13
The same night after his talk with Batman, Leslie was relaxing. He'd bought a pair of spellbooks from the game shop, one that would drain MP from enemies and was... Honestly, kind of expensive, considering he'd yet to have to deal with even a single spellcaster.
The closest he'd come had been seeing Giovanni Zatara through a computer screen.
Aqualad might count. Maybe. But Leslie had a good idea that draining a nominal ally for a pittance of magic might be a bad thing.
Still, it might come in handy some day.
The other one was less of a book and more of a scroll. Golden, written in archaic english and half of it was functionally complaining about how the spells on it were restricted, or forbidden, or 'limited' because a more complete version was considered 'impossible' when it was written.
Still, it was five spells for a little over thirteen thousand GP. Three of which would actually be useful, however limited they were at level one. A repair spell, a near-invisibility spell and the real kicker, a spell-deflection spell. There was also a basic light spell and another to turn the casters weapon invisible, but he didn't have much current use for those.
At level one, the deflection spell would last for three seconds and could even turn away attacks from an unliving nightmare that had literally devoured a god.
He wasn't eager to test it, but in this nightmarish death world where the good guys were perpetually a day late and a dollar short? He'd take whatever he could get.
As much as he'd prefer to hide away and just play with all the delightful new magics, Leslie couldn't justify it to himself. The world was going to get worse and worse and he couldn't remember if it ever got better.
Really today had been a pretty good day! He'd finished the quest chain for Saitama Someday, learned a bunch of nifty new spells, really he didn't have much left to do!
Except...
Leslie hesitantly pulled one last book from his inventory.
He'd been putting of reading the book De Le Metalica, within which lay the secrets of imbuing metal with life. As well as creating a body, a human body, using it.
He opened the cover...
And it was blank.
He flipped to the next page, and the page after that!
All empty!
This book had cost him a literal fortune!
"What the hell is this?!" That couldn't be right!
"-Ye Seeker of Forbidden Knowledge.-" The words, coming from the book itself, echoed throughout the small room.
That... Was not good!
"-Prove yourself worthy!-" Glyphs and circles started filling the pages as they rapidly flipped on their own, the book holding itself in the air.
Leslie had forgotten this part.
He swallowed thickly and tried to quell the hammering of his heart.
Shaking, he reached out, pushing his hand into the light shining from within the endless pages.
And the book dropped to the ground in the empty room, slamming itself shut.
-----
Coming to in an oddly lit room is always pretty sketchy.
Leslie looked around himself as distant memories slowly came back into focus. He was leaning against a lone door on a floating platform, stairs leading down.
Looking around, he could see various platforms all arranged in a circle around the door, with stairs leading to each sequentially until they wrapped back around at the bottom.
He'd forgotten this book was protected, the words inside of it sealed away...
"Game Shop?" He tried.
--ERROR!--
--Service: Game Shop unavailable--
--Interference detected!--
Well, that was great.
He tried to teleport out, but that didn't seem to work. He could teleport to one of the other platforms though!
Alright. He had one more option to try.
"ID Escape!"
--ERROR!--
--Skill: ID Escape can only be used inside Illusion Dungeons!--
Alright. Awesome.
Leslie returned to the central platform, with the freefloating door, and read the plaque situated on it.
"-The Door Was Open But An Hour Past-"
-----
It was difficult to get any rest here. Sometimes after clearing a puzzle, he'd be dropped into an otherwise empty room. Actual walls, with a door at the end. His buffs didn't wear off just because he went to sleep, so he had Protect and Blink on at all times.
He'd still be woken up well before he could get any proper sleep, often by a lightning bolt or explosion striking too close to his head.
He'd never been part of the military, and this was one of the major reasons!
At least the things had the decency to make him 'wake up' before going on the offensive.
The typical fight against these things usually involved him teleporting after an attack, using Osmose, then using Esuna because everything caused a debilitation of some kind.
Burns from fire spells, frostbite from ice spell, electrocution was the biggest issue. He'd do his best with his deflection spell, but the window it was active was short for now, and he was often attacked by packs of enemies instead of just one or two.
The lightning after effect would cause his limbs to spasm, his thoughts to stutter and was, without a doubt, the most painful of the bunch.
After clearing that mess out of his system, he'd hit whatever was attacking him with Osmose, followed by healing spells. Then Osmose again and Flare until dead.
If he had to redo his buffs, he'd hit the blasting books, floating pumpkins and potion vials with Osmose one more time for good measure.
-----
"-The Elements Exist In Harmony, But One Has Broken The Chain-"
-----
"-Often Is The Path Of Enlightenment Found In The Dark-"
-----
Leslie stood before a being, massive and powerful, wearing blue armor shaped like the carapace of a beetle.
Duras Drum, a great spirit, possibly a god in a lot of definitions. The Guardian of Illusion.
Leslie didn't know how long he'd been here. It certainly took longer than when he'd played through the dungeon in a video game.
So much longer.
He'd had to try and get some sleep, but he could only steal a few hours at a time before more things, floating books, floating pumpkins and intelligent alchemy vials would attack him.
Homonculus. Dwarf in the flask. The meaning was not lost on him.
He'd run out of food... Maybe two days ago? Three? He really didn't know. He also only had three bottles of water left in his inventory.
The alchemy vials would occasionally drop items, along with the experience and GP he'd been getting... But he'd tried eating the nectarines they left behind.
They restored HP and MP, but did nothing for his hunger.
He'd gotten some interesting drops from the books, too. What he was going to do with three copies of the Necronomicon he didn't know, but he had them.
Positive notes though! Osmose, Life and Cure had all hit sixteen, their max level! He wasn't sure how long ago that had actually happened, but it was a huge milestone for him!
"-You Have Done Well, Seeker.-" Duras Drum looked down upon him.
Filthy, disheveled, exhausted and hungry.
He didn't feel he'd done well at all.
"-For What Have You Come To Learn?-" The Guardian didn't speak, so much as impressed its intent upon the world.
"I need." Leslie swallowed. His mouth was dry, his legs felt weak, his stomach was cramping and his eyes burned. "I need the secrets of steel, and the knowledge of the Holmcross."
The Guardian leaned down, wise eyes buried deep in the darkness under his golden crown.
"-Such Knowledge Is Sealed, And For Good Reason. What Reason Could You Offer To Merit This Ruinous Wisdom?-"
"This body-" Leslie put his hand over his chest, above his heart before dropping it back down. "-doesn't belong to me. I need to return it. I've spoken to the power behind Ge Ramtos, she's offered to find the proper soul. I just need to find a vessel for my own."
Leslie held his eyes shut, failing to push the exhaustion burning at them away.
"And I won't displace someone else, or steal another body. I have to make my own."
"-Your Desire Is Selfish-" Duras Drum had his arms crossed. Leslie didn't know if it was disapproval in his voice, but it felt like it.
"I know." And Leslie did. His eyes burned, now with tears instead of just exhaustion.
He could normally control himself better than this, but he was just...
Just so tired.
"-You Would Give A Mother Her Son. Give A Child Another Chance At Life. Bear Upon Your Shoulders The Burden Of Righting These Wrongs. Are You Certain You Wish For This Knowledge?-"
"...No." Leslie wasn't prepared to hear the Guardian Spirit -laugh- at his answer.
"-Good! I Am The Guardian Of Illusion! Shadows And Doubt Are My Domain! I Am Both Mans Greatest Foe And Staunchest Ally, For With Every Defeat We Both Grow Greater! Uncertainty Allows For Us To Question Our Truths! Through Uncertainty, Illusions Are Dispelled And Falsehoods Discarded! You Came Seeking Knowledge, And With It You Shall Be Freed From My Realm.-"
"...Thank you." Leslie wiped at his eyes, trying to clear them.
"-Do Not Thank Me. Not For This. This Knowledge Is A Burden. A Weapon. More Dangerous To You Than To Any Other. Tread Carefully @**&@%$#%, Lest You Invite Destruction Into Your Very Soul.-" Duras Drum placed one great claw upon Leslie's head, pushing -something- into him.
No, not something. Words, numbers, formulae and notes were being carved into the core of his very being, knowledge etched into spirit rather than mind.
Long, long before Duras Drum was done, Leslie was screaming as though fire was being poured into him.
And he didn't stop until he woke back up, once more in the real world.
A blank, nameless book on the floor next to him.
--Skill Obtained!--
--Living Steel Manufacturing and Production!--
--Level: Max!--
--Item Obtained!--
--Necronomicon X3!--
--Item Obtained!--
--Nectar X63!--
--Item Obtained--
--Magic Carrot X77!--
--Item Obtained!--
--Heal Berry X99!--