172. Augmentation - 15

172. Augmentation - 15

Stepping through the magic gate to the dungeon was a strangely familiar feeling, though it took me a while to understand exactly where that sensation was coming from.

Then, I realized why it took that long. The last time I had felt it, I was trying not to bleed to death, right when this mess had started, and could barely pay attention to my surroundings.

I didn't have too much time to compare, as the sensation of traveling through a tunnel of light lasted for a fraction of a second. Without my Perception, I wouldn't have even had the chance to observe.

However, the moment my feet touched the solid ground, I was attacked by a shadow of some sort. I stopped thinking about the similarities between the dungeon entrance and the hero summoning not that I didn't feel it was important, but it was better to discuss it with Zolast and focused on the more immediate threats.

[+11,820 Experience]nove(l)bi(n.)com

A slash of my sword was enough to take the shadow down, shattering its existence.

Zolast wasn't joking when he mentioned the mana shadows being far easier opponents. I wasn't an expert mage, but my stat combination still gave me an ability to observe mana unmatched by all but the best, allowing me to see through the structure of the shadow easily, a cloud of mana, held together with some solid lines.

Breaking one was enough to destabilize the monsters completely. The mana that created the structure gathered into a small ball, creating a mana stone.

However, as I examined the result, I received another attack then another.

[+10,309 Experience]

[+9,644 Experience]

Zolast wasn't exaggerating when he said a dungeon without limiters was a dangerous environment. Without the awareness given to me by the combination of Agility and Perception, I would have received several painful attacks.

However, that was only theoretical as I danced between the attacks, dodging them as I countered. A mana attack would be enough to kill all that surrounded me, but I decided against it, instead, using it as a chance to train.

I used Charisma to pull the shadows toward me. My attackers multiplied, rushing from every direction and angle.

With Intelligence, I was getting better and better at putting my fighting style together, and the endless attacks were quite useful for that. And, since my enemies would die from a glancing strike, I focused on my Agility. The fight with Limenta showed that I wasn't as good at dodging as I wished.

Of course, he was receiving double Agility for every level up, making our stats a complete mismatch. Before my long rest, I would have just dumped some stat points to balance it, but my discovery with Strength tempted me to experiment first.

With a sigh, I turned my attention to the next aspect. The loot.

Around me, there was a pile of skill and mana stones, mixed with occasional stat stones. At one point, it was an unmatched treasure. Now, it was merely a nice payout. Just like Experience points, what was valuable and what was not changed continuously.

As I collected them, the odd shadows had been conjuring near me, allowing me to watch the process now that I wasn't distracted by exploring the limits of Agility. After some observation, I realized there was some kind of precursor to them appearing. A subtle flicker in the mana cloud, a second before the mists rushed toward it and formed another shadow.

I would have just assumed it was a weird mana reaction, but after Zolast's explanation, I could see that it was the mysterious energy that Zolast had mentioned. Not because I could actually detect the energy, but thanks to Awakened Intelligence and Attunement, I could predict the way mana was supposed to move, and was able to notice where that pattern broke.

Interesting, I thought even as I continued to fill the sack I had brought with me with loot, watching to see if I could catch something like that. Soon, I caught a pattern. Whenever there was a higher density of mana, it gathered into a secondary clump, and turned into a skill stone.

"Curious," I thought, and the next time it happened, I used my Speed to move next to it, and tried to push my Mana into a hit, trying to create a bigger Skill stone.

Only to connect with the System.

[Skill Stone Formation Detected: Stab. Enhance?

Accept / Reject]

It disappeared before I could decide, not that I actually wanted to do so. The reason was simple. I could feel the same blockage that had been preventing me from reading the notifications related to Authority.

Interfering with Skills was most likely related to Authority or Zolast would have mentioned its possibility so it made sense that it was blocked by the same method. Yet, the fact that I could read it in the first place raised two possibilities. Whatever was blocking my reach was weaker for skill manipulation.

Or it didn't work well in the dungeons.

Luckily, testing that wasn't too hard. I closed my eyes, trying to recreate the same feeling I had when I had reached the Astral world next to the Breach.

And, I found out that I could replicate that feeling. There was some sense of a barrier, but it didn't feel strong. Like I could just push and reach the other side. Tempting, but I decided not to take the risk.

Instead, I stayed near, curious whether I could catch the creation process of Stat stones. Unfortunately, after fifteen minutes of observation, I failed to do so.

A task for another time, I decided.

I gathered my mana, and activated the exit.