Chapter 224: Attempt at Sixteen

Chapter 224: Attempt at Sixteen

The day started as usual. At the crack of dawn, Dallion got up, checked the strands of hair he had placed at the window and door to make sure no one had entered, and did half an hour of real-world exercises as Vend had advised he do. For some yet unclear reason, doing while physical exercises didnt increase any stats, they allowed Dallion to build up stamina.

Following the exercises, Dallion went down to use the toilet, then washed up. Normally this would be the time that hed back breakfast, but with neither Veil nor Gloria in the main room, Dallion decided to delay it for later. Strangely enough, Hannah wasnt there either. Normally she would be up about this time, doing what passed as administrative work, or prepping the place for the day. It was still a mystery why she didnt hire someone to do the cleaning for her with the money she had been making.

Back in his room, Dallion spent a moment improving his training dagger. At level eleven, the battlers had already become quite challenging. Using music was out of the question, since it had already reached the cap. Instead, Dallion had resorted to the second-best optionLuxs flight and Noxs ability to crack armor. There was the option to use athletic skills and a dartbow instead, but that method was proving less and less reliable.

Copper, Dallion said once he was back in the real world. He had finally moved through the tin and bronze stages, reaching a third metal. Ironically, the improvement made the dagger less usable in the real world than it had been before. Regardless, it was good practice in more ways than one. Dallion was able to gauge his skills, as well as see the stages of leveling upwhen it came to tin stilettos, at least.

Putting the weapon away, he sat on the bed. Hours remained until lunch. Even breakfast was about twenty minutes away. Veil had gotten into the habit of getting up late, and Gloria tended to stay in her room until he was ready.

Technically, there was nothing stopping Dallion from just going to her room, knocking on the door, and telling her about Eury. Actually, there were quite a few things wrong. Other than it being extremely awkward, he feared it might send mixed signals.

Ill do it after I level up, Dallion told himself.

There was no harm in that, after all. Besides, it was only going to take a moment in the real world. Its not like anyone would notice?

While Dallion was thinking about it, his glance fell on the stone orchid. It had been a few days since he had played any music to it. Maybe he could do so now? Leaving it unattended wasnt such a good idea. And why not try out the ringchord? Dallion had literally never played it once since he had won it at the plaza. He definitely had to at some point and now was just as good a time as any

Youre making excuses a memory of last nights conversation flashed through his mind. A lot of things had been said back then, and Dallions till thought that the dryad had no idea what he was talking about.

Five minutes later, Dallion was still sitting on the bed, planning what hed do the rest of his day. Finally, that proved to be the wake-up call. As much as he didnt want to, he removed the blocker ring.

PERSONAL AWAKENING

The skill room formed around him. The presence of more walls made it appear even more bare. It was only the forging tools that gave the impression that Dallion was progressing in something. The Acrobatics section, on the other hand, left a whole lot to be desired.

What skills are there in acrobatics? Dallion wondered.

Juggling and balancing, for one thing, Nil replied bitterly. Something you seem to excel at.

Oh. Sorry, Nil. I had a lot on my mind last night.

I know, and I was more than ready to discuss it with you. That is, if youre still interested. I went through the entire library with Gen to save you time and effort, but it seems you have other things on your mind.

Another paradox cube? Dallion asked in astonishment. You must be very lucky. As long as you dont mess things up, youll get to claim another special goodie.

Dallion didnt think of himself as lucky at all.

Unlike the previous cube, this one seemed a lot smaller and much better lit. Dallion was able to see the other side of it without problem. However, he wished that he couldnt. The walls of each wall were packed with houses, and now just any housesthese were the same houses that Dallion remembered from Dherma. It was as if someone had cut up the city in squares, then stuck them in the middle of a box. Dallions own house was visible on the wall to his left. Floating in the center, connected only through a series of bridges, was the chieftains mansion. It looked much more imposing than it had in reality, clearly showing that it was the most important structure there wasthe living heart of the village.

Lux, Dallion said.

Knowing what to do, the firebird appeared and took Dallion into the air. There was a faint chirp of disappointment that the realm he was summoned to was so small, but even so, the chick was happy to be with him again.

Get me to the entrance of that building, Dallion thought. Nox, be ready. I think Ill be needing you on this.

Im not known as one who frowns on ingenuity, but that seems remarkably close to cheating, dear boy, Nil said. Wouldnt you rather use the more conventional methods?

No, Dallion replied.

A single instant was needed to reach the entrance. No blocking enemies had appeared so far, making Dallion feel somewhat anxious. Clearly, this challenge was more puzzle than battlefield.

The door loomed five feet over him. Distinctly more massive than in the past, it appeared to be locked and bolted. Of course, thanks to Lux, Dallion could just go around the mansion and find another point of entrylike a window, for example. However, since the puzzle was so obviously forcing him to find an alternative entrance, Dallion decided to settle with this one.

Music, forging, and attack, he thought.

Several weaknesses in the metal of the frame became apparent. Despite its appearance, the mansion hadnt been kept in particularly good condition. Very much like the well. A series of targeting markers appeared all over the frame. They were soon joined by a second set of markersthis time orangeindicating the jumps and spins Dallion had to do to reach each of his targets.

Summoning the Nox dagger, Dallion leapt into action. His body spun and twisted in accordance with the suggested markers, allowing him to bounce off the wall as if there were footholds on it. As Dallion passed by a weak spot, a single strike from the dagger proved enough to crack the section of the frame. After a full sequence of acrobatic markers, the skills bonus kicked in. Dallion expected it to be something similar to the other basic skills: guard skills slowed down time, while attack skills allowed multiple attacks in a single instant. This one did none of that. What it did was to create a single disk-like marker floating in the air.

So thats air walking, Dallion thought. It had been described in some of the skill scrolls he had read in the ring library, but at the time Dallion had thought that to be a picturesque description rather than anything real. As it turned out, he had been wrong. In addition to all the other benefits the acrobatics skills provided, they also granted him the ability to walk on air one step at a time.

It took a total of three seconds for Dallion to strike all the weak points of the doorframe. When he did, the entire thing tilted forward then, fell to the ground, slamming like a fly swatter on a table. Dust filled the air for several moments, making it impossible to see anything beyond.

When the dust cleared, the inner garden of the mansion came into view along with a person standing there.

I knew youd come for me, Dallion. Gloria rushed forward, giving him a warm hug. Ive known it even since you improved my ring.