EPISODE 192: FALSE SKY 2

  — Nation of Ivory, Year: 7292. Season: New Beginning.

  “(Grand Fireball), burn these creatures away,” Wilarax exclaimed, striking a peace pose as her spell ignited and blasted her enemies apart. She bowed to her audience as the notifications rolled in, who clapped at her display. However, her five protectors didn’t see her pondering expression as she turned away.

  Three massive ape creatures sporting green-black fur, each nearly six meters in height and weighing several tons, were incinerated as a fireball the size of a small SUV consumed them. The inner workings of the large tree, Iveri, remained a mystery to Wilarax, but she had what seemed like eternal life to explore that and the rest of her world. Her silent protectors remained a fair distance away as she continued her exploration of the only known child of the Gods. She technically… was not one, although many considered her to be.

  A dungeon within a tree… or perhaps a tree within a dungeon? The large tree, Iveri — Greatest Oak, spread its roots and branches over the capital of the Nation of Ivory. Its leaves provided shade for the inner region of the city, where it could be seen by all. Iveri remained a hidden enigma—its size hidden from the world through some grand illusion that stemmed from the tree itself. Wilarax still remembered when she came in range and the mirage veiling her eyes from its true body dispersed. At all hours of the day and night, the holy tree remained busy with El’anni elves and more, exploring and mining materials from its depths.

  It was marvelous, but strange to understand, this tree that was a child of God El and Goddess Ivory.

  “Ugh, just one more item, and I can build a veil,” Wilarax internally muttered, her eyes casually glancing over her protectors. “Can’t call this an [Adventure] with prison guards constantly watching me.”

  Back on earth, when she was still known as Celina, Wilarax was an avid anime and comic fan—[Adventures] of fantasy worlds and the complex minds of indie authors were worlds she loved to explore as a hobby. Now, she was supposed to be living that life, gathering friends as she went on her adventure.

  …

  So why did she feel more like a [Prisoner] than an [Adventurer]?

  …

  Wilarax carefully collected the beast cores of the slain creatures and deposited them in her bag of holding. The internals of Iveri served as a complex labyrinth that appeared to be varying forest biomes within the tree. Its dungeon creatures were reminiscent of such biomes, as Iveri sported diverse levels where one could be in a winter wonderland for one series of levels and a hot jungle the next.

  Wilarax spent her days in Iveri collecting items and raising her strength. “Status-sheet,” she uttered as she planted her butt at the foot of a large pine tree. She deeply inhaled the scent of the tree and the surrounding spring-themed biome, and her mind became peaceful but decisive. She was still getting used to her new classes [Unleashed Sp?li?rd] and its new optimized core skills.

  The Prime System would judge your skill usage both in daily activity and how each user utilized that skill. For example, perhaps she used (Fireball) as a defensive skill. Upon her class evolution, such a skill could evolve into (Firewall) or another barrier type of skill.

  Her class [Unleashed Sp?li?rd] was an entirely unique [Hero] class that allowed her to be the ultimate combatant. Wilarax kept her focus as a [Mage] but could easily combine her magic with a blade to fulfill her class’s purpose as the ultimate combatant. Sp?li?rds were True Elves who achieved mastery in both physical attacks and magic before they combined the best of both. The class name was as ancient as them, and many races attempted to copy it. The most famed were the [Spell-Swords], [Blade-Mage], and [Arcane Warriors] of several diverse races.

  Wilarax’s leveling was slowing—even with her perk providing 25% more experience. It was getting harder and harder for her to gain levels quickly. The young woman sighed before she pressed the plus sign next to Active Quest.

  Wilarax’s mind entered her bag of holding, an array of dazzling materials—gems, jewels, beast cores, and more displayed themselves to her. The bag was easily over thirty square meters and held enough riches to buy a kingdom. It also held a few special items Wilarax had collected since her stay in Iveri.

  “(Examine),” she activated as her gaze swept across three items.

  Wilarax carefully studied the two most important plans for her… heist, as she was currently calling it. The idea began to stem ever since she was told she could explore certain places—mainly the country of the magi. The two items remained locked in enchanted blacken wood boxes that preserved their magical qualities to the highest extent. The two boxes held a single high-grade mana crystal that appeared like a diamond encrusted in the center. These mana crystals were slowly draining as they powered the spell to keep the items in top quality.

  These and several other reagents were carefully collected and remained one of the main reasons she’d yet to depart from the country. When combined, they could form various powerful illusory items—one of which she completed. She studied the final product; her expression clouded with contemplation. Her stay was now near its end.

  Wilarax stood, stretched, and began to move toward one of these floors several mini-bosses. Behind her as silent guardians were the five high-levelers assigned to her protection.

  Wilarax moved like the wind, each step taking her further than before as she hopped from tree to tree. She began to unlock the hidden restrictions of the attributes during her time here. It wasn’t hard, just tedious, as it required system acknowledgment even if you understood the concept. Wilarax wouldn't be able to perform actions like sacrificing her Vitality for extremely overpowered attacks until she executed the move in a way that allowed the Prime System to record it. She was still missing the Power Attribute, as it required far more delicate control. It was the same for Vitality—she hadn’t yet mastered actually pulling from the portion of the attribute in her soulscape.

  As Wilarax moved, her large, pointed ears listened to the movement of her protectors. It was time to find out exactly how good the senses of a high-leveler were. She didn’t dare try this against Uma or Ahri or any other of her [Prestige] and Demigoddess protectors. Wilarax found it challenging to believe she could deceive their gaze with a mortal item. Uma was nearly a peak demigoddess, and her power could shake any country. However, if Wilarax could hide herself from her protectors, even for a moment, then she was confident in using that opportunity to escape.

  The [Beast World Compendium — ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ] was located in the Warring Beastman Plains, and it was a perfect area to disappear into. The only trouble Wilarax had was Aniya and Ilia. Wilarax held a promise of delivering them to the border of the Edryan Queendom.

  “(Elemental Arsenal: Fire Spears),” Wilarax activated. Her attack was sudden, barely registering in her mind as she flew from tree to tree. She’d barely caught a glimpse of the [Veilshade King Treant]. “That is not supposed to be on this level!”

  Six spears of blue-orange fire sprang to life and shot past Wilarax as she halted her momentum from approaching the mini-boss. Had her Intent not registered the creature, Wilarax may have found it as her next landing spot.

  The [Veilshade King Treant] body was illusory, appearing like a regular pine tree for a moment. The moment it detected the danger of Wilarax’s spell, its body shifted. Four gnarled arms emerged, pulling the creature from the ground in a mighty heave. Root, tentacle-like appendages waved through the air, hurling clumps of dirt as the creature dodged. It opened its mouth to hurl a silent roar, and the surrounding trees shifted, their bodies revealed to be lesser-armed creatures. Wilarax’s spell landed in its previous position, each spear bursting in an explosion of flame and dirt.

  “(Elemental Flight: Wind),” Wilarax flew into the air, barely dodging the spray of dirt from King Treant’s attack. Each whistled through the air in a sonic boom. “This is perfect!”

  Her eyes barely traced the area where her five protectors stood. They were at a distance where the [Veilshade King Treant] wouldn’t immediately be threatened but close enough to help her should anything dangerous occur.

  Wilarax clapped her hands together, this time performing a spell rather than skill usage.

  “ Earth is the Origin of All, the foundation of strength and the pulse of the world. By its tremor, I call forth the power of the earth to shake and rend. Let the ground beneath me roar and fracture with this (Earth Tremor).”

  The spell took less than a few seconds to chant in the language of magic, but the entire forest beneath her changed into a roiling sea of root tentacles and hurled dirt.

  Six spell constructs emerged as Wilarax pulled her hands apart. Each was a deep, earthy brown and several centimeters thick. They were small but expanded in the room between her hands. Wilarax faced her hands outwards and pushed, activating the spell toward her intended region. Mana drained from her, but the world supported her, allowing her to expel barely half the required mana for such an intensive spell.

  The spell constructs shot into the ground, dispersing in six directions under the small army. The [Veilshade King Treant] was repositioned, its roots hardened before breaking off and firing toward Wilarax. The creature was a land-based boss, and Wilarax wasn’t one to hesitate to use whatever she could to her advantage.

  The ground began to tremble, but Wilarax was already calling upon her core skill. Its activation was far faster than her spell as a ball of flames emerged.

  “(Elemental Spell: Grand Fireball),” Wilarax activated.

  In truth, fire was a taboo in fights against the creatures of the dungeon. Not because they couldn’t fight against it, but…

  ROOOOOOOOOOOAR!

  The ground broke apart; the earth trembled hard enough for Wilarax to feel it from her vantage point in the air. A slew of notifications pinged to the side as wood splintered and trees cracked apart. The small force of [Veilshade Treants] that followed the King was ripped apart in a speculator display.

  Wilarax’s gaze settled on the large ape that quickly burst through the trees; many were knocked down in its wake. Its eyes were drawn to the large ball of fire she prepared to kill the [Veilshade King Treant], its eyes rage red at the display.

  Fire would attract stronger and stronger creatures of Iveri. Their aversion to the element was shown with extreme prejudice. This was the boss she originally intended to target.

  “Not enough, one more should do the trick,” Wilarax muttered. Perhaps she couldn’t sacrifice Vitality, but she could burn some Health Points to make the threat of fire all the more hostile.

  Wilarax felt the drain of HP as she fueled her spell. Its size grew from a small SUV to the size of a small hill.

  NNNNNGGGRRRRRRROOOOOOAAAAANNNNN!

  “Good, that’s the sound I wanted to hear—it seems my luck is good!”

  The three main creatures on this set of levels are [Iveri Apes], [Veilshade Treants], and [Windagles]. It was rare to find all three on the same floor, but today, Wilarax’s luck was excellent.

  Wilarax tossed the enlarged fireball in the general direction of the King; she didn’t care whether to kill the creature or not. What truly mattered was her causing as much chaos in this area as possible.

  The wind picked up, not from the weather changing, but from a creature's wing flaps as it emerged from its hidden perch. Wilarax swallowed, but her eyes radiated excitement. Three stared creatures and below were barely qualified to face her nowadays. Her fight was against four-stars and better.

  Fighting against three four-starred creatures wasn’t on her bucket list, but she couldn’t call herself an [Adventurer] without a true challenge. The wind continued to pick up, and her flames raged on the ground. Three creatures circled her—flamed licked at the Veilshade King Treant’s roots. Wilarax swallowed before calmly removing her sheathe blade. She whispered a spell, and fireballs blazed to life around her. Slowly, she pointed downward and the fireballs shot forward like a rain of arrows.

  “Let’s see what I can do.”

  Marskidris Patreon, which is 31+ chapters ahead! All free members of the Patreon can access 5 chapters ahead (you can also read a few Patreon exclusive interludes—new one monthly)! If there are any grammatical mistakes, please comment below. I can only go further with your support!

  AN: I’m trying out what I believe is a more System-like and in depth explanation of items. Please let me know if you like it because I’m going back and editing every notification of the previous seasons to follow this pattern.

  ? I’m trying to make the earlier season notifications more robotic/system-like to enhance the reading and immersive quality. Should feel kinda game like because that’s how the system is and how Lawruthian originally describes it. I also don’t believe I’ve done the best job in showcasing this.

  P.S. Its Spell-lee-ord