Chapter 165

Brenna

The Dungeon Under the Stairs

Lykan could feel the entrance. He used his naturally enhanced senses to guide him towards the only location where the dungeon entrance could be. There was just one problem. Well two problems. The first problem was that the entrance was in the palace, the very heart of the Sidherthan empire. This by itself was no problem, not for Lykan and Brenna who were so far beyond the human guards who idly stood guard throughout the palace.

Most of the guards had been stationed here for a long time. This much was apparent to Lykan who saw the amount of qi saturation that flooded their meridians, making it so that conjuring forth even minor elements would be painful. Lykan only looked at the people and shook his head. With a focus of his will, he ripped out the qi from the meridians of the warriors and magicians alike who had been stationed here to guard the capital.

Then once they had the qi forcefully removed from their body, they were then quickly knocked out with a simple exertion of force. With time and practice Lykan found that he could often turn the original qi absorption method, into a force that would knock out any would be opponents. Not that many could harm the two.

After a point the guards all ran, deciding to make one last stand next to their beloved King. In fact, close to four dozen guards stood shoulder to shoulder readying firearms and spells by the imperial entrance hall. This would be the hallway that offered the longest and clearest sights. This would also be the hallway that was designed specifically for this type of defensive measure. The only problem for the guards is that the two never went up.

Instead, the two chose to go down the many flights of stairs, to the disused and often misunderstood basement. Many had often wondered about the exact layout and purpose for the basement and why it was so deep underground. There was after all no dungeon to speak of, even the rats and other vermin tended to avoid the place.

At one point people had tried to use it for a personal dwelling spot, but all who tried grew sick and often wished to be relocated elsewhere. This led to the second problem that Lykan faced.

With so much of the lower floors being uninhabitable due to some unknown reason. The lower floors were sealed off with stone. Still, this did little to stop people from getting sick. Often a sign of position in the King’s personal staff was how high up the palace tower your personal room was. The lower your ranking, the closer your room was to the ground floor.

Lykan and Brenna both made their way to giant stone slabs that had been sealed in over time. The placing of the newer stones within the older outlines was easy to notice if one knew what to look for. The first thing was that the aging of the stones was different. Also, the cut of the stones was entirely different as well. The first stones were built with granite that had been mined relatively close by and led to a uniform appeal that fit with the rest of the palace and even much of the Academy. The newer slabs by contrast were carved from a quarry further away. This led to clearly different patterns and textures of the stones that were easy to notice to an observant eye.

But none of these showed the true extent that Lykan now saw with his eyes. To Lykan, what he was the effect of qi radiation and build up on the different stones. The older stones all but glowed to his finely developed qi senses. Senses that were designed to notice the slightest shifts in qi patterns. Senses that had been honed over hundreds of battles against beasts that wielded qi. With his senses, the differences in amount of absorbed qi were the same thing as having a new rug placed over a well-worn carpet. Both the rug and carpet would have qi in them, but they would be at vastly different levels.

With but a look to Brenna, he conveyed volumes. Or at least that was what he intended. Fortunately for him, Brenna was well attuned to him and easily read his base desires from his surface thoughts.

The intent was clear, they needed a path. While Lykan could easily break a way through the layer of rocks with a well-placed strike. He wanted to leave as little impact to the area as possible.

That was why he left this part to Brenna. Smiling inwardly at being needed, Brenna did just that, she focused her will and caused the stones beneath their feet to shift. Technically she caused the dirt holding the stones to shift, as she was not quite at the expertise level needed to directly manipulate stone, but she was getting close. That was a step she knew she would need to take if she wanted to advance further down her path of earth.

With a hole open, only darkness could be seen below. Well darkness to most humans. To Lykan and Brenna both, the floors below glowed with the light and majesty of untapped power. Power that practically sung to the two.

Scooping Brenna up into a bridle carry. Lykan walked forward, then letting both his cultivation and mana meridians circulate, he took one step over the open hole then plummeted down below.

Gently gliding on the wind, he made his way down level after level. With the center piece gone, the path to the dungeon below was a long winding staircase that clung to the walls. The stone staircase was also clearly put in over top of the previously existing structure. The reason this was apparent, was that ever occasionally, the truce shape and majesty of the dungeon’s true structure could be seen. Walls that were too smooth to be carved by hand, existed throughout. Walls that all but seemed to refuse to merge with the crude resin used to fuse the different slabs of stone together.

Once on the bottom floor, Lykan let Brenna down. Then as always, they found the traditional layout of the dungeon. Then like always, the two made their way to the training room. Lykan had thought the first one with Brenna was a fluke, or a sign. A sign that he was meant to take Brenna under his wing and train her. But here, after so many dozens of other tries, was another active training room.

Seeing the room, the two instantly shared a glance of excitement. They had both grown and changed so much since the last time they had been to one of these rooms that they were almost at a loss for how to proceed.

Fortunately, the teaching assistant soon appeared as a black silhouette with glowing red eyes and qi tentacles along their face. The sight of the master was still unnerving to Lykan and Brenna’s personal standards. But the face was somewhat easier to accept now.

This time through, the two could see that the face was not angry, but stern. The posture and mannerisms of the creature were also easier to interpret, due to having recently fought one. Or the fact that the two were now able to track the use of qi within the construct itself.

“What have you come for?” The wise Titan Instructor asked.

Lykan of course repeated the question to Brenna. At first Lykan wished for Brenna to go first but was soon overruled.

“No. For this one, I would like to see you conduct your training. Then when you are done, I will follow having seen you conduct your own training.” Brenna offered.

The argument made sense, and it was one that Lykan could not argue with. While he did not want to steal the first-time use of such a valuable find, it would make more sense for him to go first. Rather than having to translate everything real time, he could stop and focus on what was being said and presented. Then when it was Brenna’s turn, she would have not only seen Lykan’s attempts, but also have been guidance.

With that argument in place, Lykan nodded. Then turned back to the instructor.

“Master, this one wish to learn to advance their cultivation process.” Lykan said, giving a slight reverent bow to the projected instructor. Lykan didn’t know why he felt compelled to bow at the waist, even though he was on his knees already, but he did. The gesture seemed to go over well, as the glowing red eyes seemed to dim ever so slightly, a sign of approval.

Again, these were all nuances that Lykan was slowly picking up on, from his few limited interactions with these three-dimensional projections. Still, they seemed to work as the instructor himself nodded.

Then Lykan felt a slight tingling sensation permeate his body. The amount of ambient qi in the room seemed to intensify for a second, all the while Lykan’s natural cultivation method continued to pull in ambient qi at a rapid pace.

Seeing this, the glowing red eyes of the instructor seemed to be judging Lykan. This was all for show of course, as the measurements were clearly being done by an advanced system. Even the eyes of the instructor were fabricated by the advanced systems that existed throughout the entire dungeon system.

Still an intact dungeon training room was something to take full advantage of when one presented themselves. That was why the two had long ago made a pact that regardless of where they were, the two would try to stay in the rooms for as long as possible. Then just like the first time, it was assumed that should food or water be needed, then the one not in training would do the hunting and scavenging for food and water. Of course, the idea that either would need food or water any time soon was absurd. The last few times the two had eaten was when Kosha was around, and even then, they only did so to make Kosha feel at ease around them.

Since Kosha had left, the two had not had a thing to eat or drink. Not that this made them thirsty or hungry. On the contrary, what they didn’t eat, their body gained by absorbing ambient qi. Qi, the two were quickly discovering was a power that was undeniably beneficial. If one managed to grow far enough in their cultivation base, then hunger and famine would be nonexistent. The only problem was that it took a long time and dedication to get to a point where they would not need food nor water.

Also, it was clear that there was not quite enough qi for everyone. That even if everyone began cultivating for their basic needs, they would still need food for the new generation of children. Along with the people that were unable or unwilling to make the full steps into cultivation.

Still, for the two of them, here, this was a perfect scenario. They were two of the very few humans who could come down here. Also, the fact that they were both here, meant they would both be able to leave at roughly the same power level, something that Brenna was more than pleased with. That was part of her plan, the plan as to why she wanted to go last. She wanted to see the bar that Lykan set, and then do everything she could to match that bar. It would have done no good for her to push herself to a point where she was content, only to have Lykan’s comprehension of cultivation far exceed her own that she would have to go back two or even three times. No, with this, she would know the level and effort Lykan put in. Then if she was lucky, she hoped that she would be able to keep close.

Brenna was so focused on her own mental goal of keeping pace with Lykan, that she almost missed the instructor’s answer. Not that she could understand him when he spoke in the odd alien tongue, but at the same time she could feel Lykan’s response and from that she could almost make out what was said.

“You have chosen the noble cultivation method of Air. Stand and prepare to become one with the Air.” The instructor said.

With that Lykan stood. No sooner did he rise to his feet, then an intense arctic breeze fueled by qi began to blow in the room.

Brenna felt herself almost blown over in her sitting position. Only with an intense surge of will, and call for the earth, was she able to maintain her own kneeling position.

With everyone getting adjusted to the sudden intense pressure, the Titan instructor spoke once more.

“Feel the wind, and let it cut into and through you. Then let it move with you.”

At that, the wind began to pick up in intensity, as an icy chill wound its way down Brenna’s back. This was not like her initial training when she was first learning to make her core. This was something different, something more foreboding, but at the same time something she couldn’t help but feel excited for. She watched as Lykan stood there for a moment, long silver hair waving in the wind. Then she saw the moment recognition seemed to shine in his eyes, as his hair began to glow a light blue. That was when he did something, that took her breath away.