Chapter 59

Michael stared at the white skill stone in his hand as if it was a white-hot, scalding piece of molten metal. For all intents and purposes, it might very well be one. Not that he did not earn it, because he sure did. More like because, in light of what he learned about the dungeon, he was growing ever more wary of power handed to him by the strange, inscrutable entity. It wasn’t as if the dungeon wasn’t aware that Michael now wanted to find a way to avoid Earth suffering the same fate as Theobond’s planet.

And what about Johanne? Why did the dungeon actively help him, of all things? Didn’t it want Michael to die gruesomely the first time he had stepped inside it? Yet, the more he proved himself, the more the dungeon gave things to him. Was it to make him grow reliant on power that was not his own?

Hard questions, ones he did not have an answer to. In any case, he did not think good things would come from the dungeon learning about what he planned to do with his company’s future research division. Reverse engineering magic was something he could easily see the dungeon having problems with.

I need to find out if the dungeon can see outside of itself, perhaps in the sphere of influence of its mana. And if yes, how to counteract that.

With that thought, he decided to refocus on the skill stone.

Beside him, Johanne had asked to be allowed to watch, and her own mana sense was trained on the strange piece of glowing rock she had never seen before. They both took some time to study the thing, since it took a couple of hours just to get used to its insane magical brightness.

“It should be pretty straightforward: from what I’ve seen, dungeon-given rewards are not as taxing on Intent reserves as developing and upgrading skills on my own.” Indeed, that was the reason why Michael had not even learned of intent until he switched to making his own skills. The rare dungeon reward skill had taxed him a little bit, however, which made him wary to approach the legendary stone, which was like a sun compared to a campfire.

Still, the assumption was that the dungeon would not have given him the skill stone unless he was able to use it, and thus once they were both satisfied with their study of the thing, Michael wasted no time and absorbed it.

He gasped as something changed within himself.

He pulled up the skill description.

 

(Common, Growth) Unity 1

In the tapestry of existence, each challenge conquered weaves a thread of mastery; Unity is the canvas of my potential. It expands, painting a saga of growth and accomplishment.   A vanishingly rare skill, its incalculable might concealed from all prying eyes.   ·         You gain access to status. It will display quantifiable statistics for some aspects of your life and provide a levelling system to improve them. ·         Your statistics are uncapped, and training in novel ways will allow you to grow stronger. ·         This skill’s level can only be increased with Unity. Gain Unity by performing actions of significance and slaying enemies. To increase level cap, you must raise the rarity of the skill. Current level cap: 10 Statistics gained per level: 10 to all base statistics, 5 Copper to mana. Status can be accessed by thinking about it.

 

Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 1/10
Base Statistics		Advanced Statistics
Strength	192	Mana	78/78 Copper Units
Dexterity	137	Elemental energy	0/78 Copper Units, 0 types
Stamina	230	Qi	7.8/7.8 Copper Units
Reflexes	252 (180+40%)	Intent	0.78/0.78 Copper Units
Intelligence	112
Resilience	360
Memory	128

 

Michael’s eyes almost bulged out of his head as he read all of it.

“My lord?” Johanne asked, concerned.

“My liege?” Drullkrin said a moment later, and Michael realized that perhaps he had spent more time inspecting his status than he thought.

“I’m alright,” he said quickly, “it’s just… wow. This changes a lot of things.” Especially, even though the dungeon really might be malicious, he couldn’t deny its usefulness any longer. It was his only way to get higher rarity skills, and considering what this skill could do… he wanted more.

“Did it deplete your intent, my lord?” Johanne asked.

“No,” he shook his head, “it actually didn’t. It’s like it used all of its energy to change something fundamental about me, returning to common rarity in the process. Here, let me read it to you…”

As he did so, his two companions’ faces grew tense, then awed, and then pensive as they thought about what it might mean for him to have such a change happen.

“This…” Johanne was at a loss for words, “this is not how the magic I know works. I know not of this strange system that you utilize, but its potential might very well be limitless.”

“Indeed, my liege,” the goblin was already thinking about the benefits, it was clearly visible on his face, “let us ponder about it for a while, and we might come up with all sorts of good ways to train your strength to soaring heights nobody thought possible before.”

In the end, Michael’s departure from the dungeon was delayed by two more days. He levelled up by slaying monsters and exploring what was left to see of the valley, and the sensation in that moment had been almost pure bliss. It was strong enough to almost make him lose himself in the pleasure, making him go and hunt again like an addict searching for another fix. It was only his gargantuan Resilience, now at 370, that helped him find himself again.

But then again, it’s not the stat that gives me strength of mind. My resilience has always been high, but now I have a number that represents just how high it is compared to other aspects of my life.

 

Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 2/10
Base Statistics		Advanced Statistics
Strength	192 -> 202	Mana	78 -> 83/83 Copper Units
Dexterity	137 -> 147	Elemental energy	0/83 Copper Units, 0 types
Stamina	230 -> 240	Qi	8.3/8.3 Copper Units
Reflexes	252 -> 266 (190+40%)	Intent	0.83/0.83 Copper Units
Intelligence	112 -> 122
Resilience	260 -> 370
Memory	128 -> 138

 

***

Outside the dungeon, the first thing he did was to head to the temporary headquarters being built close to the road. It was a prefab building, currently quite close to the edge of the property by the road, but later on it would be rebuilt much closer to the security HQ at the edge of the forested area, close to the manned gate and the gravel road.

Johanne was with him, and once again his all-pass let him dodge all questions, although Jennifer—the head of security—shot him some strange looks when she thought he wasn’t looking. When he asked her why she was on edge, she sighed.

“There’s strange movement, that’s why. I have never seen something like that. I thought the guards were trippin’ but no, they all say that there’s a strange man lurking around the forest and when they get close… poof, he becomes a blur and disappears.”

Mihcael hummed, hoping to mask his reaction at her words. It’s the same man I saw close to the cave.

He failed. “You know something,” Jennifer said.

“I do,” Michael said, “I’ll have to talk to the others first, but I think we might have a problem.”

“I think he’s hanging around to regenerate his mana,” he said a bit later, in the HQ with Old Dave and Travis. Strange how both of them were already there, working to get his stuff sorted. Old Dave, he understood. But Travis? Didn’t the CEO have a company to manage?

“I was thinking the same thing,” said Travis, looking at Michael and then at Johanne. Michael noticed his gaze linger and harden, not in a good way.

“She’s Johanne, I found her in the dungeon.”

“The guards told me,” the CEO said, words coming out as if forced. “Can we trust her?”

“She swore an oath,” Michael replied simply. He would share about oaths later, but not now.

Travis snorted. “Right.”

“Let’s get back on track,” Old Dave said.

“Right,” Travis said again, “I think it’s Carmela’s goon, all hints point to her.”

Johanne perked up at that, but said nothing.

“I’ll increase security, of course,” the CEO continued, “but if he’s powered, I don’t see it doing much other than aggravate him.”

“It’s all we can do for now,” Old Dave said. “Unless he’s causing you issues with the dungeon?”

Michael shook his head. “The difficulty seems to be plateauing,” he said, “but shouldn’t we be concerned that he’s growing in strength?”

“Of course,” Trais said, and it was clear that he was still not over the whole Johanne business by the way he spoke. “But your time is too valuable to just put you there as a sentry, and you’re the only one who even has a chance to catch him.”

“I see,” Michael said.

“Now,” Old Dave said, “you said earlier that you finally pacified the second floor of the dungeon. Care to explain?”

“Yeah,” Travis added. “Tell us about these oaths and about Johanne.”

“I can speak for myself,” she said, raising to full height. A hint of mana escaped her body, even though the lack of regeneration made her grimace. “I am Johanne of the Roses, sworn servant of my lord Michael. I have sworn an oath to never betray him, and I shall do all in my power to aid him in his quest to survive the calamity that approaches.”

“Now, now,” Travis said, his frown replaced by a glint to his eye. “Isn’t this interesting. Why don’t you tell us everything, Mike?”

Michael took a deep breath. “It’s not light stuff. I learned some critical information. Yes, the second floor is pacified, and is now a rest area. I even gained a Legendary skill. Yet, compared to that, the most important thing I got is information. I’ll explain everything, but first you need to promise me to not utter a word of this to anyone.”

“My lord,” Johanne said quickly, “shouldn’t you make them take an oath?”

Michael shook his head. “I can’t. My soul is at capacity for now.”

“There’s no need,” Travis said, “you might not know of our society, but know this: we have thrown our lot with him. He can destroy us should he want to. Take away all that we have that really matters to us. What’s material wealth to me after what I’ve seen? And he’s the key to that. Short of killing him and taking it all for myself…”

Johanne didn’t like that, and immediately started casting. It took Michael to make her stop.

“See?” Travis said as if confirming something, “he grows more untouchable by the day. Why, with all that I stand to gain from helping him, with none of the risks he shoulders, should I betray him?”

“Your words make sense, mister chief executive officer of another company. Michael explained some basics to me, and while he trusts you I did not fail to notice the conflict of interest here.”

And that’s when Travis’ eyes went from wary to filled with respect. He could appreciate a fellow shrewd mind.

“Why, I could never ask for a better opportunity to come at you with a surprise.” He turned so that he faced Michael, staring at him in the eye. He was shorter than Michael, but larger. He exuded more presence, and not of the magical kind. “Did you come up with a name for your corporation, Michael?”

“I did, why?”

“Because,” Travis said with a slight pause to build tension, “PetroLink Global is coming under your umbrella. Should you want us to, of course.”

The billionaire finished his speech with a manic grin on his face.

“Thrown my lot with you,” he added, “all the way through.”