Lukas moved forward through the alleyways, his cloak hiding the dagger in his hand. From three other alleyways, a total of eight others appeared.
“Where’s Donner?” he said in a low voice.
“Watching a noble who came from one of the kingdoms. He’ll give us a signal if they are on their way to reinforce the outpost lord,” Simone said.
“All right.” Lukas nodded. “Ready?”
The rest of the squad all nodded as they opened up their cloaks to reveal their armor. They all wore dark armor to not reflect the moonlight. On it was the Vermire coat of arms.
“Let’s go and earn our pay.”
Lukas kept his shield on his back, half hidden in his cloak.
They moved through the alleys and then stole across the streets, edging closer to the lord’s manor.
Lukas was from the old guard, the ones who had trained with the unknown trainers. Simone and Donner were the only other veterans. The rest were the new guard, trained in secret and unknown to the other outpost lords.
A screen appeared in front of them all as they held back.
==========
Your position has changed. You are now an Outpost Level Guard.
==========
==========
Your position has changed. You are now a Village Level Guard.
==========
==========
Your position has changed. You are now a Small City Level Guard.
==========
==========
Your position has changed. You are now a Medium City Level Guard.
==========
==========
When attacking another outpost, city, village, or location with an interface, a war status is applied. You gain a 5% bonus to your stats.
When you are defending your lands, you gain a 13% increase to stats.
==========
Strength filled Lukas’s body.
A title—never thought I would get one of those!
He looked at the others who had shocked, excited, and pleased looks on their faces.
“All right, for the city of Vermire,” he said in a low whisper.
It focused all of them as they pushed on. He sheathed his sword and checked his boots that had a sharpened spike on them, and the two hooked climbing picks.
They reached the road around the outpost lord’s manor.
The dark castle stood higher above the village. The gate was closed and there were guards on the walls, looking out.
“Archers, get a vantage point to support as needed.”
The archers helped one another, climbing up the walls and houses quickly, hiding in the shadows of the chimney stacks or on balconies, anywhere that gave them a clear line of sight to the wall. Everything was lower than the manor walls, but it was better than nothing.
Lukas saw another cloaked group appear down to his right, then another to his left. He made eye contact with the leaders and nodded to them.
We need to attack while they’re not watching but not take so long that they start to get suspicious.
Lukas laughed and staggered; the group laughed and chuckled, looking as if they had just been out drinking.
“You got any more of that brandy, Vax?” Lukas asked as they kept walking, taking a shortcut around the castle.
The guards, bored and jealous, looked away and kept on their routes.
“Now,” Lukas hissed.
He turned and ran with Simone. They jumped the moat around the walls. Lukas got a pick in, hitting the wall. He nearly lost his grip and stabbed his spiked shoe into the wall. He stuck his other spike in.
There wasn’t a noise as faint spell lines could be seen on his gear.
The Silence spell won’t last long.
He looked to Simone. Groups disappeared into the alleys again. Others with the climbing gear stuck to the wall, starting to climb up.
Someone fell into the moat with a splash.
The team started to laugh as they looked to fish out their fellow, another drunk who had fallen down. The Twilight guards all looked over, something to draw their attention.
Lukas got to the battlements. Simone had beaten him there. They looked at each other and nodded.
They got over the crenellations and onto the wall. A door opened to their right. Simone rushed the door, Lukas behind. The guard was laughing as Simone used her pick, hitting him in the throat. He had a surprised look on his face as she pulled him out of the way with her pick and threw the second, hitting someone inside the defensive tower on the wall.
A guard ran at Simone, tackling her. The two of them fought on the ground.
Lukas took a lesson from Simone. He saw a guard moving around the brazier that was inside the tower and he threw his pickaxe. It made a dull noise, piercing their armor and sticking in their chest. The last of the Silence spell wore off as they dropped to the ground.
Lukas used his other pick, hitting the man who was fighting with Simone in the head.
She rolled him off and spat to the side.
Lukas was about to talk when there was a yell down the wall.
“Guess it’s time we went with Plan B.” Simone threw off her blood-stained cloak, revealing her armor as she pulled out her mage’s staff.
“I liked Plan B more from the beginning.” Lukas’s cloak dropped to the ground as he drew his sword and grabbed his shield. “Time to kill this bitch.”
They went down the winding stairs to the gates.
Lukas kept an eye out as Simone started to cast a spell.
Another two groups met them there.
“Sounds like the fighting is coming from the northwest.”
“Hopefully they can keep them distracted,” Lukas said.
Simone finished casting her spell. The inner metal gate started to rise quickly; the second door opened outward and the bridge started to lower.
People jumped up onto the bridge before it had come down all the way. They rushed in. Other groups had circled around through the alleys to the three main gates.
They headed into the manor, using the maps and detailed blueprints on the manor. They didn’t head for the main castle, but a secondary tower that looked out over the city.
Alarms were being sounded out and guards were woken from their rest; torches were lit and the castle started to come alive as the outpost looked at the manor in shock.
Teams broke off to their different goals: groups to ambush the forces coming out from the barracks, others to force their way into the secondary tower.
Lukas touched the spell scroll he had been given and passed it to Simone. “Channel this when we get near the gates—don’t have time to slow down.”
“Got it,” Simone said.
***
Lady Sumi woke up to the alarms, frowning as she got up. “Whoever dares to wake me up will not live for long,” she hissed.
She got her clothes on and her shoes, moving to the tower’s window to look down at the castle. She saw her guards running out from their barracks with their torches. Suddenly, archers’ fire and magical attacks landed among them, stopping the torches from advancing.
She looked at her second courtyard. Her guards were on the walls. There were only a few of them. The others were running across the ground, getting ready.
Suddenly, a golden spell formation appeared in front of the gate.
A spell scroll? Sumi felt shock for the first time as a blast of power hit the gate. The gate exploded and a section of the wall fell apart.
As the dust settled, armed and armored men and women passed through the gate, attacking the Twilight guards.
==========
Your outpost is under attack by a city’s army!
==========
They’re on the same standard as my Twilight guards? Who are these people? Is it Baron Jermei’s people? Are they looking to support me on the outside and stab me in the back? We have been monitoring the other outposts—they couldn’t have sent people over this fast!
Fighting raged underneath her feet and the door burst open.
“My lady, we have to leave,” the guard said, a pale expression coloring his face.
“Help me get my armor on,” Sumi said, dismissing them. She was an outpost lord. She had needed to carve out her position in life. She would meet these people without fear.
***
“What do you think?” one trader asked the other as they sipped drinks from a window, looking out over Twilight Outpost.
“Haven’t the leaders supported them? Of course the alliance will win. I wonder if we will see some of the special teams?” The second laughed.
The two of them continued to drink even as Twilight Outpost turned into a chaotic battlefield within the outpost lady’s manor.
“Did you give them that thing?” the second trader asked after a few seconds.
“It will give them an edge if they need it,” the first said.
“It is up to them now.”
“To lower taxes and proper roads!” The first raised his glass.
“Don’t you want to head to the higher realms?”
“Ah, with time. Why is there a rush? I want to make sure that my family is safe. Helping the intelligence department is the easiest way. Looks good for promotion,” the first said, as if a sage who had seen the rise and fall of nations.
“You and your promotion.” The second rolled his eyes.
Suddenly there were a series of spells launched from the sieged tower and the manor lit up with destructive light.
“Looks like the lady has woken up.”
***
Lukas worked his jaw, trying to get back his hearing. The lightning bolt that had come from the sky had left him partly blind and deaf.
The Twilight guards had protected their eyes at the last moment and were attacking with gusto. A woman appeared behind them, wearing black armor and cloak with red accents. Guards surrounded her.
Lukas got to his feet, looking around for his squad. He found Simone. Her neck was at an odd angle, her eyes glassy as she looked off into the dirt.
Lukas hissed as he grabbed the bottle on his hip.
A flare shot up from within the castle.
==========
King’s Hill City has taken control over Twilight Outpost!
==========
The Twilight guards all looked around, screens filling their vision, and the Vermire soldiers attacked.
Lukas pulled out the potion and drank it.
Power filled his body.
==========
You have consumed: Berserker’s Rage
Increase your Strength and Agility by 30% for three minutes. Fall into a weakened state for one hour.
==========
He wasn’t the only one as others poured the potions down their throats.
Lukas let out a yell but he could only hear humming as he raised his shield and moved forward with the rest of his squad.
They clashed with the Twilight guards directly, losing their outpost defender buff and now dealing with the organized berserker Vermire guards working together. They were quickly being pushed back.
“For Vermire!” Lukas yelled.
The guards repeated his yell, pushing on. If they didn’t kill the guards and Lady Sumi, then they would die.
Mages had taken a different potion and were buffing the Vermire forces, going all-out, not looking to conserve their mana as they fired curses and attacks at Lady Sumi. Her guard were defending her with their lives, but she had walked out too far; there was no escape backward.
Lady Sumi pulled out spell scrolls, using them to throw the Vermire forces back.
The wounded used healing solutions from Alva Healing House to recover. Even if they weren’t in the best state, they were able to rejoin the fight.
They broke through the guards in the courtyard and hit the guards around Lady Sumi.
She was yelling out and casting her magic, her face a picture of rage.
Lukas blocked a Twilight guard’s attack while Vax stabbed forward with his spear. The two of them worked together to take him down as the guards were whittled down. There were too many of the Vermire guards for the Twilight guards to work together.
Suddenly, mana filled the area.
An explosion went off and Lukas found he was sent flying again. He hit a rock and tumbled, finding his feet, his body battered and bruised.
Lady Sumi was chanting and casting spells. She had pulled out a spell scroll that was stronger than the spell scroll Simone had used to break open the gate.
Lukas’s sword had been lost in the fight. He grabbed the climbing pick and threw it with all his strength. It hit Lady Sumi and the power of her spells backlashed at her all at once. Lukas had a bloody grin on his face as the Silence spell on his second pick ran out of charge.
Lady Sumi coughed blood, the mana in her body tearing her apart. She dropped to the ground, collapsing in a heap.
The other Twilight guards collapsed as well. Tombstones filled the courtyard.
“What the hell?” Vax asked.
Lukas helped him to his feet, holding his shield ready.
The Vermire guards stood up, confused.
***
Valter was looking over his maps as he felt a pain coming from his mana channels.
He grunted, fighting to stand. He heard people collapsing outside of his tent. The pain ran into his head and a tombstone appeared above his head.
***
“No wonder they were willing to do anything for her.” Aditya looked out of his manor and at the camp. It was the dark of night but things weren’t calm over at the attacking camp.
“She was a ruthless ruler. Her guards would follow her into the afterlife, making them fight for her. Many of the Twilight guards were family members, so they would die in order to protect their family members and her life.” Evernight snorted and shook her head.
“Now, it means that her forces have been cut from within.” Aditya got another message through his sound transmission device and turned to the map nearby, putting a cross through another outpost.
“Well, it looks like the Beast Mountain Range will be undergoing a number of changes tonight.”
***
Deep within Alva Dungeon on the Earth floor, Erik opened his eyes. A flame flashed in the depths as his blue eyes now had hints of brown and red in them.
Erik turned his vision inward. Earth mana was being dissolved in his mana channels. His gaunt body started to fill out, the Earth mana increasing his recovery rate, acting as a tonic to him. Instead of having to tirelessly draw the pure mana from the Earth attribute, the two separated out naturally, the pure mana blasting through his nearly clotted mana channels. It followed his cultivation path without Erik applying conscious thought, becoming thicker and denser as it reached his dantian. The mist within gathered slowly before combining into a single pure drop of mana.
Erik cleared his throat and coughed for a few minutes, recovering quickly.
“You okay in there?” Egbert asked.
Erik made to stand but he felt a stabbing pain in his stomach. He quickly looked into his body.
Five drops of mana were trembling, fighting against one another.
If I don’t deal with them, then they could break free. The pressure of the Earth-affinity mana is forcing them to remain in my dantian. If I leave, then they could run free and destroy my Mana Gathering Cultivation.
Erik grit his teeth as he sat down, connecting his mana gates in his hands and his legs.
His mana gates opened, glowing a swirling red and brown as streams of mana were drawn into Erik’s body.
If I was to alter one of the drops like the Earth mana, attract the others, could that work?
Erik focused on one of the drops. It shivered and then started to slowly turn from a slight bluish hue to a brown coloration. He circulated his mana, drawing it inward.
The outside pressure and the attraction force—Erik felt a greater control over both.
A drop was drawn forward. It resisted as it hovered just out of reach of the brown Earth-affinity drop.
Erik lost track of time as he focused on the two drops.
It lost the fight and it was drawn in. The first drop grew larger, its light-brown color turning a deeper brown.
Erik pulled in another drop. It took less time than before.
The mana that was being drawn in held hints of other affinity mana. There was no such thing as pure Earth mana; even the dungeon cores only processed the mana that passed through them. They didn’t revert them to some true pure state.
Erik started to use his control over Fire. His mana gates turned red as it refined out more of the impurities as it was drawn in.
Erik concentrated, compressing and drawing in the next drop. It combined easier than the first and the second. He looked at the last mana drop.
He took a breath, calming himself. The power contained within his body was much higher than before. His body had been refined with Fire mana, then compressed, broken down and reformed with the Earth mana. His control over mana had reached another level. Pain was easily ignored and his life force was stronger than ever before. Erik felt removed from the situation, as if he were looking at someone else’s body.
His entire body had changed, nourished by the power of Earth.
The last mana drop was combined.
Mana rushed in toward Erik’s body. He hungrily drew it in, circulating it through his mana channels, refining it with his Fire Body as his Earth Soul drew it in, compressing it easily.
Within his dantian, the brown cleared from his core. A clear core remained; a sphere of brown and a blue flame appeared within it, orbiting within his core.
Threads of other affinities created ribbons through the clear area of his core.
A mana drop condensed within Erik’s core. It dropped off the inside of the core and dropped into the middle of the sphere.
Erik felt as if an explosion went off within his body. He let out a cry. It felt like molten metal was pouring out of his dantian. Erik collapsed backward. Cracks seemed to spread from his mana gates. His mana channels stretched out like roots of a tree growing through the ground, threading through his muscles, transforming from channels into veins.
Erik glowed from within as mana was fused into the very cells of his body, transforming him inside and out.
The mana veins reached up to his skull and Erik lost his battle with consciousness.
The Earth floor shook as Erik was undergoing massive changes within his body. It felt as if a monster were being born at the center of the floor.
Erik slowly opened his eyes. His blue eyes shone, with flecks of brown and blue deep within. He felt that he had changed completely.
“Damn that Rugrat,” Erik muttered, feeling that he had kept something hidden.
Erik felt that his control over mana had reached an unfathomable level. The area around him came under his domain. Even passively, he was drawing the mana in, bending it to his will without conscious thought. His mana channels had transformed into mana veins. His entire body thirsted for mana. He could exercise his will anywhere within his domain, increasing the speed of his casting. He looked to his side, where Gilly rested.
Even without touching her, he could scan her body with his Simple Organic Scan. He could see the changes happening within her body. Feeling his gaze upon her, she opened her eyes. There was an intelligence and pride within those eyes.
“You’ve worked hard.” He smiled and patted her nose.
She let out a pleased snort, preening with the attention.
Erik felt her share an emotion and image with him.
“Is food the only treats you like?” Erik muttered.
She cooed slightly.
“I’m working on something to unlock your bloodline. I need time, though,” Erik said.
She huffed and laid her head down away from him.
“Fine, fine! Food it is,” Erik said, complaining.
Gilly brightened and nudged him before she put her head in his lap.
He sighed and patted her and gave her scratches. Her hide was much stronger than before. If Erik hadn’t undergone his latest Body Cultivation, then her hide would have stripped off a layer of skin just petting her.
Erik pulled up the angry notifications that were waiting for him. They streamed down in front of him.
“Well, damn.”
==========
Quest: Body Cultivation 3
==========
The path cultivating one’s body is not easy. To stand at the top, one must forge their own path forward.
==========
Requirements:
Reach Body Like Diamond Level
==========
Rewards:
+12 to Strength
+12 to Agility
+12 to Stamina
+20 to Stamina Regeneration
+10,000,000 EXP
==========
==========
Your personal efforts have increased your base stats!
==========
Stamina +6
Strength +6
Agility +6
Stamina Regeneration +6
Mana Pool +4
==========
==========
Title: Earth Soul
==========
You have tempered your body with Earth. Earth has become a part of you, making your body take on some of its characteristics. You have gained:
==========
Legendary Earth resistance.
Legendary Recovery Ability.
Increased control over Earth Mana.
Physical attacks contain Earth attribute.
Can completely purify the Earth attribute in Mana.
==========
==========
Quest: Body Cultivation 4
==========
The path cultivating one’s body is not easy. To stand at the top, one must forge their own path forward.
==========
Requirements:
Unlock your bloodline
==========
Rewards:
+24 to Strength
+24 to Agility
+24 to Stamina
+40 to Stamina Regeneration
+100,000,000 EXP
==========
==========
You have opened another Mana gate!
==========
+1 to Mana Regeneration
==========
==========
Quest Updated: Opening the Fourteen Gates
==========
Congratulations! You have opened your fourteenth Mana gate.
==========
Requirements: Clear all of your fourteen gates (14/14)
==========
Rewards: +1 to Mana Regeneration base stat
Undergo Mana Body Rebirth
1,400,000 EXP
==========
==========
Title: Blessed by Mana
==========
You have become closer to Mana, exerting a greater control over it.
==========
The strength of your spells has increased by 60%. Your Mana Regeneration has increased by 60%.
Can create a Mana domain.
(Replaces Mana Emperor)
==========
==========
Title: Mana Reborn
==========
Your body has undergone a deep transformation, bringing you closer to Mana, reborn with greater power and control over its forces.
==========
Mana channels are transformed into mana veins. Your mana sense and control increases greatly.
You can now convert Stamina into mana and vice versa.
==========
==========
Quest Completed: Mana Cultivation 1
==========
The path cultivating one’s mana is not easy. To stand at the top, one must forge their own path forward.
==========
Requirements:
Compress your Mana Core
==========
Rewards:
+15 to Mana
+15 to Mana Regeneration
+10% mana capacity
+10,000,000 EXP
==========
==========
Quest: Mana Cultivation 2
==========
The path cultivating one’s mana is not easy. To stand at the top, one must forge their own path forward.
==========
Requirements:
Reach Vapor Mana Core
==========
Rewards:
+20 to Mana
+20 to Mana Regeneration
+50,000,000 EXP
==========
==========
Name: Erik West
==========
Level: 59
==========
Race: Human
==========
Titles:
From the Grave II
Blessed By Mana
Dungeon Master III
Reverse Alchemist
Poison Body
Fire Body
City Lord
Earth Soul
Mana Reborn
==========
Strength: (Base 54) +41
==========
950
==========
Agility: (Base 47) +72
==========
654
==========
Stamina: (Base 57) +25
==========
1230
==========
Mana: (Base 27) +79
==========
1166
==========
Mana Regeneration (Base 30) +61
73.80/s
==========
Stamina Regeneration: (Base 67) +59
26.20/s
==========
==========
You have reached Level 59
==========
When you sleep next, you will be able to increase your attributes by: 5 points.
==========
==========
2,448,136/86,100,000 EXP till you reach Level 60
==========
“So I got the title Earth Soul for Body Cultivation, Mana Blessed for Mana Gathering Cultivation. Then, with compressing my core, I unlocked the requirements to get the Mana Gathering Cultivation quests. What the hell is with this mana core?”
Erik felt a little lost. Some of his stats had nearly doubled. Though unlike when he put stat points into his character sheet from leveling up, there was no disassociation with the power he felt in his body. He looked into his body. There was now two circulator systems within his body: mana and blood flowed through his body, the two systems complementing one another. His dual cultivation changes had transformed his body. Erik reached out with his hand and the mana in the area stopped, unable to move, the area around him under his complete control.
“Damn, this is a lot of power.” Erik was a little scared of the power in his hands now. If I have this power, then who else does? That thought sent a shiver through his body.
“You done in there yet?” Egbert asked.
Erik looked back to see Egbert in a flower pattern shirt in a wooden reclined chair, reading a book.
“I have so many questions,” Erik said.
“Oh, about your cultivation?” Egbert asked in an excited tone, leaning forward.
“Mostly about the shirt,” Erik said with a raised eyebrow.
“Hey, Rugrat talked about these Hawaiian shirts and someone made up a print. People really started to enjoy them. Even got a pair of shorts and sunglasses!” Egbert pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on his face. He had to tilt his head back so they wouldn’t fall off his head due to the lack of nose and ears.
Erik cleared his throat. Gilly moved and the two of them headed out of the Earth cave. As Erik walked out, he had to adjust the amount of strength he used, getting accustomed to the changes within his body.
Erik remembered his mana core and looked at it once again.
Still there were the ribbons of colors that moved through it, appearing and disappearing, weaving their way through, the blue flame and the dirt sphere that orbited where his mana drops rested. The dirt sphere drew in the mana and the flame refined it as two mana drops rested at the center of Erik’s mana core.
Erik explained what he was seeing in his core.
“Oh, it looks like you might have an affinity core,” Egbert said excitedly.
“An affinity core?”
“A core that has the refined elements of mana. From what I can tell, most people who are able to get them have an innate constitution that allows them greater control over a primary type of mana or a secondary type.”
“Primary? Secondary?”
“Primary would be what you have, over Earth, over Fire. A secondary would be like over Ice, or over Lightning. Anyway, people who have these kinds of affinity cores, if they cultivate mana according to their type, they can really accelerate their mana gathering speed. Though if they cultivate other kinds of mana, then they will poison their body and it can kill them. I guess with you incorporating the mana into your body, refining your body, then its secondary effect is that your body is closer to those affinities and the different affinity types of mana are a tonic instead of toxin.”
Egbert pulled out a notepad from somewhere and wrote down his learnings.
“Seems that I am walking the right path then,” Erik said. “What happened while I’ve been cultivating?”
“Well, you started four weeks ago. A lot has happened.”