswald. There aren’t many people like him, and it has been a while since we saw you and you became the leader of that group. You have a lot of explaining to do.”

“All right, all right. Just don’t stare daggers at me. I had to at least try to hide information about him. You know how he is. This is a long story, but that also would explain why I am here. Do you all want to listen to it?”

“It is fine. We are only having a short meeting, and it isn’t like we are commanding the largest force here. We can speak with no worries.”

After listening to Vincent’s words, Roswald nodded and then sat down on the ground and everyone did the same. Before long, he began to share the reason why he was here and what made him make that choice. His story was a bit weird since it started at the end and then changed from his perspective to Regulus and how he learned about things and the rift. 

Nimira’s expression softened up when she learned that Regulus was fine and that he came here with Roswald, but it was clear that he wanted to avoid her. Probably because he thought that Nimira was his first real friend, but it turned out that she had been his first girl friend.

Nimira realized a bit too late that she read her name wrong, but she assumed that Regulus had noticed that she was a girl from the beginning, but now that she thought about it, he wasn’t around when she changed her clothes or took a bath. Doing that together was relatively normal for beastkin, but not for humans. Maybe that was why he never noticed it. Regardless, Vincent stayed silent for a while, but then he spoke.

“I see… it is indeed about a rift, huh? No wonder the empire is so insistent on this.”

“You make it sound like you were aware of the possibility.”

“We have our spies, after all. Raul, go and tell this to the others. Confirming this will help us a lot. We also need to make sure if the dwarves knew about this or not.”

“Understood.”

Chapter 278 - Not So Close Mouthed 

It took us two days to reach the city that Roswald had mentioned. Unlike my expectations, the biggest city in the kingdom of Felyndor turned out to be surprisingly normal looking. While a thick forest surrounded the area and enormous trees were scattered here and there, the city itself felt quite ordinary. 

Most of the buildings were made of brick, giving the streets a modest and practical appearance. Despite this, the houses were remarkably diverse in design, each one standing out in its own way. It felt like the houses showed the personalities of their owners. The buildings weren’t particularly tall, either, which made the city feel open and welcoming rather than overwhelming. It was a curious blend of nature and simplicity that seemed to work effortlessly.

“It might take at least a day to find the map. What are you going to do in the meantime?”

“I will wait here and keep the vehicle camouflaged. The wind is blowing against us and there is no real road right behind us for several kilometers, so we will be fine.”

“You sure put a lot of thinking when it comes to not being found by others. All right then… try not to move too much from this spot since it will be hard to find this vehicle.”

Roswald left when I nodded. While I was curious about the things that could be bought there, I knew for a fact that I would get in trouble in no time knowing my luck. Besides, it was time to make my new bow. I checked my new tools to make the best possible bow.

Thanks to the skills of my Magic Forger class, I was able to resolve most of the issues that came with crafting the bow. The process of balancing everything was a bit long, but it was fine. It felt like every challenge that would normally require intense manual labor or trial and error could be solved with a careful application of my class skills.

However, even with magical assistance, some tools were so specialized that they remained irreplaceable for achieving the highest level of craftsmanship. These tools, combined with my magic, made it possible to create a bow that was not just functional but optimized to its fullest potential.

“Glacien, warn me when you see someone approaching, all right?”

“Awoo!”

Maybe I should wait a bit more instead of starting working with the bow…. Somewhere like the peak of a mountain would be a good idea since few people would bother me there and Glacien would be able to hunt freely. 

Alissandra would probably be fine since she is a harpy… altitude shouldn’t be a problem to her. Regardless, doing a bit of work now while she was sleeping was probably fine.

The parts were quite big, but I decided to use the vertebrae bones of the Frost Wyvern in order to make the bow. The design was ready and with that many parts, I could focus on a single part at a time and then combine them later to check the final result.

‘I guess there is no hiding about the effects of this bow or its materials when it comes to its shape. Anyone with half a brain would be able to tell what it was made of.’

This could be a good thing, making people realize what I had to kill in order to get this bow. Considering the numerous bones of the vertebrae, this bow can become insanely large. Under normal circumstances, I couldn’t use all of them to make a single now, but the good thing was that by making parts that can be connected, I can change its size to suit my needs. I couldn’t ask for a better weapon.

Still, this made me wonder. Would it work? Making it bigger would increase its rarity rank? It certainly would make it more powerful and durable, but that wasn’t what determined the potential of the weapon.

“... All right, I guess this is enough for now.”

I made the bottom most and the top most part of the bow. They were identical, so it seemed that all of my tools helped when it comes to making things as perfect as they could be.

I couldn’t identify the parts yet, but that didn’t bother me. As they were, they were essentially useless, so it made sense that they couldn’t show any information with identification. I couldn’t make the bow in a way that it could be used in its smaller size as well… I had to focus on making the whole thing and then only after checking it. It was a bit worrisome since it will take a while until I can confirm whether the final product will be as perfect as it could be.

I stretched my body and then confirmed that it was already night outside… that moron left when it was mid morning, so he was taking his sweet time. When I went to check on Alissandra, I could see her touching the whiskers on Glacien’s face… she ate before I started working, but I was still surprised that she didn’t make a fuss until now.

I prepared dinner for Alissandra, and then made her eat. She complied without protest, but the look on her face told me she wasn’t exactly thrilled. I knew why. Fresh milk had always been her favorite, and this meal, while nourishing, simply couldn’t compare. Her subtle behavior hurt me a bit.

‘I am starting to become a helicopter step father.’

The guilt settled in as I watched her eat. My own caution, born from the need to avoid risks and keep us safe, was beginning to feel like a burden on her quality of life. I couldn’t deny that my overthinking had robbed her of the simple joys she deserved. It was a bitter realization, and though I couldn’t yet see a way to balance safety with freedom.

“Sorry, but this is only temporary. Since that clairvoyant is keeping track of me, I need to avoid meeting big shots since they would be able to pinpoint my location like that… truly a troublesome ability.”

Alissandra couldn’t speak, and she was busy eating her food as well. I guess that I could find a place in front of a labyrinth where I could get stronger and cultivate some food as well. I should lie low and avoid this conflict at all costs, after all. I didn’t know what was beyond Felyndor, so perhaps it would be a good idea to investigate it now.

While I was considering that, Glacien was looking at me with one eye open. I could almost tell that she was wondering why I always talk so much when I talk with them, mainly about my problems. It was a bad habit of mine, sharing my worries with a beast and a toddler.

In any case, after a couple of hours, Alissandra was sleeping again. At this rate, considering how much she sleeps, she will grow to become ten feet tall… quite the outstanding harpy, if I do say so myself. Regardless, Roswald didn’t show up.

‘As expected, relying on others for this kind of thing is truly a no-go for me…’

Maybe I should just do what I had considered before… use several layers of camouflage and then steal detailed maps in some places that would have them. Probably the places where the people that lead the nation would be. Worrying about my reputation as a vampire at this point in time was just simply stupid.

What would people think? ‘Oh no… he is a blood-sucking vampire, and he steals maps too! He is the worst!’ That would be just a small detail to my curriculum. Still, I quickly decided against that, because of my cautious nature and because I wanted to give a good example of a proper life to Alissandra. Even if she couldn’t remember this period of her life. Once I started doing something like stealing, my actions would eventually make her think that it was fine to do that.

While I was thinking about my moral compass, I noticed Glacien ears perking and soon I raised my guard. Still, amidst the darkness of the night, I could tell that the silhouette approaching belonged to Roswald. I also could tell that he looked troubled and thoughtful.

“Sorry for returning late… but we have problems.”

“No, you have problems.”

“... I guess you can say that. The people are preparing to join the war. The dwarves requested their help.”

After that, I found myself very confused. The situation didn’t add up, no matter how I thought about it. The dwarves, known for their stubbornness and independence, rarely ever sought help from outsiders. They prided themselves on solving their problems with their own strength and ingenuity. For them to approach the beastkin for assistance was already puzzling.

What made even less sense was that the beastkin had agreed to help. They had a reputation for valuing their autonomy and keeping to themselves, avoiding entanglements in the affairs of other races. Their willingness to get involved in something that wasn’t their problem was completely out of character. The whole arrangement felt wrong, as if there were layers to the story that I wasn’t seeing yet.

“At the same time, Vincent isn’t around and he’s already headed to the border… so I can’t ask anyone to find a detailed map for you.”

“Figures. Well, I guess I will just roam around instead. Waiting for others to make my life easier or more convenient was never in my plans to begin with. Let’s not meet again while you are involved in this kind of issue.”

“I know that this situation is getting complicated for you since you have friends on both sides of this war, so I am not going to ask you to join this conflict, but do you want me to inform you of the changes and if anything happens to anyone you are interested in?”

Chapter 277 - Trust Issues

We left the snow covered terrain before and despite the fact that we crossed the extreme north of the dwarven territory; we didn’t find problems along the way. It seemed that our luck was finally turning around… or mine. I didn’t know if Roswald was as unlucky as me when it comes to enemies getting in my way.

“Well, isn’t this a nice place?”

Felyndor stretched before us as a full of life green expanse, though it was far from a dense forest. The area was surprisingly open, with only a scattering of trees breaking the horizon. The grass itself was short and even, lending the land a sense of calm simplicity. It felt peaceful, almost suspicious, yet distinctly alive. Despite the lack of towering trees or tangled vegetation, there was an unmistakable beauty to its open, unobstructed surroundings.

As we crossed the border into Felyndor, the lack of guards or defensive structures struck me as peculiar. No one stood to greet or stop us, and the boundary seemed unprotected. However, the beastkin were known for their extraordinary senses, their sharp ears and keen noses far surpassed human senses. Perhaps they didn’t need visible patrols or checkpoints to secure their territory. It was possible their heightened senses allowed them to maintain a level of vigilance unseen by outsiders, granting them the confidence to leave the borders unguarded without fear of attacks.

“Their territory isn’t that far south and it is so much warmer than ours. I am almost jealous.”

“Do they have a good relationship with the dwarves for their border to be like this?”

“I don’t think so. The dwarves don’t care about anything else aside from mining, after all. So, they don’t care about making allies in other lands.”

Roswald moved his hood for the first time that I had seen him and I furrowed my eyebrows. His features were pretty ordinary. I already knew that he was pretty lean, but I didn’t think that he would have fur and an  overall appearance that would make me recall a Siberian husky. It was weird since he didn’t have the same eyes, only the fur.

“Does it remind you of Nimira that much? My appearance, I mean.”

“It has been a while since I had seen him, four years, so I can’t be sure.”

“You still think that she was a boy?”

“You are the one obsessed with proving me wrong, if by chance if we find him, don’t ask him to show us his dick.”

“You are simply absurd…”

This kind of environment seemed peaceful enough for Alissandra to grow… while I heard that the labyrinths weren’t that well-guarded and anyone could enter them, it didn’t mean that monsters had the chance to roam around freely.

Perhaps no one would complain if I built a home near one of the deepest labyrinths and slowly conquered it over the years, also giving Alissandra and Glacien the chance to gain some experience along the way.

“Can you find a map of this place? If you can, I can give you a ride to one of the towns or cities here.”

“I think that Vincent can give you that, given how much you have helped him.”

“Not from him, also, don’t say to anyone that I am here. If you speak about it, I will know.”

“Didn’t I already tell you that you need allies? Running away from them like you are running away from your enemies won’t help you that much.”

“Don’t care, you have been warned.”

Roswald let out a tired sigh. Since he never had to keep a low profile for years like me, he didn’t know how important it was to be careful with information. Telling one person where I would no longer be would be a secret. It would be a piece of information that can be shared by people that don’t have my sense or urgency. I wasn’t going to hide my appearance anymore, but that didn’t mean that I was planning to announce my footsteps.

“Let’s see, since I am half-beastkin, perhaps I can buy a map before finding Vincent, but we will have to head to the biggest city in this territory. It is where the Council of the Wilds is located.”

I considered that… it would be perfect if I could avoid all signs of civilization, as unrealistic as that appeared to be. Regardless, the council of the wilds was a council formed by representatives from each species. Their goal was unity, peace, and cooperation among all beastkin. They seek harmony with nature and the importance of maintaining balance in their realm. Vincent apparently was the underling of one of the members of the council… or maybe he was one. I couldn’t remember that well.

I considered the merits and demerits… it was a bit risky, but heading to this town would make me save a lot of time. I had no idea how vast Felyndor was, so I could end up walking around aimlessly for quite a while.

“I would recommend you to obtain the map and learn where some of the factions of the country operate in order to avoid them. The orcs, goblins and ogres are also here for a while, so they should have their own territory.”

“You have a point… Glacien. Follow his directions to this city.”

“I guess you don’t want to let people know that this vehicle can almost move by itself.”

“Yep, you are getting smart. There is hope for you yet.”

Roswald explained that there were two other known factions in Felyndor that I had to be mindful of. The first was the Wild Hunt. A warrior faction made up of elite hunters and guardians of Felyndor. They essentially defend the realm from external threats. According to him, they weren’t bad people, but too prideful. They were a huge pain in the ass…

There was the shadow clan. A secretive faction of rogue beastkin who thrives in the darker aspects of Felyndor. Most people don’t know what they do, but I am aware that they sold Vincent and other beastkin as battle slaves for the empire when they became a nuisance to other people.

Both of those factions had the potential to become serious problems for me, and that meant I needed to tread carefully. Handling them required a delicate balance, ensuring that I addressed any issues before they had the chance to escalate. This wasn’t just about protecting myself anymore; there were others whose safety I had to consider, and that responsibility weighed heavily on every decision I made.

I couldn’t afford to make careless moves or let my guard down. At the same time, I couldn’t allow myself to appear weak or indecisive. Maintaining a strong front was just as important as being cautious, as showing vulnerability might only invite further complications. Finding that balance between caution and confidence was key to managing these factions without losing control of the situation, or myself.

Roswald was right… I needed allies, but with my trust issues, it would be difficult to find people that I could trust to watch my back. 

‘Once I am done with my new bow, I need to work on the automatic defenses for the wagon… perhaps working on taming a new creature as well and training it to become as fearsome as Glacien.’

I would need to make my mana regeneration reach astronomic levels if I wanted an army of beasts like them under my leadership… Perhaps I should change my approach a bit. What other options do I have?

An army of automatons would be useful… they wouldn’t fear death, getting hurt wouldn’t slow them down either. Still, my knowledge of that aspect was minimal. Perhaps taming more beast was a better option, but for that to indeed work, I would need a Mana Conservation parameter. It was one of the most difficult to get as well. 

Active Skills - Tame Beast (Lv 18): Attempt to tame a wild animal, turning it into a loyal companion. The success of taming depends on the animal's power and your current dexterity. Once tamed, the animal can fight alongside you for a determined amount of time. Cost: 10 mana per second.

Beast's Fury Lv 09: Temporarily boost the attack power and speed of your animal companion, making their attacks deal increased damage and their movements faster for 10 seconds Cost: 15 Stamina.

‘I guess I should start by making Beast’s Fury finally reach level ten… this should have happened a long time ago if I used her to fight in the labyrinth.’

It would be interesting to make Glacien’s stamina regeneration reach a point where that skill could be activated all the time… it would exhaust her, though. Even if her stamina never decreases.

In any case, using that skill made her move faster a few times, and eventually that finally happened. Perhaps I should focus on leveling up some skills to gain those easy experience points.

The skill Beast’s Fury reached level ten. You received 1000 experience points.

The Beastmaster class was upgraded.

Master’s Mark: Mark a single target, making it easier for you and your companion to hit and deal damage. The marked target takes increased damage from all sources. Increases damage taken by the marked target by 15% for 10 seconds. Cost: 20 Mana

I activated the skill and confirmed that my mana was used instead of Glacien’s. That much was fine given my mana regeneration. Now we could fight together better and cause more damage. Still, I would be the one who has to look after Alissandra while that happens… so I need to upgrade my hand crossbow as well to make it fire arrows with a single arm.

‘It feels like no matter what I do, I will always have to do something else to improve my capabilities…’

Chapter 276 - Mountain Range (Thank you for your support, Allan TheZeny, Phillipp Zschiedrich, Sunless, Dylan, Agurian!)

The particles of the mana core began to fall apart the moment that I unlocked the chain formation that kept them tied together. At first, I didn’t notice any differences, but soon the particles began to fall on each other and then their shape started to get clearer. They assumed a liquid shape.

‘I considered that this might break them apart, but I guess I was wrong… this is energy in raw form. It won’t be destroyed, only transformed.’

Still, the process takes too long… I could unlock each particle with my dexterity and microscope, but that was a waste of time to do it myself. I had to automate the procedure. For now, this knowledge was enough. Pursuing it further wouldn’t help me that much, at least in the short term. With that in mind, I put that aside and then began to draw the scrolls with Chrono Surge.

It was just an example to make me understand the whole process, but man, it took a long time to make it… even though the cost was that high, it was still insane to think that it cost me one hour to make it and a lot more mana than I would have used by activating the skill itself.

After the first scroll, I just began to write down the whole thing in my notebook using common ink. Little by little, I improved the design and decreased the size as well. My precision improved thanks to my increased dexterity, but only to the point where the normal scroll was one meter long and wide, and lost around thirty percent of its size. There were too many symbols on it that I couldn’t decrease in size without some assistance from the microscope.

‘I guess I need more precision tools… and make a workshop that doesn’t shake too much.’

Perhaps making one amulet that I could hide under my cloak would be enough… I didn’t need a tone to fit the palm of my hand for now. I just needed one that could make the skill level up faster. Then again, making it level up with amulets would require mana cores, and I was already using them to make the wagon move faster. I guessed that it would be better to make a base close to a dungeon where I can get a lot of these daily.

For the next three days, I dedicated myself entirely to perfecting the amulet. Every detail, every engraving, and every adjustment was made with focus. The blowtorch proved invaluable, and by the end of the process, I was satisfied with the result. It could fit on my torso and it was thin enough to not stand out.

Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any trouble during that time. The journey was smooth, with the wagon covering miles of snowy terrain without incident. It gave me the peace of mind to focus completely on my work. I assumed we could maintain this steady pace, heading straight for Felyndor without any interruptions. However, just as I was considering how close we might be, Roswald stopped me.

“Wait. We can’t just keep going straight.”

“Why not?”

“Look ahead.”

I was too busy with my work to notice any chances in the scenario. When I checked the entrance of the vehicle, I could see some pretty scary looking mountains… They were quite pointy and even from a distance I could see that climbing them with the wagon would be difficult. A single mistake and the wagon would roll down to the base of the mountain.

“What is that?” 

“The central part of the harpies territory is a massive mountain range that extends for who knows how long. There are a bunch of labyrinths there and since the harpies don’t control them, they should be filled with monsters and wild animals.”

“What kind of monsters?”

“Are you really interested in it? Don’t tell me that you want to explore it?”

“Not now, but it would be a good idea to know what is there and head there when I have the chance.”

The constant issues in my journey made me realize that I had to start planning my daily schedule with much more caution. My time was becoming a precious resource, stretched thin between crafting, fighting, and survival. However, the most important concern was Alissandra.

I had almost given up on finding someone to take care of her, at least someone trustworthy enough. Leaving her with strangers wasn’t an option I could consider. That left only one solution: I had to raise her myself, at least for a while, until she could live independently.

It wasn’t just about keeping her alive. I needed to train her to defend herself as well. The world was unforgiving, and if something ever happened to me, she would need to be prepared. Balancing my own growth to ensure her survival would be no easy feat.

Alissandra had potential, but she was still just a child. I had to nurture that spark without overwhelming her. From now on, I would have to divide my days carefully: a portion for training, another for crafting and research, and the rest for making sure she was safe and learning what she needed to learn. 

‘I guess more or less ten years and that will be enough… it is a bit rough to expect that a ten years old kid can fend for herself, but with the right education, it shouldn’t be a problem. In any case, among all the things that I wasn’t expecting to have to worry about in my life, this probably is at the very top.’

“Uuuuuuhhhh.”

It seemed that Alissandra noticed my thoughts somehow… I had no idea if she had psychic powers, but maybe she had the potential, given that she already had some powerful classes at her age. In any case, I had to be extra careful with encounters now in order to avoid putting her in danger.

“If we can’t head in a straight line, where are we going?” 

“We would have to head south at some point anyway. It doesn’t matter that much if it is now. The only problem is that we will have to cross the northern parts of the dwarven territory.”

That again, huh? Well, we should be able to avoid the war since Roswald had a map, and he studied it now and then. Actually, he had a bunch of them, from several countries. I had to take a peek at them and copy them when I had the chance.

In any case, now that I was done with the amulets, I decided to make some magic bags of high quality. I had already processed the materials, so only the execution was what needed to be done. Aside from stitching the entrance of the bag with caution, I didn’t know what I could do to improve the quality of the magic bags. Or even the enchantments… It is said that the most famous adventurers only had their enchantments up to the Expert level.

‘I shouldn’t think too much about this… I should just make some at the adept level and then start the crafting process of my new bow.’

Magic Bag (Legendary)

Enchantment Slots: 04

Magic Storage (Adept): Allows you to store things in a space of nine cubic meters.

(Empty)

(Empty)

(Empty)

Durability: 10/10

As I continued working on the magic bags, I considered the enchantment slots more carefully. I could add more magic storage slots, which would be convenient, but that would come with its own set of problems. In case of an emergency, it would be difficult to get the items I needed quickly if I added too much storage space. Plus, the enchantment materials I had on hand weren’t unlimited, and I didn’t want to risk wasting them with damage in combat.

Instead, I considered a more practical approach: self-repair. If I used the remaining slots to enchant the bag with a self-repairing ability, it would make the item much more durable in the long run. A magic bag that could mend itself over time would be invaluable, especially on long journeys where wear and tear were inevitable.

With that in mind, I placed the self-repair enchantment into one of the slots and then carefully set to work on the others. It would take time, but I was confident it would be worth it. I could always make adjustments later, but for now, this was the most efficient use of the enchantment slots.

I did some experiments, using the mana cores of higher quality and then the smaller ones, but they all came at this rank. Well, at least they were three times better than the previous ones. Now my ability to carry stuff has increased as much… time to resume hunting giant monsters.

‘Well now… about the bow… it is time to finally make one at the Mythic level. There is no point in keeping cutting corners by combining them. That helped, but I need to improve their creation as well.’

“At this rate, we’ll reach Felyndor in three days,” 

Three days wasn’t much time, and I probably shouldn’t rush something as difficult as crafting a Mythic-level bow. Precision was key, and hastily putting it together would only lead to wasted materials and effort. Still, I could use the time to prepare all the tools I’d need for the process.

For now, I gathered what I had. My toolkit was organized, but a few key items were still missing. I would need to create more specialized precision tools, ones that could handle the fine detailing required for a bow of this caliber.

With the wagon still rolling steadily through the snowy landscape, I worked on crafting those tools. The steady pace of our journey allowed me to focus entirely on shaping, sharpening, and fine-tuning each instrument. By the time we reached Felyndor, I would have everything ready to begin.

Chapter 275 - Eureka

“It looks like we are getting closer to the border.”

“Hm…”

“There aren’t many floating islands around, and the ones in the area are pretty small.”

“Hm…”

“Sorry, but I need to fart here. I don’t think that it will smell good.”

“Do that, and I will kick you out.”

“I guess you are listening, but you don’t care that much.”

“I trust Glacien’s report more than yours.”

Roswald checked through the entrance of the wagon and then saw Glacien still pulling the vehicle like nothing was wrong. In the distance, he could see the mountains that were in the Empire territory already, so we should be pretty close to Ironcliff. 

I could tell that he was a bit curious if I would feel nostalgic about getting close to that place, but there was no reason for it. I spent two years there, but I only crafted bows day and night, nothing else.

At the same time, I was too immersed in research. Thanks to my Microscope, I could see the structure of the mana cores. It made me recall my first few chemistry lessons at school. The particles of mana were clustered together like chains, and thanks to that connection and their density, they could assume a physical form. 

‘I guess I need to break this structure down to a molecular level, but the energy will probably dissipate if I do only that…’

I tried to recall my knowledge from my previous life to see if there was any idea that could give me some insight here, but nothing came to mind. Maybe I was too focused on making the mana cores take the liquid form… I still could do plenty with it, but that would decrease a bunch of limitations.

The mana cores take physical shape in the bodies of some monsters for unknown reasons. Some people believe that it is because some monsters used too much magic, or have a bit more talent for magic given that some of them are born with it, but people don’t have them. The only creatures that have them and also have sapience are guardians that managed to escape the dungeons or labyrinths for one reason or the other.

‘Amulets and magic implements suck the mana from them, while keeping them stable until the very end. I guess it is because of their nature to fuel the process of magic, no matter the conditions that they are used…’

I considered eating the smaller ones, but I knew that I shouldn’t eat something so important that once had been the core of the power of a monster. In the end, I didn’t have any real inspiration.

“Awooo!”

“... It looks like she noticed something.”

Roswald went to check the outside and Glacien slowed down. Before long she stopped somewhere and then when I went to check things, I found a bunch of footsteps on the snow that were heading north.

“It must belong to soldiers of the empire…”

I nodded. The marks on the snow were deep, and it seemed that a group of fifty or soldiers marched through here. It seemed that the empire could be up to no good in this area and take advantage of the battle between the harpies and the half humans.

“Any ideas of what they might want here?”

“With these numbers? No idea. Most of their efforts should be on the conflict with elves and dwarves. They don’t need to worry about their coast anymore, so the only direction that they should be wary of is the East, but there are many mountains there and it has been a while since they faced problems from that direction.”

I stopped to hold my chin. I had to avoid contacting any big shot that belonged to them since they might have learned of their future using the clairvoyant… using that on some people in order to find me was their best option. I could think that this was perhaps why they sent this group north. 

“We need to leave immediately. They will eventually find our traces since it isn’t snowing that much today. We don’t know when this group will return, either.”

“Right. It isn’t like not a single person in our land didn’t think that this could happen, after all.”

We got back on the wagon and began to move again… now that I thought about it, dealing with the empire will get a lot harder since I couldn’t just get rid of the ones that try to get in my way. The best option would be to get rid of the clairvoyant, but that person would know when I would attack them… even if they couldn’t see anything about me in the future, they should be able to see things about themselves, like dangerous situations and the best way to avoid them. Such a pain in the ass…

In the end, we had to rely on Glacien a bit more until night fell to move. After that, the temperature dropped, and I decided to use the new engines and test them while Glacien rested. It didn’t take more than one hour to adjust everything and then get moving… slowly but surely, I increased the speed of the vehicle, until we climbed a snow hill and then almost floated  in the air for a couple of seconds after reaching its summit.

“Wahhhh! Wahhhh!”

The sudden fall and impact woke Alissandra up and it seemed that it scared her more than a bit since it took a while to calm her down… the engines were a lot more powerful than I had expected.

“I guess if I add some wings, I can cover some distances while gliding in the air. Flying would be useful, but it should consume a lot of energy… perhaps flying like an airplane might be too difficult, but adding some helix above can help with that and that would split the work instead of relying on a single powerful engine “

I wondered what the heck was wrong with me thinking of choppers in a fantasy world… but it was another thing to aim for, since few people would be able to reach us while flying.

“We are getting close to the harpies’ territory. Shouldn’t we wait a bit until night comes? It will be harder for them to find traces of the wagon.” 

“We will continue. We will be fine with this much speed. I have some work to do, so drive for me.”

“I am not sure if I can drive this weird vehicle. well… I heard that some vampires have weird vehicles, but I didn’t expect something like this.”

“What kind of vehicle?”

“The type that can fly… although that is mainly rumors. Since their magic is so obscure and ancestral, that wouldn’t surprise me.”

I frowned at the thought. Vampires using vehicles? It felt just weird. Whenever I imagined their movement, it was always something primal, running like wolves with creepy grace or flying like bats under the cover of darkness. The idea of them riding around in machines just didn’t fit the image of the predatory elegance I associated with them.

Still, considering how strange the world could be, I couldn’t completely dismiss the possibility. If they truly did have such vehicles, it only made sense they’d keep it secret. Anything that added to their mystique and fearsome reputation would be a weapon in itself. Besides, aside from some dumb ones, with age, wisdom would come. 

Regardless, the wagon could easily move at one hundred miles per hour with the four engines at full power, so it seemed that the trip wouldn’t last that long. The only problem would be the quick consumption of mana cores… they were being used at least two per minute.

‘Well, it is fine. Time is a much more important resource, after all.’

There were so many things that I wanted to learn, but it seemed that they would take too long to accomplish, so I decided to focus on something more simple that would bring results fast. Which was to extract the essence of the items I bought earlier and then transform them into tools that would help my crafting process.

The wand with the Flamethrower effect let me create a blowtorch. I didn’t have any ideas how to use the other effects for crafting yet, but they would come in handy for combat. The only downside was the fact that they were effects that I couldn’t get experience for skills.

“That seems dangerous…”

Roswald saw me using the blowtorch, but I couldn’t lose my focus… using the full power of it, I could craft five amulets at the same time by stacking five plates above each other. If I increased my magic and Fire Affinity, that would increase even more… I sighed in relief when I checked that the amulets worked. I could mass produce them and sell them now. Not like I had any use for money.

Still, with the blowtorch, I could do fine details even better than before, so it was time to decrease the size of the amulets for the Chrono Surge skill.

‘If I keep increasing my Dexterity, perhaps I can make fine details down to a molecular level like the structures in the mana cores… perhaps I can even stack their effects if they become that much smaller than well.’

While those ideas filled my mind, another thought struck me: the chain formation within mana cores. What would happen if I broke that structure?

The concept was interesting, to say the least. Mana cores were composed of particles clustered into intricate chains, a formation that granted them their stability and physicality. If I could disrupt that formation, it might reveal entirely new properties, or make the mana to dissipate entirely.

It was hard to imagine any practical use for such a process, though. To truly explore the potential, I’d need to break those chains thousands, perhaps millions, of times. The sheer scale of effort made it seem impractical, but I couldn’t dismiss it outright without testing the result at least once.

With that, I resolved to try, even if the immediate utility wasn’t clear. Sometimes, the pursuit of knowledge alone was reason enough.

‘This sure is taking a lot of my time, but since it is so interesting, I can’t help but get interested in it… Eureka.’

Chapter 274 - Inspiration (Thank you for your support, Dakota, Kaynan Rodrigues, Sebastian Silva, Karl Marx, Victor Hugo Estevao!)

Roswald didn’t mind my words. He probably believed that I wouldn’t go too far if something happened. I probably wouldn’t, unless someone pointed their weapons at me. To fools like that, it was better to make an example out of them.

In any case, I let Glacien guard the wagon while I moved around with Alissandra in my arms. She was covered in a blanket, so her identity would remain hidden. She seemed to be in a good mood while holding my index finger… I had planned to be cautious with her to not make her too attached to me, but I really couldn’t let her feel bad.

‘I guess finding someone for her is a waste of time… only someone in a similar position would be able to look after her properly. This shitty world is filled with biased people, too. People can’t leave normal lives in places beyond their homeland unless they have the power to defend themselves.’

In any case, I stopped thinking about that when I found the first few shops with items being sold that were different from the ones I knew of.

Wand of Pyrosurge

Effect: Flamethrower

When activated, it releases a continuous stream of fire from the wand's tip, much like a flamethrower. The intensity of the flames can be adjusted by the user, making it versatile for both area control and close combat. Cost: 10-100 mana per second.

Stormcaller’s Wand

Effect: Thunder Beam

When activated, the wand summons a concentrated beam of high-voltage lightning, launching it in a straight line toward the target. Cost: 10-100 mana per second.

Glacier’s Reach

Effect: Ice Cannon

The wand unleashes a freezing beam of concentrated ice, capable of encasing enemies or objects in solid ice. The beam’s effect can slow down foes, freeze water, and create temporary barriers of ice for defense. The longer the beam is sustained, the larger the area of effect becomes, potentially freezing large swaths of the battlefield. It's effective in crowd control and can be used to restrict movement. Cost: 10-100 mana per second.

‘Not bad… I can certainly use these for my forging process and make things even faster.’

I had the basic elemental magic classes, so maybe sooner or later, I would learn these skills, but it would take a while before that can happen since I rarely use the skills aside from Fire Wall. Regardless, it was unusual for me to find this kind of enchanted item with offensive effects, since they consumed a lot of mana instead of offering support with basic parameters or passive effects.

“How much for these? Do you accept an apprentice rank magic bag?” 

“Of course not. These items are the best of the best. You won’t find these kinds of Enchantments anywhere else as well.”

“How about two magic bags?” 

It was weird that I was using them as currency, but those items were things that everything wanted. Besides, I have the feeling that I finally would be able to make the adept rarity rank ones using the leather of the Frost Wyvern.

The old man who was the owner of the shop tried to ask for three magic bags, but I knew that it would be the same as being ripped off, so I insisted with only two. While I didn’t have to since I could make them left and right, it was better to be cautious. I had some free ones, but all the others were completely filled with materials… I had to make more of them as well.

In any case, I didn’t want to trade the mana cores since they were essentially one of my sources of energy, but I couldn’t help but consider when I reached the next shop and found some more pretty useful items.

Inferno’s Wrath

When swung, the sword releases a wide arc of intense fire that erupts from the blade’s edge, engulfing enemies in its path. The flamewave lingers for a few moments, dealing ongoing burn damage to anyone within its reach. Cost: 50 mana.

Blazing Fury Gauntlets

A pair of lightweight gauntlets embedded with rubies that flicker with an inner fire. The gauntlets launch multiple fireballs in quick succession, each exploding on impact and setting nearby enemies ablaze. The fireballs can be aimed at different angles, providing flexibility in targeting. Cost: 20 per projectile

Sunfire Bow

A longbow with a golden finish, adorned with an intricately carved sun emblem at its center. The bow shoots arrows that explode on contact, creating a fiery burst that damages and burns enemies within range. The longer the user draws the bowstring, the larger the explosion radius becomes.

Their quality was pretty good, and the stock was high… it was weird, given that the nation was fighting off the harpies. Electric attacks would be more useful, and those items were hard to find.

For some reason, those items made me think that perhaps I should make an engine that uses actual fuel instead of mana cores. It should take some time, but it wouldn’t be improbable to make things like batteries or even solar panels, although they would be useless in this environment.

‘I can get them inside labyrinths, but there might come a time where I won’t be able to get them… when that time comes, I need to be ready. Using my own mana would be a good idea too. I should start experimenting with that as well.’

Instead of buying anything else, I decided to check all the shops in the town before deciding what I should buy. That truly helped since I was able to see a shop with a half dwarf powering up a furnace for a while with his own mana… he just had to fully charge a rune on the furnace and that made it work at its full power for one hour.

I was starting to get invested in alchemy, so I didn’t have time to get involved with runes as well, but the idea was alone for me. I could start my own journey with that simple step.

“Sorry for the delay. Convincing some people of my plans took a lot longer than I had expected. They didn’t think that it would be a good idea to send help for me, but… what are you doing?”

“Just some experiments.”

We returned to the wagon a while ago and I soon began to work on transferring my mana to another body. With my arrows, as long as I caused damage, I could take the mana from the target, and that was why I was hurting my feet with some shots. This wouldn’t be easy, but it would be a useful breakthrough on the same level as my amulets. It wouldn’t be easy, but it was necessary.

“Aren’t your friends sending support on your mission? How can the leader of a shady organization like yours convince anyone to join an alliance?”

“When you talk like that, you make me sound like I am a criminal or something. I have some documents with me that can help and I know some of the people of Felyndor, remember? If we manage to start this alliance with them, we will get the orcs, goblins and ogres by proxy and the other nations will find value in joining as well.”

Roswald was undoubtedly thinking that his mission would bear fruit, that his plans for an alliance would come to fruition and lead to greater changes. He believed in the potential of his approach, and perhaps he was right to a degree. The possibilities were certainly there, and the alliances could be beneficial in the long run.

But in my experience, putting too much faith in a single option was never a good idea. Relying solely on one path or one set of circumstances left you vulnerable to unexpected setbacks or failures. Things rarely went according to plan, and if you weren’t prepared with contingencies, you could easily find yourself with no backup and nowhere to turn. Whether it was a political alliance that fell apart at the last moment or an unreliable resource, trusting everything to one option always left a door open for disappointment.

“All right, Glacien. You can head south as much as you deem necessary and then head west. The new engines are already installed, so come inside if it starts to snow too much or if you find enemies approaching, all right?’

“Awoo!”

Name: Glacien

Race: Glacierborn Predator

Health: 450/450 (0/4600)

Regen: 4.1 per hour (0/4200)

Mana: 450/450 (0/4600)

Regen: 4.1 per minute (0/4200)

Stamina: 450/450 (0/4600)

Regen: 4.1 per minute (0/4200)

Strength: 55 (1.1) (0/5100)

Magic: 45 (0/4600)

Dexterity: 45 (0/4600)

Spirit: 44 (0/4000) 1.1

Endurance: 100 (0/7500) (1.3)

Movement Speed: 11.0 

Ice Affinity: 65 (0/6600)

Traits: Iceborne Prowess, Frost Aura, Minor Vulnerability to Fire, Enhanced Cold Resistance, 

Classes: Beast of the North, Elemental Predator, Frost Guardian, Icebound Stalker, Winter Revenant, Tundra Huntress, Ancient Hunter

Aptitudes:  Arctic Camouflage, Cold-Weather Adaptation, Predator’s Focus, Frost Manipulation, Apex Instincts, Pack Tactics, Frozen Resolve, Icycle Will, Frosty Scales

Experience: 254

Glacien had stopped growing, but she certainly had gotten stronger. The class that she obtained granted her a strength and endurance multiplier, so pulling the wagon and fighting at close range wasn’t a problem for her. Soon enough, she would be able to solo even the third section of some labyrinths. Speaking of which, Beast’s Fury should be reaching level ten soon. I also used to improve her running speed, after all.

Once the wagon began to move and Roswald began to rest inside and in the corner, I began to work on my next creation. The magic bags would have to wait… I had bought some special lenses in the town, so I began to mess with some ore that I had already processed.

It didn’t take long before I had a simple microscope. I had forgotten to draw the blueprint, but it worked well given that I visualized the final product with quite the perfection. 

I checked some samples of the stamina liquid and soon was able to see the particles of it. I was hoping to see some microorganisms, but I only found particles that kept spinning and glowing. There was also a certain purity in the liquid.

‘I guess the particles act like that because they are full of energy… it is pretty uniform, even though they are a combination of two types of poison.’

I decided to write down a bit more after analyzing the liquid, but soon I went to check what I really wanted to study. The mana cores…

Chapter 273 - Enhanced Dexterity

“What is wrong?”

“Hm… Some troublesome people are doing some troublesome things.”

“Is that really important considering your goals?”

“It is… you should have met those guys camping outside one of our towns. They disappeared after convincing a bunch of people fighting in the war to join them.”

Those guys… some of them tried to pick a fight with me, but I chased them away without much. Perhaps that was why Roswald decided to interact with me directly. 

I wasn’t sure about the political situation of this place in detail, but I didn’t think that there would be people here who would betray the land and join the enemies… even more so when they are surrounded by three enemy countries that caused trouble to everyone. Then again, what did I know about anything aside from labyrinth exploration?

Regardless, I decided not to think about the topic all that much since it wasn’t related to me. Roswald didn’t feel the need to share much more information as well, so that helped.

“We just need to pass to a city and then we will be ready to go. It is the largest city, so you should benefit from checking the products and buying some things.”

“Hm…”

That seemed like a recipe for trouble, but the odds should be small with Roswald nearby… we would split paths for a while there, but it would be fine if people see us entering the city. Speaking of the city, this place should be where the leaders of the free cities meet to talk about their plans. That place should be fine, since it is the heart of the Free Cities Coalition.

The Free Cities Coalition is a trade-based alliance of independent city-states, each populated by different races bound by mutual protection and economic cooperation. They promote trade, commerce, and peaceful diplomacy among various races… Roswald mentioned that they even had half orcs, even though they are extremely rare. They don’t like cold environments, apparently.

“Which direction is the city?”

“Northwest.”

“You heard him, girl. Take us to that place.”

“Awooo!”

Glacien was in a good mood, clearly enjoying the task of pulling the wagon. It wasn’t a burden to her; in fact, she seemed to find a sense of joy in it. I had lightened the load of the vehicle a bit, reducing the weight through my enchantments, and that made all the difference. With the adjustments I made, combined with the enhancements in her gear, she was able to move almost as fast as she could on her own, even with the wagon in tow. The task, which could have been troublesome for any other creature, seemed effortless for her.

The road ahead seemed to excite her, and she thrived on the freedom it gave her. She truly enjoyed the movement, the rhythm of running, and the sense of purpose that came with it. It was a reminder of how much she appreciated the journey, not just the destination.

Putting that aside, it might take a while for us to reach the city, so I decided to finish the new engines… I was planning to put in practice the new wagon as well, since we will have to cross the harpies territory, but maybe that won’t be necessary. If the worst comes to the worst, I will put some harpies down if they decide to chase us.

With my bow, their flying speed wouldn’t be much of a problem, but I should try to reach new heights with my bow making skills as well. Aside from the right skills, I also needed good materials and I couldn’t think of anything better than the parts of a dragon… the only issue is that the best materials that I get are always from ice monsters, even though my best arrows are the explosive ones.

“Maybe it is time again to increase my dexterity like before… I have some free experience to use, after all.”

Name: Regulus Dawnshield

Race: Dhampir

Health: 330/330 (0/3200) (1.1)

Regen: 6.4 per hour (0/4100) (1.6)

Mana: 720/720 (0/4600) (1.6)

Regen: 25.8 per minute (0/8100) (3.1)

Stamina: 380/380 (0/3500) (1.1)

Regen: 16.0 per minute (0/10.100) (1.6)

Strength: 140 + 180 (0/7100) (2.0)

Magic: 96 (0/6100) (1.6)

Dexterity: 302 (0/5600) (5.5x)

Spirit: 21 (0/2200)

Endurance: 30 (0/3100) (1.1)

Attack Speed: + 121% (0/7700) (1.6)

Movement Speed: 15.1 (0/7600) (1.3)

Stamina Conservation: 2.6 (0/20.000) (1.3)

Fire Affinity: 30 (0/3100)

Ice Affinity: 15 (0/1600)

Earth Affinity: 01 (0/100)

Traits: Minor Weakness to Sunlight, Minor Sensitivity to Holy Magic, Minor Aversion to Silver

Classes: Pathfinder, Shadow Scriber, Demon Hunter, Dreadful Enchanter, Shadow Assassin, Merchant, Armorsmith, Magic Forger, Sharpshooter, Pyromancer, Dark Paladin, Arcane Archer, Shadow Archer, Primal Archer, Lord of War, Warblade, Beastmaster, Captain, Blood Mage, Cryomancer, Shadow Inscriber, Leatherworker, Toxic Assassin, Toxic Sage, Alchemist, Linguist, Bard, Earth Mage, Time Mage

Aptitudes: Never Lost, Hunter’s Resolve, Malevolent Artifice,  Way of Shadows, Master of Trade, Master of Protection, Arcane Crafting, Master of Precision, Heat Master, Silent Observation, Dark Retribution, Mystic Marksman, Shadow Archery, Primal Marksman, Battlefield Presence, Ranged Skill, Relentless Assault, Animal Empathy, Maritime Captain, Blood Rain, Frost Wielder, Gliph Writer, Master of Hides, Toxic Mastery, Toxic Wisdom, Chemical Mastery, Master of Languages, Musical Mastery, Stone Resonance, Temporal Mastery

Experience: 222.598

Using all these points into dexterity might improve my crafting skills even more… I really want to make the best bow possible with the dragon parts. A new design would be welcome too, even though combining three to have multiple enchantment slots would also help. Still, it would be better if I didn’t count on that for the time being.

It was a risky move, but I decided to do that… It made me wonder how much that would improve my skills for combat. In any case, aside from increasing my Dexterity, it also would be a good idea to improve my tools to create the next bow too. Make them become as powerful and efficient as possible. That would do the trick to reach my goal… but for now, I decided to focus on finishing up the engines.

As soon as I began to focus on the work, I immediately noticed the changes my increased dexterity had brought. Focusing became much easier, almost effortless. The usual distractions that once demanded my attention faded into the background as my mind sharpened. Within a few seconds, I was able to completely block out my surroundings, even the steady movement of the wagon itself. 

It was as if my mind had become more attuned to the task at hand, allowing me to maintain a singular focus without being pulled in multiple directions. The world around me seemed to blur, leaving only the work and the next paths ahead clear in my thoughts.

‘Dexterity makes me able to do things skillfully and I guess faster too… focusing on doing certain things only can be hard as well, after all. Well, let’s see the changes when it comes to my hands.’

Another useful thing that I noticed was the fact that I could envision things with a lot more ease and then put them to practice without fail. I quickly realized that I did the right thing in increasing my Dexterity that much and I felt satisfied with it. Now I was certain that I could decrease the size of some amulets and use them without too many restrictions. Even if it might cost them some durability.

In the end, since I already had the necessary parts and I knew what I had to do with clarity, finishing the engines was quite easy. I stretched my body after confirming the quality of the work…

“I guess I should keep enhancing my dexterity more often from now on. Still, I need to check how this improved my fighting style.”

“Are you done? Because we arrived for a while.”

I turned around and Roswald, who had been sleeping in the corner of the wagon, was at the entrance of the vehicle while checking the surroundings. Now that he mentioned it, the wagon was no longer moving… since it was easier to focus now, it was easier to get lost in the work, too.

I checked the outside and I could see a large city in front of us. There were some people patrolling the area, but they didn’t mind the weird vehicle that had approached or the creature that was pulling it until now. 

In any case, I could install the engines later… I had to modify the structure a bit since I now had four engines and four wheels. They would have to be close to them to make the power more efficient, but fuelling four different spots would be a pain in the ass.

In any case, aside from some structures that were being built by massive vehicles that were carrying some heavy blocks of stones and putting them above each other, there was nothing out of the norm here.

‘Wait, aren’t those cranes? I guess the half dwarves must have crafted them here, even though I didn’t find anything similar in the Iron wrought Confederacy.’

“So, what is your plan? I would advise to keep Alissandra with you and making sure that no one will find her identity. This will be easy as long as no one finds her wings, but some of us will be able to tell who she is by the smell.”

“I will just walk around and see what I can find… if anyone decides to pick a fight with me because of her. Then I hope that s pair of red eyes will scare them enough. Otherwise, it will be their loss, not mine.”

I wouldn’t hesitate to show my true nature if it meant avoiding trouble. There weren’t many people with white hair and pointy ears in these parts, and it wouldn’t take long for someone to notice that I wasn’t exactly like everyone else. For a while, I’d tried to hide who I was, blending into the crowd and pretending to be something I wasn’t. But that was becoming more difficult to maintain and annoying, too. The effort of concealing myself had lost its appeal, and I was starting to question why I even bothered doing that for a while.

Chapter 272 - The Next Destination (Sorry for missing the chapter yesterday, guys. It won't happen again. Hopefully.)

“And?” 

“I guess nothing fazes you, huh?”

“It was pretty obvious that you were a big deal around these parts. Let me guess, the previous leader died in the last few years, and you assumed their place. That also happened after that incident in the labyrinth.”

“Hahahaha… convenient, isn’t it? I want to keep laughing, but I can’t.”

At least he didn’t try to deny that. As far as I knew, the Twilight Brotherhood didn’t do much against the empire in the last four years, so perhaps that wasn’t just convenience, but I couldn’t deny that there could be other unknown factors. Roswald wasn’t planning to hide who he was, and even if he wasn’t planning something against the empire, the fame of the twilight brotherhood wouldn’t help him gather allies… but he didn’t seem sure of that.

“Just spill the beans.”

“Nah, I am just interested in what you are planning to do for the time being. I am not planning to add you to my plans.”

“But…”

“It would be convenient if we were to head to the same place. This vehicle of yours is quite useful. Naturally, I am not going to hop in for free. I am going to use my influence to help as well and help you with some favors. You need the chance to trade materials and get some new types of enchantment, right? I can help you with that. I can’t offer anything big since I know that you would be wary of such offers.”

Roswald seemed to be aware of the mistakes I’d made before, the times I tried to gain valuable things by working for others, only to end up taken advantage of. He made it clear that he wasn’t going to make the same mistake as me. He recognized the futility of relying on others for too much, acknowledging that it often left you with nothing but disappointment. While his honesty about not repeating the same mistakes was somewhat reassuring, it didn’t make me trust him anymore.

Despite his words, Roswald’s offer still felt like a gamble. I wasn’t about to take his word at face value just because he wasn’t trying to pull any fast ones. As long as I was aware of the possibilities, nothing would get me off guard.

‘I guess I am too guarded thanks to the betrayals that I have experienced so far. He should know that associating with me will cause problems too, but he is willing to bite the bullet.’

After thinking about it, I didn’t have many options when it comes to where I should go… I wanted to keep exploring labyrinths, but I also wanted a place where Alissandra would be safe while she grows. The kingdom of Felyndor didn’t discriminate against people that go there, aside from a few groups. They sold Vincent and others as battle slaves, but mainly because they caused them trouble for some powerful people. It wasn’t out of bias or something like that. 

That made me recall that the only group of people that seemed truly evil there was the group that hunted Nimir and his mother and put that curse on him. It made me wonder if he had found that individual already…

“I am heading to Felyndor after here. You can come with me if you want as long as you don’t cause me trouble. Don’t try to make me join your cause, though. I might fight the empire at some point, but I won’t serve as a minion for no one’s goals.”

“Naturally, I understand your reasoning. Since she has connections with some important people there, I can help you find Nimira soon.”

“I am not going to look for him there. So that won’t be necessary.”

“Why do you insist that she is a guy? Anyway, by using your connections, you will be able to get many things there. Knowledge, materials, privileged information.”

“I already know how much of a hassle it is to deal with those who think of themselves as big deals and those who are in the top brass of their lands, so I don’t want to waste my time with them.”

“Ouch, your words cut deeply. Well, even if you avoid her, you are the type of person who is hard to miss and you attract others fast, be it enemies or friends.”

“I guess I should go to another place then…”

Roswald couldn’t help but shrug… he had a point. I was basically a magnet for troublesome stuff. Be it people or situations. 

I was still a bit tired, though my wounds had mostly healed after what seemed like three days of unconsciousness. The rest had worked its magic, and my body had recovered faster than I expected. Yet, despite the healing, there was a troublesome sensation. No matter how much I ate or how much time passed, the hunger still was strong inside me.. I tried to rationalize it as a side effect of the accelerated health regeneration, hoping that it would fade once my body fully adjusted. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t just that.

The truth was, I could feel my vampiric heritage growing stronger, its influence creeping up on me in ways I couldn’t ignore. It wasn’t just the physical changes. Something more primal, more volatile was arriving. The hunger wasn’t just a random byproduct; it was a reflection of something deeper, an aspect of my nature that was becoming harder to suppress.

‘I know that I am just trying to avoid the inevitable, and that I should accept all these changes… but I wouldn’t be here if I were the type who gives up so easily.’

Roswald went to take a nap in the corner of the wagon for a while and then I began to work on the new engines for the vehicle. Even if it was going to make the vehicle less efficient, I wanted speed and some durability to avoid problems along the trip.

With the self repair Enchantment, I didn’t have to worry too much about maintenance, but I couldn’t be reckless. My stock of mana cores increased again since Roswald got a large amount in the stomach if the Frost Wyvern, so I could experiment with it fine for a while.

“Uuuuuuhhhhh.”

Alissandra began to complain, but soon she began to laugh when she saw me approaching. It seemed that Roswald looked well after her… or maybe it was Glacien, or maybe a combination of both. Roswald knew that Glacien would bite his neck if he did anything to Alissandra.

“Your food is ending, too, huh? I guess we will have to rely on this moron for this, Aliss. I also think that it is time for you to start eating other things, since your teeth are starting to show up. Can I assume that you like grains like other birds, or would that be too much?”

“Uuuuuuhhhh…”

“I guess you don’t like it. Anyway, what do you think of your new class? There shouldn’t have many kids around your age that can use time related skills.”

Technically, Alissandra couldn’t use it either since she didn’t have enough mana… speaking of which, I definitely had to make an amulet for Chrono Surge. The cost of mana and the complexity of the amulet would make it quite big. Perhaps as big as me, but that would be a good challenge to make it smaller. It was another difficult project on the list of things that I needed to do, but it certainly would come in handy.

In the end, Roswald slept for around fifteen hours since he didn’t sleep that much since we began to explore the labyrinth. Thanks to that, I let him decide where we should go since I wanted to buy food for the trip and he needed to contact some people.

The best option seemed clear: head south and get closer to the border with the empire. That way, we could avoid being found by the harpies. As much as the camouflage on the vehicle helped, it wasn’t a perfect solution. 

We were bound to leave some obvious traces on the snow, tracks, broken branches, disturbed ground, things that would make it easier for anyone, especially the harpies, to pick up on our trail. Moving toward the border was the safest bet. It would put more distance between us and any potential threats, and the closer we got to the empire’s borders, the less likely we were to be noticed by anyone hostile.

‘She sure looks more energetic…’

“Da-da-da!”

While Roswald was outside talking with some people, I gave a pause at my work to look after Alissandra. She was smiling more and moving her arms around… I could tell that her Mana multiplier improved her mana pool, but at her age, she shouldn’t have that much to begin with.

Still, I couldn’t find any other explanation for her insanely good mood. I wasn’t the type to make faces and weird noises to make her laugh. The only thing I could really do was try to calm her down when she was in a bad mood for whatever reason.

‘I thought of making her an implement that would make her sleep better… I guess the Mediation amulet would help her with that. It makes me wonder, if she had that skill, and that amulet, she could get a lot of experience over the years. Well, it is better if I don’t give her such an edge, otherwise, she won’t be able to fit in with the other kids. Unlike me, she doesn’t need power to protect herself, at least for a while.’

“Grrr…”

“What is up, girl? You don’t like my idea?”

Glacien was resting, but soon she raised her head and growled for whatever reason while looking outside. Before long, Roswald appeared, showing a troubled expression.

Chapter 271 - Too Obvious 

Roswald knew that using some of his blood would make Regulus recover a lot faster, but he hesitated since he knew now committed Regulus was about not drinking blood.

‘Gyuuuuuuunnnnnn.’

The sound of Regulus’ stomach mumbling echoed in the area even amidst the thrashing of the Frost Wyvern. It looked like truly never bit anything in order to satisfy his thirst. He didn’t hear anything regarding such rumors about Regulus as well.

“I guess this would only make him hate me for it. Well, health potions should be fine.”

Roswald didn’t know if there was a health potion that used blood as one of the materials, but he couldn’t care about it. Saving Regulus was the most important thing right now. Otherwise, he will find himself being beaten by Glacien later.

All of a sudden, the thrashing of the Frost Wyvern got worse, and then the creature approached. When he looked in that direction, Roswald saw something rather disturbing… the face of the dragon and the forehead had mostly melted… even its brain was exposed. The creature was a goner, so Regulus’ plan worked somehow.

Eventually, Roswald saw the monster stop moving and then he received the notification… he didn’t do much in that fight, but it looked like just being inside the labyrinth was enough for him to receive the special class.

‘Wow… this is insane. I can’t believe that I can use this now… I can’t believe also that a toddler just received this chance to obtain power as well. That little girl will be fearsome in the future. Considering she is a harpy and who her parents are, this can be quite troublesome for us.’

Roswald couldn’t help but think of some unpleasant things as he observed the toddler's harpy. It wasn’t her fault. He wasn’t insane enough to believe a child deserves hate for the actions of her people. Yet, despite his better judgment, the thought still found its way into his mind.

The harpies had caused no end of trouble for his kind, and this little one’s potential only made the unease worse. She had done nothing wrong, but her lineage was there. Her parents’ deeds, their influence, and the weight of her heritage were very clear.

Roswald clenched his fists, frustrated with himself. She’s just a child… he told himself that numerous times. And yet... the nagging doubt persisted. He disliked himself for thinking it, but he couldn’t shake the thought. 

‘I should trust him… if the hate against him didn’t turn him into a monster, then he can raise this girl the same way.’

— —

When I woke up, I felt a throbbing headache like never before and I also felt a bit dizzy. It didn’t take long for me to recall what had happened… I was probably feeling this bad because I lost too much blood.

‘Even though my health is high, it doesn’t mean that I can recover blood fast without the proper nutrients.’

In any case, when my field of vision began to get less blurry, I confirmed what had happened. I managed to kill that Frost Wyvern.

You completed a special trial. Please choose between the classes: Death Archer, Rune Blade, and Time Mage.

The names sure sounded strong, and given that there was no class between parentheses, it seemed that none of them would make me turn to the vampiric side of the Force more. The choice should be obvious, but I still hesitated thanks to the name of the class… Death Archer. I had been slacking off when it comes to improving my dexterity, so I really should pick this tone, but in the end, I didn’t. No point in taking extra risks when my stomach was rumbling nonstop for a while.

You obtained the Time Mage class.

You improved the Mana Pool parameter.

You unlocked the Aptitude: Temporal Mastery

You unlocked the skill: Time Warp

You unlocked the skill: Chrono Surge.

Temporal Mastery - Gain experience by mastering the manipulation of time. This includes using your skills to accelerate, decelerate, or manipulate time to gain strategic advantages in battle and alter the flow of events.

Time Warp: Manipulate the flow of time around a target, causing them to experience time at a slowed rate for 10 seconds. This results in their actions being delayed, their attack speed reduced by 10% per level, and their movement speed decreased by the same amount. Cost: 200 Mana.

Chrono Surge: Channel a burst of temporal energy to accelerate your own actions and those of your allies within a small radius. For 10 seconds, your attack speed and spell-casting speed are increased by 10% per level, and allies gain a similar boost. Cost: 250 Mana.

‘Oh, this isn’t bad… not bad at all.’

Ten percent per each level… that sure would make the skill broken after level ten. However, this would be too easy. Aside from the huge mana cost, there should be some catch to those skills and their use. I would have to test them to confirm that.

Once I was done analyzing my new skills, I realized that I was inside my wagon… Glacien was curled up around Alissandra’s basket, and she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. It was dark outside, so I wondered if only a few hours had passed since the fight. It was night when I faced the Frost Wyvern, after all.

‘Shit…’

The wagon was camouflaged… a mana core was about to break on the slot of the amulet that kept the whole vehicle under its effects. I also could see that some of my magic bags were missing, so it seemed that Roswald checked my things while I was unconscious. 

‘It seems that he has chosen death…’

Putting that aside, I had to recover and then go back to take the parts of the Frost Wyvern… such rare and useful materials couldn’t be left to waste. My stock of food was ending as well, so I had to leave this area soon. I still didn’t even know where I should go after this.

“Hey, you are finally up. I can tell that you are a bit confused, but at least let me explain things before you assume anything.”

“No.”

“At least it looks like you recovered enough to act like that…”

Roswald got inside the wagon and then he used his magic to summon some warm water and then clean his hands. They were covered in blood. It didn’t seem like he had been fighting, so I could tell that he was dismantling the dragon.

“How much time has passed since then?”

“Three days and three nights. For a while, you looked like a corpse since you lost so much blood, but that is the norm for those of vampire blood, right?”

Roswald passed to me the magic bags that he borrowed and I confirmed that there was a bunch of materials from the Frost Wyvern… it seemed that he felt a bit indebted to me given that he also gained a rare class without risking his neck.

“It took a while, but I finally pulled it off. Now you can make some knives with those enchantments, right?”

I had completely forgotten about it, but I had promised this idiot that I would make him enchanted knives using dragon parts. This made the situation even more annoying. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much Roswald had likely taken the time to dismantle the Wyvern with this in mind.

This was just one more thing added to my already growing list of tasks. Not only did I have to recover from the fight and figure out what to do next, but now I was going to have to craft enchanted knives for this guy.

“Well, I am just joking. I couldn’t ask that much more from you after all this work. This might take a while as well, and I need to do some things that will keep me busy. I need to talk with some people here and then I will move around to form alliances with some people that I know that will work with us considering that the rift is going open soon. What are you going to do?” 

“I am not sure yet.”

Revealing my plans was stupidity, but it was also true that I didn’t know what I should do yet. It felt like I was the only one not taking this rift thing seriously, but trying to wouldn’t change a thing given that entire nations were moving and preparing for it.

“Usually, rifts appear when the people in the world are too busy handling other things to prepare for it. So when they appear, they cause destruction at an insanely fast pace. Does that sound familiar?”

“Like dungeon breaks, wars, and suspicious people being born and causing trouble around the world?”

“I am not sure about the last one, but you guessed it right. I don’t know how they are connected, but I know that they are. The wraith managed to control the Frost Wyvern and then tried to leave the labyrinth like this. This labyrinth has already broken a few times, but something like this has never happened before.”

“Your point being…”

“You should have realized it by now, but I am someone of considerable influence here. When it comes to handling some people that come here, even though I can give orders to others to interact with them, I prefer to come and gauge those people myself. I am the leader of the Twilight Brotherhood.”

Twilight Brotherhood… a shadowy faction which is dedicated to espionage, subterfuge, and assassination. They want revenge for being looked down on for being mixed races. The group of assassins that targeted Louise’s life and also tried to kill me by proxy. If I remember right, they started some conflicts on the border with the empire some years ago, but they suffered some massive defeats thanks to someone related to Louise…

I didn’t tell Roswald details about that incident, but since he decided to come clean now, he should have connected the dots. 

Chapter 270 - Two Evils

Roswald found himself in a difficult position. He didn’t know what to do, and the issue of the situation felt heavy on his shoulders. The thought of gathering a group to fight the dragon seemed like the most logical course of action. After all, it wasn’t something he could face alone. 

Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that leaving me behind, especially now, would be a pretty cowardly act. It wasn’t just about strategy; or about loyalty and courage. For the first time in a long while, Roswald felt truly in a bind, torn between his sense of duty to protect his people and help someone that helped him.

“I don’t need your help. You can leave.”

“... As much as I want to, I need to make sure that if you have a chance to escape, you will. I was the one who brought you here, after all.”

“Try to not get too sentimental.”

I left Glacien and Alissandra at the entrance of the labyrinth. If I manage to kill the beast, they will be able to get their new classes, too. Roswald followed me, even though he wasn’t sure of what he could do.

Before long, I took five giant bolts made of bones and then filled their interior with my blood. I had to drop a lot of it, so it didn’t take long for me to feel dizzy. 

‘Grumble.’

I thought that this was just my imagination making me think that I was too hungry thanks to using a lot of my blood, but soon Roswald looked at me with suspicion in his eyes.

“... Have you done something like this before?”

“Nope. I never fought something like this… I fought bigger things, but I didn’t win in the end.”

“What are you planning to do with those things?”

“Wait and see.”

“How can I help you if you don’t tell me of your plans?”

“You had your chances to show your skill, but you avoided that until the very end, so I can’t count on you.”

The giant bolts could be used as arrows, so I aligned them in front of me. Given how much blood I had used, even a minor bleeding would knock me down, so I couldn’t mess up. I used Poison Tipped Bolt and then they began to emit that dark glow. I sighed and then began to focus, since the beast shouldn’t take too long to come.

I touched each one of the bolts and then used the enchantments that would decrease the defenses of the Frost Wyvern further. Thanks to my focus, the enchantments at the expert rank. It was enough to decrease the endurance of the target by 160 for a full minute. 

I checked my belt and confirmed that everything was in position… if the worst comes to the worst, I will become food for the Frost Wyvern, but that my body should give the creature the worst stomach ache from its life, so I didn’t have to worry about everyone else, if I feel that this won’t be enough, I can use my last resort.

‘Yeah, I don’t want to die yet…’

The tremors got stronger, shaking the labyrinth to its core. Cracks spread across the ceiling, and large chunks of stone and ice began to crash down around us. My heart pounded in my chest as I dodged a falling slab…

For a brief second, I froze, staring at the chaos unfolding. It hit me like a cold wave. I wanted to live. Truly, deeply, desperately, I wanted to survive this. I had been taking some insane risks, bleeding myself dry and pushing past every limit, but now, as death loomed closer than ever, the raw desire to keep going passed through me.

Maybe it was stupid. Maybe it was selfish. But even here, I couldn’t let go of the thought that there was still so much left for me to do. That wasn’t without its cost, though. I knew what I had prepared, the contingencies I had set in place. And if it came to it—if survival meant choosing between two evils, I might have to take the worst of them. The idea made me shiver… maybe I couldn’t any longer negate my nature…

Roswald grabbed his knives and then assumed his fighting stance while looking at the beast charging at us. Even now he couldn’t believe that he was standing still while the final guardian of a demonic tier labyrinth was charging at him.

“Hey, Regulus!”

“Savage Shot will be more effective the closer the target is. Aside from that…”

My vision started to get red, and then I activated my other skills. I felt my muscles starting to be ripped apart, but I endured the pain and kept activating the skills until the beast was ten meters away from me. This time, the monster didn’t open its mouth since it learned its lesson… it just charged, but I wasn’t going to do the same trick again.

I shot the first bolt in the middle of the forehead of the monster… the first bolt hit and pierced through the scales in the monster’s forehead and even pierced the flesh a bit, making the monster slow down thanks to the impact. The bolt was destroyed thanks to the impact, but that only made things easier for me since I could aim for the same spot once again.

I was blasted while keeping my shooting stance, Roswald began to dash with Shadow Step as well, but soon he looked over his shoulder and saw the giant monster enraged charging once again… blood was falling on its face, but that wasn’t nearly enough.

I fired the next arrows in a quick succession and soon the forehead of the monster began to crack, but soon the shadows on the wings spread to the forehead to give the beast some extra defense.

‘Fucking Wraith…’

The dual antidefense effects weren’t working enough to deal with the monster, now it was even more impossible. Still, that didn’t stop me from unleashing the final arrows on the same spot. The sound of bones cracking soon echoed as the bolts fell apart, but soon it was my turn when the beast finally reached me.

Everything got dark for a moment as I felt my body being crushed by something giant… the pain was what woke me up and soon I saw one of the eyes of the beast staring at me, filled with rage. Before long, the Frost Wyvern tried to crush me against the ceiling by raising its head, but I used my arms to move down the face of the monster and avoid that. 

Soon, the beast tried to reverse and then tried to smash me against the ground, but I climbed the face of the monster. When I tried to use my legs, I felt a sharp pain coming from below… they were out of commission.

I looked over my shoulder and then saw Roswald running for his life wondering if I would have the chance to escape and if he would have the chance to do anything to help… the monster kept charging, so if he was planning to do something, he would have to take some risks.

I wasn’t planning to take any more risks… but then I could see the blood of the dragon spreading around and even falling on my face. I didn’t even have to use Blood Siphon. Just a single movement and I would be able to recover a lot to be able to fight again… using my mouth would be even more effective. Who knows what would happen when a vampire drinks the blood of a dragon?

Still, I knew that once I did that, I could no longer stop… I choose the harder path instead.

Before the monster had the chance to try to smash me against the ceiling again, I used my arm’s strength to propel myself forward the forehead of the monster. My impulse and the movement of the monster almost made me reach the back of the monster, but at the last moment, I put my hand on the wound of the monster.

“This will hurt me too, so don’t feel too bad.”

My arm pierced the wound as deeply as it could and then I used Crimson Burst… from all the spores in my body, blood flew in all directions like needles. My vision went dark, but soon I felt the beast suddenly stop moving. A direct attack like that made a lot of my blood enter the wound of the beast… its pure flesh began to suffer the effects of my blood, before I could faint, I used the skill again and then this time, I was knocked out for good.

… …

When Roswald realized what was going on, he stopped moving and then turned around. He saw Regulus collapsing with his back on the icy floor like a stringless puppet. At the same time, Frost Wyvern began to shake its head up and down from one side to the other… its face was practically melting for some reason and that made the beast feel terrible pain. 

Roswald used that chance to use Shadow Step and then grab Regulus and put him on his shoulder, but before he could escape, he furrowed his eyebrows when he saw the blood of the dragon almost being pulled by Regulus’ body.

‘Is this his magic doing this? But I never heard of vampires being able to do this while they are unconscious.’

The Frost Wyvern kept thrashing around violently, so Roswald decided to leave and not take any chances. Once he put a good distance between them and the Frost Wyvern, he stopped to check Regulus’ condition. Much to his surprise, despite suffering a direct attack, he only had a few broken ribs and his legs were broken as well, but his skin was pretty dry and pale after using his blood that much.

Chapter 269 - One Last Card 

Once again, the labyrinth began to tremble, its walls quaking violently as if the entire structure were alive and in agony. The ceiling above cracked and shifted, threatening to give way. Large chunks of ice and debris fell crashing to the floor with force. But this time, I could feel it. This was no random collapse.

From deep within the labyrinth’s depths, an immense and powerful force stirred. It was as though something was awakening. The tremors were not just the labyrinth collapsing but a reaction to this being’s struggle, its attempt to break free.

The air grew thick with energy, a palpable charge that made every hair on my body stand on end. Every instinct in me screamed to move, to run… It didn’t take for us to see what it was… it was the final guardian. The beast was supposed to be a frost wyvern. They were pretty heavy, so they weren’t supposed to be able to fly under normal circumstances, but this one looked to be able to do that since it had massive dark wings… the wings seemed to be made of shadows, and they spread from the wings to half of the face of the monster.

The beast had one blue eye and another dark one… I didn’t know how that was possible, but it looked like the frost Wraith was able to corrupt the final guardian more than a little.

Roswald and I opened our eyes wide when we saw the massive beast suddenly opening its mouth and then biting the closest ice drake. The creature did that again and again while the ice drakes tried to run away from it, but it failed.

“A cannibal labyrinth guardian?”

“I never heard of that… and it is fast too considering that it is destroying ceiling and the walls.”

The final guardian had a large body, bigger than the corridors, so it was forcing itself out by destroying everything in its path. Still, this could be my chance… while it was busy with the final ice drakes, I could attack it freely.

“I can’t hold back here.”

I turned around and then grabbed some decay arrows… activating Hunter’s Rage, Berserker, Adrenaline Surge, Hunter’s Mark, Deadeye Focus and then, finally, Power Shot. If the monster can escape that unscathed, then I couldn’t fight this thing and I would just run for my life.

“What are you doing? Are you insane?”

“Just testing if this is impossible or not.”

The monster soon took notice of me and it didn’t even try to use magic, it just opened its mouth to swallow me whole. I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity… In the final moment, when the danger for my life was its highest, I unleashed several Decay Arrows in quick succession.

The moment I released the first arrow, the sheer force of it caught me off guard. Despite my stance, the recoil blasted me backward, my boots skidding across the icy floor as if I had been struck by a hammer. The bow vibrated violently in my grip, and my shoulder flared with a sharp pain.

I barely had time to steady myself before drawing the next arrow. My shoulder screamed in pain, each movement sending fresh waves of agony through my arm, but I refused to stop. Gritting my teeth, I locked my gaze on the frost wyvern’s maw. 

Pain be damned, I fired again. The second arrow tore through the air, its speed creating a sharp whistle that cut through the sounds of the labyrinth. Each arrow got inside the wyvern’s mouth like lightning bolts. The beast snarled, its corrupted blue and black eyes glaring at me with a mixture of rage and pain. It wasn’t going to go down easily… At the same time, the monster stopped running and then began to shake while hitting the walls and the ceiling violently.

“HHHHHRRUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM!”

I aimed well enough to pierce the brain of the dragon… it wouldn’t surprise me if it pierced through the skull of the monster, but it looked like even the internal defenses of the monster were off the charts.

The shadow began to spread across the monster’s body… as if it reacted based on the anger and pain of the monster. I decided to fire two more arrows and use the enchantments to decrease endurance as well. I couldn’t do more than that since I would mess up my shoulder. In the end, I made those shots count my aiming at the eyes of the beast.

“HHHHHRRUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM!”

The first arrow only pierced halfway, but the second pierced the eye of the monster completely… Still, the ice wyvern kept shaking and hitting everything around violently while blood was gushing from its eyes. My shoulder hurt like hell too.

Despite the pain, the smell of blood made those annoying feelings come at me with full power… so much blood, dragon’s blood. It should be very… no, no, no. I couldn’t follow through with those thoughts. I just turned around and ran with all my might, after a while, I reached the others and Alissandra was crying like never before.

“I am back. It is fine, Aliss. Don’t cry, be a good girl.”

“... Is it fine for you to call her Aliss when you want to find someone to look after her?”

No, it wasn’t, but I couldn’t bring myself to say that. Calling her Aliss also came naturally, and that was really troublesome. I had so few friends that I was getting attached to animals and children that only added a lot more work to my life.

“Anyway, what happened?”

“My best attacks wounded the beast, but not even under the best circumstances was enough to kill it.”

“Well, it would be off if you could solo the final guardian of a demonic tier labyrinth. Even more so when it is being powered by a wraith.”

The power of my arrows was clear, but the toll on my body was starting to become a serious problem. My muscles ached, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to maintain this pace much longer.

For a moment, I considered increasing my parameters, boosting my strength, perhaps, or even my endurance, to attack more. But as the thought lingered, I realized that the real problem wasn’t my ability to land hits, it was how long I could keep firing.

The answer became clear: health regeneration. If I could boost that, I would have the recovery time I needed to keep firing the Decay Arrows. Each cost me some blood, but if I could recover faster, I would be able to keep making them. The wyvern was powerful, but it wasn’t invincible. My arrows were still causing damage, so eventually, it would kill them. 

‘This also would open some other paths for me, but I am not sure if I would be able to endure the hunger… I am still adapting from the last time, after all. It also bothers me the fact that I am using my trait that annoyed me so much… Well, it should compensate for all the trouble it caused me.’

I could feel my eyes hurting as I tried to contain my instincts… Perhaps if I let the monster chew me a few times, the blood would kill the beast from inside, but I wasn’t sure if I could endure that much. Until now, my death would only trouble me, but now I had Glacien and Alissandra to worry about.

While I was thinking about that, we reached the first section of the labyrinth. After a while, the trembling suddenly started to become stronger once more, and it looks like the beast had recovered from my attacks… even though I hadn’t recovered from my own attacks  yet.

“The break won’t be much of a problem since the guardian ate most of the monsters, but it would be wiser to keep a track of this beast. I can find some people that can help us fight this thing… can I count on you to keep an eye on this thing?”

I didn’t reply. I was still thinking about the options that we had here… it would be dangerous, but the rewards would be amazing as well. Aside from all the loot, the special classes would really come in handy. 

Glacien had gotten stronger, but this power up certainly would be above all the others… considering the life that Alissandra could have ahead, a special class so early on her life would help her too. Even if it was something that she couldn’t control completely at first.

Besides, I also needed this kind of power up for the feature… the main thing was, I didn’t want to run away from any battles. I wanted to avoid troublesome situations that I can’t solve with the skill of my bow, but not when it comes to fighting.

“I have one last idea that I want to try, but you can go and look for your friends.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I would rather not explain it.”

Roswald couldn’t help but sigh… we were talking about the safety of his homeland and I was trying to keep secrets. I could understand his exasperation, but I didn’t have to make it easier for him.

“Is there anything I can do to help with your plans?”

“Not really.”

“Hey, listen here…”

Roswald began to complain, but I ignored him. While we were running, I began to work on my plans. I didn’t want to risk the safety of Glacien and Alissandra, so I had to mount the wagon quite fast, too. If something were to happen to me, Glacien could take Alissandra to somewhere else safe… perhaps Roswald could take them both to the Kingdom of Felyndor, but I wasn’t sure of that plan since I didn’t have a good read of his real intentions.

I used a Shadow Step amulet to reach the entrance of the labyrinth faster and then mounted the wagon in no time and then installed a bunch of mana cores in the slot that made the wagon get camouflaged.

“All right, girl. If you notice the link between us breaking, you should run away immediately. You are smart, so I am sure that you will find a safe place for both of you.”

“Hyuuummmm…”

“It is just a countermeasure to kill me off just yet.”

Glacien wasn’t the type to act sad like that, but maybe she could predict my doom with this.

Chapter 268 - Fear (Happy New Year!)

The skill Savage Shot leveled up. You received 500 experience points.

The skill Hunter's Rage leveled up. You received 700 experience points.

After soloing two more waves of ice drakes, I got the hang of it. When they were ready to use Cold Breath, I would step in with Shadow Step and then surprise them with my skills and an insane barrage of arrows. That was enough to keep the frontline at bay, but soon I had to retreat since the back line wouldn’t fall for the same tricks.

To deal with the back line, I used a bit more magic with Fire Wall… I wanted to deal with the entire wave by myself, but Roswald stepped forward to give a hand, even though I wasn’t particularly in a bind.

“I guess with this, we dealt with five of the fifty waves of Ice Drakes. Ten percent of the work is done after five hours.”

Roswald wasn’t good at math… this wasn’t even nearly close to ten percent of the work, since the deeper levels would have more room for the monsters to spawn. So, unless he knew something and he was hiding it. All this would be around four percent of the total process.

‘If things stay like this and at this pace, I guess we will deal with this in four days. Alissandra is behaving for now, but she will eventually get angry. Why does she have to be the unpredictable factor in the fights when she isn’t part of the enemies?’

She probably won’t make a fuss if she is on my back, but I couldn’t fight with her like that unless I was absolutely sure that I could decimate the enemies… even though I didn’t suffer any damage until now.

I couldn’t help but think that I was starting to behave like a father who fusses too much about their kid. Speaking of fathers, I wondered what Rayner was doing now… I didn’t consider him my real father, but his image showed up in my head. He didn’t seem like the type who worried about this kind of stuff… not like he had ever taken his kids to a labyrinth.

While I was lost in thought, a sudden chill ran down my spine. It wasn’t the residual cold from the Ice Drakes’ breath, it was something far more dangerous. Every instinct screamed at me to be on guard.

Before I could fully process the sensation, I dropped into a defensive stance, my bow already in hand and an arrow nocked. At the same moment, the entire labyrinth began to shake violently, dust and debris falling from the high ceilings. The once-solid ground beneath my feet trembled, and I felt the vibrations of something massive moving through the labyrinth.

“What’s going on?!”

Roswald was confused too… The shaking intensified, and deep, echoing roars began to reverberate through the stone walls. The sound was unlike anything I had heard before, it wasn’t the Ice Drakes. This was something larger, something stronger, and something angry. My heart pounded in my chest as I struggled to maintain my balance. If this was the labyrinth’s way of warning us, then we were about to face something far beyond the Ice Drakes.

“What the…”

Roswald looked around, trying to keep his balance… When I saw some pieces of the ceiling falling, I turned around and then I saw Glacien putting the basket with Alissandra on the ground and protecting her with her body. As expected, she was really smart…

“Is it another break?”

“No, it is impossible… this one isn’t even over yet.”

The dungeons and labyrinth breaks could last for a while based on the size of a labyrinth. It was the norm for the break of a demonic tier labyrinth to last for a week. He had a point. The mana levels in the labyrinth were still haywire, but it was impossible for the place to have obtained so much extra mana to expel a large amount of monsters again… unless our actions were the source of it.

“HHHHHRRUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM!”

Before I could decide anything, I heard that powerful roar that made the skin of my back crawl… once that happened, I realized that this mission was over.

“Wahhhhh!” Wahhhhh!”

“Time to bail. Sorry, I had said that I would help, but too many weird things were happening and they weren’t according to the contract.”

“I agree that we should leave this place, but you don’t have any idea on how to deal with the final guardian of the labyrinth? That roar definitely came from it…”

The thought of the final guardian approaching so soon didn’t sit right with me. It was too soon. The guardian was supposed to remain sealed within the deeper layers of the labyrinth, far from the section we were currently in. Even if it had gotten closer, it should have taken more time for it to reach us. But the tremors and that roar… it showed that it was moving and fast.. Something else was wrong and that could be the boss wraith.

It was a troublesome possibility, but the only logical explanation. The boss wraith wasn’t supposed to act until the final guardian was fully under its control. Yet, if it had somehow sped up the process, it could explain why the labyrinth was shaking so violently and why the mana felt even more chaotic than before. If the wraith had already begun its possession, then it wasn’t just the guardian we were facing. It was a combination of two apex forces, working as one.

He wasn’t wrong. A guardian on its own was bad enough—massive, relentless, and nearly indestructible. Add a wraith’s cunning and malice into the mix, and we were looking at a monster that defied even our best strategies.

“I won’t make myself a target while I have to protect Alissandra… but we can at least watch it from a distance while using camouflage. Let’s go.”

The ice drakes stopped coming too, so that only made things more suspicious. At the same time, Roswald couldn’t hide the complicated expression on his face… I wondered if he regretted holding back now.

Putting that aside, I couldn’t help but wonder while we were moving toward the exit of the labyrinth. Was it a coincidence that this was happening? Roswald knew that this labyrinth would sooner or later unleash an army of monsters in the territory, but he didn’t expect that something like this would happen.

It made me recall what I had heard about the clairvoyant of the empire… they couldn’t see anything related to me. Was it because I was someone from another world, or was it because my existence made all kinds of weird things happen around me?

All sorts of weird things had happened to people around me… the old lady that rented me a room, Zyra and her crew, even Glacien got into trouble when that crazy Cellica decided to help Renna in her weird way.

Maybe I was being too hasty… but it was a fact that I had a knack for finding trouble, or find others that are in trouble or will be in trouble, eventually. 

While I was thinking about that, I suddenly began to hear some grunts coming from behind. Roswald frowned too, but then he opened his eyes widely when he saw a group of ice drakes flying in our direction… it wasn’t like they were ready to attack us or following our smell… they began to collide against each other while also trying to get in the front of the group.

‘Are they angry? Or is that…’

Fear… the ice drakes were fearing for their lives as weird as that sounded. Dungeon and labyrinth monsters typically didn’t show emotions at least, not in the way living creatures did. Most of them were little more than constructs of mana and intent, controlled by primal instincts to attack and defend, eat and survive. Even the more intelligent ones, like certain bosses, rarely showed anything beyond calculated anger.

But what I saw now was something entirely different. The Ice Drakes were panicking. Their once-coordinated movements dissolved into chaos as they flew in every direction, colliding with each other in their desperation to run away. I tightened my grip on my bow, my mind racing. Fear like this didn’t come from us. No matter how many waves we had cleared, we weren’t nearly enough to inspire this kind of terror in creatures bred for battle.

‘If they are afraid of their own dungeon, boss, then things are truly bat shit insane… let’s try that and use it as reference.’

I used Hunter’s mark for a moment and then closed my eyes while I was running. It was a bit weak, but I could tell where the enemy was. I could use this to mark the final boss of the labyrinth and then eventually end up with a plan to dispose of it.

For situations like this, I knew that I needed a bigger weapon… a special one like a giant ballista or something like that. This wasn’t the first time that I had faced a monster that could defeat me like I was an ant, after all. I decided to work on this seriously.

In any case, the ice drakes began to get closer, and I turned around to face them… since they didn’t try to attack, disposing of them with Savage Shot and Hunter’s Rage was easy. Still, I felt a bit bad since they were so desperate while trying to survive and I was taking advantage of the situation… Well, I had to keep as many of them from leaving the labyrinth after all.

Chapter 267 - Worst-Case Scenario 

I frowned at Roswald’s words. He was talking about Clarice’s grandfather. That person brought a lot of questions back to mind. I hadn’t imagined he would be like the other elves: condescending, annoying, and prone to treating everyone else like braindead zombies in the presence of millennia of “Elven wisdom.”

But the idea that he might willingly share that so-called wisdom? That didn’t sit right with me. The elves rarely did anything without a reason, let alone something as generous as imparting their ancient knowledge.

“How long ago did this happen?”

“Around ten years ago.”

That should be just around the time he resigned his seat as the leader of the Silver bows. Someone with that kind of knowledge certainly wouldn’t fall for the schemes of the empire… I hoped that he would return to help Clarice soon, but who knows where he was and if he will hear about the war.

I decided to put that aside, since we still had a lot of fighting to do. Clearing dozens of waves of ice drakes seemed like a pain, but I wanted the special class. I also wanted plenty of ice drakes materials. I wouldn’t waste even a single scale.

In any case, after the third wave of ice drakes, we noticed that the number of possessed ice drakes had ended, but there were no signs of the boss wraith.

“I don’t think that even a wraith like that can possess the final guardian of a labyrinth like this, but… there is a chance that it is happening. Some bosses obtain some level of intelligence at weird times inside labyrinths, after all.”

“I saw an ice phoenix obtaining higher sentience when an abyssal creature invaded its chamber, but something like this didn’t happen here, right?”

“No, but it can still happen. All the mana in the labyrinth goes haywire during the break, so maybe some bosses would attain a higher level of intelligence. I can’t still imagine that happening to the fifth boss, but not to the final one.”

The final guardian was going to be troublesome enough. It didn’t need the boost of a wraith. Regardless, while the chances were low, it seemed that it would happen since the boss didn’t appear until now.

I didn’t plan to do this much, but I was truly interested in the class that I might get, so I decided to do what I could to reach that goal. Naturally, I wouldn’t go to crazy lengths since Glacien and Alissandra were with me, but I could try harder.

“... Are you really doing what I think?”

“Yes.”

“You are a scary guy. Remember me not to make an enemy out of you.”

I decided to put that aside, since we still had a lot of fighting to do. Clearing dozens of waves of ice drakes seemed like a pain, but I wanted the special class. I also wanted plenty of ice drake materials; I wouldn’t waste even a single scale.

As I examined the fallen ice drakes, an idea struck me. Using their bones and scales, I could craft giant arrows. Normally, weapons made from ice drake materials wouldn’t be very effective against other ice drakes because of their natural resistance. However, with the dreadful enchantments I had in mind, these arrows could become devastating. The durability of the bones combined with the sharpness of the scales would make them really useful, and with the right magic, they could pierce through even the toughest defenses.

It was a gamble, but if the enchantments worked as planned, these arrows might make things easier against these tougher enemies, and perhaps even the labyrinth’s final guardian.

When the next wave of monsters showed up, I decided to use the new arrows alongside those skills for a short while… Berserker, Adrenaline Surge, and Hunter’s Rage. The arrows pierced the head of the monsters with ease, or at least impaled them. I thought that I might have to add some poison to them, but it seemed that it would be an overkill.

After doing that a few times, Roswald looked at me like I was an unknown creature. I ignored his look and just did what needed to be done. Recovering the giant arrows after that was a pain, though.

‘I should try to use Savage Shot… even with ordinary arrows, if I used it alongside Hunter’s Rage, it should be enough to kill the monsters with a single shot if I am close enough.’

It’s clear now that I should have realized this earlier and tested it beforehand. The skills of the Primal Archer class were clearly made to complement each other, particularly in high-risk, high-reward situations. 

Their synergy becomes obvious in the heat of battle, where combining their effects could dramatically turn the tide. The fact that I hadn’t fully considered their potential as a pair until now felt like a missed opportunity, but at least I can learn from this and keep moving forward.

‘Melee archer, huh? This is a building that I have never heard of.’

“Uuuuuuhhhh.”

“Ah, it must be time for Alissandra’s meal. Keep the next wave of enemies busy.”

“What the heck? How do you want me to do that alone?” 

“Use your creativity or your real strength instead of hiding it.”

“No way. Do you think that I am a monster or something?”

Although Alissandra had been quiet for now, she was getting moody since I wasn’t paying attention to her… it looked like preventing the break would be difficult. Still, she calmed down a lot just by staying in my arms. I was pretty sure I was pretty cold, and I was still a bit lanky, so it was hard to imagine being that comfortable to her.

‘Perhaps keeping her on my back or chest might keep her calm, but I can’t do that just when I decided to test the limits of the Primal Archer class… I guess hold back on that until she falls asleep.’

“Hey, Regulus! Give me a hand!”

I could see Roswald moving around on the walls and ceiling, trying to avoid the cold breath of the monsters, but his legs were already freezing. He still wasn’t truly hurt, so I could tell that he was holding back.

“What a pain…”

I summoned fire walls under the monsters and soon they began to burn and stopped attacking as well. Once he got the opening that he wanted, Roswald approached to cut the necks of the monsters.

I couldn’t recover my mana for a while like this, so I considered changing the enchantments on my hand crossbow. Still, it seemed that Roswald would be fine for a while longer, but I still needed to put Alissandra to sleep fast.

“Sorry, Aliss. But I need to get back to work, so cooperate with me. You will get one heck of a class too, so behave, please.”

“Uuhhh.”

She didn’t like the idea, but after a few head pats, she calmed down enough to fall asleep. I sighed in relief… of all kinds of challenges that I had faced in my life, Alissandra sure a cut above the rest. I had to use my brain at full capacity and keep my nerves under control to look after her properly, but I probably wasn’t doing enough since I still brought her here to this kind of situation.

After Alissandra finally fell asleep in my arms, I carefully placed her back into her basket, doing my best not to wake her. As I straightened up, my attention changed to Roswald. He was on the ground nearby, looking utterly spent after fighting what seemed to be a few dozen ice drakes.

At first glance, his posture screamed exhaustion, as though he’d barely survived. But as I took a closer look, it was obvious he only had a few minor cuts scattered across his body, nothing serious enough to justify the act he was putting on. He was doing a poor job of pretending he’d survived some tough ordeal. 

It was clear that while Roswald wasn’t exactly struggling, he didn’t want to show just how capable he truly was. Whether it was humility or something else driving his theatrics, I decided to let it slide for now.

“Don’t let me hang like this again, please.”

“So melodramatic.”

I moved forward and then began to fiddle with my bow while I was waiting for the next wave of the enemies. It didn’t take long for that to come at us. Roswald, who was sitting and resting, got up after sighing, but I stopped him.

“I will handle this on my own now. Just sit down and keep watching.”

Roswald furrowed his eyebrows, but he didn’t say anything… even when the ice drakes got in range to freeze me with their cold breaths. I wanted to wait a bit more, but when their magic began to stack up, I decided that it was time to do it. 

I used Savage Shot and Hunter’s Rage. I could feel my blood boiling, and when I unleashed the arrows, I was able to see them almost vibrating as they spun in the air. Still, when they hit the enemies, they made the area of the flesh almost explode like I had used Decay Arrows… it was just a small area given the level of the skills, and thanks to the defenses of the monsters, but it had been enough to make them flinch in pain.

I activated Rapid Shot to unleash the arrows even faster and hit all the closest enemies and make them stop using Cold Breath and that worked… I stopped closer with Shadow Step and then Savage Shot knocked down the monsters in the air. Some of them spun while flying, others were knocked down. Such was the power of Savage Shot.

‘This makes me wonder what kind of skills this class will continue to give me… I really should focus on only using these for a while.’

Thinking about the full potential of this class made me feel really eager to do that, and it looked like this wouldn’t be that hard.

Chapter 266 - Shared Knowledge

The skill Demon's Snare leveled up. You received 1000 experience points.

The skill Demon's Bane leveled up. You received 1000 experience points

You have learned a new skill in the Demon Hunter class.

You have learned a new skill in the Demon Hunter class.

Ward of Light: Summon a protective barrier of light that blocks incoming demonic attacks for 10 seconds. The ward also damages demons that come into contact with it, scaling with your health and level. Cost: 100 Mana.

Blinding Radiance: Emit a burst of divine light that stuns nearby demons for 5 seconds and reduces their accuracy for 10 seconds. Allies within the area are granted increased resistance to demonic attacks. Cost: 120 Mana.

After using Demon’s Snare and Demon’s Bane a few dozen times, I received those notifications… Those skills would be useful, the only problem was the fact that soon enough, the number of Wraiths would vanish and the ice drakes weren’t exactly demonic or undead creatures, so those skills were essentially useless.

“How many of these did we defeat?”

“I don’t know a few more than one hundred?” 

Roswald held his chin while thinking he was worried about something for a change. I could more or less imagine why. We were forced to fight while retreating and we still didn’t find the boss wraith. Something was off about this whole situation.

“Well, I guess we can’t keep running away forever.”

That wasn’t one hundred percent true, but I said it anyway. I changed the enchantments on my arrows and also summoned several fire walls to block the path of the monsters and make things warmer. Soon enough, they used their ice breath to dispel the fire walls, but soon they were hit by my arrows. When they tried again, their ice breath was a lot weaker than before… since my arrows weakened their magic.

“How about a barbecue of ice drakes, Glacien?”

“Awoo! Awoo!”

“I suspected as much.”

I used Great Fireball and the projectile gained a lot of power thanks to the fire walls and the possessed ice drakes began to burn. When the fire walls dispersed, Roswald went to finish off the monsters with his usual insane speed.

“Grab the materials that can be collected fast before the next wave of monsters come.”

“What? You slave driver… working with you is very efficient, but too tiresome. There are essentially no breaks.”

Roswald grabbed some scales of the ice drakes. I could make some decent defensive gear if I had time, but since that wasn’t the case… I could only be patient and slowly craft something like a scale armor. I already had the skills to do that. Even though it has been a while since I used them… but then I changed my mind.

‘Instead of making defensive equipment… I should make something that will increase his damage output. I know what I can make that will also be useful for me later.’

I had some bracers a while ago to test how I could turn them into amulets as well, but I didn’t have the chance to finish the job. The process wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do for now. After collecting the ice drake scales, I quickly set to work modifying the bracers. The scales weren’t naturally pliable, so I had to melt the surface slightly of the bracers to attach them securely. It took a bit of trial and error, but I managed to layer the scales neatly, creating a lightweight but sturdy covering.

To give the bracers an offensive edge, I added curved blades to their sides. They weren’t just decorative, they were sharpened and angled to allow for slashing movements during close combat. Now, Roswald could attack and defend simultaneously. Whether it was parrying a blow or striking an enemy mid-dodge, the bracers would augment his speed and precision. 

‘I should add some enchantments that decrease the movement speed and defenses of the target… All right. This will do.’

The final result was a bit bad, but since it was a prototype, it couldn’t be helped. I probably could make something better with this as a basis. It also would help me a fair bit with my dual wielding fighting style.

“Equip this for now. If you use your head right, you can use Shadow Step faster than before. The enchantments will also help with that… I need to make some skills reach level fifty to be able to make them turn into enchantments as well.”

“This is a type of gear that I had never seen before…”

Roswald was confused thanks to that and because, in the middle of my explanation, I began to think out loud about the next steps of upgrading the item. In any case, he swung the weapon a few times, and he got the hang of it.

“I don’t like to use items with cursed enchantments, but I guess it can’t be helped given this situation.”

The next wave of ice drakes was still possessed by the remains of the Frost Wraiths, so they came using their ice breath from the beginning once again. Still, after I made some Fire Walls appear behind them, their focus waned for a moment.

When their focus split up, I bombarded them with explosive arrows. This time around, Roswald didn’t wait for the heat of the attacks to weaken, he just dashed around with Shadow Step… I could see his shadow almost materializing in front of some enemies, but before that could happen, he would soon move, but despite that, the monsters had their throats sliced.

After seeing that someone was so close to them and moving at insane speeds, the ice drakes tried to block his path with ice walls, but Roswald just moved up and down from the ceiling to the floor and kept slicing up the throat of the monsters. Besides, I was able to melt the ice walls with my fire walls in a matter of moments.

‘I guess this will do, but this isn’t that satisfying…’

As I watched Roswald carve through the ice drakes with ruthless efficiency, a familiar feeling stirred in the back of my mind. The itch to unleash my own power in a way that was as thrilling as it was reckless. I wanted to use that crazy combination of buffs again, the one that pushed my body to its limits, the one that made my arm bleed uncontrollably.

Despite the pain and the very real risk, I couldn’t deny how satisfying it was to defeat enemies like that. There was a primal excitement in pushing beyond what should have been possible, in feeling the sheer force of my attacks obliterating everything in my path.

I couldn’t help but wonder if this craving was another effect of my vampiric blood awakening. It wasn’t just the thrill of battle, it was something deeper, more insidious. Vampires were creatures of pride, after all. Their existence revolved around superiority, dominance, and the satisfaction of overcoming anything that dared to challenge them.

Perhaps this newfound desire to fight on the edge of destruction was an extension of that pride, manifesting in me. It wasn’t enough to simply defeat my enemies; I wanted to crush them in a way that left no doubt of my superiority. The more desperate the fight, the more satisfying the victory.

Still, I knew better than to let it control me entirely. There was a fine line between harnessing that pride and letting it consume me. For now, I would keep it in check, waiting for the right moment to unleash it again—when the satisfaction of victory outweighed the cost of pain.

“Phew, it is over.”

“Bring the scales after giving me the bracers for repairs.”

“What are you planning to use them for?”

“Just bring them. You can do that much as payment for this much help, right?” 

“You think that I am that ungrateful?”

“I don’t think. I am certain of it.”

“How rude. I was planning to share with you some tips and tricks as well about fighting. Like how to control Shadow Step.”

I focused on the repairs while Roswald explained that to me. Even after watching him doing that a bunch of times, I had no idea how he pulled off. According to him, he said that one just had to control the right amount of mana instinctively. I tried to control mana before without using the system, but it never worked. In this world, trying to use mana without the system was trying to fight gravity with bare hands.

“Anyone is able to weaken their skills if they want to. It just requires some focus and training.”

“This is very counterintuitive since few people would have any logical reason to control their skills to make them weaker. Aside from trying to make themselves look weaker to surprise the enemies, I can’t think of another. Maybe to save energy and just use the right amount of power to get rid of something or someone?”

“Those are the main reasons. After some point, a person just becomes too strong and to get stronger, they need to use their energy reserves widely to avoid waste.”

In this world where a person could still get stronger with training and fighting, that didn’t seem very probable, but after years of doing that, I could imagine that doing this kind of training could make them stronger faster by means of simple efficiency.

“This doesn’t look like something someone of your age would need. You aren’t that strong.”

“You really don’t hold back, huh? Well, I can’t be inside a dungeon all the time to get stronger, so I did this kind of training after a certain someone gave me the idea, too. The downside is the fact that one needs to get used to doing this with all of their skills and it might take some time to find the right feeling for them.”

“A certain someone?” 

“A traveling elf. Later, I discovered who he really was. The former leader of the Silver bows.”

Labyrinth Hunter II on Amazon!

Hey, guys. Thank you for reading Labyrinth Hunter. I am just passing to inform you guys that the second book of the series was taken from all websites since I uploaded on amazon. You can find it here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRLKXS74

Chapter 265 - Combination (Sorry for messing up, guys. Here is the real next chapter.)

A couple of hours passed and I couldn’t let out a sigh when the eighth wave of the Frost Wraiths was finally done… I never thought that I would get this tired after grinding. I always found that relaxing, but this was a bit different from I was used to.

“Working with you sure is efficient. I never gained this much experience in a short window of time.”

“And you never will, given how useless you are. You can’t even pay for my help with some decent information.”

“You can ask anything aside from the type of monsters that are in the final section. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

Anything, he said… It wasn’t like I didn’t have any questions left, but it was hard to believe that he would have the answers to the really important stuff.

“You seem proud of this, then let’s check if your confidence has any reason to exist. Where can I find the Nocturath?”

“Wow… you sure decided to ask for a bombshell all of a sudden? Are you interested in who your mother is?”

I couldn’t say that I wasn’t, but I had other business with them. I just wanted to know also to avoid stumbling in their land by accident and then getting caught off guard.

“What do you know about Nocturath?”.

“About the land itself? Can’t say that I know much about it aside from some organizations like the Forsaken, The Veiled Court and the crimson covenant.”

“You Know more than most, did your father taught you that?”

“You aren’t going to get any information from me before giving some.”

“Hahaha. Well, you see… it is a fact that the Nocturath exists, but it isn’t a place that you can find like the Empire. It is a land that you can only reach after some fulfilling some conditions and it isn’t like you need to go to a place and you will find its border.”

“You make it sound like it is some kind of place that doesn’t exist or that keeps changing locations.”

“That is exactly what the Nocturath is.”

When Rayner brought me home when I was born in this world, he came from the West… In that direction, one could find the Elven lands, but I didn’t find any signs of vampires there.

My guess was that the Nocturath wasn’t a place one could stumble upon by accident. It had to be somewhere you were invited. Like a secret, whispered in the wind, the land seemed to exist in a state of contradiction: both present and absent, a phantom realm carved from the fabric of reality itself.

It wasn’t hard to imagine why. The vampires, with their mastery of ancient magic, surely wielded the power to manipulate such a domain. Theirs wasn’t the crude magic of mortals, but something older, something tied to the deep and unknown. And they weren’t alone. The others who lived alongside them, hidden in the folds of the Nocturath, likely added their own knowledge to such a place. Together, they had created a land untethered, a shadowy refuge for those who thrived on secrecy and mystery. This wasn’t a place you found; it was a place that found you, if it wanted to.

“I guess that avoiding such a place is out of the question. If one of them decided to invite me, I will find myself there rather I like it or not.”

“Oh, you understood that so easily. I thought that you would be a muscle head like your father. If you got that from your mother, she must be quite the scholar, huh? Your father’s score is high priest, noblewoman. Rich merchant’s daughter, and close to royalty… I guess a scholar was really missing on the list.”

I let out a sigh… he sure knew some useless stuff, like the background and origins of the mothers of my step brothers and sisters. When I thought about that, I realized that the last wave of monsters was taking their time coming, and I couldn’t help but worry a bit.

“It seems that the Frost Wraith boss is plotting something and controlling its minions. I just hope that they won’t take their time and team up with the next group of monsters “

I was planning to use my decay arrows to make quick work of the boss wraith. If I knew that things would change all of a sudden like this, I would have leveled up Demon’s Snare up to level ten. I got carried away with Demon’s Bane. At least both of the skills are almost there and each one would grant me a new skill. I would bet that I could learn those just by using those skills on the boss. No idea if such a specific class would be useful to the monsters of the final section.

‘This moron doesn’t want to tell me the final monsters… I guess it must be that. That is why he said that it would be more fun to surprise me and there aren’t many things that I can use against them.’

All of a sudden, the temperature in the surroundings began to drop… My first reaction was to check things with Alissandra. She already had two cloaks protecting her, and they were also enchanted to provide warmth against the cold. Just to be sure, I strapped the scorching bow on Glacien’s back.

“Sorry, girl, you might like the cold, but we aren’t all fans of it. I don’t think that this will bother you that much, so endure it for a bit.”

“I think that it will be better if you tell your pet to take the little girl away… the temperature will only keep dropping.”

“What do you mean?” 

“They decided to combine their forces… or forced themselves to do so. Although they are weaker, they can do this much with the help of the boss of their section.”

The monsters of the final section were finally revealed, and they were none other than ice drakes. Their appearance was exactly as one might expect, scaled, sleek, and glistening like frozen tundra under a pale sun. But something about them was off.

Around each drake, a strange aura pulsed, like a cold mist infused with a sinister energy. Shadows clung to their bodies, curling and shifting unnaturally, as if they were alive. It wasn’t just an illusion or a trick of the light; the shadows seemed to have a purpose.

Then I saw it. The shadows took form, coalescing into claws that mirrored the Frost Wraiths. Their ethereal hands flickered in and out of existence, wielding their vengeful spirits as weapons. It was as if the drakes had absorbed the wraiths’ essence, twisting it into an extension of their own lethal power. Or maybe the other way around…

“This will be hard…”

I could agree with that… it wasn’t a fusion, it was more like possession. The boss of the wraiths realized that facing us directly wasn’t a good idea, so it decided to improvise like that. This creature was supposed to be on the same level as the ice phoenix, so it wasn’t surprising that it had this level of intelligence.

The ice drakes were relatively small, but all of them had a lot of magic power and it looked like the wraiths powered them up as well… all of them were using their breath to fire a powerful wave of cold toward us.

“Yeah… I can’t fight this while standing my ground. We are living.”

“You already decided that?”

I ignored and just followed Glacien, who began to run while carrying Alissandra. We were a bit faster than the possessed ice drakes, but not by that much.

“Aren’t you going to even try to stop the monsters, or even decrease their numbers?”

I ignored his question and focused on what I could do… For starters, I used Demon’s Snare to stop some ice drakes from moving, and that worked. They also burned a little, so it seemed that they got the weaknesses of the Frost Wraiths, too. I could use that.

Without hesitation, I stopped the enemies with Demon’s Snare and then used Demon’s Bane on them… the attacks exploded and destroyed their arms. It looked like they were a lot tougher than I had expected.

“Why did you stop? Go for their heads after they lost their arms?”

“I can’t. I will waste all of my mana. This isn’t efficient enough.”

Roswald looked at me as if I had said something insane… It looked like he couldn’t see things unless they happened. Just using the same strategy one or two times was enough for me to tell that they were useless. Still, perhaps I should keep using it just until I can get the new skills of the class.

However, I decided to wait for a bit until I had a decent plan to deal with the monsters. Still, it looked like we were out of time…

“Hey, we are back in the second section of the labyrinth!”

“I am aware of it… Let’s use that old combination. I weaken the enemies and you will appear to finish them off while using Shadow Step.”

“I don’t think that my attacks will be enough to finish off the Ice Drakes… at least not as fast as necessary.”

“No worries. I will weaken them enough.”

After I summoned three arrows, they turned purple… I used Rapid Fire to unleash them at a single target and soon Roswald understood what I could do with the cursed arrows. The first pierced only the tip of the head of the monster, the second pierced halfway through, and the final pierced all the way.

You received 150 experience points.

This situation had the potential to give us a shit ton of experience, but we would need to take some risks.

Chapter 264 - Forced Retreat?

The Frost Wraiths appeared… Their bodies looked like they were made of swirling mist, with shades of pale blue and white that made them blend into the surroundings. They almost seemed alive, shimmering faintly as they moved.

Where their faces should have been, there were only two glowing, icy blue lights. These eyes made them look even more unsettling, as if they were silently watching everything. Their arms stretched into long, sharp claws, frosted and jagged, leaving trails of cold air behind with every movement. Anything they touched quickly froze, a thin layer of ice spreading out like a living thing…

They soon pointed their hands at us, but then I spammed the Great Fireball on them. Their spells were no joke, but their attacks were supposed to focus on damage over time while my Fireball simply had a shit ton of power and the following ones just changed the cold in the air to heat back again.

The wraiths could phase through most rings in the surroundings, but they were unable to do that when the Fireballs exploded and then began to vibrate the air and melt the ice on the surroundings.

You received 100 experience points.

You received 100 experience points.

You received 100 experience points.

It was a bit less than I had expected, but then I realized that the monsters were of the undead type… the aptitude of the dark paladin class didn't work on them.

“Since that is the case…”

I tested Demon’s Snare on one of the monsters and soon the creature stopped moving and then failed to phase out. I could feel my mana being restored too. I didn't have to use the Great Fireball… I just summoned my arrows and then used Demon's Bane on them. The monsters tried to phase out through the arrows, but they were still pierced and then disintegrated.

You received 100 experience points.

You received 100 experience points.

You received 100 experience points.

“Do you have some kind of skill like that to help others? I don’t have these and my knives are enchanted, so they are usually against wraiths.”

“What were you planning to do if we had reached their section, then?”

“Just take a back seat. Hahaha.”

Roswald’s blades would prove entirely ineffective against the Frost Wraiths. Each attack would pass harmlessly through their mist-like forms, leaving him unable to help. He didn’t have enchanted knives, so were unreliable against spectral foes.

For now, he had no choice but to step back, leaving me to handle the first wave of monsters alone. I could temporarily enchant his weapons to make them effective, but that would have to wait until the immediate threat was neutralized. Until then, the battlefield belonged to me and the tools I had prepared for situations like this.

‘Since I can damage them like this, I guess I can still be damaged even if I turn into mist… I need to be careful since even my vampiric skills have weaknesses.’

In any case, the wave of wraiths took a while to deal with since they could fill a floor that was five kilometers long. I didn’t have much time to recover or enchant Roswald knives… the next group quickly arrived.

“... Are you going to be fine?” 

Roswald was looking at my hands. I looked at them as well and saw them a bit burned. Demon’s Bane also damaged me, since I was half undead.

“I should be fine with my current regeneration. If it gets troublesome, I will just use the Great Fireballs again.”

“Warn me before you decide that.”

“I will try to remember to do so.”

Roswald didn’t have time to complain, since the monsters soon arrived. Just like before, he charged toward the monsters, but he didn’t use Shadow Step since he couldn’t recover mana like before. I should have used Mystic Link on him, then he would have had the chance to use my extra mana.

The monsters fired blasts of cold wind at Roswald, but he jumped away to the side at high speed and easily avoided that. Before the monsters could fix their aim, he threw his knives at them, and the beasts were shocked. 

I used that chance to pierce the monsters with a barrage of arrows while also avoiding using Demon’s Bane as much as possible.

Using area-of-effect attacks was out of the question; Roswald was too close, and something like the Great Fireball would hurt him as much as it would the Frost Wraiths. The battlefield was cramped, and the wraiths advanced relentlessly. My usual strategies relied on overwhelming power, but with Roswald in harm’s way and the wraiths phasing through physical attacks, I was at a loss for a moment.

Then an idea hit me, Decay Arrows. I hadn’t tested them against creatures like this before, but their unique properties might bypass the wraiths’ spectral nature. Without hesitation, I got one from my magic bag. These arrows were quite dangerous, but they were my best chance. Nocking the arrow, I focused on the nearest wraith as it phased through halfway through the walls, its movements swift and fluid. I fired it, watching the arrow streak through the air with its glow. This would be the test to see if my gamble had paid off, or if I’d need to find another solution quickly.

I fired a single arrow without thinking too much about it… only when the arrow was in the air, I realized that I shouldn’t have shown that to Roswald. The arrow pierced through the wraiths and immediately turned them into nothing.

You received 100 experience points.

You received 100 experience points.

You received 100 experience points.

“Oh? That didn’t seem like the other arrows, but it had the same power. What was that?”

“Focus on the enemies.”

It was weird… to think that my blood had the same effect as Demon’s Bane on the wraiths. It wasn’t my blood per se, but still… it was highly effective and I had a stock of those. With my improved health regeneration, I probably could make five of those every day.

‘No… I can’t use them here. They aren’t even the strongest monsters in this labyrinth.’

I also couldn’t let myself get overly dependent on them. They had to be secret weapons or last resorts through and through. I had the idea of making an amulet for the Demon’s Snare as well, but it made me wonder how it would work… would it restore my mana or would restore the mana of the core? I didn’t care that much as long as the skill leveled up.

Eventually, the second wave of monsters ended, but it took half an hour… as expected, dealing with them will be hard and there were seven more waves. Besides, that wasn’t the only problem…

“WAHHHH! WAHHHH! WAHHHH!”

“Oh boy… Here comes the greatest challenge yet.”

The night had passed, or perhaps not. I couldn’t tell. There was a chance that Alissandra just had to poop… Glacien tried to calm her down by moving the basket from one side to the other, but that didn’t help that much.

“We don’t have much time…”

“Trying to make me hurry up won’t do anything to help.”

Yep, Alissandra needed to be cleaned and now that she was wide awake, she wouldn’t sleep for a while. Things were starting to look up, so Roswald believed that we could do this, even though the challenge from the labyrinth was far from over, but now it was clear that we needed to retreat a bit. 

I took the smallest parts of the wagon and then made Glacien pull it to the previous floor while I was cleaning Alissandra and feeding her too.

“What a fearsome baby. Not even the monsters made you think of retreating.”

It wasn’t the time for jokes, and Roswald seemed to realize it when he caught my slightly annoyed look. He furrowed his eyebrows and gave a half-hearted shrug, opting to remain quiet instead of making another quip. The tension in the area left little room for nonsense, and we all needed to focus on the task at hand.

Eventually, Alissandra managed to calm down, though her bad mood lingered. Her expression softened, but she still pouted, her irritation evident in the way she looked at me. Even though the immediate danger had passed, the strain of the situation clearly weighed on her, leaving the atmosphere charged with unspoken frustrations.

“All right, Aliss. Be a good girl and stay with Glacien, all right?” 

“Uhhhhhh.”

“You behave. I will make something nice for you. How about a magical drone?”

Those naturally weren’t a thing in this world, so she definitely didn’t have an idea of what I was talking about, but she calmed down for some reason.

“What is a magical drone?”

“Something that you don’t need to worry about. The Frost Wraiths are here.”

At least the break gave me some time to think about stuff. When the beasts reached us, I didn’t hesitate in bombarding them with arrows enhanced by Demon’s Bane… I just had to use my head a little and use the skill in the last moment, that would make the damage that I received decrease by a large margin.

“I guess not even the wraiths can stop you anymore… It is only a matter of time now. The only problem is the final group of monsters.”

“I would prefer it if you didn’t jinx us. Also, you should tell me what the final enemies are here.”

“It will be better if you just see for yourself.”

“Just stop the nonsense and say it already.”

Unfortunately, the next wave of enemies had arrived, so that talk would have to wait.

Chapter 263 - Inevitable 

I had to recall who I was… I was someone who focused on efficiency. I had to if I wanted to make any real progress by myself and use all the skills necessary.

“They are here… you don’t look focused for whatever reason.”

“Just dealing with some doubts.”

“It is a terrible time for you to decide to second guess yourself.”

I couldn’t agree more. In any case, I couldn’t keep hitting myself with my own attacks if I wanted to be standing when this battle is over. So, I decided to put my desires aside and focus on what was really important.

However, instead of Elemental Convergence that was only at level one, I used Mystic Barrage. The arrows flew toward the monsters and they blocked them, but all exploded and increased the temperature in the area… the air began to vibrate and even the ice in the walls and ceiling began to melt. Before long, the Frost Sentinels began to be burned by the air itself.

“How do you want me to attack them like this?” 

“I don’t want to.”

Roswald was baffled by my words, still that was within my plans… When dozens of enemies were agonizing thanks to the heat, I got several presents for them. A massive barrage of Great Fireballs.

“Yikes… the smell of burned flesh is too strong. Move away a bit, Glacien. I don’t have wind magic to deal with this.”

The intense heat served a dual purpose. It was not only burning the Frost Sentinels but also creating a barrier of intense hot air that kept the other monsters at bay. They remained in the area, unwilling to step forward, but I knew this wouldn’t last forever. The temperature was already beginning to drop, and once the air cooled, those creatures would advance.

I needed a new approach, one that would strike swiftly and decisively. Ice damage was out of the question; these monsters were practically immune to it. Fire had been effective so far, but relying on it alone would leave me vulnerable. Then, an idea struck me: lightning.

If I could shock them, it wouldn’t just stun the monsters, it would ignite the super-heated air around them. The chain reaction might be enough to take down even the tougher ones. It was a gamble, but in this situation, every second counted.

‘Wow, it is like fate also agrees with me that using only buffs is the best option…’

“Use that skill on me and then go for the legs of the monsters. While they are in pain, I will finish them off.”

“You will gain too much experience from it. I wanted all of it for myself instead.”

“Don’t be unreasonable. They are coming again.”

The frost Sentinels didn’t use magic until now, but now they were pointing their hands toward us and emitting a blast of cold energy to cool down the area. I truly wanted to hog most of the experience to get stronger, faster, but he had a point.

“All right, but you will owe me one.”

To make my next move more effective, I decided to use Power Shot. The arrows flew faster than before, slicing through the air with precision and power. They didn’t just reach the monsters in record time, they punched clean through their legs, leaving them immobilized and howling in pain. The Frost Sentinels flinched and their balance was thrown off as they struggled to remain standing on damaged limbs.

That was all the opening Roswald needed. Like a living shadow, he dashed forward, a blur of speed. One moment, he was on the wall; the next, he was leaping to the ceiling, then to the floor, his movements fluid and unpredictable. Every time he moved, a monster fell. His blade sliced clean through their necks, leaving no time for them to react or retaliate.

Watching him was like witnessing a dark storm that swept through the battlefield, leaving devastation in its wake. With the Frost Sentinels incapacitated and Roswald eliminating them one by one, I felt the tide of the battle shifting in our favor.

‘He can control Shadow Step… I can’t do that.’

I wondered if that would make him save mana as well. It was a neat trick if it could do that much. At this point in time, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was part of the Twilight Brotherhood and he was just waiting for the chance to slit my throat.

The Frost Sentinels tried to smash Roswald like a fly, but he was too fast… in the end, he also worked well as a diversion, and I used that chance to kill as many of them as possible.

‘I guess I should increase my health regeneration… the multiplier is decent, after all. At this point, I should be able to endure the changes.’

Whenever I increased my health regeneration, my thirst for blood would get stronger when I got hurt… the damn vampire physiology was truly annoying, even though I could get my nutrients from food, it still wanted the easy way out…

I might be able to handle it if I increase by fifty percent, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. In the end, I made my choice… before long, I was able to feel the thirst growing strong… my vision started to get red and Roswald soon stepped away while getting ready to draw his knives.

“... Are you fine?” 

“You don’t look that worried by grabbing a knife while asking that… just give me a minute.”

I didn’t like to see people when my eyes were red… I could clearly see their arteries in their bodies pulsating with life, and that only made the urge stronger. After much effort and after taking deep breaths a bunch of times, my vision returned to normal.

“... I had seen your fangs, but I didn’t notice that getting stronger is also awakening your vampiric powers. This is quite… ironic.”

I couldn’t agree more… I was trying to obtain power to defend myself against the problems caused by my vampiric heritage, but gaining power was giving more impulse to what was causing me so much trouble.

I didn’t like showing this to Roswald, but I didn’t have any other choice since I wanted to maximize my gains in this situation. In any case, thanks to his help, I was able to finish the next waves of Frost Sentinels without suffering any setbacks. Now we just had to wait for the next group of enemies of the fifth section… Frost Wraiths.

Wraiths were already a nightmare to deal with in any battle. Ethereal and resistant to physical damage, they had a habit of slipping through even the most precise attacks. Their nature made them difficult to pin down, and their ability to phase in and out of existence left opponents hitting the empty air.

But Frost Wraiths were on an entirely different level of annoyance. These creatures didn’t just avoid damage like it was nothing; they manipulated the battlefield to their advantage. The surrounding air grew frigid, draining warmth and energy from their enemies. 

Frost Wraiths had another cruel trick up their spectral sleeves. They could blend seamlessly with their environment. In an icy battlefield like this one, they were nearly invisible, their translucent forms camouflaged against the shimmering frost and snow. Even spotting them was a challenge, let alone landing a decisive blow.

‘I feel like the next enemies after them will be even harder… I am a genius or what for realizing that?’

“We did well in holding our ground without returning to the previous floors, but now this will be too dangerous. We will have to fight them while moving back to the entrance.”

I rubbed my chin while considering that… he had a point. The Frost Wraiths wouldn’t have much endurance, but what they didn’t have for endurance, they would make up in magic. We had to use more tactics against these kinds of beasts.

“Nah, we don’t have to. Just gather the mana cores before the monsters arrive.”

“Wraiths can float, they won’t activate your Arcane Traps.”

“No one said about using Arcane Traps.”

Roswald looked at me while waiting for an explanation, but I ignored him and just got to work. I already had some plates ready. Now I just needed to carve the right symbols onto them.

For mass production, it would be better to make molds of the amulets that I wanted, but I couldn’t make that for now, so I just did things the hard way. Before long, the temperature began to drop, so I could tell that the monsters were coming, but I was almost there.

Showing this level of tricks in front of someone like Roswald was bound to raise eyebrows. After all, I wasn’t a mage in the traditional sense, and my ability to wield so much magic was far from ordinary.

Even if Roswald tried to piece it all together, I doubted he would fully understand. The mechanics of my abilities weren’t something one could analyze and explain with logic alone. And reality was all that mattered right now. Whether he understood the “how” or “why” didn’t make a difference. Just understanding something like that wouldn’t grant him the power to stop me or my tricks.

Before long, the last of the Frost Sentinels arrived in the area, but disposing of it had been easy. The beast was able to block my arrow, but that froze them in the spot since they were shock arrows. While it froze them for only half a second, it was enough for Roswald to attack the beast two times and then move away.

It was a bit of a roundabout way for my style to deal with a monster like that, but at least it had zero chances of danger… it only took a couple of minutes for the beast to be brought down.

You received 8000 experience points.

Still, we didn't have time to waste since soon the new enemies arrived…

Chapter 262 - Satisfying Fighting Style

Dealing with the other waves of Frost Imps had been easy, but soon the explosions began to take place once the Frost Sentinels arrived in the area. I could tell that they were being killed left and right, but this was kind of scary.

You received 90 experience points.

You received 90 experience points.

You received 90 experience points.

The skill Arcane Trap reached level ten. You received 1000 experience points.

You have learned a new skill in the Arcane Archer class.

Elemental Convergence (Lv 35)

Fire an arrow that combines multiple elemental effects, causing a chain reaction upon impact. The target suffers fire, frost, and lightning damage simultaneously, with each element having a chance to apply its respective status effect. Cost: 120 Mana.

The area was shaking with the endless explosions, and since that didn’t stop, it meant that the monsters were still coming. A full section filled with the Frost Sentinels… that was kind of exciting as well.

‘I guess I will increase my magic… and deal with them with Mystical Barrage. It has been a while since I increased my dexterity despite having its biggest multiplier.’

Dexterity was useful in dungeons and labyrinths, but it was mainly something to hit a target from a distance or to deal with very close range battles. I didn’t have to do it either here. Unless…

“Hey, can you give me some tips on how to fight while dual wielding?” 

“You dual wield as well?”

“Well, I can’t say that I am particularly good at it.”

“I can’t teach you anything in a short window of time that will actually make a difference.”

It couldn’t be helped… making a lot of progress in such a complex fighting style was just unrealistic. I had been postponing training in that style, but it seemed that I would have to force myself.

“You can make a lot of progress fast if you spar with me every day.”

“You still didn’t give up, huh?” 

“I am just trying to solve several problems at once in a way that benefits us both. At the same time, Nimira should also be pretty good at dual wielding.”

Now that he mentioned, she learned how to fight with knives quite fast, probably because it was her natural way to use her hands to attack when she transformed… in any case, I should just close my ears when he starts to talk about Nimir, now I am calling him she as well…

I stopped thinking about that when I noticed the approach of the Frost Imp boss. The creature was even taller than us, and also quite muscular, so it was a monster that didn’t have the weaknesses of the ordinary frost imps.

While it was grinning, it pointed its hands at me and then fired a barrage of ice spears. I stopped the projectiles with a barrage of arrows and the smile of the beast soon disappeared. I showed a wicked smiled on my face instead that annoyed the monster quite a bit.

“Sorry, but we don’t have time to let you enjoy the fight.”

Huh?”

While I was making fun of the monster, Roswald disappeared and then reappeared behind the Frost Imp… he could use Shadow Step, too. Before the monster could react, he stabbed its nape and paralyzed the beast completely.

Still, that wasn’t enough to finish off. So, he eventually stabbed the neck of the monster from the sides a couple of times. He finally showed some of his skills…

You received 2500 experience points.

‘I can understand why he doesn’t show his skills that much. They are indeed deadly. It makes even me feel like I should be cautious around him. Even though I also focus on practicality when it comes to fighting.’

While I was thinking about that, I noticed that the explosions stopped happening. The enemies were getting closer, and I had to hurry up with the next plan. For starters, I decided to use the experience accumulated that almost reached the one hundred thousand mark… I got ready to increase my magic, but I changed my mind at the last moment and then increased my strength.

‘This will make things way more interesting.’

“They are here.”

The explosions stopped as an eerie silence spread across the labyrinth. Roswald’s head tilted slightly, his senses picking up the faint thud of heavy steps approaching. The rhythmic pounding grew more clear…

His grip tightened as he surveyed the surroundings. Massive figures emerged from the corridor in the distance, each Sentinel towering over the battlefield with ice-encrusted armor and glowing blue eyes that radiated their intentions.

As soon as the monsters arrived, I bombarded them with iron arrows. The beasts were fast enough to raise their swords and then block the attacks, but each impact pushed them backward for several meters and even cracked their weapons.

Roswald frowned when he saw that, but soon he noticed that I was using Hunter’s rage. Things got even more interesting when I used Adrenaline Surge… the arrows pierced through the weapons of the monsters and they pierced through their bodies as well.

‘Hehehe, this is more like it…’

It made me recall old games where I played with archers and with the right build. The characters looked like a machine gun of arrows. My arm blurred thanks to the continuous shots, but I felt that I could do more than this. I used Berserker than well, and things sure got a lot more fun.

My shots made chunks of the bodies of the enemies fly in all directions and even though the beasts tried to use the bodies as shields and their swords as well, the arrows pierced through all that with no worried… hundreds of Frost Sentinels couldn’t move a single inch thanks to my combo.

Roswald watched, amazed as the monsters were decimated. The next waves would be a lot bigger, but he had confidence that I could do the same… until he looked at me and then saw my right hand completely covered in blood.

“I guess my endurance is really low.”

I had lost around ten percent of my health, but it was no surprise given that I had used three skills that were supposed to make a person push their bodies behind their limits. Even though I only moved my arms, it obviously would cause a lot of damage.

“Doesn’t that hurt?”

“It stings a bit, but it will heal soon. I guess I should learn Health Drain next time.”

“Why don’t you use that skill that you used on me to restore your health?” 

“I don’t want to reveal all my secrets to you.”

The truth of the matter was that I couldn’t… I increased my strength so that ordinary attacks would cause more damage and drain more mana and stamina, but not all arrows could do that thanks to the enemy’s defenses. I was also summoning arcane traps around us to buy time in case we needed to escape.

“Well, this much is fine. I just have to increase my endurance and health regeneration a bit, and that will be enough to counter those effects.”

The sharp pangs coursing through my arm were troublesome. Each slight movement was a reminder of the strain I was putting on myself. But amidst the discomfort, I discovered something unexpectedly satisfying, a new way to attack that felt instinctively right.

The pain became secondary, almost an afterthought, as I focused on the excitement of refining my technique. I told myself that it was fine… As long as those skills kept leveling up, the progress would make it worth enduring a little pain. The satisfaction of watching my abilities grow outweighed the momentary pain, and I knew this was just another step in pushing past my limits.

I turned around and then pretended to cover my hand in bandages, but I actually grabbed some bolts and used them to create some decay bolts. I managed to make five of those, so quite a bit of blood was lost… around 250 milliliters.

In any case, soon we began to feel the ground shaking and could tell that more enemies had arrived. I had increased my endurance a bit, so I was expecting that I would be able to fare a bit better, but given how much the ground was shaking, the number of enemies was truly insane.

‘It seems that more than one group of them are here… I guess I don’t have a choice but to use Dreadful Enchantment to recover some health.’

I had already recovered half of it just with the passage of time, but it wasn’t enough. Regardless, I forgot about those issues and then activated those skills and soon felt free of worries.

I stopped using Arcane Trap and used Dreadful Enchanter to heal myself. Because this current fighting style caused me too much damage when combined with all my crazy buffs. At first, I thought increasing my endurance would help, but I quickly realized it wasn’t the answer. Endurance is great for dealing with damage caused by others, but it doesn’t do much when the damage is self-inflicted, when I’m the one pushing my body beyond its limits.

That’s when I started considering Elemental Convergence. It just made sense. Instead of trying to brute-force my way through the pain or rely on endurance to hold me together, I needed something that could stabilize and channel my power more efficiently. If I could harmonize my buffs instead of overwhelming myself with them, I might be able to push even further without breaking down. It felt like a smarter way forward, less reckless, more precise.

‘It isn’t fun… wait, I am getting addicted to this feeling.’

Chapter 261 - Insane Plan (Merry Christmas, everyone!)

The labyrinth began to shake more and the frequency of the trembling also increased. Glacien worked hard to make sure that she wouldn't pass that to Alissandra who was sleeping, but I wondered if that would change anything… the break would be pretty hard to hide, after all.

“I am not sure that I heard anyone trying to deal with a dungeon break while inside a dungeon or labyrinth… Do you have ideas like this often?”

“I will leave that to your imagination.”

Roswald was starting to get a bit tense as he watched me working. I could understand his concerns, even though he was supposed to be fast enough to outpace the monsters, the distance to the exit was still pretty far away. Nothing says that he would be able to keep that pace until the end. If he has to run for it.

From his perspective, I was fine since I could just use my bike to move pretty fast without worrying about stamina, he didn't have that luxury and while the bike had a seat for a passenger, that place already belonged to Alissandra.

Eventually, the aura all of a sudden began to change in the entire labyrinth and even I was able to sense something. In the next moment, it felt like an invisible wave zapped me. Glacien looked more tense and Roswald raised his guard.

“Huuuuuhhh.”

“It is okay, it is okay… nothing happened, continue sleeping.”

Alissandra felt that too, so she almost woke up, but I managed to calm her down. I should have made something for her to sleep that could muffle the sounds around… things will become quite noisy, after all.

Finally, the whole dungeon began to shake and it felt like the whole place was going to collapse. I checked the ceiling to make sure that nothing would fall on us, but that part of the labyrinth had no stalactites and the ceiling was firm enough.

The rumbling kept going for five minutes and then eventually ended… but soon we began to feel the ground shake, it was weak, but it was getting stronger.

“Here it comes… can't believe that I am following this insane idea.”

“I didn't expect that you would be the worrying type.”

“I am not, but even I have a limit.”

The sound of wings flapping began to echo in the area and soon a massive wave of Frost Imps emerged in the distance. In a frenzy, they began to laugh while flying faster toward us.

“Your plan isn't working!”

“I didn't prepare for them, after all.”

I unleashed a barrage of arrows that pierced the wings of the Frost Imps and then they fell on the ground and over each other since the holes in their wings were too big… I didn't count on that and thanks to it, the ground exploded.

You received 50 experience points.

You received 50 experience points.

You received 50 experience points.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, even though the Arcane Trap burned to a crisp ten of the Frost Imps, they were quite weak against fire, or my magic attack power was just that high. Arcane Trap wasn't that high level, after all.

Arcane Trap Lv 08: Place a magical trap at a location that triggers an arcane explosion when an enemy approaches, dealing elemental damage based on your magic power and dexterity. This explosion can apply status effects such as burning, freezing, or stunning based on the chosen element. Cost: 100 Mana

I had an amulet for this skill, but it took a full day to make since it costs a ton of mana. I used the mana cores that I got in the dungeon to make countless of those. That is why the skill reached level eight, even though it was level three two hours ago.

 The heat wave stopped the other Frost Imps, so it took a while for the others to come to us… which we used to move away from the area.

“So, are we going to keep doing this until we reach the entrance of the labyrinth?”

“If you have a better idea, I am all ears.”

I decided to use all my mana cores to keep spamming Arcane Trap. I was going to get all the cores of the fallen monsters later, after all, so it was fine. The amulet was made of magic iron, so it could last for a while longer thanks to the repair hammer, but even that had limitations.

After taking a few stops along the way to create some Arcane Traps, I looked over my shoulder when I heard some weird sounds and soon found the Frost Imps crawling on the ceiling. Others soon approached while flying… It looked like they wanted to split our focus.

“Take the ones in the ceiling.”

Roswald grabbed his knives and then charged toward the enemies flying… I hesitated for a moment in buffing his weapons. I didn’t have to do that so soon, but it was better to make sure that his energy reserves would always remain full, so I used Dreadful Enchantment on his daggers.

Roswald frowned when he saw the weird energy on his weapons, but soon he understood the effects of the enchantments when his mana was restored after he slit the throats of the monsters.

“You have this kind of temporary enchantment too, huh? Nice.”

Roswald swung his knives to get rid of the blood on them… it was quite something to see that when all the surrounding monsters had their throats cut. It felt like he was holding back, like he could just behead the monsters, but he was just using enough strength to deal with the job while saving his energy.

‘I guess I could learn from that… when it comes to fighting with a bow, I always attack the monsters like there is no tomorrow with as much strength as possible.’

In any case, I used Hunter’s Rage and then felt my blood pumping faster. The temperature in my body increased and when I fired my arrows at the monsters, they pierced through them and impaled the Frost Imps against the ceiling. I just wanted to test the skill, but now I regret it a bit.

“It looks like the ones from the next floor were eliminated, but there are still three more waves of Frost Imps. It is very likely that the monsters of the next section will join the last wave.”

The monsters in the forty section were frost sentinels. Frost Sentinels, according to Roswald, were towering humanoid monsters, standing at nearly eight feet tall, with icy blue skin. Their bodies are clad in natural armor formed from jagged frost and hardened snow, giving them a nearly impenetrable defense.

Each Frost Sentinel wields an enormous greatsword forged of magic ice. The blade emits a cold mist, chilling the air around it and causing frostbite on contact. Despite the size of their weapons, they handle them with precision and efficiency.

Their fighting style is deceptively simple, but highly effective. They favor a defensive approach, holding their massive swords in a ready stance and moving with guarded steps. They raise their defenses first, blocking or parrying incoming attacks with the flat of their blades or deflecting blows with their frost-armored forearms. This defense frustrates their opponents, forcing them to expend energy and grow reckless.

“They will fall for the Arcane Traps I left on the way. The real issue will be the others. The Frost Sentinels will activate most of my Arcane Traps, after all.”

After the Frost Sentinels, there will be even stronger monsters, and that will be the real challenge, and that is what I needed. A challenge that would grant me a shit ton of experience, but I still needed to use my head and skills wisely to earn all that without messing up. Still, if compared to facing all the monsters of a break outside a labyrinth, this still would be much easier.

In any case, soon enough, the next wave of Frost Imps showed up, and I didn’t have to use anything else aside from Hunter’s Rage and iron arrows to keep the monsters at bay. Even at level one, the skill increased my attack speed enough to put two arrows in the heads of each monster and finish them off. With the extra mana, I put Arcane Traps around. Roswald didn’t have to kill many of the beasts, thanks to that.

“It seems that you are fine in killing the Frost Imps by yourself. Should we remain here until the monsters of the fourth section arrive?” 

“No, we will be moving. The smell of blood is getting stronger the more the monsters are dealt with and that will eventually wake up Alissandra.”

Roswald was a bit weird by the fact that I came with a battle plan using Alissandra’s mood as a reference. I wanted to prevent the break, but I didn’t want to make a child of that age feel the oppressive aura of a bloody battlefield. 

Besides, staying in one single place would mean that I wouldn’t put much distance between the traps. That would make it difficult for them to become really efficient.

“By the way, can the bosses of each section leave the labyrinth in the break?”

“Of course they can.”

“Can I get a class by defeating them?”

“No.”

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. Why not? Wasn’t that essentially the same challenge? In fact, facing them like this was even more difficult… given that they could command their allies.

“That being said, I don’t know what can happen if some people stopped a break. I heard stories that some people had special classes, and they were involved in dungeon breaks. The real ones only had ten floors or so.”

Stopping a dungeon break should be considered a trial, but would a single class granted by this be compared to three others combined?