The wings were incredibly beautiful and were made of energy though they were solid to. I could tell it wasn't a skill but some kind of innate gift like the Eye of Heaven. I was about to step forward and touch one they disappeared. I looked over at Trey in confusion only to find him doubled over and more than half of his energy gone.

  "So the wings eat up a lot of energy? Is it based on how big they are or just how long you maintain them?"

  Trey grimaced and then stood straight. "Its mostly the size. I can stretch them to fifteen but the energy drain would be too much."

  "Hmm" I rubbed my chin as I processed the information and thought about how to best use them. "What's the smallest size that you can make them and still fly?"

  "Well that's the weird part. I can make them about as long as my arms and still fly. Some people who used to be scientist weren't sure how that worked and after several test we kind of gave up. When the wings aren't out they don't take up any energy though."

  "So why would you ever? Make the wings big?" I asked ready to chalk it up to something worthless.

  "Oh right I can carry more people and the things can also block attacks. They aren't the greatest shield but it isn't bad. Desbera and Azariah place them out around a middle quality defensive treasure."

  Now that made me pause. "Wait can you imbue the wings? Like with your Tao? Would add and additional quality to them?"

  He shook his head. "I tried but it didn't work. The Tao of embers couldn't go into the wings. I was hoping to get burning wings because that would be epic."

  I laughed and nodded my agreement. "So you can fly though? How fast?" At that he flinched and awkwardly rubbed his neck. "You can fly right? You said you could."

  "Yes just not very well. Its not easy!"

  I shook my head and then laughed. "Alright, its not that big a deal. You just need to continue practicing with it. I am going to come up with a training regimen for you. Have you continued at the academy?"

  He nodded. "Yes though there isn't much more to do. I've been experimenting with different weapons and mostly training with the soldiers."

  "I see so underground? Can you show me around? I want to see what's already been done and I don't want to be that asshole."

  "No problem I am done with training for the day."

  "Xerxes will you join us?" I asked the Qilin who had convinced a couple to give him a stack of what looked like black ribs. I couldn't tell if the ribs were supposed to be black or if they were really burned. The two men who had handed them over didn't look upset so I let it go.

  "Will we hunt?"

  "Probably not, I don't plan on looking for a fight anyway." I replied to looks of confusion. I was about to explain myself so people didn't think their new king was crazy but I didn't care.

  "I will stay here. I want better food."

  I chuckled as he ran into the city. I watched him get further away with my soul sense for a few minutes before I left him to it. "Alright, lead the way." I stepped up next to Trey as we headed toward the cave system and spirit water lake.

  "Are you sure its alright for him to go off like that? it wouldn't be good if he ate someone."

  I shrugged. "He would be fine. He probably won't eat anyone and he strong enough protect the city on his own. Even if he did encounter something that was too much for him he would be able to handle it until I got back."

  "Really? wait is he stronger than you?" He asked as he looked in the direction Xerxes had left in.

  "No, we haven't fought and we kind of empower each other but my attributes are stacked. I got to fight with other cultivators during the trial."

  "How did that go?" He asked as we stepped into the cave system. The air was much cooler inside so I took a moment to enjoy it before we continued.

  "I was above average for sure. There was a guy well three princes really. The most powerful of them was stronger than me. We didn't get to go all out but I doubt that I could've won without Xerxes. After that though I got several more tiles and a lot more attributes."

  "Wow so we couldn't be them if they came here?" The excitement and joy slowly leached from his face as he asked.

  "No, maybe people in the top fifty would be able to go against their stronger soldiers but it would boil down to a three on two. Of course the trio were just as likely to fight each other apparently."

  "Some kind of struggle to be king?"

  I nodded. "Seemed like it though they said their father prevented them from killing each other. Either way it isn't a problem for us. The System hide us from other people."

  "Alright, so did you find any fun things while you were gone?"

  I grinned and nodded. "The trial took place in a crazy forest." I went over the events of the trial though I kept the part about the prisoner and the weird mark to myself. I wasn't sure if knowledge would be dangerous at this point. I also didn't want him to know about all my secret cards. From there we discussed small things that I missed while I was away. There weren't many problems that Aaliyah hadn't already gone over.

  When we arrived at the forward camp I was impressed. I had expected to find a cavern with a handful of tents but this was closer to a town. There was a central building that acted as a command center. The other entrances were protected armed guards and makeshift gates. Since they all lacked energy I was pretty sure they wouldn't make much of a difference if something came here.

  "So you guys just pick a direction and go fight stuff?" I asked as I spread my soul sense throughout the cave system.

  "For the most part. We typically break into squads of five people to explore with a mapper. If we encounter something dangerous we go back and get a proper attack squad."

  "Alright, so how have you all been doing? How many people have died? Do we have any permanent injuries?"

  Trey slowly shook his head and gestured for me to follow him to the command center. "I am not sure on the numbers but the commander should be able to tell you more."

  He led me into the building where several pairs of eyes landed on us. I felt two skills attempt to scan me but none of them forced Intellect Fortress to activate. So I decided to ignore it. Trey led me to a tall dark skinned black man who dressed in army fatigues. The old world clothes felt out of place in this area. As if he was a figure from the ancient past. The person looked at me for a moment and then nodded.

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  "I assume you are Amari? I don't believe we've had the chance to meet. My name is Derrick Jones. I am in charge of the subterranean expansion."

  I nodded and shook the man's hand. He wasn't very strong probably around level 10 or so. Which was a problem but the other warriors here were closer to level 20. Which meant that the strongest of our people were down here so I wasn't too worried. "Nice to meet you. Can you tell me how things are going down here?"

  He nodded and gestured to the table next to us. "We've mapped out everything below Amara and outside of a some small ore veins we haven't found anything of note. We are starting to expand in circles to clear out everything though we have been forced to stop to avoid some monsters."

  "Oh? How strong are those monsters and how many?"

  "We lost two scouts when we tried to check on the best northwest of here. They reported that it was around level 50. We aren't sure why the creature hasn't come after us yet so we've have stationed a set of heavy guns in the region. There are two more though those are around level 30. We have been planning a raid on each but they have smaller creatures around them."

  "Well that's interesting. I could probably take those out for you if you like? It might also be good training for our soldiers."

  He raised his eyebrows at that. "If you don't mind my asking what level are you?"

  I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. "Level 43 though I am stronger than what that would imply. Xerxes could also help."

  "Xerxes is another warrior?" He asked as his gaze returned to the table.

  "A beast companion but effectively the same."

  "I see if you two led the charge we might be able to deal with the strongest. Even if you can't beat on your own. You might be able to hold its attention."

  "I am sure we can kill it for you. I can leave the smaller monsters for you all to deal with though."

  "Can I come with you?" Trey rejoined the conversation. "I should be able to stay out of the way but I want to see you fight."

  Derrick looked at us both and then back at the map "I will leave it to you then."

  From there we went over the smaller details. For the most part the soldiers were doing pretty well. They were forced to move in semiautonomous groups due to the lack of communication skills but that was more of a benefit. The group ended up bonding better. Which made them fight harder to get back. The result pretty good.

  The soldiers average level was 18 and was much more uniform than the guards. Altogether I was impressed with what Christopher had put together. "Alright, I am going to head out. Trey you can come though if I tell you to leave than you need to go. I have a few ways to get to safety but I might not be able to get to you."

  I sent word to Xerxes but he decided to leave it to me. Trey and I left the camp within the hour. The cave system was slightly confusing since all the paths looked like the same. "You are surprisingly good at traveling through here. Is that because you've done it a lot?" I asked though the answer was obvious.

  "Well most of us don't have a handy map so we have to learn the paths. Once we get a bit closer we will have to be more careful."

  "I can release my aura if you want? Just to keep the small fry off of us."

  "You would likely draw the stronger monsters to us. It would be better to—" My aura exploded before he could finish speaking. The caves shook as it felt like the world was drowned in blood. I expanded my soul sense alongside and watched as every nearby critter scurried to be anywhere but here. It felt good.

  "Well that's extreme." Trey said. Though the look on his made it seem like he might pass out.

  "I still don't like how bloody it feels. I want to change it to something more I don't know regal? Fancy? Beautiful? No Awe inspiring." I grinned and retracted my senses.

  "Don't forget reasonable and calm." He mocked as we walked on. "You didn't mention where you planned to go next."

  "Yeah, not sure at the moment. We are making plans to search for the underwater city. I know I am no where near ready to evolve or advance so no worry there. I need to upgrade my Tao as well." I shook my head as I processed the long list of things I wanted to get done. "I will look for away to explore off world places too."

  "I still get to join you right? I am not as strong as you but I can do a lot."

  I nodded. "That's fine with me. I won't be able to get you to level 40 quickly but with some tender loving care level 20+ should work. You might even get a cool class. "Our conversation died out as we got closer to the beast's haven.

  It wasn't until we reached a section of crumbled wall that I could feel the presence of something strong. When Trey confirmed that this was the right spot I started digging with psychokinesis. By the time I finished my mood had soured and I had a dull headache. From here I led the way. I expanded my Tao field just in case.

  "Did that scout mention what kind of creature we were dealing with? Bug? Reptile? Undead?"

  Trey cringed but nodded. "It was definitely a bug. It's something with a hard exoskeleton and it was massive."

  "Big and Slow?"

  He nodded. "I would hope so. Big and Fast would be frightening."

  I was about to respond when I caught something in my soul sense. It was a large cavern probably around the size of high school gymnasium. It was filled the bodies of various monsters but in the very center was a creature that looked like an overgrown beetle with six legs. It had a horn like appendage on its head only it was open that the top. Kind of like it had a canon. It had two crab claw like hands that were big enough to split a person in two. Sure enough its energy levels put it around level 50.

  "Well that thing is pretty impressive. Though not as strong as the stronger creatures in the trial. I want you to stay in the air with your wings. Use the minimum amount of energy to do so. Think of it as endurance training."

  I broke into a brisk jog as we rounded a bend and I saw the ugly creature with my eyes. The thing was just horrendously ugly. I waited for Trey to get into the air before I entered the creature's cave. As soon as I did it began to move. The creature made a clicking sound that made my skin crawl. It shifted its massive body to face me. My danger sense picked up just before a black gas bellowed out from the sprout on its face.

  My eyes widened in shock and disgusts. The gas wasn't a gas at all. It was a bunch of tiny locust like bugs. I activated Psychic Blast and its indigo light washed over a chunk of them. Some collapsed but more rapidly moved to replace them. "Alright, so I guess fighting you guys is pointless." I pushed energy into its sigil along side the Tao of compression. Before the army of small bug could reach me an indigo sun was born.

  As soon as the sun was full I shattered it and let the blades rain down. The cloud of bugs change course to try and protect their mother? Or whatever the thing was but they weren't enough. I half expected the psychic attack to end it right there but I was wrong. The big beetle unleashed another storm of clicks before it charged at me. I pushed spiritual energy into my legs and ran up the cave wall.

  The beetle crashed into the wall just as I leaped off. A halo of six imbued blades formed and struck before I returned to the ground. "I guess there is a difference between monsters on earth and the ones off it. Is it because of the quality of energy? Or something else." I mused out loud. I shifted my focus to Trey who was struggling to stay up. His wings kept fading in and out of solidity. Furthermore he was wasting more energy than he should. Most of it was just seeped into the environment. I turned my attention back to the battle as the beetle resumed its attack.

  This time I formed a sphere of compressed space and fired it at the bug's left leg. For a moment the creature's exoskeleton resisted and I briefly considered collecting its body after the fight. The next moment the leg was gone. The bug collapsed forward and unleashed a storm of clicks. I was about to stop forward when the beast unleashed a new attack.

  It opened its mouth and wave of sound shot toward me. The wave slammed into me a like a truck and then reverberated off the cave walls. My teeth felt like they would shatter. A second later the bubble of Psychic Aegis formed. The reprieve from the sound might as well have been a gift from the System. I activated Psychic Blast in both hands. Twin beams of psychic energy washed over the beetle and its struggle was over.

  I ended my attack and gestured for Trey to join me. "Your energy usage isn't as good as it could be. I would say you are using around ten percent more than you need."

  "Right, how did you do that?" Trey breathlessly asked. "It was a higher level but you beat it like it was nothing."

  I grinned. "Level isn't everything. Its more important to have the attributes. Which is why the attribute fruits are so important." I looked down at the beetle's corpse. "Do you think this guy should come back? I have a few beast corpses in my ring but more would be better for weapons."

  "Would we have to carry it back or can you do that telekinesis thing?"

  I shook my head and sent the body into my ring. "No, also its Psychokinesis. Telekinesis is just moving things without touching it. The other is moving things with the mind."

  Trey stared at me blankly before shaking his head and walking away. "Nerd."