The emotions awakened in me as I connected to the System again were… complicated.
On the one hand, it was an excellent opportunity, one that shouldn’t be squandered. Having access to my skills again, even in a reduced capacity, increased my abilities significantly, and I could use the fortunate access to solve some of the questions I had about magic. A great opportunity.
Yet, even as I used the information access to parse through the information, a part of me couldn’t help but be dissatisfied with the access. I felt like it was damaging my growing independence, and, at this point, I was enjoying my independence significantly.
“Less time pondering, more time focusing on practical concerns,” I murmured. Self-assessment of my emotional state might not be a waste, but it was certainly not the time. Not when I could suddenly come face to face with enemies I couldn’t rival.
I turned my attention to the connection between the System and the environment. The first thing I noticed was that, the connection itself was hampered. It was draining Divine Spark from the environment, but at a much slower degree compared to back in the mainland. It didn’t even drain any mana.
Though, the reverse was also true. There was no convenient mana or HP recovery, and the skills were … for lack of a better term, faded. The mana conversion feature, for example, was not working. Stats weren’t working either, but they were not just dead like before. Classifying them as half-awake was a more accurate definition. I had a feeling a push would awaken them.
I didn’t dare to experiment. Instead, I turned my attention to an even more important aspect. Companion module. Interestingly, that was just as dead as the earlier.
“Isn’t that interesting,” I found myself murmuring, my smile getting bigger. I had already assumed that the Companion process was something like an alternative System, and what was happening here just confirmed it. The connection here with the Main System only…
And it implied, if I could understand how such a connection cut through the primordial aether, I could replicate it for my unique brand.
Or even better, create one that was completely under my control…
With the assistance of my skills, I was already coming up with some really interesting methods such a connection could be created. It would have been weak and ineffectual compared to the main system, but it would be under my control, and my control only.
What a fascinating possibility.
I wanted to go upstairs, and find the source of the connection… The only problem, I wasn’t confident enough to deal with the Eternals. Not with my current capabilities. It would have been different if they didn’t have the System, but they did, possibly with a method to keep their Stats at least partially active.
It was not a situation I was willing to face in a hurry, not without something pushing me. I had already received the answer to my question. The crystals were coming from the Eternals, and they were using the System to devour the Divine Spark.
I might have thought differently if the Eternals weren’t using the connection with the System to devour the Divine Spark. If that had been the case, raiding their storage, which would have probably held tens of thousands of Divine Spark for my benefit, would have been an incredible strategic benefit.
Unfortunately, wishing didn’t make it a reality.
However, just because I didn’t want to go upstairs didn’t mean I wanted to escape either. The sudden connection with the System was convenient, and I started resolving my problems. My first target was Proto-HP, using Biomancy to develop a better understanding, using it in tandem with Tantric — which I always had full access — to examine the internal structure of Proto-HP, to understand how it could be used better.
I stayed in the basement for three hours, carefully examining the structure, and soon, I attained two important benefits. One, I managed to increase its efficiency.
Two, I discovered a way to safely put some to someone else. It was not completely solved, and it certainly required some experimentation to understand the limits and drawbacks, but it was a start.
I might even stay longer, but I felt the wards between the basement and the upper floors flicker, and decided to beat a retreat.
It was not the time for a confrontation, not yet.
However, just because I didn’t seek a confrontation didn’t mean I wanted to leave them alone. First, I pulled a mile away — though, for a chance, I didn’t leave any beacons, afraid of those getting detected — then pushed toward the surface.
I examined the castle from a distance, examining its structure. The first thing I noticed was the towers, five of them, one at each corner, and a taller one at the center. Each tower had a crystal at the top, creating some kind of magical cage to protect the castle, but even at a distance, I could see that it was too complicated for it to be the only purpose.
I was willing to bet those crystals were responsible for the System access. The mana usage was too intense to be just for the defensive effort.
Unfortunately, intimidating walls and magical towers weren’t the only things I had noticed. I could see dozens of people at the walls, confirming that not trying to breach the castle was the better idea.
“It’s time to retreat,” I said I retreated back to my tunnel, and as I moved back, I collapsed the tunnel behind me, until I had reached the outer layer.
I pulled back another mile, then created myself a barebones shelter, just enough to teleport, hold a few detection wards, and other fundamentals, with no care for comfort. Then, outside, I started building a subtle detection ward that was hard to detect.
Ward, I built even farther, because I didn’t want to alert the Eternals. No, for that purpose, they were the bait…
I didn’t need to wait for the first bite. Barely two hours since I started establishing that ward, before I even finished, I felt a tug at the ward. I went out, magic around me enough to keep me invisible, enough for me to detect a procession of the undead. Five liches, twenty death knights, and a thousand zombies.
Not a small army, especially since I could sense the liches were even stronger than I expected. I could have attacked them directly… But I wanted to try something different.
They were trusting the liches to protect the crystals, their presence glowing against the detection ward. I moved underneath them, until I was near them, and let a thin string of mana toward the crystals … draining slowly.
It would have been a hopeless task if they had the ability to actually sense Divine Spark. Luckily, none of them actually had that ability, and used the crystals to bypass that. That inability allowed me to act like a thief, and when they finally stepped out of the range of my wards and entered the range of the Eternals, half of the Divine Spark with them belonged to me.
{+1480 Purified Spark}
A fascinating amount. Of course, I would have loved to take all of it, but I doubted the Eternals would just wave as those groups got attacked. One or two, I could get away, but more attacks would bring attention that I wouldn’t want.
Instead, I was happy with the fascinating amount of Divine Spark that I was able to steal with next to no effort.
I waited for a sign to leave, but before I did, I saw a familiar face. The unlucky traitor, left the wards with a huge frown on his face. “I’ll burn that cheating forest down,” he murmured as he moved toward the forest.
My wild guess, the Eternals measured the crystal he had and realized it was empty, not giving him what he was hoping for in exchange for his betrayals. I might have let him go away, but I didn’t have any need to be a traitor.
Instead, halfway in, I attacked him. Before he could even realize my presence, I stabbed him with a pure mana line, and pulled it to steal his Divine Spark.
{+21 Purified Spark}
Not exactly strong, but not weak either.
“W-what’s going on!” he gasped, shocked as he tried to summon mana. If the environment he was in was generous with Nature mana, he might have put some kind of useless defense, but in the middle of a desolate land with more necrotic mana than nature mana, he was just helpless…
I appeared in his sight, wearing an illusion to make me look like an elf. “We have a lot to talk about, traitor…” I said, the churning of mana around me enough to turn me into an intimidating sight.
“I’m not a traitor!” he tried to argue, but a flood of pure mana was enough to intimidate him to keep silent. Of course, it was suspicious for an elf to use pure mana, but I didn’t care about that.
It wasn’t like he would survive after the interrogation…
{Strength: 16 Charisma: 16
Precision: 16 Perception: 16
Agility: 16 Manipulation: 16
Speed: 16 Intelligence: 16
Endurance: 16 Wisdom: 16}
{Purified Divine Spark: 4038}
{Pseudo-HP: 2869 Mana: 4140}
{ADDITIONAL SPARKS
Light - Chosen 7.4
Nature - Chosen 10}
{MINIONS
Guardian God Forest - 1794}
Elven Priestess - 70}
[Level: 36 Experience: 631374 / 666000]