PftA Book 4 - Chapter 6 - Hidden Threats

“So, all of the safe zone cities got regularly attacked by beast waves until the seventh floor?” Justin asked after reviewing the floor summary I’d sent to him.

“Basically,” I agreed. “I didn’t personally witness anything on the first two floors, but from what I heard, it was the same.”

My brother grunted lightly as he made an annotation on his tablet. He’d asked for information about the dungeon for a book series he planned to write after he finished his current series. I looked forward to reading it eventually.

Hopefully, he’d finish it before I returned to the dungeon. There was always a chance the dungeon would redact anything related to it, even after I moved beyond the relevant floors.

I smiled lightly as I watched the twins playing on a huge playground. There were holographic displays available for parents and guardians to watch their associated children, so keeping track of their rapid movement through the maze-like play area was easy.

“I wish we had something like this when we were kids,” I said.

My comment caused Justin to look up from his tablet. “Yeah. It would have been pretty amazing,” he agreed. “The different kid zones are unique and change every week. The variety helps keep the kids interested in playing here, which is good, considering how quickly kids tend to lose interest in things. We come here pretty often.”

“Amie, too?” I asked. She was nearly thirteen, so I would have thought she’d have already outgrown such forms of entertainment.

Then again, the older-kid playground the next block over did look pretty amazing. From what I glimpsed on the holoscreen of one of the nearby parents, it looked like the playground for the older kids was more oriented toward virtual training simulations than actual playing.

Justin nodded and swiped at the holoscreen in front of him, bringing up prior recordings.

“Amie loves the training yard. That’s what they call the stage-three playground,” he explained before motioning for me to look. “Check her out.”

The screen showed my eldest niece blasting through a mock rift with two similar-aged girls. They used a variety of virtual weapons, and I was surprised at the skill they exhibited already.

“Wow. And you’re okay with her training like this?”

“I kinda have to be,” Justin replied with a sigh. “Holding her back isn’t going to do her any favors. While I don’t like the idea of Amie eventually entering a rift, that’s the reality we live in now. I’d rather she get training and thrive in such settings instead of struggling like so many of our fellow Earthborn.”

I nodded in unconscious agreement as I watched the recording. We still had no idea what Amie’s affinity was, but anyone could use manatech devices. It was what made them so popular.

“Dad! Aunt Emie!” Daniel yelled from the entrance of the stage-two playground. “Are you watching? Did you see?”

Justin flicked the holoscreen back to the twins, and we quickly reviewed the last several minutes.

“Oh, wow! You guys got the flag! Good job!” I said.

“Excellent job, boys! What are you going to play next?” Justin asked a moment later.

Daniel said something over his shoulder, presumably conferring with his twin. “We’re going to play Heroes and Bandits. The sim is resetting in two minutes.”

Justin nodded. “Okay. We’ll be watching!”

I grinned and waved as my nephew ducked back into the playground. “I’m a little surprised they have simulators for such young kids.”

“The stage-one park doesn’t. At least, it isn’t quite the same. They have simulated forests for hide-and-seek and a gravity flux dome. The rest of it is similar to what you’d expect to see on a high-end playground on pre-integration Earth. There are a lot of safety enchantments built in as well. And, as I mentioned earlier, all of the playgrounds change each week. It keeps things interesting for the kids.”

I watched with interest as the boys and their friends rescued a group of virtual adventurers from virtual bandits. I could easily see the training value of such games.

Most of my feelings of dissonance had evaporated after the first few days of spending time with my family. I’d even grown used to the boys’ exuberance and rambunctiousness… in short doses.

It really was amazing how quickly one could adapt to new settings.

“So… you’re heading out with the Patriarch tomorrow?” Justin asked casually. We’d already discussed my plans, so I understood his question for what it was.

“I am,” I said. “I’ll be back before the kids’ break. You still want to go with me to visit Earth, right?”

“We do,” Justin replied before hesitating. “Are you sure what you’re planning to do is safe? Didn’t you say something about mana wells killing people?”

“I’m not completely certain,” I admitted.

Though the mana well was on a Tier Four world, that didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous to someone at Tier Eight. It should mean that, but reality didn’t always follow logic.

“That’s part of the reason why I don’t mind Master Kairos coming along,” I continued. “If something does go wrong, he’ll be able to help. But you really shouldn’t worry. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Justin narrowed his eyes at my statement. “I hope you’re right. It would be crazy for you to survive the dungeon and die on some barely mid-tier world.”

“I’ll be careful,” I promised.

= = =

“Benefactor Kairos! It’s so lovely to see you!” a woman in black robes said as she stood and quickly bowed in greeting. “I’ve let the Branch Leader know you’re here already. She should arrive shortly.”

Master Kairos had informed me years earlier that he’d purchased the land containing the mana well and then leased it to an allied sect, so seeing the black-robed sect members wasn’t much of a surprise.

I wasn’t sure why the mana well hadn’t been developed or exploited in the other timeline, but it didn’t really matter in this timeline. What mattered was that I could still gain access to the resource.

I’d also asked Master Kairos to ensure that Ros would be granted access after he awakened without an affinity. It was the least I could do for someone who’d done so much for me.

As far as I knew, he’d visited shortly after awakening and had gained an affinity. Master Kairos hadn’t said anything about him beyond informing me about his successful acquisition, so I’d probably need to do a little digging to find out his current status.

“Welcome!” a very attractive dark-haired woman in embroidered robes said as she appeared out of nowhere. I got the sense that her movement was a form of teleportation, though one that functioned with Arcane instead of Space mana.

“Greetings, Branch Leader Unity,” Master Kairos said with a short bow. I copied him, going just a bit lower as etiquette dictated. “Thank you for accommodating my former disciple.”

“Oh, it’s our pleasure,” the woman assured him before turning to me with a wide smile. “It is wonderful to meet a rare Tri-Affinity Mage, especially one with an Arcane affinity! I’d be happy to guide you to the VIP meditation chamber within the mana well if you’re ready now.”

“Thank you,” I said with a smile. I turned to Master Kairos. “Are you going to wait here, or should I message you when I’m done?”

“Message me. I have some things to check on while we’re here.”

I nodded and turned back to the Branch Leader. “I’m ready, thank you.”

The dark-haired Branch Leader gracefully led me through the building and out a back door leading to the enclosed grove. The entire area was surrounded by the pentagon-shaped building we’d just exited, preventing any unauthorized ground access to the mana well.

It wouldn’t stop someone who could teleport, though I imagined there were enchantments in place to prevent such methods by those who were not approved.

The grove itself was just like I remembered. The greens and browns were dappled with flecks of black, with dark flowers sprouting in clusters that thickened as we walked deeper into the trees.

The only other time I’d visited, I didn’t go nearly as deep since Ros had insisted our group remain beyond the hints of Arcane. Even so, I’d seen enough to recognize the area.

Unlike the ragged hole Ros had described, the entrance to the mana well was cleanly cut and led to a set of carved stairs. The access point was covered by a small building, too small for anything beyond the hole leading into the ground.

Around the immediate area, I noticed several domes of crystal.

Seeing my interest, Branch Leader Unity said, “Those serve as skylights, allowing the various rooms to have natural sunlight.”

“Are there a lot of rooms below?”

“Not a lot,” the Arcane Mage replied. “There are only a few that have been stripped of any usable Arcane mana crystals. Those are used as meditation rooms by disciples and the occasional visitor with the right connections.” She said the last part with a playful smile.

“Do you get a lot of visitors?” I asked.

Leader Unity pursed her lips as she paused by the entrance to the mana well. “Not normally. We’ve had a couple of new visitors who are connected enough to be allowed to return several days in a row. You’ll still have the best meditation room, of course. Since we knew you were coming, it was easy enough to shift things to accommodate your arrival.”

I tilted my head in acknowledgment, causing the woman to smile. She then motioned for silence and began her descent into the mana well.

A figure sat cross-legged opposite the base of the stairs, but he seemed to ignore our presence as we made our way into the darkened stone cavern. Light from the crystal above illuminated the modest space while reflecting off tiny slivers of mana crystal left behind during harvesting.

A larger illuminated room was visible to the left, while two smaller rooms outside my visual range were off to the right. I could still sense the rooms via Spatial Sense. Likewise, I could sense a meditating figure in one of the cavern rooms and two individuals harvesting mana crystals in the last.

The Branch Leader motioned me toward the room to the left. I thanked my guide and quickly set up a protective formation around the perimeter of the room. While I didn’t think there was any risk within the mana well, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

Once the formation was active, I settled onto the cushion waiting in the middle of the room and closed my eyes.

The Arcane mana was dense, far beyond what should be present on a Tier Four world.

There was also another energy. It was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.

Was it essence?

There were theories that the rare energy might be somehow involved in affinity growth, though it was almost impossible to prove since essence was not containable, or even really measurable. It was like dark energy for scientists on pre-integration Earth. They knew it existed, but had no real way of interacting with or sensing it beyond noticing how it impacted other types of energy.

Unlike mana, essence would not solidify into crystals, nor could it be absorbed by other materials.

It didn’t help that essence was only really found on Sira or in the exceedingly rare variant of mana well. As far as anyone knew, both occurrences were temporary since both sources eventually ran dry.

I could feel the odd energy moving. It felt like most of it was coming from behind me. I wondered idly if there was a source in that direction.

I could usually influence energy – or rather, mana – by focusing on it and willing it toward me. However, the new energy I sensed was stubborn.

I sensed the mass of odd energy splitting. Half moved closer while the other half began trailing around the edge of the cavern room.

Though I didn’t sense anything beyond the energy via Spatial Sense, I still opened my eyes to see if I could catch a glimpse of the odd energy – whether it be essence or something else.

Even with Mana Sight, I saw nothing but a hazy blur.

Like the energy itself, there was something familiar about the sight. Narrowing my eyes, I looked more closely at the odd energy that hovered just a few feet away.

With a sudden jolt of recognition, I Teleported out of the cavern and onto the surface.

I knew exactly what kind of energy that was, and it sure as heck wasn’t essence.

With an angry frown, I targeted the entire mana well and cast Stasis.