Asher woke up as the rocks rumbled around him. With a roar he sat up ready to fight whatever was coming his way. The sound of stone breaking was right next to him then quickly went by. He listened for a time, but whatever had made the noise was quickly leaving. He guessed that it was the boss monster.
With a groan he willed out his Mana Light and looked around. The first thing he checked were his legs. They were pinned down by a large pink boulder. His left one hurt, but his right felt fine. Checking around him he was in some sort of air pocket. Large rocks and rubble all around him he had about 4 feet on every side of him free. Except for the boulder on his legs of course. He brought up his HP: 177/225.
Cycling mana in his arms he gripped the boulder and lifted. Immediately blood gushed out of his mangled right leg. Almost passing out from the immediate blood loss he pushed himself out from the boulder and let it drop.
His left leg was only a little bruised, but his right leg continued to pour blood out. His leg and foot were completely flattened and he couldn’t recognize much of anything of his armor there.
Losing a limb wasn’t the end of the world, he had done it twice now. Just never a leg. His HP dropped to 130/225. Asher hastily made a decision. Bringing his Slayer sword out he lifted it and dropped it down where the leg was crushed. With a groan the sword sliced through the bone. It sunk down to rock easily. Pulling out a Health Potion he chugged it. The wound closed up and he was at 160/225.
Asher let out a sigh. He thought Zora might have a limb regeneration skill. The problem was he didn’t know where he was. Pulling up his relationship screen he felt that the girls were far off and way up compared to him. He pulled out his Comm. Trying to call Tiffany the call failed and a warning on the phone appeared.
-Unstable mana detected. Please move to an area with more stable mana-
“Gee thanks,” Asher said. He guessed the Mana Bomb had done a lot to the area. Using Mana Sense he could feel the irregularity in the air around him. Ash felt like he was back in the second trial near one of the exposed Mana Branches. The mana was everywhere, which should help his mana regen at least.
Asher heard another rumbling of rocks being crushed close by. Focusing on Mana Sense he felt a large beast only a few dozen feet away. It was easily a boss monster. The beast moved past and left his sensory zone.
Curious if there were more open air pockets he began to focus on the mana surroundings. The air was still thicker with mana than the rocky parts were. There was another air pocket above him. Asher looked up to it.
“No time like the present,” Asher said.
Getting up on his left leg he balanced on it as he stared upward. The rocks would surely fall on him as soon as he broke through. Unaccustomed to missing a leg he cycled as much mana as possible without hurting himself. Pulling out his sword again he cast Judgement into the blade. Since there was so much mana in the air he should refill quickly.
The Holy mana coated his sword and he extended it out. With a strong hop he pushed through to the next air pocket. The rock and rubble cascaded down filling the air cavity he had been in. He willed his sword away as the rocks became too much. He caused a cave in from above. In a panic he latched onto the rock but started to sink.
Desperate he did the only thing he could. Asher started storing the pink and purple rocks in his ring. A white light shined as they began to disappear. Soon the landslide of rocks stopped and he was climbing up to the top of the pocket.
“I love you,” he said, kissing the ring. It didn’t answer but he could tell it felt the same way.
With Mana Sense he felt another pocket laterally and kept his method going. Every time he moved to a new pocket the loose soil would collapse and he would store it. He was slowly making his way up, but at the 4th such pocket he found something interesting.
Siela Fulbright was buried chest deep in the gravel. Asher could sense that she had very little mana left, but even a little meant life. With a groan he crawled over to her and started digging. Going too slow he grabbed her thick black braided hair and pulled her out. She didn’t stir with the strain on her head but came out easily.
Setting her on the floor Asher noticed how pale she was. Her arms appeared crushed, and her legs weren’t much better. Not willing to risk her dropping to 0 HP with his amateur dismemberment method he pulled out one of his health potions.
Opening her jaw she was ice cold. Asher began to slowly pour it in her mouth. She sputtered and coughed it up. Annoyed, he took a mouthful of it and pressed his lips to hers. His mouth sealing hers shut he released the potion one mouthful at a time.
When he was done it would be some time before she could take another potion. Siela needed all the HP per hour she could get. His Healing Touch could add a few, but the stronger part of the skill was his bodily fluids. Though his semen provided a more potent boost he was not about to make her drink his cum unwillingly. Leaning over he kissed her full lips and forced a large glob of his spit in her mouth.
She didn’t react. Asher let out a sigh and pulled her into him. Sliding off the armor that wasn’t missing he let her keep her clothes on. Arms and legs in pretty bad shape Asher hugged her from the front and began channeling Healing Touch into her body.
Dimming the Mana Light he closed his eyes to focus. It was only a few HP a minute, but it would add up. Eyes closed he channeled Sex Mana from his body into hers. Slowly rebuilding it.
It took time, but eventually her hands and legs looked better. He wasn’t sure if that was because of his skill or because she wasn’t as hurt as he originally thought. Either way her breathing became steadier and her face had more color.
At some point the rumbling of the boss monster sounded again. This time the monster was only a few feet away from them. Asher felt the massive beast digging. Their air pocket shook with his every movement. Asher held onto Siela tighter in case their room collapsed. But slowly the boss disappeared. Leaving a wide path very close to them.
Asher was about to start digging toward it when he noticed the eyes staring at him. They were big and brown.
“Good, you’re awake,” he said. His arms moved to release Siela. She winced in pain. “Shit sorry. I think you can handle another potion now.”
Asher pulled one out. Taking the cork lid off with his teeth he moved it to her lips. She eyed him but opened her mouth. Asher poured it in slowly. Siela drank it down hungrily. She let out a long sigh as she finished it.
“How are you? Can you move?” She hissed as she tried.
Shaking her head she whispered hoarsely, “Regen Potion.” A white light appeared above them. Asher grabbed the green potion before it fell on them. Opening it he poured it in her mouth again.
“What’s it do?”
“Increases HP per hour,” she whispered. Her eyes zoned out. “But I shouldn’t have as much as I do.”
“Oh right. I have a skill to increase HP per hour,” he said.
“How?” She asked a little skeptical.
“Sex mana. I um had to give you some of my saliva,” he admitted. This was a life or death situation. Asher felt like he deserved a pass. She blushed deeply with the admission. Her eyes no longer able to look into his.
“Where are we?” She asked, her body appeared too weak to move as she laid her head on his arm. Siela’s eyes shut as if she was going to go to sleep.
Asher poked her cheek. “Underground, what’s the last thing you remember?”
“We were on Floall. I remember your group splitting off, but everything else is a jumble?” Her eyes were still closed. Her breathing was regular but he knew that memory loss wasn’t a good sign.
Asher poked her cheek again. “Don’t go to sleep,” he said. “You probably have a concussion.” Her eyes opened angrily. “Let’s get going,” he said, trying to move again.
“Wait,” she said. “I am still in a lot of pain.” She winced as he shifted their bodies. Their chests were pressed up against one another. Asher could feel her breasts pushing against him, and he thought her nipples were hard. Catching a good whiff of her perfume he struggled not to get erect.
“Ok,” he said. “10 minutes.” She nodded and laid her head on his arm as her eyes closed once more. “Do you need food or anything?”
She shook her head. “My head is pounding. I can’t believe we were caught in a Mana Geyser.”
“A what?” Asher asked.
“A mana geyser. They are risks with subterranean monsters. They can dig down close to the Leylines. Mana builds up and eventually explodes. I don’t remember much, except a blue explosion.”
Asher hadn’t heard of that before. But it was plausible. “That’s not what happened,” he said. Her eyes opened to stare into his. “There was this thing called a Mana Bomb.”
“A Mana Bomb?!” She yelled then winced. “How do you know? You didn’t…” Siela left the question unsaid.
“I was in these underground tunnels trying to find whatever dug them. At the bottom of a tunnel to the surface I found this round spiky thing. It was sucking in all the ambient mana. I tried to escape but it was no use. Before I knew it the thing exploded. I woke up in an air pocket like this.”
“That cannot be,” she said. “Why would a mana bomb be here?”
“Don’t know, but it was. I thought maybe someone was trying to kill me. But I happened upon it. They could have done a better job of it if they were after me. What about you? Could they have been after you or your party?”
Siela bit her large luscious lips. “There have been some attempts in the past. My father is an influential man. But I trust those in my party. Unless there was some other group on this planet.”
“Very possible. Either way we need to dig ourselves out.” To help emphasize the need the boss began digging somewhere close by again. He was either looking for something or was drawn to the increased mana in the air. Asher wasn’t sure which. When he passed they became a little quiet.
Eventually she spoke. “Why are you helping me?” She asked. Her eyes stared up at him still resting on his arm.
“Because you need help?” Asher asked. “And you’re my student. As well as super hot.” He maybe shouldn’t have said the last part. The lack of oxygen must have been getting to him. Though covered in pink dust and bloody she was still beautiful. She bit her lip as she stared at him.
“Even after what my father did to you?” She asked.
“Your dad did something to me?” Asher asked, a little surprised.
Siela frowned. “So you really didn’t know,” she said more to herself than him. “My father is Alconsus Fulbright.” Staring at him she expected some recognition, but he simply shrugged. “He is the man who was your judge at your League Trial.”
Asher remembered him then. The pompous high human that tried to get Asher in trouble for saying Fuck the System. The Avatar of the System had warned him that the man wanted Asher dead, offering to let Asher kill him if he wanted. The man had been cowering under the gaze of the Avatar at the trial.
“Oh,” Asher said. “Your dads a dick.” Looking around he started using Mana Sense to try to plan where to move next. The tunnel the boss monster had used was now filled with dense mana, it was easier to see. “Come on, let’s go.” Asher pulled his arm from under her. Siela winced. The area they were in was too short to stand in, but the tunnel was right below them.
“Can you move?” Asher asked. She studied him, a little fear in her eyes. Trying to move her hands and feet they looked better, but they were still black. He could tell that she had more than a few broken bones still. “Nevermind. Stay close.”
Sitting with crossed legs he chose to not make a big mess this time. His MP almost max again he condensed Physical mana into 4 tendrils with his Mana Manifestation. His eyes on the ground he began to dig with them. As he pulled rocks and dirt toward him the loose soil disappeared in a white light. Everything went into his ring. The 4 mana arms moved expertly. One nice thing about using Pheromones on his class was his control of mana was getting a lot better.
Once about 4 feet down the floor below them collapsed. Dropping them down, Siela screamed. Asher grabbed her with condensed mana and pulled her to his body. They dropped 40 feet in a rockslide. Asher still only had 1 leg but when he hit the ground he used max mana and jumped out of the way. Pushing through the rubble as it fell they flew free. Asher did not catch them this time. They tumbled clutching one another.
A large cloud of pink dust billowed out where they had been standing as the 40 foot height of the tunnel filled with rock and rubble. “I sure hope we were the only ones hit by the Mana Bomb,” he noted. Siela clutching to his side slowly let go. Asher sat up willing out a water bottle. He swirled some around his mouth and spit. Taking a drink he passed it to Siela. She reluctantly took it and did the same.
“Let’s go,” Asher said. Not up for hopping the entire way through the tunnel he considered using one of his spare swords as a crutch, but Mana Manifestation had lots of uses. Condensing the Physical Mana from his stump of a right leg he made a simple pole out of mana attached to it, then matched the height of his left leg.
“What happened to your leg?!” Siela yelled. Finally seeing his deformity her eyes stared at the missing limb.
“It was crushed,” Asher said. “Had to cut it off.” Standing on it the wound was still tender, but Asher felt like a pirate. His invisible to the naked eye peg leg helped him waddle around. Once he was a little more confident on the leg he studied the high human. She looked as bad as he did, but he was getting close to full health. Her limbs were still black and blue. Wearing short trousers and a long-sleeve shirt he chewed on his lip.
“Guess I’ll have to carry you.” Condensing more Physical mana he wrapped it around her torso. She winced in pain as she floated in the air. Attaching her to his back her arms tried to wrap around him, but she yelped and dropped them. “I’ll hold you on, don’t worry.” Keeping his condensed mana on her he strapped her on like a backpack.
Sniffing the air there was nothing odd. Ash hadn’t heard the rumblings from the boss lately. Nothing left to do he started walking down the tunnel. Mana Sense going at all times, 3 condensed mana manifestations, and a girl strapped to his back he walked slowly down the 40 foot diameter path.
They were quiet for a time. Eventually Siela whispered. “Aren’t you angry at me?”
“About your dad?” He asked. Asher wasn’t stupid enough to not notice she became quiet after her confession. “Why would I be angry at you for something your dad did?”
“The Avatar said he was trying to kill you,” Siela whispered. “Offered to let you kill him.”
“Eh, lots of people trying to kill me,” Asher said. “Trust me, the Avatar was playing his own little game at that Trial. Hell, even the System is trying to kill me.”
“It is?” She asked. “How would you know?”
“You watched my trials?” Asher asked. She slowly nodded from his back. “You think it’s trying to let me live?” Dea had been adamant about the System wanting him dead. After his last discussion with the Avatar, Asher agreed. Letting out a long sigh he said, “My sponsor Tacitae said it tried to get all heroes killed. Otherwise it wouldn’t give us these stupid quests.”
“And the quest you’re on now?” She asked.
“Another death trap I’m sure,” Asher said. “Hell the quest we got when entering this dungeon turned out to be a death trap too.” They weren’t allowed to finish the quest or else it would destroy the dungeon portal. If they had wanted to close it the quest was to kill 10 Pangolinks. Whatever those were. He walked in silence.
“What about you?” Asher asked. “You want to kill me?”
“No,” she said. Her arms must have felt better because she wrapped them over his shoulders.
“Then we’re good,” Asher said. “What’s it like living on Central?”
“How do you mean?”
“You’re supposedly at the center of the universe. I was only on your planet for a bit. Nature looked nice, but we were too skittish about getting caught so we couldn’t enjoy it. And I didn’t get to see a whole lot getting to the dungeon.”
“Did you really dungeon jump here?” She asked. Asher nodded. “I guess I’m not sure what you are asking. Central is very…scheduled for me. I get up at a certain time. Have classes. Eat at a certain time. My father has a large estate, so everyone around me was tutors and people he hired.”
“What about your mother?” Asher asked.
“Dead,” Siela said. “High humans become jealous easily. My father was appointed to the Conference Sector which houses the trials and major Prime events about 15 years ago. My mother was killed in an assassination attempt.” The high human said the words in a monotone voice. Asher guessed it was enough time for her to come to terms with it.
“Any siblings?” Asher asked, trying to change the subject. She shook her head. “Well that does suck. Home schooled and sheltered. So this is the first time you’ve been away from home?”
“Pretty much,” she said. “I had been to Prime once a year or so. Not that much has changed. My father had someone choose my classes for me.”
“That’s annoying. So when you tried to drop my class…”
“I was told to,” she admitted. “Not only did they fear you would try to kill me, but also they didn’t want someone of my standing learning from your type.”
“And what type is that?”
“Unitialized,” she said. “They see you as very uncivilized.”
Asher stopped and let out a belly laugh. It was long and much needed. When he was done he admitted, “I’m the most uncivilized. Guess they got me there. Pretty surprised they let me teach, honestly.”
“Yes, I heard there were many complaints, they had lots of meetings to get you kicked out. The Primeval, Yevus, squashed them all. I did not expect him to want you.”
“Why’s that?”
“I haven’t heard anything about him before you came. People say he spends his time in his room. Meditating, trying to fix his Mana Cores.”
“What’s a Mana Core?” Asher asked.
She let out a small chuckle in his ear. “It is not commonly known, but I have had the best education. When people reach level 100 they can make their own Mana Hearts, like a boss monster. The mana core takes a long time, but you can store huge amounts of mana in them.” Asher didn’t know that mana cores were a thing, but it sounded exciting to learn. He was starting to see why Dea offered him training once he reached level 100. Having a Mana Core would be a huge boon. “The way I hear it, Yevus’ cores were damaged after fighting your sponsor some millenia ago.”
“His wife? Tacitae?” Asher asked. Siela nodded. Dea Tacitae was called the Queen of Death for a reason. He knew she and the other Primevals had a falling out about 8,000 years ago. “I’m guessing its not easy to fix a core?”
“I assume not,” Siela said. Asher grunted as they started walking up an incline in the tunnel. At the top they came to a junction of more tunnels.
“Any guesses?” Asher asked.
“That way,” she said pointing left.
“How did you come to that conclusion?” He asked.
“The wind,” she said. “I am an Aeromancer. I can feel wind from there.”
“Good enough for me,” he said and started walking where she directed.
Asher woke up as the rocks rumbled around him. With a roar he sat up ready to fight whatever was coming his way. The sound of stone breaking was right next to him then quickly went by. He listened for a time, but whatever had made the noise was quickly leaving. He guessed that it was the boss monster.
With a groan he willed out his Mana Light and looked around. The first thing he checked were his legs. They were pinned down by a large pink boulder. His left one hurt, but his right felt fine. Checking around him he was in some sort of air pocket. Large rocks and rubble all around him he had about 4 feet on every side of him free. Except for the boulder on his legs of course. He brought up his HP: 177/225.
Cycling mana in his arms he gripped the boulder and lifted. Immediately blood gushed out of his mangled right leg. Almost passing out from the immediate blood loss he pushed himself out from the boulder and let it drop.
His left leg was only a little bruised, but his right leg continued to pour blood out. His leg and foot were completely flattened and he couldn’t recognize much of anything of his armor there.
Losing a limb wasn’t the end of the world, he had done it twice now. Just never a leg. His HP dropped to 130/225. Asher hastily made a decision. Bringing his Slayer sword out he lifted it and dropped it down where the leg was crushed. With a groan the sword sliced through the bone. It sunk down to rock easily. Pulling out a Health Potion he chugged it. The wound closed up and he was at 160/225.
Asher let out a sigh. He thought Zora might have a limb regeneration skill. The problem was he didn’t know where he was. Pulling up his relationship screen he felt that the girls were far off and way up compared to him. He pulled out his Comm. Trying to call Tiffany the call failed and a warning on the phone appeared.
-Unstable mana detected. Please move to an area with more stable mana-
“Gee thanks,” Asher said. He guessed the Mana Bomb had done a lot to the area. Using Mana Sense he could feel the irregularity in the air around him. Ash felt like he was back in the second trial near one of the exposed Mana Branches. The mana was everywhere, which should help his mana regen at least.
Asher heard another rumbling of rocks being crushed close by. Focusing on Mana Sense he felt a large beast only a few dozen feet away. It was easily a boss monster. The beast moved past and left his sensory zone.
Curious if there were more open air pockets he began to focus on the mana surroundings. The air was still thicker with mana than the rocky parts were. There was another air pocket above him. Asher looked up to it.
“No time like the present,” Asher said.
Getting up on his left leg he balanced on it as he stared upward. The rocks would surely fall on him as soon as he broke through. Unaccustomed to missing a leg he cycled as much mana as possible without hurting himself. Pulling out his sword again he cast Judgement into the blade. Since there was so much mana in the air he should refill quickly.
The Holy mana coated his sword and he extended it out. With a strong hop he pushed through to the next air pocket. The rock and rubble cascaded down filling the air cavity he had been in. He willed his sword away as the rocks became too much. He caused a cave in from above. In a panic he latched onto the rock but started to sink.
Desperate he did the only thing he could. Asher started storing the pink and purple rocks in his ring. A white light shined as they began to disappear. Soon the landslide of rocks stopped and he was climbing up to the top of the pocket.
“I love you,” he said, kissing the ring. It didn’t answer but he could tell it felt the same way.
With Mana Sense he felt another pocket laterally and kept his method going. Every time he moved to a new pocket the loose soil would collapse and he would store it. He was slowly making his way up, but at the 4th such pocket he found something interesting.
Siela Fulbright was buried chest deep in the gravel. Asher could sense that she had very little mana left, but even a little meant life. With a groan he crawled over to her and started digging. Going too slow he grabbed her thick black braided hair and pulled her out. She didn’t stir with the strain on her head but came out easily.
Setting her on the floor Asher noticed how pale she was. Her arms appeared crushed, and her legs weren’t much better. Not willing to risk her dropping to 0 HP with his amateur dismemberment method he pulled out one of his health potions.
Opening her jaw she was ice cold. Asher began to slowly pour it in her mouth. She sputtered and coughed it up. Annoyed, he took a mouthful of it and pressed his lips to hers. His mouth sealing hers shut he released the potion one mouthful at a time.
When he was done it would be some time before she could take another potion. Siela needed all the HP per hour she could get. His Healing Touch could add a few, but the stronger part of the skill was his bodily fluids. Though his semen provided a more potent boost he was not about to make her drink his cum unwillingly. Leaning over he kissed her full lips and forced a large glob of his spit in her mouth.
She didn’t react. Asher let out a sigh and pulled her into him. Sliding off the armor that wasn’t missing he let her keep her clothes on. Arms and legs in pretty bad shape Asher hugged her from the front and began channeling Healing Touch into her body.
Dimming the Mana Light he closed his eyes to focus. It was only a few HP a minute, but it would add up. Eyes closed he channeled Sex Mana from his body into hers. Slowly rebuilding it.
It took time, but eventually her hands and legs looked better. He wasn’t sure if that was because of his skill or because she wasn’t as hurt as he originally thought. Either way her breathing became steadier and her face had more color.
At some point the rumbling of the boss monster sounded again. This time the monster was only a few feet away from them. Asher felt the massive beast digging. Their air pocket shook with his every movement. Asher held onto Siela tighter in case their room collapsed. But slowly the boss disappeared. Leaving a wide path very close to them.
Asher was about to start digging toward it when he noticed the eyes staring at him. They were big and brown.
“Good, you’re awake,” he said. His arms moved to release Siela. She winced in pain. “Shit sorry. I think you can handle another potion now.”
Asher pulled one out. Taking the cork lid off with his teeth he moved it to her lips. She eyed him but opened her mouth. Asher poured it in slowly. Siela drank it down hungrily. She let out a long sigh as she finished it.
“How are you? Can you move?” She hissed as she tried.
Shaking her head she whispered hoarsely, “Regen Potion.” A white light appeared above them. Asher grabbed the green potion before it fell on them. Opening it he poured it in her mouth again.
“What’s it do?”
“Increases HP per hour,” she whispered. Her eyes zoned out. “But I shouldn’t have as much as I do.”
“Oh right. I have a skill to increase HP per hour,” he said.
“How?” She asked a little skeptical.
“Sex mana. I um had to give you some of my saliva,” he admitted. This was a life or death situation. Asher felt like he deserved a pass. She blushed deeply with the admission. Her eyes no longer able to look into his.
“Where are we?” She asked, her body appeared too weak to move as she laid her head on his arm. Siela’s eyes shut as if she was going to go to sleep.
Asher poked her cheek. “Underground, what’s the last thing you remember?”
“We were on Floall. I remember your group splitting off, but everything else is a jumble?” Her eyes were still closed. Her breathing was regular but he knew that memory loss wasn’t a good sign.
Asher poked her cheek again. “Don’t go to sleep,” he said. “You probably have a concussion.” Her eyes opened angrily. “Let’s get going,” he said, trying to move again.
“Wait,” she said. “I am still in a lot of pain.” She winced as he shifted their bodies. Their chests were pressed up against one another. Asher could feel her breasts pushing against him, and he thought her nipples were hard. Catching a good whiff of her perfume he struggled not to get erect.
“Ok,” he said. “10 minutes.” She nodded and laid her head on his arm as her eyes closed once more. “Do you need food or anything?”
She shook her head. “My head is pounding. I can’t believe we were caught in a Mana Geyser.”
“A what?” Asher asked.
“A mana geyser. They are risks with subterranean monsters. They can dig down close to the Leylines. Mana builds up and eventually explodes. I don’t remember much, except a blue explosion.”
Asher hadn’t heard of that before. But it was plausible. “That’s not what happened,” he said. Her eyes opened to stare into his. “There was this thing called a Mana Bomb.”
“A Mana Bomb?!” She yelled then winced. “How do you know? You didn’t…” Siela left the question unsaid.
“I was in these underground tunnels trying to find whatever dug them. At the bottom of a tunnel to the surface I found this round spiky thing. It was sucking in all the ambient mana. I tried to escape but it was no use. Before I knew it the thing exploded. I woke up in an air pocket like this.”
“That cannot be,” she said. “Why would a mana bomb be here?”
“Don’t know, but it was. I thought maybe someone was trying to kill me. But I happened upon it. They could have done a better job of it if they were after me. What about you? Could they have been after you or your party?”
Siela bit her large luscious lips. “There have been some attempts in the past. My father is an influential man. But I trust those in my party. Unless there was some other group on this planet.”
“Very possible. Either way we need to dig ourselves out.” To help emphasize the need the boss began digging somewhere close by again. He was either looking for something or was drawn to the increased mana in the air. Asher wasn’t sure which. When he passed they became a little quiet.
Eventually she spoke. “Why are you helping me?” She asked. Her eyes stared up at him still resting on his arm.
“Because you need help?” Asher asked. “And you’re my student. As well as super hot.” He maybe shouldn’t have said the last part. The lack of oxygen must have been getting to him. Though covered in pink dust and bloody she was still beautiful. She bit her lip as she stared at him.
“Even after what my father did to you?” She asked.
“Your dad did something to me?” Asher asked, a little surprised.
Siela frowned. “So you really didn’t know,” she said more to herself than him. “My father is Alconsus Fulbright.” Staring at him she expected some recognition, but he simply shrugged. “He is the man who was your judge at your League Trial.”
Asher remembered him then. The pompous high human that tried to get Asher in trouble for saying Fuck the System. The Avatar of the System had warned him that the man wanted Asher dead, offering to let Asher kill him if he wanted. The man had been cowering under the gaze of the Avatar at the trial.
“Oh,” Asher said. “Your dads a dick.” Looking around he started using Mana Sense to try to plan where to move next. The tunnel the boss monster had used was now filled with dense mana, it was easier to see. “Come on, let’s go.” Asher pulled his arm from under her. Siela winced. The area they were in was too short to stand in, but the tunnel was right below them.
“Can you move?” Asher asked. She studied him, a little fear in her eyes. Trying to move her hands and feet they looked better, but they were still black. He could tell that she had more than a few broken bones still. “Nevermind. Stay close.”
Sitting with crossed legs he chose to not make a big mess this time. His MP almost max again he condensed Physical mana into 4 tendrils with his Mana Manifestation. His eyes on the ground he began to dig with them. As he pulled rocks and dirt toward him the loose soil disappeared in a white light. Everything went into his ring. The 4 mana arms moved expertly. One nice thing about using Pheromones on his class was his control of mana was getting a lot better.
Once about 4 feet down the floor below them collapsed. Dropping them down, Siela screamed. Asher grabbed her with condensed mana and pulled her to his body. They dropped 40 feet in a rockslide. Asher still only had 1 leg but when he hit the ground he used max mana and jumped out of the way. Pushing through the rubble as it fell they flew free. Asher did not catch them this time. They tumbled clutching one another.
A large cloud of pink dust billowed out where they had been standing as the 40 foot height of the tunnel filled with rock and rubble. “I sure hope we were the only ones hit by the Mana Bomb,” he noted. Siela clutching to his side slowly let go. Asher sat up willing out a water bottle. He swirled some around his mouth and spit. Taking a drink he passed it to Siela. She reluctantly took it and did the same.
“Let’s go,” Asher said. Not up for hopping the entire way through the tunnel he considered using one of his spare swords as a crutch, but Mana Manifestation had lots of uses. Condensing the Physical Mana from his stump of a right leg he made a simple pole out of mana attached to it, then matched the height of his left leg.
“What happened to your leg?!” Siela yelled. Finally seeing his deformity her eyes stared at the missing limb.
“It was crushed,” Asher said. “Had to cut it off.” Standing on it the wound was still tender, but Asher felt like a pirate. His invisible to the naked eye peg leg helped him waddle around. Once he was a little more confident on the leg he studied the high human. She looked as bad as he did, but he was getting close to full health. Her limbs were still black and blue. Wearing short trousers and a long-sleeve shirt he chewed on his lip.
“Guess I’ll have to carry you.” Condensing more Physical mana he wrapped it around her torso. She winced in pain as she floated in the air. Attaching her to his back her arms tried to wrap around him, but she yelped and dropped them. “I’ll hold you on, don’t worry.” Keeping his condensed mana on her he strapped her on like a backpack.
Sniffing the air there was nothing odd. Ash hadn’t heard the rumblings from the boss lately. Nothing left to do he started walking down the tunnel. Mana Sense going at all times, 3 condensed mana manifestations, and a girl strapped to his back he walked slowly down the 40 foot diameter path.
They were quiet for a time. Eventually Siela whispered. “Aren’t you angry at me?”
“About your dad?” He asked. Asher wasn’t stupid enough to not notice she became quiet after her confession. “Why would I be angry at you for something your dad did?”
“The Avatar said he was trying to kill you,” Siela whispered. “Offered to let you kill him.”
“Eh, lots of people trying to kill me,” Asher said. “Trust me, the Avatar was playing his own little game at that Trial. Hell, even the System is trying to kill me.”
“It is?” She asked. “How would you know?”
“You watched my trials?” Asher asked. She slowly nodded from his back. “You think it’s trying to let me live?” Dea had been adamant about the System wanting him dead. After his last discussion with the Avatar, Asher agreed. Letting out a long sigh he said, “My sponsor Tacitae said it tried to get all heroes killed. Otherwise it wouldn’t give us these stupid quests.”
“And the quest you’re on now?” She asked.
“Another death trap I’m sure,” Asher said. “Hell the quest we got when entering this dungeon turned out to be a death trap too.” They weren’t allowed to finish the quest or else it would destroy the dungeon portal. If they had wanted to close it the quest was to kill 10 Pangolinks. Whatever those were. He walked in silence.
“What about you?” Asher asked. “You want to kill me?”
“No,” she said. Her arms must have felt better because she wrapped them over his shoulders.
“Then we’re good,” Asher said. “What’s it like living on Central?”
“How do you mean?”
“You’re supposedly at the center of the universe. I was only on your planet for a bit. Nature looked nice, but we were too skittish about getting caught so we couldn’t enjoy it. And I didn’t get to see a whole lot getting to the dungeon.”
“Did you really dungeon jump here?” She asked. Asher nodded. “I guess I’m not sure what you are asking. Central is very…scheduled for me. I get up at a certain time. Have classes. Eat at a certain time. My father has a large estate, so everyone around me was tutors and people he hired.”
“What about your mother?” Asher asked.
“Dead,” Siela said. “High humans become jealous easily. My father was appointed to the Conference Sector which houses the trials and major Prime events about 15 years ago. My mother was killed in an assassination attempt.” The high human said the words in a monotone voice. Asher guessed it was enough time for her to come to terms with it.
“Any siblings?” Asher asked, trying to change the subject. She shook her head. “Well that does suck. Home schooled and sheltered. So this is the first time you’ve been away from home?”
“Pretty much,” she said. “I had been to Prime once a year or so. Not that much has changed. My father had someone choose my classes for me.”
“That’s annoying. So when you tried to drop my class…”
“I was told to,” she admitted. “Not only did they fear you would try to kill me, but also they didn’t want someone of my standing learning from your type.”
“And what type is that?”
“Unitialized,” she said. “They see you as very uncivilized.”
Asher stopped and let out a belly laugh. It was long and much needed. When he was done he admitted, “I’m the most uncivilized. Guess they got me there. Pretty surprised they let me teach, honestly.”
“Yes, I heard there were many complaints, they had lots of meetings to get you kicked out. The Primeval, Yevus, squashed them all. I did not expect him to want you.”
“Why’s that?”
“I haven’t heard anything about him before you came. People say he spends his time in his room. Meditating, trying to fix his Mana Cores.”
“What’s a Mana Core?” Asher asked.
She let out a small chuckle in his ear. “It is not commonly known, but I have had the best education. When people reach level 100 they can make their own Mana Hearts, like a boss monster. The mana core takes a long time, but you can store huge amounts of mana in them.” Asher didn’t know that mana cores were a thing, but it sounded exciting to learn. He was starting to see why Dea offered him training once he reached level 100. Having a Mana Core would be a huge boon. “The way I hear it, Yevus’ cores were damaged after fighting your sponsor some millenia ago.”
“His wife? Tacitae?” Asher asked. Siela nodded. Dea Tacitae was called the Queen of Death for a reason. He knew she and the other Primevals had a falling out about 8,000 years ago. “I’m guessing its not easy to fix a core?”
“I assume not,” Siela said. Asher grunted as they started walking up an incline in the tunnel. At the top they came to a junction of more tunnels.
“Any guesses?” Asher asked.
“That way,” she said pointing left.
“How did you come to that conclusion?” He asked.
“The wind,” she said. “I am an Aeromancer. I can feel wind from there.”
“Good enough for me,” he said and started walking where she directed.
