Kyle blinked, not sure that he heard the goblin correctly. “This is Railen’s Folly?”

  Vel’Norn looked at Kyle quizzically. “Yes, that is what I said.”

  Taking a moment to think it through, Kyle supposed it made sense. If the royal family lived in Er’Mithren, why wouldn’t the king want to have quick access to his hidden lab? And if there was an easy method to teleport here… but how did he get back?

  “Give me a moment, I’ll be right back,” Kyle said.

  Once he was out of earshot of the goblin, he whispered to C.H.A.D.D., “Once we get inside, keep an eye out for a teleporter. That could be the easiest way back to Er’Mithren.”

  [CONFIRMED. I AM ALSO INTERESTED IN THE RESEARCH NOTES THAT WERE LEFT BEHIND. THEY COULD PROVE VALUABLE TO FURTHER OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOBLINOID MEDICINE.]

  Kyle considered for a moment, then nodded. “So long as we’re judicious about what we learn, I think that will be fine. Scavenging rights, after all.”

  When he returned to Vel’Norn, the goblin’s expression was suspicious. “Where did you go?”

  “I just didn’t expect that I’d ever show up at Railen’s Folly. I needed a moment to compose myself, and now I’m ready to rest up. We’ve still got 4 or 5 hours until dawn. You get some rest, and then I’ll take a quick nap before we head to the ruin’s entrance.”

  Vel’Norn’s eyes narrowed. “No, I’ll take the first shift. You can do the second.”

  Kyle shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  Between Auric Perception, Synaptic Barbs, and a drone with a penchant for trouble, Kyle wasn’t concerned about the goblin managing to attack him while he slept. Frankly, he doubted Vel’Norn would be able to do much of anything at all without Kyle noticing. That wasn’t to say he planned to stop the goblin if he chose to leave the camp. If they were going to explore together, Kyle wanted it to be mutual cooperation. He had no intention to conscript or coerce Vel’Norn.

  At the same time, Kyle was 100% confident that the goblin would need him and C.H.A.D.D. if he wanted to break into the ruin entrance. The seal on it was potent, and as a mid-tier E Grade, Vel’Norn simply didn’t have the skills or abilities to get it open. Even at Kyle’s level, it wouldn’t be simple. Still, now that Kyle knew what may be contained within, getting it open was a priority.

  He closed his eyes, and before going to sleep, entered meditation.

  KYLE MAYHEW. ARTHRO-HUMAN CHIMERA (PARASITE), SURVIVALIST. LEVEL 77 (D)

  CORE OF THE PARASITIC DEVOURER 39%

  ADAPTIVE ANATOMY – 9/? – ENHANCED CARAPACE (FERRIC AUGMENTATION), AURIC PERCEPTION (SYNAPTIC BARBS), EXOSKELETAL STRENGTH, CEASELESS VITALITY, INSTINCTIVE INTELLIGENCE, COVERT DEXTERITY, UNBREAKABLE WILL

  VITALITY: 1080

  ENDURANCE: 1251

  STRENGTH: 453

  DEXTERITY: 846

  WILLPOWER: 1592

  INTELLIGENCE: 1592

  PERCEPTION: 1153

  FREE ATTRIBUTES: 18

  His level had grown once more, though what drew his attention the most was the continued change in his Core of the Parasitic Devourer. Splitting the attribute points between Willpower and Intelligence, he focused on the core. Jumping an additional 5% felt excessive for slaying the behemoth. Even though it pushed his Parasitic Resonance farther than anything other than the World Tre Seed, 5% just seemed too high. He took a moment to observe the core as it pulsed and swirled within his center, noting the shifting crimson sigils.

  As usual, no additional prompts appeared; no insights or impressions forthcoming. But as he watched, for the briefest of moments, he thought he caught a glimpse of gold within the crimson. Startled, he nearly lost concentration on his meditation. He focused again, with nothing out of the ordinary until… there! It was brief, but for just a moment there was another small flash of gold.

  Without exiting meditation, Kyle shifted his focus, turning instead to the single tendril of Parasitic Resonance that perpetually connected himself, C.H.A.D.D., and the World Tree Seed. Kyle used this connection to funnel a small but consistent amount of energy to the drone and into the seed, which C.H.A.D.D. used to try and manipulate the energy and information stored within on Kyle’s behalf.

  One of the oft-forgotten aspects of this skill was its ramping nature. The longer Kyle was connected to someone or something, the more easily he could infiltrate and influence their energies. Due to his monstrous Willpower, this feature rarely came into play in combat, as he simply overwhelmed and destroyed his opponents with superior attributes. The World Tree Seed was an exception.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Despite having been connected for virtually an entire year, Kyle could still barely make any headway with it. While his ability to draw from the seed was vastly improved as compared to when he first tried to use it back on Earth, he still felt tremendous resistance from it. C.H.A.D.D. was able to store information and energy inside of it, but actually manipulating the energies from the tree still took a massive toll. The technique the drone used to save them from the Scourge borrowed some of the qualitative aspects of the World Tree Seed, all the while making use of energy that C.H.A.D.D. stored inside of it.

  Other than those rare moments when they drew power out of the seed, the connection was typically one-way. At least, it should have been. Fascinated, Kyle watched as a tiny mote of golden energy was siphoned away from the seed, and drawn directly into the Core of the Parasitic Devourer. It was a miniscule amount, barely worth noting. Scratch that, to C.H.A.D.D., it would very much be worth noting. Loudly. And yet the drone hadn’t noticed. Kyle hadn’t noticed.

  His initial inclination was to stop the draw, severing the connection to the World Tree Seed until he could get a better understanding of what was happening, and talk it through with C.H.A.D.D. He almost did it, right then and there. Almost. What if this lets us use the seed more effectively? Kyle thought. Of course, he saw that thought for what it was. A sweet, altruistic, self-delusion. The real reason he let the connection sit was simple. He’d already seen the benefits from the core filling up on E and D Grade creatures. How much better would the benefits be from a natural treasure of this quality?

  Sometimes, he had to be a little selfish.

  With a sigh, he exited meditation, and began to drift to sleep. Synaptic Barbs showed him that Vel’Norn was slowly sneaking away from the camp, and Kyle didn’t particularly care. C.H.A.D.D. would alert him if any dangers came, and he took the opportunity to rest while he could.

  Dawn came. Kyle stretched as he stood. Vel’Norn hadn’t returned, and Kyle was alone in the camp. Unsurprising, all things considered. If Kyle was in the poor goblin’s shoes, he would probably have considered sneaking away, too. He pulled out a dried breakfast ration, enjoying the bit of sweetness. He sent some extra energy to C.H.A.D.D. as he began to walk through familiar combat exercises.

  “Any activity worth noting on your scanners?” Kyle asked, moving through the flow drills Frank taught him.

  [NOTHING MAJOR, DR. MAYHEW. THE GOBLIN LEFT TOWARD THE RUINS SHORTLY AFTER YOU PRETENDED TO FALL ASLEEP, AND I ASSUMED BY YOUR LACK OF PURSUIT THAT YOU DID NOT WANT ME TO ALERT YOU.]

  “Not a problem at all,” Kyle said. “Did he head in the direction of the ruins, or somewhere else?”

  [HE MOVED BACK TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE RUINS; HOWEVER, THE ENTRANCE WE DISCOVERED IS CURRENTLY OUT OF MY RANGE. ONCE WE GET CLOSER, I CAN CONFIRM IF HE IS PRESENT.]

  “That sounds good to me. Once I finish up, we can head that way.”

  The ruins appeared to be undisturbed, a sight that comforted Kyle greatly. If Er’Mithren was sending a party in pursuit, they likely would have done so already. By now, he could have been almost anywhere, and any party they sent would be stranded unless they had other means for quick teleportation. Given the scope of the damage to the central tower, Kyle expected they wouldn’t be keen on sending valuable resources on a wild goose chase instead of helping with the reconstruction.

  Still, he focused on Synaptic Barbs and Auric Perception as he moved through the ruins toward the sealed door. It sported some new scorch marks, and Kyle smelled sulfur. The goblin was nowhere to be seen, and he fully expected that Vel’Norn chose to flee after his attempt to access the lower level failed. He didn’t blame the goblin, and resolved that if he found something that could be helpful, he would stop by their village if he stumbled across it.

  Taking his first close look at the sealed door, Kyle activated Identify. C.H.A.D.D.’s initial scans were correct, the seals and wards across this doorway were D-Grade, and quite powerful at that. Furthermore, the array drew in ambient mana, making it effectively self-sustaining. From what Kyle could tell, there were 3 distinct layers to the seal.

  The first was a simple reinforcement inscription. It dramatically improved the durability of the materials, and infused them with the ambient mana it drew in. Kyle was confident that he could overwhelm those defenses with time and generous application of Repel, even though it would be terribly inefficient.

  The second layer wove in an added degree of complexity. The formation looked like a spiderweb, and it had connection points all across the hidden doorway. It looked to be some sort of force dispersion formation. Kyle regarded it for a while, until the purpose in its design finally clicked. The first layer was designed to prevent attacks coming in, and the second would take any force in excess of what the first could handle and disperse it into the surrounding area. Narrowing his eyes, Kyle could see thin lines of inscription moving all across the compound.

  Furthermore, the way this inscription gathered mana was different than the others. While the basic formation had an ambient mana collection function, the second layer would convert some of the kinetic energy into mana, which would reinforce the array. The harder the door was struck, the more the protections would extend.

  It was honestly an ingenious combination, and Kyle made a mental note to talk to Marcus Kulhavey about weaving in similar applications for the next C.H.A.D.D.pack. The downside was that the damage was shunted over a larger area, but with skilled enough craftsmen or separate self-repair enchantments, much of that downside could be mitigated. The fact that this door still stood sealed while the rest of the facility was in ruins was a testament to the efficacy.

  Of course, the third and final layer of the ward could also have contributed to that. Its design would leave a mark on anybody who tried to open the door without the appropriate key; a mark that would have a slow, suppressive effect. If Kyle had looked at this sigil several weeks ago, he would have had no idea what he was seeing. Now, however, it was clear that this final seal was using principles derived from D’Oillelat’s unique traits as a high goblin.

  Putting it all together, Kyle suspected that a new mark would be placed after each attack, progressively suppressing and weakening an attacker, even as the barrier diffused the attacks. It was a solid strategy, though Kyle was beginning to doubt that he would find much of value inside. These defenses seemed primed to protect a bunker or bedroom; not a medical lab. At least Kyle had never seen a hospital so well-defended.

  Still, he’d come this far. While he was confident the third layer of defense would be meaningless against him, given D’Oillelat’s inability to suppress him, Kyle decided against simply attacking the door until it broke. There was a unique opportunity for him to put some of Jarberry’s training to work, and he planned to do just that. “C.H.A.D.D., would you mind growing me a thin piece of bamboo, with some of the sundew leaves inside? I want to try something.”