Archmage Ruluna takes a dagger out of her belt and walks to the side of the tent. Normally she would go through the tent entrance, but it’s covered by ash, so she has to cut the side.

“Attack?!” Archmage Lyran asks. She tries to listen for any sounds, but any noise will be drowned out by the ashstorm.

However, despite her questioning look, everyone else is readying their weapons.

“Something is attacking our men,” Ice Paladin Gana explains. She must have some sensing skill; she didn’t say anything about the blank sphere, maybe she can’t see that?

Ruluna sets her goggles and mask, so they fit snugly, and slashes the tent before running out into the storm. It’s so dark, and ash instantly finds its way into her clothes, itching against her skin. Ruluna puts out her hand but can’t see a thing! It’s almost like the fabled black night, a fairy tale that once every thousand years, the black moon shows itself and casts the entire world into darkness, a darkness in which light does not exist.

Ruluna always wondered how people would see the black moon if the world was covered in darkness, but now’s not the time for such thoughts. Ruluna shakes her head to refocus herself and concentrates on tracking the blank sphere engulfing the soldiers. It doesn’t leave much when it moves on, besides small pieces of bloody gore.

Ruluna conjures a large ball of fire in front of her, seeing flashes of light between sheets of ash being churned up by the storm. She launches it at the monster just as her companions rush forward to engage the unknown creature. She hears what she thinks is a feral roar, but that could have been the storm.

The monster thrashes around, at least that’s what it looks like according to the blank spot’s movement, before it suddenly stops moving. It stays still even as Ruluna casts spell after spell for several long moments before, with a fearful screech, it flies off.

They repelled the beast! Ruluna moves to rescue the lost and injured soldiers, taking them back to the command tent before they are buried alive by ash.

“What the fuck was that!” Flame Paladin Julaly shouts once everyone is safe.

Back in the command tent, people are being healed by Archmage Lyran. The cut hole is being repaired by a soldier with [Mana Weaving].

“It seems like...” Julaly shakes his head before turning toward Ruluna. “Did you feel it?”

“That spy was watching us, yes, what about them?”

“I don’t think you felt what we felt,” Julaly motions to the other warriors. One soldier is visibly shaken, muttering something about almost being eaten and praying to Venaro.

“A presence like... like...” Ice Paladin Gana shakes her head and shudders. “It was like being stared at by... I dunno, a god? It was like the weight of the world was behind that pressure.”

“I don’t know if it was a god or not, but it helped us chase away… whatever that was.” Flame Paladin Kloro states.

“Whor they are doesn’t matter; we need to focus on our mission,” Lyran says. “We need to wait for the storm to pass and assess our situation.”

Julaly gives Ruluna a look. Their spy has played a card. Whether it was a move to save them, or there was some other goal, is unknown. Whoever this ‘Alysara’ is, she is their only suspect as the spy. Someone who has mastered [Sense Mana] may have a Class specialized in the skill, giving them special abilities, like what Julaly has experienced. It would also explain why Ruluna can’t find them with [Track Senses].

So the question is, do they play their card in hopes of getting the spy to reveal their hand? A plan forms in Ruluna’s head. One that may test who the spy is.

Ruluna walks over to a supply chest and pulls out a deck of cards. She draws the top card and looks at it. The missive, a card that forces the other player to play a card.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I stare at the blank spot in the storm. Once the storm hit, the Drake started hunting and turned on its stealth skill. A clever strategy, but its hiding skill is rather... poor. Anyone will notice a big blank moving spot, a sphere of nothing.

I watch as the blank sphere envelopes people, leaving bits of metal behind. I should help, shouldn’t I? But how? I am too far away, and the skill of the Drake will block my perceptive pressure. Unless...

If maybe I can break past its skill, then I might be able to scare it off? If it makes a sort of wall that people can’t ‘feel’ past, then it may work; however, it’ll be my skill against its Heroic-tier Class-boosted skill. Which one is stronger? It’s getting about a thousand percent bonus from its Class or Race, or about an eleven times multiplier. Okay, when putting it like that, the answer is obvious.

I crank my perceptive pressure to the max, and instantly I feel the blank sphere crack and crumble under my pressure. The Drake freezes in place, a man in its mouth falling out and scurrying away. Other warriors are in the sphere, swinging blindly around, trying to hit a foe they can’t see. These warriors are caught up in my perceptive pressure simply because I didn’t know they were there, and just increased my pressure everywhere in the blank spot.

The Drake seems to be paralyzed in fear and confusion; nothing should be able to get past its sense-nullifying ability. The warriors freeze too, but only for a moment; still, by the looks of their faces, it’s like they’ve seen a ghost. Realization sinks in, and the Drake screeches in fear and flies off back to its nest.

After looking around to see the average levels of people in the volcano republic, I think I am getting a good understanding of how strong these guys may be. The average level seems to be around two hundred for people like farmers, merchants and craftsmen, but I have noticed a few much higher level ones, topping out at over level four hundred.

As for the military, it’s a little more complicated. The mercenary guilds, like the people I just saved from the Drake, are generally higher level than the average military. It seems like the military is around three hundred, the highest level I’ve seen being five hundred, but I have no doubt there are higher-level people. However, the mercenaries average around four hundred, with one topping out at a staggering eight hundred!

It is clear that the monster problems are delegated to the mercenary guilds, and, with monsters like the level one thousand three hundred Drake, a total of its three classes, it’s clear how they have gotten so strong. However, only a few people have managed to get to Grand-tier. Take that Flame Paladin I analyzed, for example.

Fireheart Runalymo (Grand), Level 425 Flame Paladin (Grand), Level 364 Flame Dancer (Major), Level 569 Fire Bond

With warriors like these, it’s going to be hard to compete against them; we only measure up to their average warriors. Also, these people have a far more bloody history... I assume. With several kingdoms, wars are going to happen, and I have already discovered several old battlefields, some of them dating back thousands of years. With items gaining the Historic and Archaic age tiers, it can be used to ballpark how old something is.

Organic material, like spear shafts, easily degrades, but what steel hasn’t corroded away has become magical and stopped weathering. I wonder what would happen if someone gathered a bunch of the old rusted weapons and armor and smelted them down, and remade them into a restored weapon? Will it retain the age tier?

Also, there are tons of antique stuff in the cities, especially the richer parts of town. Buildings, furniture, anything that has become old enough have become magical in nature while only gaining the age tier. Damage does happen, some are destroyed either on purpose or by accident, but it only takes one hundred years to gain the Historic tier. Family heirlooms, easily known by their Heirloom tier, are also fairly abundant in the upper class of people. All of this leads me to question… why don’t the Runalymo have more magical items?

Part of the answer is that there is obviously more to the requirements, the amount of people also has something to do with it. They have more people, so there’s a higher chance of stuff becoming magic by virtue of there being more items. Essentially, they have an advantage in the numbers game. Then there’s the fact that lots of our things are recycled or buried with the owner, like favored personal items and dedications to Myrou.

Runalymo are craftsmen, so we often make our own stuff and see value in things made by our own hands, but even considering everything, there’s a surprising lack of magic items. My only guess is that people wish for those things to be buried with them. I’ll have to take another look at the Runalymo burial grounds.

After checking in on these people, I return to my [Sense Magic] studies. There’s nothing more I can do for them, and throwing my perceptive pressure around too much may end up backfiring one day.

Back in the dungeon, I’ve not managed to really tackle bosses that much; a few here and there, but with three fights going on at the same time, I have to adjust my fighting style a lot. Previously I’ve been the type to use all my mana for a few really powerful attacks to kill the enemies as fast as I can, but, watching Esofy and the others fight without me, they take things methodically and they get into a rhythm. After hundreds of fights, they know what to expect from each other and, unfortunately, the enemies.

This is a downside to constantly fighting the same few types of enemies: you get used to them. It may benefit us all to find another monster den, new enemies, and for that I need to explore beyond this forest.

I start in the mountains to the south, stretching high into the dungeon sky. The entire mountain range has ridges made of humongous crystals, jutting out of the rock like a spine. Searching inside, I find a labyrinthine crystal cave with crystal golems roaming around inside.

Amethyst Golem (Major), level 532 Rock Breaker (Major), Level 493 Amethyst Bond

Quite a bit stronger, even if the tier is lower than bosses. Looking deeper, it seems as if there aren’t distinct floors here, like the dens and the ruins. This place seems almost as if it has formed naturally. Considering that the mouth of the caverns is in treacherous terrain, one can assume this isn’t part of the dungeon’s idea for a training ground. There are no traps, just monsters and a single huge amethyst crystal inside the heart of the mountain. Judging by the vitality inside it, it is a very powerful monster.

Amethyst Hymn of Life (Exalted) Level 1329 Golem Shaper (Heroic), Level 1009 Earthen Mother (Heroic), Level 858 Life Singer (Heroic), Level 2278 Amethyst Bond.

Well, I think I found the source of the golems. Over three thousand total Class levels, yeah, this thing is impossible for us to even think of fighting. Those scary-looking Golems at the bottom look to be guards, and I have no doubt they will be appropriately strong.

Let’s look for something closer to our level to fight.