Too Stubborn to Die

Book 4: Chapter 15

Strangely, the red blood mist that had filled the lower chambers quickly began to dull and recede the moment Aaron kidnapped the killer robot. He wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, and he didn’t have the time to figure it out. And so, he strolled straight toward the energy source from which he sensed the corruption coming.

And what he found amongst the rubbish and rivers of molten metal was an odd contraption, to say the least. It was a mix of tech, nature, and System magic. It was a red crystal-shaped seed the size of a football covered in cables, and sitting on some kind of mechanical disk dotted by flashing lights.

“Okay, not what I was expecting.”

Stabilized Corruption Seed [ Mythical ]

Plucked from a cursed Corruption Tree, these seeds can wreak havoc to entire worlds with their corrupting aura. This one, however, has been stabilized using advanced technology and can be controlled by an admin console connected to the main device.

If a corruption seed is planted, it will sprout into a Corruption Tree. A sentient plant lifeform that consumes energy from its surroundings through its roots, powering it to evolve. WARNING! Corruption Trees are famously difficult to control, and have been known to control their own evolution paths independent of those who cultivate them, with unexpected consequences.

Aaron looked around in search of the control console. He didn’t see anything. He was fairly certain that meant one thing. This seed was likely being controlled by a console held by the Anderline Corporation.

He was no expert on multiverse tech, but he had a feeling it could be in another universe entirely.

“Dammit, I better not end up racking up some massive debt!” Aaron grunted as he grabbed hold of the seed and tore it free. Then, he immediately threw it in his scabbard before the corruption did something unexpected.

He wasn’t sure if breaking the seed free from stabilizing equipment would make it weaker, or stronger, or something else entirely. However, he had found that things thrown into his spatial storage entered a form of stasis, and figured it should be safe in there.

Then, he grabbed the equipment. Because, why not? It might have value. It kind of reminded him of conspiracy theories about stealing crashed UFO tech. And he figured that even if he couldn’t use it as a control device, maybe someone back in Dober could reverse engineer the multiverse technology.

Except that he realized something. While the corruption had dulled, it hadn’t disappeared.

Was the seed not the source of the corruption?

He raised a brow and then activated [ Gorgon’s Soul Vortex ], pushing the Skill to its limits. And sure enough, he sensed two other energy signals just like the seed.

He had come this far; he might as well finish the job. Besides, he was no more confident about taking out a C-grade beast than he had been before.

Mr. Fake was the other thing occupying a large section of his thoughts. He had a feeling the man wasn’t telling him the entire truth. Not that he cared that much. He just wanted to finish the quest and move on. But he was curious to learn the truth about what was going on.

Although, despite the fact that there was still corruption in the air, his surroundings had improved greatly. Within seconds of having the corruption seed stowed away, he could already see the mist fading, and his hunger had been quelled. He had to admit, the fact that it had gone after his appetite as some kind of weak spot because his mental fortitude was too strong, was interesting. And he wondered if others throughout the multiverse would try similar tactics.

If only he could ask Oozagh. Maybe there was a means of upgrading his temple so that he could speak with both his patron gods. But that was a thought for another day.

Then again, being forced to be hungry wasn’t the worst thing. He had drained some resources because of his wild appetite, which was annoying since he didn’t know what lay ahead of him. But it was a sure bit better than losing his mind to the damn corruption.

With one seed captured, he continued onto the next.

Unfortunately, he had not thought this part of his quest through very well. Without a travel Skill, skirting around the tunnels was taking quite some time. And after a couple of hours, he decided he needed to speed the process up.

“Oh, seriously? How far away are these things? For fucks sake. Oh well, I guess I can use it for training, right?”

Just like he had during the fight with the robot, Aaron bounced along the walls, pingponging between them as he continued his long journey.

However, his journey was not without purpose. And he knew just how to make the most of it. Every time he bounced between the walls of trash, he was reminded of his inefficiencies and how off-balance he felt moving like this.

It was easy to forget when flying. [ Spectral Rush ] enveloped his entire body with energy when it sent him flying forward. But now, the issue was blindingly obvious.

That led him to another thought. No wonder Yendal appreciated learning the basics before grinding levels. There were certain things one could lose sight of when relying on the magnificent powers granted in the shape of Skills by the System.

When those Skills were brushed aside, it was just the person and their energy. And there was a simplicity to it that Aaron was learning to appreciate more and more.

He closed his eyes as he flew through caverns and over trash ravines that disappeared into darkness. Unlike the fight against the robot, the rhythmic hopping between the ground and the walls was easy enough that he could let his mind drift elsewhere, and he began to muse on his mana anchors as mana flowed through them.

They had felt complete and closed off before, a consequence of forming his mana anchors. But as he mentally delved into what they were, while simultaneously jumping between the walls, and sensing the mana as it pulsed through his hands, he attuned himself to what was missing.

The first mana anchor one placed upon themselves was a simple yet refined output. A means to concentrate and expel one’s mana in a far more powerful method. But there was more to it than just that.

The more he thought about it and sensed the mana pouring out from his hands, the more he realized that there was a balance that was currently missing.

It had turned his mana into a shaky, unstabilized energy source that rippled around as it searched for an outlet. It felt wrong, but what made it strange was that it hadn’t when he formed them. No, it had felt right. He remembered the sensation well. This had to be the natural path of progression for the energy organ.

And he realized that it was exactly that reason he hadn’t noticed it earlier. He hadn’t had enough mana to off-balance his anchors before. But a lot had changed since then.

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Mana anchors were generally achieved during the E-grade, and as such, the base form of the energy organ could easily handle that level of mana he had at that level. But as one grew stronger, and their energy more abundant, the mana flowing through the anchors would begin to feel like a dam pressed up against tiny cracks.

In fact, he had a feeling that he had reached this point sooner than he was supposed to. Perhaps a mage who focused on huge amounts of Skill points to develop their mana would also need to improve their anchors early.

But that wasn’t Aaron's situation. No, he believed he reached this point sooner than expected because of his C-grade core.

While his true core didn’t increase the amount of mana he stored, it did massively increase its production. And most at his level wouldn’t produce anywhere near as much mana, and as such, he theorized that they wouldn’t need to worry about improving their energy organs.

But he was already here, and he had a feeling that by doing so, he wouldn’t just get stronger and more efficient, but massively improve his ability to use the energy within his new core.

With every jump, he attuned himself further with his mana, imagining it flowing through his feet as it did his hands.

But something remained missing. Like a lid preventing him from placing the two new anchors as he pleased.

He considered this, how his mana flowed, and how he held it in place to form an anchor. And then, how that mana could explode with power when called upon.

And yet, despite feeling like he was on the verge of a breakthrough, nothing happened. He was missing something. A piece of the puzzle was absent, and no matter how hard he focused, he felt himself grasping at empty air.

What was it, though? It didn’t entirely make sense to him.

Control of energy had always come rather naturally to him, and he had already placed two anchors. So, how hard was two more?

Even from the start, when he placed his first mana anchors, he could have placed more than two anchors, had he wanted to. He had felt it when working with his mana. And he had only restrained himself to the two anchors because he was worried about spreading his mana too thinly.

However, now that he was in a position to improve upon them, with more mana than he could have ever imagined at F-grade, he was falling short.

He knew that he could rework his anchors entirely. Removing the ones he had and placing four new ones.

However, to do so would require quite some time for healing. Even for him, removing his anchors would come at a cost. And the middle of a dungeon was the last place he wanted to do that.

But with such a potential within reach, he couldn’t simply ignore it, either. What was it, though? What was in his way, and holding him back?

He was a little worried about breaking something. But caution had its place, and sometimes recklessness was necessary.

With a pulse of C-grade energy from his core, he pulled it into his feet and gritted his teeth as he held it there.

It was pure willpower to contain the energy. It wanted to burst out, to blow his feet apart. But then he called on the strength of his soul, and together they held it in place, fastening it to his soles as the powerful and unstable mana took its roots.

Suddenly, eyes flashed open, fully white. He could feel it. Anchors in his feet.

Snorting, he kicked off against the ground, and the difference was undeniable. He shot through the air with far greater speed and accuracy. It hadn’t granted him the ability to fly, but it was certainly a step in the right direction.

Talia

Talia appeared and vanished, using her shadows to great effect. As they filled adjoining tunnels, giant swipes of her avatar’s sword seemingly came out of nowhere.

But the two men she had confronted had proven to be rather evasive.

When the chaos initially exploded into the underground city, she had used it to retreat and formulate a new plan. And she had used it rather well, ambushing the little one with the dagger.

But he was surprisingly skilled, dodging and avoiding her attacks, even in the complete darkness of her shadows. Which led her to believe he had some of his own Skills attuned to the dark.

Nonetheless, she hadn’t given him an opportunity to counter, and within seconds, she had taken one of his arms.

The problem was, they weren’t alone. When the little man escaped, a horde of roaming doppelgangers attacked.

They weren’t overly strong, but they were annoying and numerous. Her massive blade cut through them with ease, and she pressed back against the horde with one of her powerful area attacks.

But by the time she was done, the little man was gone.

“Where are you? Get back here, you little scoundrel!”

Of course, he didn’t answer, and Talia knew better than to remain out in the open. There were still two of them, assuming someone else hadn’t taken out the creepy bald one.

Shadows enveloped her once more, and she clung to the edges of the subterranean city, searching for her prey like an owl hunting at night.

The bald one was devious, she had discovered. He would mess with her mind, and while he didn’t seem to possess the ability to take control of her mind, the confusing illusions made them rather difficult to fight.

However, he needed to be able to see her for his Skill to take effect. She had learned that much in their exchanges, which made her shadows very effective at countering him.

“There!”

She spotted the little one as he appeared, but he was running, and fast. Before she could reach him, he had disappeared into the mirror room.

“Bugger,” Talia hissed and clenched her fists.

It had been a while since she had sensed his companion, and she was starting to come to the conclusion that she had lost both of them.

Both of them probably escaped into the mirror room…

If they had escaped into the mirror room and not returned, then that meant that they had likely found their way through. And that meant that they were likely on their way to Aaron.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. She had sensed more energy signals travelling down. She hadn’t seen them, though. Which led her to believe there were many passages down, and they all passed through into the mirror room.

The mirror's illusions made it very hard to tell how big the room was, but she had seen with her own eyes that there were countless passages connected to it. This was a big reason she had ended up walking around in circles and reappearing in the city during her first attempt to pass through.

What were the chances that others could travel straight down without passing through the city?

What if they are…

Talia gulped. There was no one she trusted more to look after themselves than Aaron. But what if the royal guards had reached him while he was dealing with the quest? What if those two creeps bumbled in after them?

Even if he did manage to find a way to win, his energy wasn’t unlimited. And while they mightn’t have been as strong as the royal guards, they had some decent tricks up their sleeves.

“Shit,” she hissed and took several steps toward the mirror room.

She knew what needed to be done. She was going to need to find her way through. She couldn’t leave everything up to Aaron, and she felt terrible for letting those two through when they clearly had devious plans up their sleeves.

But just before she entered, she heard something and turned.

“Talia!” Came a shout.

Talia narrowed her gaze, and she spotted a huge, flying sword whizzing through the air in the distance.

“Wait, is that somebody riding it?”

The figure had looked tiny at first, but it closed the distance between them in a near instant. And she was still small, just not as tiny.

The small figure with a fringed bob cut bounced off the sword and took hold of the hilt as she twirled through the air. Landing with a thud, and slinging the sword that was multiple times her size over her shoulder.

“Hey!” She waved.

“Hello,” Talia said as she racked her mind, trying to figure out why this woman looked oddly familiar.

But before she got an answer, a silver line of energy flashed through the sky, and then materialized into Zero by the woman’s side.

“Zero? Huh?” Talia rubbed her temples as she opened her inspection window. “Oh, Soohyun! Sorry! I thought I recognized you. But… why are you with Zero?”

“Woof!”

“Oh, Zero? He found me after I closed the chat with you and Aaron. He’s a good boy,” Soohyun said, scratching his chin. She didn’t have to lower herself; Zero was almost as tall as she was on all fours. “So, is this where Aaron went?” She continued, eyeing the entrance into the room of mirrors.

“Yeah, through there. But it’s easy to get lost. The mirrors are confusing.”

“Right,” Soohyun said. “Got a plan? We can catch up after we find Aaron.”

“Nope,” Talia shrugged. “But my prey has escaped down there, and I have every intention of chasing them down.”

“Oh? Well, what are we waiting for? Wanna team up?” Soohyun suggested.

“Let’s do it,” Talia smiled as her shadows began to spread out and darken the area around her.