“So the gist of it is that there are these Skills, right?” I asked, and Oblec nodded. “And these Skills are supposed to offer me additional resistance to damage, yes? And you’re saying that it’s as though I have these Skills when I actually do not, is that correct?”

“You got it all right— see, it’s not that difficult to understand,” he said with a smile. He’d already explained this to me multiple times before over the last few days, so I completely grasped the idea at this point.

“I see, I see.” I looked over at the bearded Gremlin as he continued to carry me. He came to a halt right before a pit, and I shouted, “What I don’t understand is why we’re doing this!”

I stared down at the burning pit he created with his magic. Crimson flames danced in anticipation below, waiting for their sacrifice to be thrown in. I gulped, even though I didn’t have any saliva.

“You’ve got this, Violet!” Fissyah cheered me on from the background, holding onto Lire.

“There is absolutely nothing to get! The only thing to get is that I was right! Oblec really is just some crazy hobo!”

“Now, now, Violet.” He shook his head, hefting me up. “Just remember, only jump out when it gets too hot.”

“No, don’t you dare throw me—” I started, and he tossed me into the flaming pit. “You jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee… rk?”

I paused. I’d landed in the burning pit a few seconds ago, and I was now standing amidst the flames.

Oh, it didn’t feel too hot.

I’d braced myself for literal hell itself when Oblec threw me. But it just felt like I was in… a hot spring. Like I was taking a hot bath. Ok, sure maybe it was getting a little hotter. However, it was still bearable. At least, for now.

Oblec looked over the edge of the pit, raising brow. “Well?”

“Can I leave now?” I asked him, and he pursed his lips.

“You can only leave when it gets too much for you.”

“Will you learn anything from that?”

…

He didn’t respond.

“Yeah, I’m going to leave now.”

* * *

As established when Fissyah and I first met him, Oblec was a bit of an oddball. I thought he was just socially awkward at first, but that was the most normal part of him. Being socially awkward was actually relatable. Everything else about him was not.

His training sessions with Fissyah were… eccentric, to say the least. He’d have her sit and stare at rocks or crystals or even the air for hours at a time as he watched over her, doing absolutely nothing. When I asked the girl what she was doing staring at nothing, she’d say, “I don’t know,” and what was worse was when I asked him what he was doing, he’d just say, “It’s all part of the process.”

What was the process? He refused to elaborate. I was pretty sure he didn’t know what he was doing either.

As for my training sessions with him— they could hardly be called training sessions at all! He’d just throw me into dangerous situations and observe from afar! There were no instructions! And sometimes, I couldn’t even fight back like with the burning pit!

One time, he even threw me into a freezing lake full of acid piranhas. Yes, acid piranhas. They were called Glokstobers, and while they were about the same size as regular piranhas, they were capable of— that was right— shooting acid.

Fortunately, Oblec determined that I was resistant to acid too. He hadn’t even known I was resistant to acid before that. He just took a leap of faith… no, he took a toss of faith.

Occasionally, he’d also have Fissyah and I demonstrate our combat prowess, having us fight together with [Arc Symbiosis]. But never separate. Thanks to that, we’d leveled up a bit after days or weeks passed. I was now Level 25 with a Combat Power of 950, and Fissyah was Level 20 with a Combat Power of 550.

Even still, I found his training methods odd. If we just needed to level, we could do that on our own. I was under the impression that we’d be training to get Skills, but so far, neither of us had learned a new Skill.

I hopped over to the girl as she inspected an icicle Oblec had given her.

“Do you, uhm, maybe think that this is pointless?”

“What do you mean?” Fissyah blinked.

“I’m pretty sure Oblec doesn’t know what he’s doing,” I said simply, glancing over at the hovel in the distance. “It feels like he’s making us do whatever he can think of and is hoping that it’d work out.”

She shook her head. “Look, I’ve only evolved into a Gremlin a month or two ago. He’s probably trying to get me to attune myself to magic and the arcane. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing, Violet.”

“Are you sure about that?” I gave her a dubious look.

“I mean, probably, right?”

* * *

Oblec didn’t know what he was doing.

Well, he knew what he wanted to teach Fissyah and Violet. He just didn’t know how to go about teaching them the things he wanted to teach them. He tried every method he could think of, but none of it worked.

“What do I do, Lire?” He sighed, hugging his best friend. She just made a bubbling sound as he continued his lamentation. “It’s not like I don’t want to teach them new Skills. Especially Fissyah— I don’t want her to make the same mistake I did.”

“Nn,” the Shrouded Slime said.

“She needs to have a proper foundation. Learning the arcane should only come after she’s mastered at least the basics of the four elemental magic. Otherwise, her arcane use would be inefficient.”

“Nn,” Lire argued.

“I know,” he murmured. “You’re right. I shouldn’t lie and pretend that I know what I’m doing when I don’t. But what do I even do here?”

“Nn,” she explained.

“But I—” he started.

“Nn,” she cut him off, indignant.

The bearded Gremlin closed his eyes, nodding. “You’re right. I should do what Violet keeps telling me to do. I should stop lying and telling half-truths just to avoid embarrassing myself. I will tell them the truth.”

The Shrouded Slime paused. She rustled in his arms. Then she perked up.

“Nn!”

“You don’t mean…” His eyes grew wide. He watched as his companion bobbed up and down. Smiling, he lowered her to the ground and grinned. “You’re right. I should do that instead.”

* * *

“Please don’t throw me into a pool of lava,” I said as Oblec came to a halt before Fissyah and I.

The bearded Gremlin furrowed his brows. “Whyever would I do that?”

I gave him a blank stare. “You know why.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be going on a short trip today.” He waved a hand off. “Both you and Fissyah.”

The girl looked up. “Me too?”

“Are we going to fight more weird monsters?” I asked, groaning.

“No, actually, we’ll be going to a Dungeon.” The bearded Gremlin gestured at Fissyah and I. “Or, rather, the two of you will be going to a Dungeon.”

“A Dungeon?” I exchanged a confused glance with the girl.

She narrowed her eyes. “I’ve heard of Dungeons before. They’re places where magic corrupts the land. Where monsters gather and are strengthened. They claim the territory as their own and protect it, even going as far as to attack anything or anyone that lives close to the Dungeon itself. And if you clear a Dungeon, there are rewards awaiting you at the end. You can even earn a [Title] or find treasures hidden within!”

“Well, not exactly. But close enough.” Oblec ushered us to follow after him. We got to our feet, leaving his hovel behind and headed down an unfamiliar tunnel.

“Is Lire not joining us today?” I glanced back.

“Not today. It won’t be safe for her out there.”

“Oh.”

I looked over at Fissyah, giving her a reassuring look. Oblec was serious, this time. And that made the girl a little bit nervous. We traveled down the tunnel for a while before he spoke again.

“You know, Violet, I must admit, for the past few weeks, I haven’t really known what I was doing.”

“I knew it!” I beamed, looking over at Fissyah.

She deflated. “You haven’t?”

“I am sorry, but I have not. Now, however, I realize what must be done. That the only way for you to learn the Skills that I did is through doing the same way I learned them.” He snapped a finger, creating a ball of flame above his shoulders. It illuminated the tunnel, revealing a dozen bat-like monsters hanging from the ceiling.

[Dark Stirg - Level 13 (Combat Power: 135)]

…

They screeched and fluttered down at us. One went for Oblec’s head, but he pointed a finger.

“[Arcane Shot].”

A blue projectile zipped out, instantly killing the lead bat. It dropped dead, and the others flocked away. The bearded Gremlin shook his head.

“Do you know what that Skill is?” he asked, looking my way.

“Uhm, it looks like my [Arc Shot],” I said. “Except blue.”

“Exactly.” He smiled. “This Skill… is no different from your [Arc Shot]. Its strength, if I was at your level, would be no different from yours. In fact, I would go as far as to say yours would be superior if we were equal in level— your Combat Power would’ve certainly surpassed mine. But other than that fact, and the names, do you know what other differences they have?”

“I don’t know, but I feel like you’re about to tell me.”

He raised a finger. “At Level 30, when I first earned this Skill, it would cost me 80 Arcane Essence.”

“What? Seriously?” But that made no sense! My [Arc Shot] only cost me 20 Arcane Essence— his was four times as much as mine!

“That’s true,” Fissyah said, tapping a finger on her chin. “My [Arcane Flameshot] costs me 40 Arcane Essence, and I don’t think it’s nearly as powerful as either an [Arcane Shot] or an [Arc Shot].”

“The pinnacle of all magic is the arcane, even if the God King would want you to believe otherwise.” Oblec’s gaze darkened as he continued. “It comes from inside of you, unlike mana that comes from Drasel. It would only make sense that it is the hardest magic to learn, as well as the strongest.”

His footfalls echoed as we continued on, ascending up to another cavern. A dark cavern. But one that was almost familiar to me. I caught sight of a lake in the center of the chamber, and I recognized it as the place where I first woke up.

“That is why I wish for Fissyah to learn elemental magic before moving onto the arcane. But the same cannot be said for you, Violet. For some reason, you have an affinity for the arcane. It is as though your entire being is composed of only Arcane Essence.”

“Uhm, maybe it’s because I am?” I said, shrugging with my appendages.

“Wait, what are you saying, Violet? Fissyah blinked. “Do you not have any Physical Essence at all?”

“I have absolutely no idea what that is.”

Oblec shook his head, chuckling. “I had a hunch it was something like that. That is why I brought you here.”

The ground rumbled as we continued on through this large cavern. He came to a halt, barely even paying attention to it. I hovered protectively over Fissyah as from one of the many tunnels in the cavern, a Ravinecrawler exploded out.

It came for the bearded Gremlin, and all he did was raised a hand. A blue ball of light formed on his palms, before he hurled it at the giant monster. He threw one— then two more.

“[Arcane Blast].”

And the explosion engulfed the Ravinecrawler, killing it in mere moments. I watched as the giant monster collapsed, defeated by the familiar Skill. It was the exact same Skill he’d used to save us.

“That is my greatest Skill, Violet. An arcane Skill. It took me the better part of a decade to learn it. Without anyone to teach me the arcane arts, I was forced to learn it on my own. And, as such, my own knowledge of arcane Skills is limited. You will have to master the arcane on your own. I cannot teach you. Not in the same way as I can teach Fissyah.”

The bearded Gremlin continued further into the cavern. He didn’t bring us to the lake, of course. He led us to what looked like a skull— some kind of entrance to another cave where stalagmites and stalactites jutted out from the floor and the ceiling like teeth. He halted at the mouth of this cave, turning to face Violet and I.

“And even then, I can only teach Fissyah so much. All I can do is offer her the necessary tools to forge her own path. To have the basis to become far greater than I ever could be.” Oblec spread his arms wide and gestured at the skull-like cave. “The Lair of the Lich Lord.”

“This is… the Dungeon?” I exchanged an uneasy glance with Fissyah. I didn’t have a good feeling about it.

The girl shuddered, whispering underneath a misty breath. “A Lich Lord— isn’t that an undead Necromancer?”

“In a sense, it could be.” Oblec’s red eyes glinted as he spoke. “You and Violet are to go through this Dungeon, find the Lich Lord living within, and claim his treasures as your own.”

I watched as Fissyah’s eyes widened, before stepping in. “Wait, if it’s too dangerous—”

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t assign you a task I don’t believe you’ll be able to complete.” He spun around, returning to where we came. “I will wait for you with Lire back in my home. I trust that you will return unscathed.”

The girl took a step back, trembling in fear as Oblec left. She raised a hand out to call him back, but the bearded Gremlin paused before she could say anything. He glanced back once, wagging a finger.

“Also, no [Arc Symbiosis]. The two of you will need to learn to fight with your own power. Especially if either of you are ever forced to face a strong threat on your own. You cannot be too reliant on each other’s power.”

“Well, that’s fair,” I said. “But also, not really fair.”

With that final rule, Oblec was gone. And we were left to explore the Lair of the Lich Lord on our own.

* * *

Draxus the Savage Hunter stood over the rubble that had once been the Stone Golem. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he swiveled around and slung his bow back around his back. He took in the vast cavern before him— one that expanded for as far as his dark vision eyes could see.

“I will find you, Arc—” And he paused. With a sigh, he slumped to the ground and sat on the remains of the Stone Golem. “...I’m lost aren’t I?”

He really was.