RM CH4 (Patreon)

Claws rip open my stomach before I can blink, spilling my guts on the cold stone floor. Powerful jaws bite into my shoulder, and its head shakes, ripping flesh as the beast feeds. My blood falls to the stone as the beast stabs into my arm with its powerful claws and rips off my dominant arm. The bone snaps with an easy twist as the beast gorges itself. My muscle rips clean from the bone, revealing my ribs as my heart continues to beat as every ounce of my Chi fights to preserve me a moment longer. The beast was cruel. It left my head and neck alone, so I was forced to watch as it ripped out my liver casually before rising off to snap it in its jaws. More of my organs spill out, but I don’t die. The bloody death continued on far longer than I thought possible as the time between my heartbeats lagged. I couldn’t take it. This wasn’t happening, this, my heart staggered as the beast reached into my chest and gripped it. Like picking a fruit, the monster ripped my heart free and raised it in front of my face. Then, it took a large bite and chewed ponderously before swallowing.

The world reset. I was alone and whole in the relative safety of the simulated space. My inner demon smirked at me but said nothing. I fell back and lay on the stone floor and listened to my heartbeat. Simulations weren’t supposed to be that cruel or savage. Master Yang Da only dismembered me. Death from him was rather fast compared to what Charles Forest put me through. Maybe I should have let him die for real. I sucked in a breath and let it out that wasn’t fair. Simulations weren’t like their original; my inner demon seemed to take some sick joy in tweaking them. 

“Do you want to go again? You did better that time. Just one more, and I think you’ll overcome the difference in rank.” My inner demon said.

His chipper attitude was expected. This was the only option he had to mess with me. As a being that was born to be a roadblock it was expected. Fighting master was like reaching for the moon, and rank 2s were like reaching for top-shelf alcohol. I Imagined Melony would be similarly out of my reach.

I won my original fight with Charles because he took time to transform. Fighting him already transformed was an entirely different experience. My Eagle only pissed him off no matter where I shot or what ammo I used. Rank Disparity was such a bitch to deal with.

The feeling of being ripped apart should have driven me insane, but VR games with turned-up pain for realism purposes completely desensitized me. Fighting for every second of life also gave great returns. Master said once that cultivation was all about working hard early to reap great returns later.

The better my early foundation in the Chi Condensation, Drawing, or Gathering realm, the better off I will be later on. So, I wasn’t trying to rush to rank 2 anymore. I decided to go all in in my cultivation.

“Yes, make him more aggressive this time. I’m tired of fighting pansies.” I said.

My inner demon smirked with my face, and I went again and, this time managed to connect a few hits before the werewolf grew bored of toying with me. The pain was turned up for the realism I needed the desperation to force myself forward on the path. We were our minds after all and this simulation was the best way to get used to rank 2 monsters. I planned to watch more fights and use my cultivation to simulate more enemies.

I launched a chi-empowered knife hand and dug two inches into the werewolf’s thick hide. Blood seeped down my good hand, and the werewolf looked stunned as it choked on a mouthful of my liver. I reached through my incision, grasped a rib, and used my connection to his blood to rapidly harden and launch his blood as needles. The werewolf exploded like a grenade, ripping me apart with the shrapnel.

A quick swipe of its claw ripped my head off.

My gaze fell down on my body as my head spun in the air. It seemed that even using its blood as a dirty bomb wasn’t enough to phase a rank 2 monster for long. Back to the drawing board. The simulation reset.

“You are horrible at fighting.”

I could feel my Chi hardening with every confrontation. The key to fast advancement seemed to be life and death battles. Ramming my head against a powerful enemy and facing death each time drastically increased my Chi control, potency, and speed. The simulation felt more like an old gladiator-style VR game. I sucked at those.

The results couldn’t be denied.

If I started at 0 and training with Master Yang Da brought them up to 1, then this training was slowly bringing them to 10. Each increased level seemed to be a part of something greater. If I had to break it down then these skills were a part of cultivation.

A tablet appeared in my hand as I messed with the inner workings of my inner world to come up with something easier to understand.

Atom Walker  Rank 1

Realm: Chi Gathering

Stage: 6

Chi Techniques

Type                      Rank                    Stage

Capacity            1                             6

Control               1                             3

Movement         1                             2

Pressure            1                             2

Perception        1                             4

Manifestation 1                             2

Enhance            1                             4

Recollection    1                             5

Simulation       1                             7

Endurance        1                             1

While there was no actual system recording information behind this, it was a part of my simulation to keep track of my progress. Rank seemed to be determined by capacity or something else. I didn’t know and Master Yang Da didn’t give me any straight answers. The amount of Chi I held in my Dantian or core at any given time determined my stage. I had been a fool for only relying upon gathering more power without knowing how to use it. Chi was at least as complicated as classes, maybe even more, because of all the little things needed to keep track of.

I was currently very reliant upon simulation, which was a mental technique I stumbled on when I pictured Master Yang Da fighting. The more I thought about it and pushed Chi into the thought the more into myself I became until I was facing off against Master Yang Da in my inner world. From there I watched recordings and simulated the experience until my fighting style was a mirror of his own. While there was no way to beat a rank 3 with my current power I was getting better every day. Keeping track of my progress was an important part of that. From this round, my Enhance has finally reached 4, and my pressure hit 2. Every single stage was more difficult to hit than the last, so each milestone was important.

When I opened my eyes back to the real world, I went to shower and put on a suit. Today, I would take a test and become an enchanter. My trainee certificate wouldn’t let me deal with the people I needed it for.

…

Her son left home for the day to take an enchantment exam and was scheduled to leave for a week afterward. She took the time to enter his workshop and saw 14 slime nuclei floating in separate pods. A slow drip of food entered them activated by positive reactions to their indoctrination. Gems on top of the glass held numerous enchantments, many of which her system couldn’t quite identify. Lines of text faded into a complicated jigsaw puzzle, limiting what she could understand even with Rank 5 Perception. While it was frustrating this wasn’t all bad.

Atom had a hobby, why else would he buy slim nuclei. She counted 5 red, 7 blue, and 2 black slimes, each with a different role programmed in from the tubes. This was a common method used in dedicated labs, so she wasn’t worried about something going wrong.

No, she was here for something far more embarrassing. She wanted to know what her son was into and how they could discreetly take care of his needs without causing a scandal. She blamed her husband for her son’s disgusting preferences but had to face the facts. This was her fault.

She found posters of that vampire bitch that might have been a good influence on him. Had her own attempts to protect him from a girl only after his status and family connection doomed him to a life of degeneracy. Emily couldn’t know. Maybe it was all a phase that he would grow out of. She hoped that was it because if he became a threat to the family, she didn’t know what she would do. Atom was her favorite.

Allen was having talks with centaur herds discreetly looking for a blond that could be seen with him. The wild party race was not to be underestimated. Any centauress would be raised in the rowdy, drunken haze of the herds and be a handful to deal with. Without tamer skills, Atom would have a difficult time dealing with them. Using that as an excuse, they might be able to discreetly ask for a child. That was why she finally had the conversation she was dreading with her husband. They hadn’t spoken with each other for a week since then.

Sebastion looked as smug as always as he took flash drive after flash drive and inspected their contents. While there were no children, the sick and twisted things she saw made her want to puke. Ancient rituals, Alchemy Orgies, and Non-Euclidean Enchantments that drove even ancient masters of the art mad. Then there were the symbols of Athena. The symbols were everywhere in notes, writing, and even on some wallpaper. She couldn’t understand them, and that worried her more than anything else. She was dealing with her son but couldn’t recognize what he was doing. It was the kind of situation that ended family trusts. 

The greatest issue was all of the research, no matter how corrupt, disgusting, and savage, was legal. All of it, no matter what ancient monsters it awakened, could not be infringed upon. If he gained a certificate to practice enchanting as a professional and not a trainee then his protections would be even greater.

“Mistress Emily, what are you doing in the workshop,” Mai asked.

The red-skinned Oni yawned while wearing one of her son’s shirts that said I hate enchanting, and only a black thong. Sebastion whistled while Emily only blushed at the sight of the girl.

“Only mages call their place of work workshops,” Emily said.

Mai nodded and raised an eyebrow as if Emily hadn’t implied a leading question. When the Oni looked confused, she sighed and brushed strands of disheveled white hair from her face.

“This is Atom’s workshop where he enchants, conducts alchemy experiments, and adjusts skills,” Mai said.

Like herself, Mai was exposed to all of this but, unlike her only had the eyes of a layman. None of this was common for any of those professions and no one was adept in all three of the great pillars of Weston technology. If her son was a skill smith, she would know. No, as it turns out, her son had become some kind of cultist that she would need to deal with. Most in her position would execute him.

…

I turned my test in less than 30 minutes after it started. The proctor stared at the sheet I put in front of him and then back to me.

“Don’t bother giving it to me if you are throwing in the towel after only half an hour. I’m guessing your master only taught you what he thought you needed to know, and you’re missing the fundamentals. Leave here and go to the library. They keep many copies of The First Steps. Read it and complete all the exercises that should shore up any weaknesses.” 

“No, I’m done with the test,” I said.

The man gave me a sour look. “If you are turning it in, then you must wait the full time like everyone else. Are you certain you don’t need to look it over?” The man asked.

I shook my head and returned to my seat. With 7 hours and 30 minutes to go, there was plenty of time for simulation practice, my main source of training at this point. Master Yang Da told me he couldn’t beat much more into me until I reached the Spire Formation Realm. It was called the Spire Formation Realm because it created a spiritual will reaching for heaven. By nurturing this will, it was possible to eventually connect to a second Dantian in the chest and a third in the head. Few bothered with the practice, instead only focusing on the one Dantian, but I wanted to give it a try.

The common rank 2 realm was called the formation realm. Pillar formation realm was a name used in South Easton near the border to the Theocracy. At the heartland near the Great Spirit River, it was called the obelisk formation realm. Meditation let me remember things I had only heard in passing from snippets of conversation and piece them together.

After growing bored of looking at my test, I fell back into my own personal VR from Tartarus. Not to be confused with the Tartarus simulator.

After 4 hours of constant simulation practice, I was starting to get a feel for Charles’ patterns. I needed more varied opponents, and one place came to mind.

The expiration date for my ticket to Canite would soon catch up to me. Bavalim looked nice in the summer, and tons of girls didn’t know my name. Atom Walker could be anyone there.

As a 15-year-old hot-blooded Weston male, my desires were simple. I wanted to try vampire pussy. Melony wasn’t very responsive to my advances. She only wanted to be friends. This felt like my chance, and I would be a fool not to take it.

…

My steps across the stone floor were light and decisive. While the werewolf was just as quick, I knew how it moved and countered with all the hate and rage I could muster. The beast left shattered teeth behind as I slammed bow after blow home in its ugly snout. When I retreated, it lunged into an uppercut, a jump that turned into a pile driver and ended with a head stomp. The bloody stump of its neck wiggled, but the beast failed to regrow its head.

The tally was 1,291 for Charles and 1 for me. I did it.

I yelled to the empty ceiling of my simulated mindscape. “For the vampire pussy.”

It was a rough battle, and my life was on the line every moment of it, but I won in the end. My fists shook bloody but satisfied. Rank 2 monsters weren’t as scary as I was led to believe. All I had to do was die to them horribly over a thousand times for the fear to go away. Supposedly, I shouldn’t be able to challenge them at all, but here I was battling them with my bare fists and winning once. It only took 1,291 deaths to force my cultivation to the level I needed to deal with it.

When I collapsed to the ground, Inner Demon looked over me with a smirk. “Are you going to do it again? I could put two in the ring with you.”

I leaned up on my elbows, threw a blow, and Inner Demon flew into the side of the blood waterfall and cratered into the stone. My breaths were wheezing from the battle as I reset. Every ounce of effort had gone into that fight, and I only won by a hair’s breadth. He wanted me to take two on. Well, that’s what I needed to move forward. Who cares about beating up one mangy mutt when I could beat two a whole rank above me with my bare hands. I smiled at the thought until two popped into existence while I was trying to get to my knees.

Putting up a fight was hard when every time I focused on one, the other circled around and slashed my back with its razor-sharp claws. I threw punches, and they retreated in opposite directions to circle around. Once one took a punch, they learned to be cautious and treated me like a threat. With two in the ring, they worked so much smarter and used their teamwork against me. They rushed from opposite directions, forcing me to face one of them and leave the other to attack me from behind. Numerous wounds covered my body, and no amount of regeneration could get the venom from their claws out of me fast enough. I leaned into the pain and let it flow through me. My Chi roiled with all the rage I could manage, and I yelled.

A wall of solid Chi blasted around me and I knew what it was and couldn’t believe it. I laughed as one of the werewolves got up and shot across the arena, cutting my Achilles tendon before I could react.

There was no separating them, and I lived through a slow, agonizing death as they ate me piece by piece. I reset the simulation when I lost both arms and legs.

Dealing with multiple opponents wasn’t twice as hard. It was exponentially harder. I had supernatural powers of my own, but I was dealing with a handicap. Humans weren’t made for dealing with monsters bare handed. Even so, the gains I made from fighting opponents so much stronger than me and feeling the pain like it was real life was extreme.

Atom Walker Rank 1

Realm: Chi Gathering

Stage: 6

Chi Techniques

Type                      Rank                    Stage

Capacity            1                             6

Control               1                             4

Movement         1                             3

Pressure            1                             3

Perception        1                             4

Manifestation 1                             3

Enhance            1                             4

Recollection    1                             5

Simulation       1                             7

Endurance        1                             2

Aura                      1                             1

Cultivation continued to treat me with new techniques I needed to master, expanding my foundation far and wide. Did other cultivators use simulation to hasten their progress, or did it cost too much Chi? At stage 7 the cost had declined as the technique became more efficient. I hadn’t used more than I gained from my blood synthesizer. I was still very much in the black as I fought to grow stronger and stronger. The higher my simulation technique grew the more time seemed to stretch.

I returned to reality and picked up a playing card. A little enhancement later, I threw it, and the card embedded itself into the steel wall of my workshop. That was the kind of gain I needed. However, even using playing cards for easy projectile weapons in my simulation felt like cheating. The enemies only had the clothes on their backs. Why should I have more?

“Your letter is here,” Mai yelled.

After showering and putting on a pair of shorts, leaving my shirt off for lounging, I made my way out to find Mai wearing booty shorts with a smirk on her face. She showed me my tablet, and the 100,000W was in my account from the pill. They had happily accepted the mercury pill and requested we make 30 more for them. At 100,000 a piece, it was a steal. Though seeing the prices of the skills in question and the going rate for skill smiths in general, they were coming out ahead.

Mai handed me the letter and I opened it to disappointing results.

They had marked my score as 0% and cited that I cheated on my exam.

“So long as you do not inform your grandfather of this score, we see no reason to make your cheating public so long as you never apply for certification again. A black mark has been placed on your record. So long as you sign an NDA, it will be sealed and remain confidential. No matter one’s social connections, know we are the proctors who determine the standard for all certified professions.” I said.

“What are you going to do?”

I loaded a file that made up most of the enchanting work, including my notes, hours studied, and anything else I could find that showed I was indeed an enchanter. Then, I called our family attorney, Mr. Grim.

…

Gordino, or Dino for short, spotted the girl Louri on a run in the indoor gym. She was a hot blonde with thighs that didn’t quit and a fit heart-shaped rear he could bounce a poon off of. He bit his bottom lip. She was his type of gym THOTs were the best. With a little work, he’ll be laid back on her bed with her squatting on his Excalibur.

Monsters of all kinds punched bags, pushed themselves to lift magnetized weights, or merely broke a sweat on a treadmill. Lady Louri acted less like a lady of a noble house and more like another person. She ran on a treadmill dressed like any other girl back home on Earth. From the way Mari described it, Louri would have been the queen of England or at least Princess Diane.

 It wasn’t what he expected from people overextending themselves. He expected them to be more desperate to further their power. He went to work squatting an insane amount of weight more fit to a monster at rank 3 than a human at rank 2. His class Hero had tons of benefits, and he wasn’t a scrub.

Hours after he started, the gym started clearing out, leaving only Louri and himself. The Walkers were confident that no one would try anything or be stupid. He used one of his hero skills that was normally reserved for his own training.

Gravity weighted down on Louri just as she was squatting close to 200 kilos. Dino increased it steadily to make sure it felt like she was growing tired. Just when her body struggled, and she looked like she was about to collapse, he ran up behind her and grabbed the bar. He wrestled it like a python and made a show of struggling to get it back to the bar. Louri’s butt rubbed up against his man meat, letting him feel how her tight cheeks could bounce.

She turned her attention to him, and her eyes widened in shock and she scrambled off of him. It was too late for that. He activated the skill Damsel IN Distress. Her eyes settled down and looked a little less wild.

It was like fishing. Really, all he needed was the right bait or, in this case, opportunity. Even if the video from the camera’s recording of the inside gym was used, no one would fault him. His hero skills weren’t flashy. That was by design so the evil Olympians wouldn’t catch on until it was too late. Even his class only read Warrior to anyone below rank 8.

“Thank you for saving me. Normally, I can handle that weight without any problem, but I guess this wasn’t my day.”

“I know the feeling. Some days are better than others.” He smiled into the awkward silence.

“Well, I should go. My workout is over.” Louri said.

“My name is Gordino Summers. I was adopted into the Summers family. You’re Louri Walker, right.” The girl nodded slowly. “Do you want to go out into the city and have coffee together?” Dino asked.

“I would have to ask my Dad, and he’s very protective. He said I wouldn’t be dating until I’m at least rank 3.” Louri said with an apologetic smile.

“What about the guy who saves you from an embarrassing situation?” Dino asked.

“Well, he doesn’t have to know, and it’s just coffee right,” Louri asked.

Dino smiled by talking her into it, he gained a level in his skill. It only took a week or two to turn any girl into his sex toy. He would use her to learn everything he could about that Oni and then figure out a way to kill it while she bounced on his rod.

…

The train ride to Canite was long and surrounded by people. Coughing, babies crying, and so many distractions kept me from focusing on the fear sister’s latest album. It was a complete letdown, but I was only procrastinating. I leaned back into the green plastic seats and looked out the window. A clear sky with a massive thunderbird flying overhead. Before long, the bird would stir up a thunderstorm and cause a fight against a flood dragon. I closed my eyes, and the world slowly vanished.

“Power controls everything. If you have no power, then you control nothing.” The inner demon said.

He jumped when I appeared and looked shocked. Really, if he didn’t want to be caught doing embarrassing stuff like practicing his dialogue, then the least he could do was pay attention. I shook my head and made my way to the center of the stone floor. A new waterfall opened across from the first one, spilling blood over the edge of the arena.

I sucked in a breath and let it out before giving my inner demon a smile. “Were you whispering in my ear?” I asked.

“When are you going to try for rank 2.” My inner demon asked.

I rubbed at the back of my head. Capacity wasn’t really an issue. What I needed was to get all my other techniques to stage 9. Who cares if I have the capacity of rank 2 if everything else falls to the wayside. I was damn lucky that Master Yang Da beat some responsibility into me.

“Why are we going to Canite?” I asked.

The demon gave me a dirty look. “To rescue your friend’s sister. I don’t know how you’re going to pull that off.”

I’ve been watching training techniques used by various champions. Did you know there was a skill to control gravity?”

“How does that concern you?” The inner demon asked.

I increased the gravity to 2 times. Training in this place does one thing for me. It lets me focus,” I was a fucking idiot. Why didn’t I think of a Chi focusing technique. No, I couldn’t get distracted. “on my Chi in a situation like we’re in the real world.

My simulation had reached Rank 1 Stage 8 already when I figured out I could alter time while here. While it wasn’t much, I made it 3 hours into 1 hour outside. Once I ranked up, that would undoubtedly increase.

“Why are you so obsessed with your foundation?” The inner demon asked.

“Because once it's settled, the only way to improve is to destroy my cultivation,” I said.

He looked at me like I was some sort of demon. I smirked at the irony. I stepped out into the higher gravity and felt the stress of moving my Chi. While it wasn’t the real world it was a controlled simulation of it. I spawned Charles the werewolf, Mai, and Melody. They, unlike myself, were unaffected by the gravity.

“This is madness. You can barely handle 2 opponents that you know, and you want to move to three with two unknowns. Two are a rank above you.”

“Oh, do you suddenly care about me,” I asked.

The Inner Demon snorted. “Have fun dying repeatedly. Maybe your brain will melt if you die enough times here.”

I smirked as I stepped forward and saw my head fly away. The room reset, and it repeated. Each time, Melony used a blood whip at supersonic speeds and took my head off instantly. I was forced to concentrate on my Chi Pressure pushing it together to harden my defense.

Two more subcategories for Chi techniques appeared, and a need forced me to reassess what I knew about Chi. I was forced to alter the Chi, making up my fledgling aura, altering its shape, layering, and moving it to increase my defense. I ended up with an aura that was more like a suit of armor than a cloak of power.

When I thought I had it right, I took a step, and the first slash of the whip was blocked. A piercing spear exploded on the right side of my chest, and I died. As it turned out, unlike me, Melony wasn’t a one-trick pony.

As with all things, I threw money at the problem, relying on the vast amount of Blood Chi in my amulet to fuel my adaptation.

When I opened my eyes hours later when my inner alarm went off, I had managed to start the fight and died to teamwork. The gravity didn’t help do anything but increase my enhancement further than ever before.

I opened my phone and called. “Hey Gabriel, can you give me directions I’m pulling up on Bavilim station,” I said. 

…

People were boarding up their windows and giving us odd looks. I stared up at the heavens as the sun slowly crossed over. It was going to be a fun night. Tomorrow I would have to go to Carmilla castle, but tonight it would be just Gabriel and me hanging out and shooting the shit. I lightly kicked a can down the road and into the distance, too far for even my Chi-enhanced eyes to see.

“How many attribute points did you put in strength?” Gabriel asked.

“I’m not sixteen yet. I can’t assign attribute points.” I said.

“Sure, I get it.” When you said you would help get my sister back, I expected mercenaries not you here. Not that I don’t mind seeing you, but what are we going to do?” Gabriel asked.

The pounding of hammers was loud, and few people were out anymore. Only a few people were on their porches armed with shotguns, watching us like hawks. From what Melony said, firearms weren’t that effective against vampires. They needed something like a rotator canon. I wasn’t funding them, and they didn’t pay me, so not my problem. I planned to make a deal with the local vampire queen to find a solution.

“I thought we could make a pizza, drink some soda, and watch anime tonight. For the next week we go into the dungeons I scheduled and power level you.”  I said.

“Maybe I should join the army instead. They take care of vampire problems,” Gabriel said.

“Speaking of things that don’t work. How was she even stolen?” I waved my hand around at the people boarding up windows in a gated community. “This isn’t exactly a vampire hunting ground. What gives,” I said.  

Groups of tamers patrolled the streets, occasionally stopping people to check their IDs. A Twilight Maiden hovered behind one’s shoulder, one of the most effective monsters against vampires.

Gabriel looked away. “I have done everything I could, even living in a nice neighborhood. Vampires are only supposed to hit the slums. Why did they attack our house here?” Gabriel asked.

I hoped it wasn’t to get to me. That would make me feel like feces. “Listen, I will do what I can either with my fist or the pen. Maybe they just want money for her back or don’t know how to return her. After all, she’s a vampire, one of them.” I said.

“Are we going to have to put her down?” Gabriel asked.

I blinked at that. People outside a tamer family were hard to understand. Vampires weren’t that different from humans. They were lucky enough to be born at rank 2, but their path forward was also narrowed. I shook my head. The trade-off wasn’t important. Gabriel needed reassurance.

“I have something in here that will take care of all your problems,” I said holding up my bag of holding.

“We’re going to stake her,” Gabriel said.

I flicked him on his forehead knocking him off the sidewalk into the nearby hill. “No I have a blood synthesizer in here. It wasn’t cheap, but she should be able to live a safe and happy life without feeding on anyone.” I said.

Gabriel rubbed his forehead. “You’re the one acting mysterious. Don’t get mad if I get the wrong idea.”

I rolled my eyes, and we made our way to his house. The large two-story, 3000-square-foot home was nice if a little on the small side. He showed me around, pointing out the bathroom, guest room, master bedroom, Ana’s room, and the game room. We immediately went to work making pizza, even using fresh veggies from his garden.

“Are you sure this won’t be too cheap for you?” Gabriel said.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not that wealthy. You probably made a tidy sum selling those enchantments.”  I patted my bag holding there was a second reason why I chose this time to come here. Theodore, a prominent and, most importantly, popular new tamer, was scheduled to enter the dungeon I reserved with us. My newest invention was something that would reinvigorate my bank account. More importantly, Theodore had a web show with Ivy, an Easton influencer and cultivator with over 20 million followers between platforms like Ztv, Viewtube, and Honey. She’s also a known member of the Black Rain Sect.

Selling her my newest invention would allow me to gather battle data from her Sect. Her influence backing my product would end my money problems for a while. I only needed to make enough money to sponsor her, and as an ambassador to Easton, meeting her was possible. More importantly, there was the possibility I could pound her tight Easton pussy.

As a 15-year-old man, I had trouble making plans that didn’t include a chance to fuck. Most of my study was so I could either impress Mai enough to take her butt cherry or get money for girls. Dad was sure he made a mistake with my other siblings so they were careful to limit my funds. Apparently, buying a fake ID and sneaking into a strip club looked bad on them.

I cycled through my plans focusing back on vampire pussy.

“What’s the plan? I know you said you would get her back but how, I don’t understand.” Gabriel said.

“Give me a second,” I said.

I peered through the window and saw several bats in the distant trees. “The best way to get into someone’s house is to be invited. We do have some time, and you have your class. Have you been to any dungeons to level yet?” I asked.

50,000W for reserved slots in a rank 1 dungeon for two people with Theodore was a bit much, but I paid it. All I had to do was pretend Theodore wasn’t an influencer I wanted to sponsor for his connection to Ivy.

“Invited, they aren’t just going to let you in. We need resources, men, and a common cause.”

“My backup plan is to call my friend Melony. She’s a vampire and can probably get us a meeting with Carmilla or arrange for you to see your sister.” I said.

Carmilla was a MIlf. I closed my eyes and let the thought go.

“Backup, so you do have a plan then what is it?” Gabriel asked.

“We’re going to go together on the seven great monster dungeon dives together while I wait for one of them to approach me,” I said.

They were considered great because they could change their difficulty depending on the team entering them. Some teams have faced rank 3 monsters.

The knight gave me a funny look and then sat down on the old leather couch in his living room. “I’m guessing you already purchased the spots,” Gabriel said.

“Yeah, of course, I had to reserve them. We’ll hit one a day for a week and leave the dungeon with you ready to rank up. Think of the first one as practice.”

“You’re talking about dinner with the count,” Gabriel said.

“Ana always wanted to do that one. I heard it has three rounds of horde mode and a boss at the end. What you do in the first and second half determines the final boss and horde level. There is even a sword that can drop called Dark Impaler.” Gabriel said.

“Oh, I didn’t know about that. Leave it to a local to know the juicy gossip. What does it do?” I asked.

“It can manipulate shadows to impale enemies. The chances of it dropping are only 0.01% and only if we do things right.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder. “I got this, don’t worry. Just get some rest, and we’ll go in the morning.”

…

We rode in a wagon with six others 4 were NPCs for the dungeon story, and the last two were a tamer and his monster, a 6ft tall green-skinned orc. 10 other wagons surrounded us as we rode with a merchant’s caravan. As the sun set, it hid behind a truly massive castle in the distance. The sound of metal scraping broke the silence as Gabriel sharpened his sword to settle his nerves.

“Stop that you’re going to chip the blade or cut yourself. Don’t you know where we are?” Theodore Fry said.

The tamer was leaning into the role to earn some bonus points from the dungeon.

“I would kick the boy out of my caravan for a fool if he didn’t,” Ivan said.

The merchant clenched his fist, showing off all 5 golden rings on his hand. “We have never had such a bad time. If we could spare the wagons, I would leave them. If I could spare your stamina, you would walk, and if I could hasten our journey, I would leave a fool for the ghouls to devour.” Ivan said.

“The sun hasn’t set yet we may leave these lands before he notices us.” I winked at Gabriel and turned my head to Ivan.

“I could go out and push,” Gabriel said.

Ivan scoffed and badgered the driver to move the wagon faster. The treasure-laden wagon next to us broke a wheel and collapsed. Ivan pulled at his long, graying beard as carpenters left a wagon and got to work on the wheel. Strong men with stronger backs picked up on the wagon while the carpenters struggled to work. One man gave out, and the wagon collapsed on top of him.

The sun continued to set as men worked to replace the wheel.

“What is our strategy for the first wave? How long have you fellows been at this?” Theodore asked.

“This is my first dungeon ever,” Gabriel said before puking over the wagon’s side.

“Ignore him. This is my second, and it’s already going better.” I said.

“You look familiar. Have we met before?” Theodore asked.   

I smiled into the camera headset Theodore wore. The So-Pro II could store around a year of footage without upgrades. On the inside, I freaked out. I did not want to be known for that catastrophe. Tartarus take the recordings of my face.

“I have one of those faces. People mistake me for famous people all the time. My name is Atom Walker, no relation.” I said.

“Walker but not the City of Dis Walkers. I understand I knew a Walker in tamer school. Back to strategy, you have no status, but you’re armed, and your friend has a combat class, if I’m not terribly mistaken.” Theodore said.

I checked my ammunition. 12,000 rounds were overkill, and my new silencer might melt before I fired them all. My new LED light that showed how much ammunition I had left was a great addition.

I stared at the tamer in his brown eyes. “I plan to cripple them and let Gabriel finish them off. This is the perfect place to fight in early for a dark class upgrade.” I said.

“Bad news, termites have eaten the wheel. We’re making camp for the night. I expect my well-paid mercenaries to be ready when something happens. My guards will keep to the perimeter. This is what I paid  you for its time to earn your keep.” Ivan said.

The man left us alone, and we collectively sighed in relief.

“What determines the size of the wave?” Gabriel asked.

I actually had no idea about that. For once, the dungeon diver community was tight-lipped. While they were open about boss strategies, triggers were kept secret, especially in early dungeons. A rank 1 dungeon was considered a learning experience more than an obstacle. That did not mean they couldn’t turn deadly.

From my pack I pulled out a monocle for Gabriel and myself. “What’s this?” Gabriel asked.

“This is a scouter. The lens is an enchanted crystal. Connected to a database scanned monsters will fill out the database and compare their strength with the average for their rank and even estimate their power.” I said.

What I didn’t say was it would record the events Gabriel witnessed for me to use in my simulations? Even if I told him, I doubted he would have cared much.

“That sounds like something that would be incredibly useful for a tamer. Could I have one?” Theodore asked.

I held up a third scouter. “One thousand Westons, and it's yours,” I said.

“Do they come in green?” Theodore asked and transferred the money to my account.

“Sure, for a custom fee of 200W,” I said.

“You second-class citizens are so money-hungry. Well, if I lost the lottery, I might be as well. Give me your contact information, and I will show it off. I happen to have an empty sponsor slot this week. If it holds up well, I might use it in my next dive.”

I held out my hand. “You have a deal. That’s a prototype it was made to be rugged.” I said.  

Gabriel shook his head. I imagine he thought I just got the better of Theodore in our deal. And I had. There weren’t any laws against surveillance enchantments. That was mainly because it wasn’t possible without adding a skill to it, but that was beside the point. I was paid twice for selling one product, and the best part was they already knew about the surveillance. I told Theodore that it collected data about monsters how it collected data could remain a mystery.

We lounged in silence as the camp was made and I contemplated getting in some cultivation. Theodore and Gabriel looked around with their scouters, getting used to the slight change in tint in one eye.

Just as the sun set, a scream broke the silence. We rushed out of the wagon and joined a group of guards staring down at the corpse of a woman. One of the men was on their knees weeping. “Not Val, anyone but her. We were going to have a baby.” The man sobbed while we could only stare.

From my scouter, mana readings from the man weeping showed him to be a ghoul. Before I could warn Gabriel, he pulled his blade and rammed the crying man through.

“Gabriel, no,” Theodore said.

I realized then that something had changed. At first, I thought we were going to do the pre-wave who had done it, but my scouter ruined that. It was just a bit of machine programming, enchanting and skill smithing, and bam, a monster-identifying machine.

On the bright side, it was an easy source of Westons. Luxury tamer goods were where the money was. After this showing, with Gabriel spotting the monster immediately, the Westons would flow.

Shrieks filled the air from all around camp as the ghouls, sensing one of their own, had been killed forwent stealth. I turned to see a woman running full tilt in a split dress, mouth agape. A burst of Chi beneath my foot closed the distance. I planted the muzzle of my gun against her gut and fired, opening holes out her back.

Her hand turned into a mess of claws and bone as she used up every bit of her vampiric blood for a suicide attack. I backed away as she slashed in rapid succession, quickly running out of steam. Then she fell to the ground in a seizure as her body ate itself alive. Before my eyes, she became a husk of dried meat and withered sinew.

My scouter picked up ghouls among the fleeing humans, and I fired on them, easily separating the monsters from the humans. “Atom, we need to kill some innocents, or this is about to go into the hardest plotline.”

Gabriel shot forward and executed the ghouls, quickly leveling up his knight class by killing monsters and saving innocents.

“I would rather not lower Gabe’s experience. Every innocent a knight kills NPC or not makes it harder for them to level. We are in a type of party, and the loot is better on harder difficulty anyway.” I said.

“We need a healer. Right now, we have 2 tanks and 1 DPS. This team composition is completely unbalanced. Do either of you even have healing potions?” Theodore asked.

“I have a first aid kit in my bag. We should be ok. This dungeon only has rank 1 mobs.”

Theodore gazed at the both of us like we were insane. “Atom, you don’t have a class yet.”

“Calm down, both of you. We can win this if we work together,” Gabriel said.

“Ok, why don’t we compromise. We’ll look for a mob that has healing before we enter the castle. If we don’t find anything before we enter, then we will find another solution.” I said.

“You want me to recruit a dungeon mob.” I nodded to the tamer. “This is insane. You are both completely bonkers.”

“I’m level 10 already, and we’ve only killed a few ghouls so far.” I spotted a ghoul that was 20% stronger than the others we killed before.”

I fired my Eagle from across the camp and took out its knee. Cultivation was a complete hack. I watched it clutch at its ruined leg through the light of torches, running merchants, and screaming guards. Then, we heard the sounds of howling wolves. In the dark, hundreds of glowing yellow eyes glowered at us.

“You unleashed the black dogs. They will chase us into the castle there is no escaping this now.” Theodore said.

“Boss, we can handle it.” The orc said.

“Shut up, Clint. We aren’t ready to fight a lesser vampire. Much less one with Tepes blood in his marrow.” Theodore said.

“Calm down, Clint is right. We have it under control.” I said and laid down suppressive fire on the wolves. As they fell, others took their place like we were trying to kill the shadows themselves.

Others from the caravan joined our group as we made our way to the castle. Pain lanced up my leg as I gazed down at a wolf biting into my calf. Without my notice, tripping my scouter or making a single sound, one of the black hounds snuck up behind us. Another dog jumped behind the first one, jaws wide and tongue lagging.

I didn’t think. My leg lashed out launching the animal in the path of the first hound. The weight of a hound was around 200 lbs, and I lifted it like a hat. The dogs smacked into each other as I delivered a punch. In the low light, I saw a glow encase my fist, and a larger, stronger fist surrounded mine.

The dogs shot back outside, the light of our torches unmoving. I whipped my Eagle and fired on any blackhounds I saw among us. Readings on my scouter flashed, distracting me as I picked out targets, taking out the most relevant first. It was something to think about.

Dungeon Message

A pitch-black screen with white font appeared in front of all of us. I didn’t need my system to read it.

The Ancient Spirit of darkness noticed your might and, in recognition, granted greater strength to your enemies.

Scenario Rank: 1 to 2.

Shadows rose, and light from the torches dimmed as some of the Black Hounds changed, rising to two legs and growing an extra 150 lbs.

“We have to get to the castle. Grab a female NPC and get to the castle or we’re dead. Do you hear me? We have to leave these poor bastards, or we’re going to die.” Theodore said.

“I never heard of this scenario,” I said.

“This dungeon drops loot based on contribution and difficulty at the scenario’s end. It's called the item shop. You can get any drop so long as you earn enough points.” Clint grabbed a young blonde and a redhead under each arm. ”I’m serious. Grab an NPC girl, or Count Lee will attack you in the night. Also, he’ll warn us not to leave our rooms. Listen to him. Monsters are patrolling the halls, and we have to act like guests.” Theodore said.

Gabriel grabbed a girl with dark skin and straight black hair. “No, don’t let the monsters have me. Mother, father, save me.” Her face was a mess of tears, and a wolf on two legs stalked forward. I fired twice, and the bullets didn’t slow it down. Silver light surrounded Gabriel’s blade, and he slashed at the Black Wolfman. The silver light cut a thin line from a distance that only made the wolf pause a step.

I found a girl on the ground covered in mud blonde, with a slight slant to her eyes and mocha-colored skin. She struggled when I grabbed her wide hips and hoisted her into my arms. “What are you doing? I hired you to fight these beasts?” Ivan asked.

“Grab a woman, sir, and run with us. It’s the only way.” The man stared between us as Gabe carried a girl on one shoulder and battled a rank 2 beast while I fired on it. The only reason the monsters hadn’t overtaken us was the torchlight. The Black Hounds and Black Wolfmen were limited by their natural weakness. Our torches wouldn’t last long. The crowd was already huddling up around the failing light.

Ivan grabbed a green-eyed redhead from the mass of terrified people. She screamed and reached for a man who turned away in shame.  

“We will talk about your pay when we survive this,” Ivan said.

“What are you going to do with me?” The girl asked.

She was an NPC, but I didn’t want to give her to a monster like Lee. If he was bumped up to rank 2, that would make him a vampire like Melony with Tepes regeneration. Simulations could only get me so far, and I was still rank 1.

“We are going to the castle where the monsters out here can’t follow.” Why should I feel bad about lying to an NPC? She wasn’t real, just a human made from mana by the dungeon. There were probably hundreds like her.

“My name is Ju Li. My father works on the railroad, and my mother makes a little money as a seamstress. They worked hard to find a good match for me and saved up to pay the merchant to send me to New Yorkshire, where I was going to meet my husband.”

“Why are you telling me your story?” I asked.

“If you're going to sacrifice me, then I want it to hurt. I had a life and a family.” Ju Li said.

She was right. How could I be so cruel? There had to be options that I wasn’t looking for because I wanted to do what was easy. The other girls looked at her with wide eyes. I picked up a torch in the fading light.

“What are you doing?” One of the cowering NPCs said.

“Shut up, I’m thinking,” I said.

“We have to go,” Theodore said.

I focused on the torch and tried to give all my comprehension to the flame. Gabriel’s blade glowed silver, and he slashed again, but the shadow creatures continued to pour into the camp, and the light failed. One of the more industrious NPCs tried to light a wagon, but the fire failed to catch.

With the hand stabilizing Ju Li’s position on my shoulder, I raised my finger and tried to picture a flame at its tip. This was a greater form of manifestation. I didn’t want this; I needed it. Misty Chi gathered, and I saw a spark, but the flame didn’t ignite. It could have been the shadow monsters, so I tried again.

Everyone looked at me as a spark lit at the tip of my finger again. I tried to feed it as much Chi as I could, but it went out.

One of the NPCs looked at it, and his eyes widened. “Feed it slowly. You can’t put too much fuel on a fire, or it will smother it.” I wanted to roll my eyes but there was no time for my arrogance. Ju Li was right. These people had a past and deserved our respect. So, if there was a way to save them, I would try.

I focused on the tip of my finger and ignored the howls, yells, and cries of panic. The spark appeared, and I fed it slowly. A tiny flame emerged as the darkness pushed to consume it. I fought back with my Chi reserves, slowly feeding it more while battling the darkness. Howls filled the night as I raised my finger, and light swept over the ground.

System Message

Paragon Of Light Path Selected

Challenge: Battle The Shadows  

Reward:

50pts  

Dungeon-Assisted Progress Toward Fire Manifestation

I had so many questions like how it knew about my cultivation, why it was broadcasting my info, and how a dungeon running on mana could help me with Chi?

Theodore whooped. “You got a challenge. Those are rare but always have good stuff. We can sell this information for so much money.”

“Are the points for the chest at the end of the shop?” I asked.

“The shop, I believe the chest, is more about overcoming difficulty,” Theodore said.

“Guys, I’m out of mana,” Gabriel said.

“I have you,” Clive said.

While Clive transferred mana to Gabriel, I placed the torch back on its mantle and patted Ju Li’s butt while holding my finger high. The shadows crashed upon the light given off by my flame, threatening to swallow it whole. I had no choice but to feed it Chi to keep it from sputtering out. Every blow from the shadows caused a migraine and threatened to make me black out.

Our merchant friend did the unexpected and pushed the gold out of one of his wagons. Some of the men helped him before they loaded the wagon with women and the few children with us.

I pushed my channels hard to push enough Chi into my little flame. Ivan tossed the girl he grabbed into a wagon and grabbed Ju Li to do the same. With my shoulder, free walking became easier.

“Atom, climb up. We still have two mules to pull the wagon.” Ivan said.

I sat on the seat beside Ivan while the men with us grabbed what torches were still lit. We numbered a little over 40 after the people who panicked died in the Black Hounds.

The people who were coming with us wouldn’t all make it. Over half were women and children from the caravan. One tomboy held desperately at her wounded leg. Blood oozed from between her fingers, and I wanted to help her. I didn’t know much about first aid enchantment might help if I had time and more supplies to use. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t have a moment of peace until we made it. The driver popped the reigns beside me, and the donkeys lurched the wagon forward.

I felt them with every single inch we progressed. They pushed against the light, struggling to snuff it out. Frost covered the ground, and Gabriel swung his blade at every Black Wolfman that approached. I could feel them beat against my Meridians, the channels that carried Chi from my core, my Dantian. If not for the training I had before under Master Yang Da I would have already shattered under the pressure.

Torches winked out and men moved closer until it was only my flame holding back the dark. Gabriel ran out of mana again, and the Black Wolfmen slashed against my light. Dark forces mounted as trees bent and turned, covered in uncountable yellow eyes as one reached into the light. It reached out for me and my light, our only protection.

I pushed more Chi into the flame until a guard yelled, brandishing his ax and cleaving at the monster. Clive joined in, and they almost won. Another tree shot its roots into the light, snatched the guard by his feet, and dragged him beneath the soil. His screams were so loud.

The women in the wagon began to weep, and the donkeys tried to flee as I poured more Chi into my flame. The small ball of compressed Manifested Flame grew, and the light expanded.

Dungeon Message

Bonus Challenge

A fire that burns twice as bright lasts half as long.

Final Stretch

5 Minutes of Wolfmen

Reward

100pts

Inspirational Vision of Fire

“Did you just receive another challenge?” Theodore asked.

The trees shrieked under the intensity of my flame as Gabriel tried pushing the wagon behind us to get to the castle faster.

“No, it’s the same one,” I said.

Blood seeped from my nose, and channels broke under the strain. I collapsed against the seat but kept conscious. Sitting up was too much effort, and I needed to drop some of the burden. I wasn’t sure what an inspirational vision entailed, but the dungeon thought it was valuable to me. I pumped a steady, disastrous stream of Chi into my hasty technique.

I had no idea what to do with my manifested flames, and that didn’t stop the dungeon from turning my ignorance into a challenge. We were down to 39 people, and I somehow managed to keep it together.

The flame burned blue above my fingertip as I molded it. The current shape wasn’t what I wanted. A flickering flame didn’t inspire people. It brought down morale, if anything.

I had something of a theory about manifestation. While Master Yang Da hadn’t said it, I was sure that manifestations were more metaphysical. The flame above my finger wasn’t fire. It was my idea of what fire was it burned hot when I added more fuel because that’s what I wanted from it. That could also mean if I wanted it to take on another shape then that was possible. Fire shouldn’t be hard to manipulate it was just a chemical chain reaction.

My flame dimmed at that thought, but I couldn’t be sure if my own morale was affecting it or if it was a shift in fuel. The wind blew down on me, but I couldn’t figure out what to do about it. My flame shrank into a tiny circle.

The fire was considered an uncontrolled combustion, so what if I controlled it. I added pressure, another facet of Chi control, and the fire shrank, but the light and heat brightened. Ju Li grabbed me before I fell off the wagon and held me in place while another girl pointed my finger up. I closed my eyes and focused on funneling the energy.

I felt the attacks on the light like the monsters were clawing at my spirit. Every hit was another chance for my cultivation to collapse. I endured because what else could I do. Dungeon-born NPCs or not, I wouldn’t let them die. My mother would be disappointed in me and lecture me for hours about why they weren’t real. The dungeon managed to trick me because they fought for their lives, and that made them feel real enough for me.

Ping!

Dungeon Challenge Complete

Dungeon Bonus Challenge Complete

Points Awarded: 150

Assistance: Roll one D20

A 20-sided die appeared in my hand, and I stared at it. It was black with gold numbers covering it, and it felt heavy. Apparently, the assistance the dungeon was giving me toward Fire Manifestation was determined by chance despite being a reward it promised. What a lazy thing? I stared at the heavy die.

The monsters left us as we entered the graveyard surrounding Castle Christo. I saw a bouquet of blue roses freshly placed on one grave before looking down at the floorboard. That was probably the best place to roll.

I tossed the die, and it tumbled to the bumpy wagon until it stopped.

15

A flash of blue light revealed a red pill covered in golden flames.

The dungeon helpfully informed me of my prize.

Hell Drake Pill: This pill contains the essence of the endangered Hell Drake’s monster core. Alchemically combined with dungeon-engineered plants to complement Hell Drake’s Essence. By taking this pill, your body will experience the might of Hell Drake, granting insight into the life and power of a near-extinct species hunted to near extinction by Easton saboteurs.

All I knew about the Hell Drake was that Grandpa wanted one. Still, even a Senator couldn’t own one until their population saw an improvement. I only remembered it because the old man ranted about it once. Those monsters were some of the most powerful dragons. They were related to Easton Darkness Flame Demonic Beasts.

I held off on swallowing the pill immediately because another 20-sided die appeared in my hand. This one was for inspiration instead of assistance. So, who knew what I would get. I rolled pretty high last time so maybe I would roll big again. I tossed the die, and we hit a bump. The die shot off the wagon, and I didn’t see what it landed it.

A rusty, twisted blade appeared in a flash of blue light and rested against my knee.

Dragon’s Delima: Meditate upon the blade and take your mind to a world where knights battle dragons, the incarnation of fire itself. Become the knights who lost their lives to the flames and experience all the pain and misery that comes with a hopeless battle. There is much to learn in these vision quests if you are willing to brave the pain and face losing battles. Time dilation 20 to 1 atop dungeon time. 

That had to have been a low roll but it probably wouldn’t be much different than my own simulations. Maybe if I went through them enough, I could learn how to improve my simulations. The time dilation was also great. While it sucked, I would be on the losing side in every battle loss taught me far more than victories.

Why would I have bothered learning from Master Yang Da if I could beat him?

I placed my new items in my bag of holding as we pulled into the castle grounds. A boy who moved a little too fast took out mules. He actually licked his lips at the sight of them. I clicked my scouter.

Lesser Vampire 1st recording

There wouldn’t be any averages until we had a proper database. Well, it wasn’t like we needed the mules after this, anyway. A man dressed like a butler greeted us. My scouter named him a ghoul in the upper levels of their species.

“Greetings, my name is Manolo, and on behalf of my master, Count Lee, I welcome you to Castle Christo as guests. Please follow me. We have plenty of amenities to help you settle in. An evening dinner is being prepared for you as we speak.”

“You have enough for nearly 40 people on short notice,” Ivan said.

“If that was a question, then the answer is no. We will need time to prepare but our count is a generous man. Please come and enjoy the bathhouse where you may clean the road dust from your bodies. Oh, and if you encounter one of the countesses of our castle without me, then I would advise you to be polite.” The old man said.

“To have such a large castle with no guards is strange,” Ivan said.

“I will assure you not seeing our guards is the point. But if you feel unsafe, call for Ser Dooku Count Lee’s Vassal and assuage your worries.” Manolo said.

I stared back and saw a sea of yellow eyes and shifting shapes in the darkness. “If you would prefer to head back the way you came, I will not stop you.”

The sobbing tomboy with green eyes and messy red hair looked at me with puffy eyes and so much hope. I felt so powerless. Despite getting them here, what could I do?

“We will stay and accept guest rights in the letter if not the spirit of how they were offered,” Theodore said.

The butler opened his mouth, closed it, and then glared at us.