"Void and Darkness. Creation and Light. Death and Knowledge. Time and Space. Chaos aru. And finally, Power. Each of those is an aspect of a much wider Multiverse. Are there more of them? Yes, definitely, but those eleven will always be at the core of the matter."

  ~tral Academy, Ger

  Leo blinked, watg as more and more Eaters fell to the ground. Some exploded upon impact, while others filed where they nded. Who would have guessed… Dumb luck, as they say.

  The little red sun Leo created sailed far, boung off a wall in the distand illuminating most of the chamber. Plenty of Eaters were still hanging in various pces, but at least now, the path inside was somewhat clear.

  Leo shook his head, the shock finally leaving his body as a System notification decided to jump out of nowhere.

  Multiple Enemies sin | Experience awarded | 3 Ether gained

  Multiple? More like tens or hundreds if even half of them died from the impact... I wonder if they t toward the kill t. They definitely didn't have much experiene. Leo quickly brought up his evolution menu and frowned. Yep, zerress. Not surprising...

  He wasn't disappointed, not really. Those monsters didn't even have a rank, expeg a wave of levels or Ether would have been stupid, to say at least.

  I will take what I . Leed and reignited his arms as he slowly stepped into the chamber. His boots squelched with each step as oer after another died the further he moved. They had no ce against him ohey were on the ground, and Leo didn't dare to approach the few areas where Eaters were still waiting.

  ... He sighed, stopping in the middle of the chamber. As vast as the room was, it had only one opening. The one from which Leo had emerged.

  Yet, as he threw his gaze across the chamber, Leo's eyes caught an almost unnoticeable glint in a massive pile of bones. Brow furrowing, Leo made his way to the heap, eyes narrowing at the now obvious green glow.

  Carefully stepping around a horde of twitg Eaters, Leo leaoward the bone pile, his gaze flyiween the gaps.

  There, he murmured without a sound, his eyes finally falling on the glow's source, or at least on a small part of it. In appeara looked simir to a thin green-colored , yet it was anything but one.

  The item definitely wasn't made with standard metal, for the looked almost transparent, as if it wasn't even there. What are you? The questi through Leo's mind as he got a bit closer, squinting his eyes.

  Now that the item had Leo's plete focus, he finally noticed the long, curvy lines running along the 's entire surface. They created symbols not dissimir to the ones Leo saw on the Void Gate.

  One was to find out. Identify.

  Spectral Inscription: Valron Ce (on)A Spectral Inscription item made by a skilled craftsman. Created using Valron ore and Runic Essence. Due to years of uhe item's quality deteriorated.Effect: Chosen body part bees slightly harder to pierce.Active: Valron Endurance - el Esseo create a protective yer of spectral skihe chosen area. Area of Use: Any single p a User's body

  First SI item found. To use it, the user o attach it to their body using Essence. SI items be removed at any time at the risk of beiroyed. Warning! Only one SI item be applied to every area.

  Aem type? Leo's eyebrow rose as he slowly moved the bones. Normal physical items. Install items. And now Spectral Inscription... I wonder if there are more types.

  Also, Valron ore? Runic Essence? Like always, with every new discovery, I have even more questions. He sighed as warmth rushed into his tainted hand when he picked up the arm-length .

  At least, it seems useful. Now, where do I bind it?

  It had to be one of his limbs, probably an arm. Still, the question remained, whie to choose? His human arm seemed like an obvious choice. Yet, the longer Leo thought about it, the opposite started to look like a better idea.

  Despite all the points in Grace, Leo still favored his right arm to atta a prolonged fight. Additionally, he mainly used the Tainted arm as an opener or suppiving it another defeool to help couldn't hurt.

  Alright then. Now how do I bind you properly? Leo mused as he ed the around his left forearm. I really hope some Essence is all you need.

  Taking a deep breath, Leo let his energy flow, and the moment it touched the , the item moved.

  Like a s slithered across Leo's arm until it barely touched his wrist and shoulder with the 's opposite ends. The item squeezed the limb, and just whehought it was the end, the unimaginable happened.

  What the...

  Every link broke open, releasing waves of illegible symbols. They seized every empty spa Leo's arm, filling them with odd green lines, much like the before. No skin was left unattended, and the symbols only stopped when they flooded Leo's entire vision as he looked upon his arm.

  Is... is it done? As if to answer his question, the symbols pulsed ohen twice before disappearing like they were here. Even the vanished.

  Yet, when Leo raised his arm a bit higher, he could still feel the item tingling across his skin as it covered the limb. It wasn't much different from a standard sleeve, only invisible.

  Spectral Inscription. Leo chuckled. How fitting...

  He stretched the arm, flexing it as much as possible, trying to find any trouble with the movement. Only he didn't; it truly seemed like the item had disappeared.

  Fitting indeed… Now to activate you.

  Hoping that the obvious would wain, Leo eled some Esseo the phantom sleeve. His eyes widened when the green symbols came back, shining brighter than ever.

  Entire arm covered, and only the cws are free. ve...

  Leo uhed the military dagger and stabbed lightly into the green shroud. Nothing. Nice. He pressed harder, yet the barrier never gave out, and Leo never felt a pull on his Essehe item stopped his average strike with only a bit of energy.

  Okay then, time to turn up a notch. With that thought in mind, Leo stabbed again, ready to pull away at a moment's noti case the barrier broke. He really didn't need any more injuries, especially self-inflicted ones...

  Not that Leo o worry as the barrier held again. Only this time, when his kruck, the symbols cracked in multiple pces, losing some of their glow.

  Iing. Leo pushed a little harder, and the barrier shattered, raining small green particles onto the ground, just as he had predicted. Much strohan I thought a on item would be. Oh well, all the better for me.

  Feeding another burst of Esseo the item, Leo frowned when nothing happened. Right... That expins a lot. It has a cooldown. Holy, I should have expected this.

  Leo sighed and took a look around the chamber. His orb of light died out some time ago, and while the path was still clear, he should probably get away from this pce.

  After o g his left arm, Leo departed from the chamber, hoping to never return. In those few minutes, he had killed enough Eaters to st a lifetime, and he wouldn't mind if they were also the st ones he ever entered.

  I hate leeches...

  Five minutes. Valron Endurance had precisely five minutes of cooldowween uses. Not long enough to make the item useless, but also not short enough to use it more than on a single fight...

  Leo received a e it perfectly during his break to recover most of Essence. Like before, Rock Eaters swarmed him once he dropped stealth, although he only had to face four of them this time.

  heless, Leo decided to use that enter to test his item. Especially as he still o know how durable the barrier was in a fight.

  In the end, Leo wasn't disappointed as he mao sp away three monsters with the back of his hand before killing them. The shield broke during the fourth strike, and although the meetiween his skin and the rocky hide hurt like hell, at least Leo knew what to expect from the barrier.

  Fast-forward an hour, and Leo once again found himself sittio arao another chamber. It was smaller, much smaller tha one, but no less dangerous. Quite the opposite in fact, as in Leo's humble opinion, the creature waiting inside could end him with one good strike.

  Guarding Rock Eater (Voidling) | Rank: F+ | LVL: 10Race: Voidling | Subspecies: Guarding Rock EaterExpected Potential: F+ to E-on of choice: Jaws, Bded limbsKnown weaknesses: Vision, LegsSpecial evolution in the World Eater line. Found only in Rifts or s of Eaters. They guard the entrand exit to their domain with their life. Qui their feet, Guarding Rock Eaters tear their prey apart with the bdes attached to their frontal limbs. Although it's a special evolution, their hide is barely strohan that of a normal Rock Eater.

  The monster waiting inside was easily rger than Leo. Even though its body a resembled normal Rock Eater, Leo khat with its six spidery legs, the beast could move faster than its weaker kin. Then there were the two thin arms attached to the monster's front, both finished with razor-sharp bdes.

  At least the exit is behind it. Leo chuckled bitterly, running a hand through his sticky hair.

  The way out of this pce wasn't anything special. Just another, much smaller Void Gate, only this one had a colorful portal ihe arch. Truly a magnifit sight of a hundred exploding stars pushed into a small image. Yet, Leo couldn't be bothered to care, not now.

  It has two more levels than I, but I'm also rated F+ after the st level. I have Reinfort and Limit Break, so if things go to shit, I always make a run for the portal. That is if it even allows me to pass... Fuck.

  Leo groaned, letting his head fall against the rocky wall. If his stealth worked against those worms, he wouldn't eveo ponder such things. Although Leo couldn't deny that the Guarding Rock Eater seemed like an excellent target to test his current abilities.

  If only I could somehow get a free hit before the Eater realizes I'm here. I'm a fug assassin, after all. I really shouldn't start any fights on equal ground...

  Ahe question remained. What could Leo do to start the frontation with an advantage?

  Mier minute passed as he sat there with his eyes closed. Dozens of sarios ran through his head, each making less seha one.

  Hold up. Leo froze, his eyes snapping open as he resisted the urge to smash his head against a rock.

  How did I even fet about this? It happened only an ho... He grumbled, his gaze falling to a small ball of light f in his human palm. I just o distract it long enough to get close and cut it once. A few seds is all I need. Eaters fell for that; maybe this one will too.

  He nodded. Yeah, that could work. And I pce Kiss of Death ohing, maybe even my cws. Plus... Grinning, Leo reached for one Crystalized Essence hidden in his pocket. I have this if all else fails.

  The wide grin didn't fall off Leo's face even as Kiss of Death failed to sti one cw after he pced it on the one.

  One way or another, I'm getting out of this hellhole.

  Ratings are appreciated! Have a good day/night.