I wake up all rested with no problems whatsoever and see a System notification in front of my face.

[ You have absorbed an experience orb. You have received 20 experience points. ]

I look under my pillow and see that the ball I got in the dungeon yesterday was missing. That must have been the experience orb the notification was talking about.

While ruminating on that thought, I receive a text from an unknown person.

Aria: Hello, my mom gave me this number. My name is Aria.

Alice: Oh, are you Sophia's daughter?

Aria: That is an apt description to my existence. I would really like to be your friend if that is okay.

Alice: Yes of course that's okay, but how old are you?

Aria: About nineteen.

Alice: Well, Aria, I have to go to work so I won't be able to text for a while.

Aria: That's okay.

I go to Al-Chem and work for a few hours. Then at my lunch break I receive another message from Aria.

Aria: I should probably tell you that I am a really good hacker. I mean not as well as dad but enough to be an expert in data collection. Anyway, I have access to all of the phones in your office building and have learned some interesting things.

Alice: There are several things I would like to talk about with this but do tell.

Aria: So it turns out your co-worker Bert is extremely sexually confused. He hits on women but shows signs of being attracted to men and he berates himself for it in private. Also, your boss is a real asshole.

Alice: I could have told you that about my boss, but the Bert thing is interesting gossip.

Aria: I'll be silent for now, but I know about a lot of things so you can always ask me for help.

Alice: Sure.

I continue working for the rest of the day with no new developments, so after work I head towards the entrance of the dungeon.

On the same path as last time four Large Mad Rats later, I arrive in the same area as the safe last time. This time though there isn't anything to do so I move forward. I guess I shouldn't expect something since it was supposed to be random. Continuing forward I eventually come into a wide room, almost twice the size of a pool, with a stone statue of a medieval knight standing in the middle. Surround the statue is a glowing rind with a radius of about five feet. If I read this situation correctly then stepping over that ring will probably bring that statue to life.

Out of nowhere a Swift Mad Rat runs toward the statue. I try to stop it, but it was very much faster than me, so it easily crosses the ring. However, instead of the statue coming to life, the rat just blew up.

"Hmm, I didn't expect that."

I really didn't expect the rat to just spontaneously explode. I search around for a pebble and toss one towards the statue. It doesn't explode this time and instead melts.

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to stand near a rock if it was going to explode anyways.

I give the statue a wide berth and go towards the back of the room. Once I am halfway through the room though I hear a loud creaking from behind me.

"…Oh, no."

I roll to the right and see a stone sword impaling the wall where I was just standing. Its head slowly turns to look at me and through the helmet I can see blank, soulless, carved eyes. I use Inspect to get an idea of what I am fighting.

[ Mimieffigy - While these creatures appear to be made out of stone, they are very much not as their skin is much harder to break than stone. Relatives of the mimic species, they choose one person to copy and can never change again. At this trade off, they initially have double the strength of the person they copied. ]

…Why the fuck is something like this in a beginner's dungeon. Isn't this too dangerous! I stand up and try to run, but I am knocked to the side by the Mimieffigy of a knight. As I fly through the air my leg gets stabbed with the sword. The pain almost makes me faint right then, but I try to keep hold of my sanity as I turn around and see the Mimieffigy swing down again. I roll to the side and see the sword land within the ring and completely explode.

I can't even keep my mind straight enough, to question why the statue didn't explode when it was in the middle. I had a moment to collect myself though when the Mimieffigy looked down at its hands and I had a moment of hope. That was until it clenched its fists and threw a right hook at me. As it was above me, I rolled once again and its fist got lodged in the ground.

Using this chance, I tried pushing the Mimieffigy into the ring and somehow succeed. As it explodes I pass out.

————————————————————————————————————

My body is really sore as I wake up. Almost like I tried fighting a boulder. Oh wait, I kinda did. Looking around I seem to be in Sophia's penthouse again, more specifically her couch. I think she may have changed my clothes too, because I am wearing a nightgown that is definitely too expensive for me.

Looking to my left, I see a bowl of soup and a note next to it. I read the note.

'Good morning Alice! When you wake up it should be Friday. Don't worry about your job, as far as your boss is concerned, you went into work yesterday and today and did your job. Congrats on taking out a Mimieffigy yourself too, those things are really strong. The dungeon will be closed for a while as they investigate why one of those things was in there. Anyway, I made you some get well soup so just rest today. After this you may want to check your System notifications in case you got anything. Maybe practice your magic today too.'

[ You have killed a level 10 "Mimieffigy" x 1. 700 experience points gained. ]

[ Your level has increased by 5. ]

[ Your health has been restored and has increased by 200. ]

[ Your magic has been restored and has increased by 25. ]

[ Your mana regen has increased by 0.5. ]

[ Your power has increased by 23. ]

[ Your endurance has increased by 29. ]

[ Your intelligence has increased by 20. ]

[ Your wisdom has increased by 25. ]

[ Your agility has increased by 26. ]

[ Your dexterity has increased by 24. ]

I have finally reached the level that Sophia left for me, but since I am still recovering I might take her advice and practice my magic.

I enter within my lake and see the wisps of mana floating around. Guiding it like last time I gather it around my mind hands. It feels almost like a gel feel, squirming in my hands. Feeling around for more strands I find one that feels different, almost tough. I take a break and see that I have some new notifications.

[ Through repeated actions you have unlocked the skill: Mana Sense(Passive) ]

[ Through repeated actions you have unlocked the skill: Mana Vision(Passive) ]

[ Through repeated actions you have unlocked the skill: Earth Magic I(Minimum, Base) ]

[ Mana Sense - Allows the user to sense ambient mana and its attribute. ]

[ Mana Vision - Allows the user to see mana and how much an entity possesses. If user has Mana Sense they can see the attribute as well. ]

[ Earth Magic I - The base skill for using magic with a modicum of comprehension. ]

[ Base - A skill that is not useful on its own, but is require for a sequence of other skills. ]

Wait, does this mean if I can unlock more mana types by feeling the strands or maybe something else.

*Grrrr*

My stomach complains against my growing idea and demands that I must eat. So I reach over and eat what seems to be chicken noodle soup. Halfway, through the bowl I see Sophia walk into the room.

"Hey Sophia, I reached level ten."

"Congrats Alice. I'll tell you the findings of the investigation after I get dinner then."

"Actually, can I ask a bit about magic first."

"Oh, sure."

Sophia sits down on a recliner that is perpendicular to the couch.

"Can you explain mana attributes to me?" I ask her.

"Well, there are technically six main attributes. They are: air, fire, water, earth, chaos, and order. Technically there is a non-attribute but that doesn't do anything. At a certain point you can fuse those attributes to create new attributes which in turn can be fused. However, only certain attributes fuse and others will just result in the mana being lost. As far as I know we haven't found all the elements yet. Really my husband would be a better person to ask, but he is quite busy at work."

"Thank you."

After her explanation she leaves to get some food. She said she would explain her investigation findings to me. I have a bad feeling about this.

————————————————————————————————————

"Okay, where should I start? Oh, I know. So her son Dominic was last seen at his school, there was a traffic camera nearby that had been scrubbed clean but Aria managed to find a video of him grabbed by some men and brought into an unmarked van. However, we couldn't we where the van went, only a general area."

"Do you know why they took him?"

"Possibly because his father is Hyper Thunder. His mother used to be in his fan club and slept with him in a strange series of events. Afterwards she became pregnant, he denied all allegations, she opened her eyes to the truth and has since been a single mother."

"That's…that's…I feel kinda sorry for her."

"Me as well, but I don't think we'll get anywhere without her help. Now, she wouldn't just trust me, but since she confided in you she may be willing to offer a hand."

"Is my outfit ready yet?"

"Oh! Thanks for reminding me."

Sophia gets up and walks into another room. A few minutes later she comes back with a suit that looks extremely similar to a motorcycling outfit. It has a white mask that covers my face and ears with glass on the eyes. It looks to be made to be in the likeness of a wolf.

"Okay, so this outfit is made of leather and carbon fiber. It has a self-automated coolant system and even when you transform it'll defend your skin with the same strength. The mask is made of kevlar and includes a tracking device, communicators, and can link to your phone to receive messages. The communicator will still work when you transform as well."

She leads me into a bathroom and I change into the outfit. I notice that me clothes I wore into the dungeon were sitting on the sink. I make a mental note to remember that for later. The suit fits comfortably and I put the mask on.

"Hello Alice!"

I hear a voice that sounds to be about twenty as soon as the mask touched my ears. Am I going crazy?

"Alice, it's me. Aria."

"Wait, Aria? What are you doing in my mask?"

"I'm here to help guide you."

I don't know if I should be concerned, but I go back to Sophia.

"Oh, it looks nice on you!"

"Why is your daughter talking in my mask?"

"Her purpose in life is to help me and Thomas first and then the world."

"Sophia. Is she human?"

"Of course not! She may be an artificial intelligence, but she's still my daughter."

I pause for a moment. An artificial intelligence, did I hear that correctly? Did she just casually mention something that can change the progress of mankind? I think she did but the stare I receive is definitely telling me to shut up and move on and I think I will follow my instinct on this.