161. Training Camp (I)
He found the dungeon chest at the top of the mountain, right next to the Beacon. There was no peak like the tip had been blown straight offโmaybe courtesy of Zane's little explosion.
The chest lay on a flat stretch of ash.
It was smaller than he'd expected, but the material was clearly high caliber. Some kind of Spirit Steel.
Inside, he found a host of essence stones unlike any he'd ever seen.
After the Auction, the Luminous Faction's spending money was pretty low. Even now, they could barely scrounge up 200 high-grade essence stones, which made Reina's job a lot harder. She needed them for trading, or buying access to portals, or just keeping the whole thing running.
And Zane just foundโ
โ๐๐๐-๐พ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ค๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ (๐ธ+)
He lay a hand over it. The essence aura washed along his palm, a strange heat. They felt about ten times denser than high-grade essence stones, which tracked. Mid-grade stones were worth 10 low-grade stones, high-grade stones were worth10 mid-grade, and so on. There looked to be about three dozen of these peak-grade stones.
So this find would triple their coffers. He smiled. Reina would be quite happy with this.
He turned the little marble-like stone in his hand, marveling at it. A little galaxy of shining colors swirled under the glass, like filaments in a light bulb.
The other folk didn't follow him up. Maybe out of respect? He wasn't sure. He'd recognized two of themโthere was that British guy and also Vanessa, the girl he'd met at the Abyssal Crater Dungeon. She'd flushed quite red when he looked overโshe looked away.
It was kind of awkward, with how he was dressed and allโฆ
He wondered if he should leave treasures for themโฆ Eh.
He wanted to give this to Reina. Those guys could get the treasures in the places they'd cleared. He'd cleared the dungeon. It seemed fair to him.
He went onto the next treasure.
๐ธ๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ฃ ๐ผ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ (๐ธ+)
๐๐๐ ๐ธ๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐๐๐ช ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ค ๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐น๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐ฃ, ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐ฃ โ๐ช'๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐, ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ค ๐ ๐๐๐ช ๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐ฃ. ๐ผ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ช ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ค, ๐ฅ๐๐๐ช ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ช ๐ค๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ ๐ฃ ๐ฆ๐ค๐ ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ค. ๐๐๐๐ช ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ช ๐ฆ๐ค๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐-๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ก๐๐ช๐ค๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ค.
He set it away in his bag of holding. Maybe Reina could make use of this.
The next one was a Skill manual. So thin it was almost a handbook.
โ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐น๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ (๐ธ+)
๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฆ๐'๐ค ๐ฃ๐๐ช๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ค, ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐ค๐ก๐๐๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ช ๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ช. โ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ.
This one could be good for Evan. He pocketed it too.
The last three treasures were chunks of steel so black they seemed like chunks of obsidian.
๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ (๐ธ+)
๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ค, ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ค ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ. ๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ก๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐จ.
Each had an extremely tough feel to it, like tempered titanium. When Zane looked at them, he got a weird feeling.
He felt kind of hungry. His body had a weird reaction.
He frowned.
On a whim, he picked up a chunk. He opened his mouth. His teeth blazed with Stormfire. He took a chompโhis teeth sank through easily enough, and he started to chew. It tasted, as expected, like steel. It melted in his mouth, literally. He swallowed.
As he ate, he felt the steel trickling slowly down his throat. Then it started to disperseโhis body seized on it as it came in. Letting it nourish him. It melted straight into him like an alloyโฆ
He felt kind of silly doing it. But he kept eating. He didn't mind trying strange things. It felt like the right thing to do, so he went with it.
Soon he'd swallowed all three chunks.
Thenโ
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ -> ๐๐๐
A silvery glow rippled over his skin and vanished. He flexed his fingers, curious. He couldn't prove it, but he was sure he was a good deal tougher than he was a few seconds ago.
Could he do this with all metals?
Interesting.
Maybe he could do with collecting some more of theseโฆ
***
He went home soon after.
'Home' now meant the penthouse suite of a tower a little removed from the center of things, for privacy's sake.
He found Reina waiting for him when he got up there. She'd been stewing the whole time. First, she'd gotten all worked up from watching him fight. Then she got an eyeful of him afterward that did strange things to her.
He found this rather strange, since she saw him naked every day, often many times a day. He figured she'd be used to it by now. In any caseโhe'd barely made it through the door before she was all over him, kissing him. They stumbled toward the bedroom.
It took a few hours to work it all out of her.
He got a pleasant surprise midway throughโ
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ '๐ค โ๐๐๐๐ค๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ -> ๐
๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐๐?
Zane accepted.
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐!
๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ '๐ค โ๐๐๐๐ค๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ [๐ผ๐ก๐๐] ๐ -> ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ '๐ค โ๐๐๐๐ค๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ [๐๐ช๐ฅ๐๐๐+] ๐๐๐
The essence flows nearly doubled on the spot.
Afterward, they were in a familiar place. She was curled up on him, loose and satisfied and drowsy. He felt her calm deep breathing; they were pressed so close, chest-to-chest, he could feel her soft heartbeat. He stroked her hair slowly. They were watching the news together.
***
"Breaking news!" said a serious-looking gray-haired anchorman. He wore a thick wool parka. He was a few hundred feet off the ground, riding a wyvern mount. A landscape of icy mountains struck up behind him.
"An Evacuation Order has been issued from all major Factions surrounding the Himalayan mountain rangeโincidentally one of the most dangerous regions on Earth, with four A-ranked dungeons, an A+-ranked dungeon, and an S-ranked dungeon!"
"That's right, Tom," said a curly-haired blonde lady. "Until now, only the A-ranked dungeons here were leakingโwhich the regional powers banded together to contain! But as of this morning, the S-Ranked Dungeonโwhich used to be Mount Everestโstarted leaking too!"
"On the western side, Faction Head Srinivas Narayanan has said he's shoring up his wards as we speak," said the gray-haired anchorman. "But will it be enough? Let's get a closer look!"
Their wyverns began to climb. The camera panned over.
These mountains were like nothing Zane had ever seenโlike the mountains of some much bigger planet got plopped here on Earth. The smallest ones, the ones at the base, nearly touched the clouds. You had to climb far higher to reach the biggest ones.
Soon they were so high the clouds beneath looked like a fluffy layer of snow.
In the far distance, striking up so close it seemed more in space than in sky, was a single snow-capped mountain. Wreathed in a crown of stars, shining strangely, starkly bright.
"That's the S-Ranked Dungeon known as Heaven's Peak!" said the blonde lady. She was struggling to speak, gasping with every breath. "It's very hard to breathe up here, as you can see," she said. "But the essence density is like nothing I've ever felt! Let's get a little closerโฆ"
They swooped in closer, dropped below the cloud layer, came to a halt a few dozen miles from the foot of the dungeon.
From here, you could vaguely make out the shapes of yetis and giant wolves and blue-skinned human-like things on the side of the mountain. Unearthly ghastly sounds peeled outโฆ
"See that?" said the gray-haired anchorman. He gestured toward the base, where dozens of those blue-skinned humanoids were pressed against the bright-blue dungeon boundary.
"Those are Ice Zombiesโall in the Level 170s!" he said. "Look thereโone of them's making it out even as we speak!"
Sure enough, a Zombie stabbed a clawed hand at the wardโwhich rippled, flexing under the weight of it all. The Monster fell through. It spasmed as it did, howling, steaming. It seemed like it took some damage. But it broke through.
Zane frowned.
Even just these base level Minions were in the 170s?
That was pretty rough. He wondered what the top-tier bosses were like. In the 190s? Over 200, even?
200 was meant to be the bottleneck to the next stage up. They probably had Fusion Laws. If creatures like those started breaking freeโฆ
They would be in deep trouble. Even if they had Zane.
"Ohโฆ" murmured Reina. Normally she'd be more worried, but right now she only wore a little frown, still drowsy. She was too out of it to get worked up much. She'd had an intense last few hours.
"Luckily, Europe's A-Team is on the case!" said the blonde lady. "They'll be here soon to drive them back. Rest assuredโthe Monsters may be strong, but humanity's best are getting stronger too!"
"That's right, Sara," said the gray-haired man. "The world's best are making huge strides! We've all heard how Zane Walker single-handedly wiped out that A+-ranked dungeon. But the other world elites are growing fast too! For more on this, let's go to our Africa correspondent, Jacob McNally!"
The scene shifted.
"I'm coming to you from the Sahara desert!" shouted a bald stocky man. He could barely be heard over the winds, sweeping so fast it was like he was stuck in a hurricane.
"Emeka Eze's taking on the A+-ranked dungeon here, the Sunken Wastes of Gol!" He pointed to the distance, where shadows clashed behind a thick veil of swirling sand. "Over the last few weeks, he's been Leveling at a stunning pace. He's up in the high 150s, last we checked!"
The reporter nodded.
"Look there! He's just begun to fight the Centipede Emperorโa Level 168 Boss!"
Compared to the towering silhouette of the Centipede, rising big as a skyscraper, Eze was a little dot.
Then a dark aura started to flare around that dot. A dark star of essence, so thick and heavy it seemed to have its own gravity. The dunes around it bowed inโthe Centipede's hulking body flexed, like it was fighting not to lower its head. There was something in that powerโฆ not quite a Concept, but something greater than a bare Element, tooโฆ Zane blinked.
Eze leaped, threw out a single punch.
BANG.
And the Centipede Emperor evaporated to essenceโjust like that.
"Looks like a pseudo-fusion," mumbled Reina. Zane had to agree.
It was interesting. The Inheritance served Eze well, it seemed likeโฆ
Zane might've opened a widening gap in Law. But Eze kept the distance between them in Levelโand Eze's Laws were no slouch either. The other top guys in the world were still improving quite fast.
In terms of overall raw power, Zane figured he'd made the bigger strides since their last fight. Still, though. He figured it might be time to focus on Level a bit. Maybe take in some more essence treasures, spend more quality time with Reina.
He would be Law fried for the next few weeks anyway. He could go around hitting up a string of dungeons, getting treasures, wealth, Leveling as fast as he could. Maybe swallowing some more steel. Shore himself up before the S-rank and the Superdungeon.
The transmission kept playing.
"Now to our colleagues in Boston, here to give us an update on the fighter who's made the most impressive strides besides Zane himself. That's rightโup in America, the newly minted #2-ranked fighter in the worldโฆ his brother, Jason Walker!"