We make our way over to the staircase, passing back through the barrier to the first level as easily as we crossed it the first time. This leads me down an interesting tangent as I dig through my bag for my magnifying glass. Save points are a thing in many video game dungeons. I dare not get my hopes up that there will be any second chances should we fall in battle. Maybe a revival spell at some point, but I’m going to assume otherwise until proven wrong beyond a shadow of a doubt.

  It might not be strictly a save point, but this corridor does seem to be a safe point. And that gives a lot of interesting implications as to the System’s purpose. It clearly doesn’t want us to live life as we have before its arrival. The low level monsters that make it into the city center are nuisances, but there are real nasties that lurk between major cities. Creatures far worse than the tribe of gorillas the two of us fought with Alexey and the others.

  Lindsey’s [Identify] skill clocked them at levels approaching 50. Far, far beyond any of our ability to take down, even with perfect preparation, much better equipment, extreme luck, and every other factor going in our way. The gap in our parameters would simply overwhelm even Nicholas’s [Tactician] Skills. They’ve chosen to stay away from the city for now. But I don’t believe ‘for now’ is ‘forever’.

  The same is true for these barriers. There are monsters in here that will absolutely ravage civilization as we know it. And yet, these creatures are cordoned off, away from where they would do the most harm. Undoubtedly, the System does not wish to kill us off. I have no doubt it could have simply ripped the planet apart had that been its goal. No, it wants us to get stronger and develop our classes and Skills.

  I had dismissed the possibility that the System feeds on us like hogs or cattle. Now, seeing how deep these dungeons go, and how they are being sequestered away from the city like that, I’m forced to reevaluate my earlier dismissal.

  The System wants to offer us rewards for delving into these dungeons and getting stronger; hence the possibility for loot and levels. This brings up another point, and probably one more immediate than the System’s end goals. At some point in the near future, someone is going to get an idea to use that personal power and convert it to political power and influence. I guess I can be thankful that people like Alexey and his crew are honorable enough to serve the people rather than try to oppress them. I dare not hope that he and his are in the majority.

  I turn my attention back to the [Ruby-Studded Wand] from Chloe and examine it, first with my eyes, then with [Ethersight]. I don’t see any glyphs on the surface, though the poor lighting might factor into that. It’s too dark with the dungeon’s ambient light alone. And with the flashlight pointed at it, it’s far too bright and the glare overwhelms my ability to see.

  However, my [Ethersight] reveals a very different story. There are tiny holes dotted all over the surface of the weapon, far narrower than even a strand of hair. They would be utterly invisible to all but the most powerful of microscopes, except for the tiny whorls of Ether from the outside being pulled in like water rushing down an open drain.

  I look at one of these vortices, pulling the wand close to my face to observe more closely. It seems vaguely reminiscent of the same channels I feel within my own body when I channel [Ether] with my skills. I pull Ether out of my core, let it suffuse my body, then guide it to my fingertips. Now I do the reverse, pulling the [Ether] back into my core. Even when my [Ether] circuits— conduits, channels?— are fully emptied, I continue pulling, creating a vacuum of Ether near the surface of my skin.

  I have to move my hands about a bit, but after a few minutes, it starts to work. Very, very, very slowly, but I do feel tiny bits of Ether entering my body. Not even a single extra point after wagging my hands around like a buffoon for the better part of a minute, and certainly not enough to cast a free [Fireball] every hour.

  Inspiration strikes, though this is potentially extremely foolish. I hope Chloe doesn’t understand what I’m doing, and that I don’t blow my left hand off in the process. My [Tinkerer] skill isn’t telling me that this is the most harebrained idea of all time, at the very least.

  I pull out a ballpoint pen and trace the glyph of [Attraction] on the back of my hand, along with sluice lines leading to my fingertips, where my control of my internal [Ether] flow is maximized. Chloe gives me a look as she glances over, but doesn’t start chastising me just yet.

  I activate the glyph and repeat the process. My hand feels weird, like having a suction hose on it and feeling the sensation of pulling my skin and muscle ever so slightly. But with the limited [Ether] I channel into it, it doesn’t hurt. Just the most mild of discomfort. Better yet, the glyph works, pulling Ether into my channels, and from there into my core. Unfortunately, I’m not able to pull any more Ether out of the atmosphere than I have to expend to activate the glyph. There’s something I’m missing. But I’m not sure what it is.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  [Your [Intermediate Ether Manipulation (Rank I)] has upgraded to [Intermediate Ether Manipulation (Rank II)].]

  [Your [Basic Glyph Manipulation (Rank V)] has upgraded to [Basic Glyph Manipulation (Rank VI)].]

  That’s nice. I guess that’s because I’m experimenting with glyphs and doing the sorts of things my class wants me to do? Pushing the boundaries of science and Ethertech? And I suppose I acknowledge there was danger involved, and I’m not exactly in the safest location as well. Makes sense to get the upgrade, and I’ll not look the gift horse in the mouth.

  The slight efficiency gains from ranking the skills up aren’t enough to make the test net [Ether] positive. But at least it’s a start on something new. I do find a couple of other glyphs on the wand near the glowing red ruby on its tip. One of them is the [Heat] glyph I already recognize. The others, I have to imagine, are also used in the construction of the [Fireball] spell the wand lets Chloe cast. Four glyphs in total that I can see. Maybe [Ignition], [Compression], and [Rotation] are the other three?

  I hand Chloe back her wand. “I’m sorry. I got two Skill ranks out of it and a lot of interesting hypotheses, but nothing concrete that I can work with right now.”

  “Oh, well, it seems I got a Skill out of it too. It’s called [Meditation], and it lets me increase my passive [Ether] regeneration when I’m focusing on doing so.”

  “Wait…” Damn it all to hell! All I had to do was think about absorbing Ether into my body and it… I close my eyes and take deep breaths, remembering my grounding exercises from whenever I get stressed out. I concentrate on my internal [Ether] flow. It crashes like a wave against my core, flowing out, then receding back inward with the rise and fall of my breaths. I repeat the process, doing what I can to clear my mind.

  I get no Skill for it. Might be that my class simply isn’t compatible with such a skill. Another weakness of the class; [Mage] type classes naturally want to put lots of points into their [Mind] stat to boost their offensive capabilities, as well as their maximum [Ether] and [Ether] Regeneration rate. Because they are nearly useless without their [Ether] reserves, they get Skills to help them avoid that.

  I, on the other hand, am expected to construct the tools I need. This volume of glyphs should contain some formulae for how to progress on that front. At the very least, I hope that it does. It better. But I should also be prepared for the possibility that it doesn’t. Though, there is one thing I’d like to try before we move on.

  “Hey, Chloe, mind trying one thing for me?”

  She looks up at me. “Go on,” she says. I can’t tell if she’s genuinely wanting to help me, or if she’s just exasperated with my antics and is humoring me. Or both.

  “Can you try channeling your [Ether] into your hands and then infusing it into me?”

  Chloe does so without hesitation, placing both of her hands on my left forearm and holding it snug. Nothing happens at first. Chloe’s eyes close, and mine follow, focusing on my best friend’s hands. They grow warm to the touch, and once I feel the temperature start to rise, I pull with my Ether channels just as before. Only this time, with Chloe’s raw [Ether] being poured directly onto my skin, my own [Ether] starts increasing at a noticeable rate. It tops off at about one point every two seconds, or about a sevenfold increase over my natural regeneration rate.

  We continue like this for another minute and a half, long enough for me to regenerate fifty points of [Ether], in addition to my normal rate. Chloe looks at me with an expectant stare.

  “It definitely worked. How many points of [Ether] did you expend?”

  “About eighty. And I got a rank in my [Basic Ether Manipulation] at the same time.”

  “I recovered about fifty. So a decent but still improvable efficiency. I was worried that we were going to get something absolutely asinine like ten percent at best.”

  “Nice. Glad to know that you’re not going to slow us down in the next fight.”

  “Me slow us down? I have admitted no small number of times that your healing skills are invaluable. I just make shiny things and try to make the monsters go boom with them.”

  “When you’re not trying to make yourself, your stuff, and everyone around you go boom first.”

  I stand up off the stairs, turn around, cross my arms, and give Chloe the most impudent eye roll I can muster. And she has the utter audacity to stand up and poke me like I’m the one who’s done wrong! Damn my social misfortune!

  Once I’ve taken a moment to calm myself, we make our way to the far end of the long entrance chamber. There are three doors— one leading straight ahead, and one leading to either side. I strongly suspect that our objective is straight ahead, but I am not at all confident about our ability to face off against the boss of this floor. I suspect, based on the jump between the first floor creatures and Armosi, that the boss of this floor is somewhere around level 30. With the whole group of rangers, I’d at least think we have a chance. With just Chloe, I’m not willing to risk it.

  “Right or left?” she asks. I’m glad to hear that she has the same idea. Or perhaps she has some ability to see or sense malicious energy with class Skills.

  “Why are you asking me?” I ask. “You’re the lucky one.”

  Chloe gives me The Look, and I sigh and point to the left. Chloe takes my hand and pulls me into the door on my right, and I steel myself as we prepare for the challenges that await.