The next week passed by in a blur of movement.

  When Tyler wasn’t fighting, he was training. And when he wasn’t training, he was studying. And all throughout those activities, he was buoyed by the massive influx of energy that arose from the oversized bunch of magic bananas in front of him.

  Each of the bananas individually might have had less of an effect than the original, but there were more than fifty of them on the bulb, and each one was almost the length of his forearm and packed with magical energy. Every banana held within it the accumulated Resilience from dozens of duneclaws, and each fruit gave him an influx of energy equal to more than a day’s worth of training.

  And he realized that they carried with them more than just raw Resilience. They weren’t just strengthening him — they were healing him, cleansing his entire being. He noticed his skin was perfect, despite the godawful living conditions he’d been set in. His now-shoulder-length hair had gained a lustrous shine, and if he weren’t completely incapable of growing facial hair, he suspected he would have had a glorious bushy beard like a true wildman.

  Even without advancing, he suspected a couple of them were enough to heal minor wounds in a minute. It wasn’t like he had much opportunity to test that hypothesis, though. By the time he was halfway through, he didn’t even need the Dragon’s Bones to tank the duneclaws’ strong tail pincers.

  And then, right as he was about halfway through the bunch:

  Congratulations! You have reached Peak-Novice.

  He’d marveled at the feeling of being… full? That wasn’t exactly the right word, but it was something close to that. This Saturation Point was far stronger than the ones within Novice, and he felt the Resonance within him settle, like it had no more room to grow.

  He could now do a flawless handstand while pushing himself up with a single arm, and his body was so tough that he could throw himself off the highest trees on the island and land with barely a scratch. He could stand completely still in a swarm of duneclaws and come away with only surface wounds, and he was strong enough now to kill even the largest ones in a single blow.

  Maybe most impressive, though, was the fact that the inflammation was almost gone. Bit by bit, as he’d strengthened his body, his condition had gone from a major detriment to his abilities to barely a nuisance. Some days, he couldn’t even feel it at all.

  That lack of pain still felt foreign to him, like new shoes that he still hadn’t quite broken in yet. He’d woken up numerous times over the past couple of weeks expecting it to have gone back to how it had been for years, just as it had after all the other times it’d lessened for a moment. But as the inflammation grew weaker and weaker and Tyler grew stronger and stronger, he began to understand — at least logically — that he was actually being healed. The same way that the Aspect of Resilience healed his cuts and scrapes and broken bones, it was slowly making known its treatment of the deep-rooted disease within him.

  And so, invigorated by the influx of strength and good news, he’d gone on the offensive.

  With a body now capable of executing some of the higher martial forms of the Art of the Sandstorm, he became a living hurricane, wreaking havoc on the creatures at such a high rate that he could trigger their mass flight instinct on a daily basis. But he could chase them down, now that he’d advanced another step, and he took great joy in finally turning the tables on these creatures that had harassed him relentlessly for months.

  With the corpses, Tyler had managed to ripen the entirety of his first bulb and begin growing a second one.

  The accumulated Resonance from the last half-week just sat there in his soul, waiting. He couldn’t really use it for anything — this Saturation Point made his soul actively reject any more Resilience he tried to weave in, but it floated around like a cloud on top of his mana. The more bananas that he ate, the denser the cloud became.

  He’d begun researching what was needed to advance beyond this hurdle, but his Analysis seemed to think that he still didn’t know enough about the subject himself. He pondered the cave carvings and explored his own soul as much as he could during his downtime, but right now the only thing that he could do was keep accumulating Resonance.

  And he was sure that he was about to accumulate a lot of Resonance, because finally, after months of searching — he’d found the duneclaw nest.

  “God, I’m thinking of so many nasty things that I could do,” Tyler cackled as he eyed the well-hidden crack in the ground from a distant tree.

  He’d been trying to tail one to it since he started being capable of fighting off the swarms, but the creatures seemed to be naturally evasive, burrowing into random places or even straight-up letting themselves die if they noticed they were being followed back to their nest. But he’d realized that they hadn’t evolved in an environment where their blood could be so easily tracked, and so he’d purposefully let a handful of injured ones scurry away to lead him back to their home.

  But as much as he wanted to exact his vengeance right away, for now he’d just watch from a distance.

  It was currently mid-afternoon, so their vision would be working fairly well, and he didn’t want to scare them off from the nest.

  He clutched the Core of Protection in his free hand, tugging at the length of string he’d tied around it to keep it on his chest like a necklace. He prayed that the scent of its magic wouldn’t wake them from their slumbers, but he considered coming back without the Core if it did. It had only activated twice over the past few months, and he was getting more and more confident that he could handle any number of duneclaws.

  Then again…

  He thought back to the fight he’d witnessed the day he’d come to the island. Even as strong as he was, he knew for a fact that he’d stand just as little of a chance against either of them now as he would have back when he’d witnessed it.

  No matter how invincible he might have felt against his current enemies, he couldn’t forget that there were always bigger fish in the sea. Who knew if the duneclaws had some kind of nasty surprise waiting for him in there?

  And speaking of seas, he thought as his eyes flashed over to the ever-boiling ocean of chaos surrounding the island. He’d always glimpsed some far-off islands once he’d gotten used to his enhanced vision, and of course there was the constant backdrop of skyscrapers sitting just beneath the liquid’s black-and-violet surface, but he was beginning to see more things in there — not just buildings and inanimate objects, but creatures that would make him shiver the moment he caught a glimpse of them. Something was going on out there, and he wasn’t sure —

  He froze, his eyes locked on a particular point in the distance. He was near the center of the island, so he normally wouldn’t have been able to see the ‘water’ at all, but he was looking from one of the highest trees. Though even with his newly enhanced eyesight, he was doubting his vision.

  There was something out there. And it…

  He felt the familiar sense of his Analysis activating.

  The Dimensional Storm is Coming.

  “No. No, fuck. No!”

  He jumped down 30 feet from where he was perched and sprinted back to his cave.

  With his newfound strength, his legs ate up the distance like it was nothing, leaving clouds of sand and tufts of kicked up grass behind him as he scrambled along the lush terrain. His surroundings flashed by, and he clenched his jaw as he finally made it to the edge of the sandy area.

  It couldn’t have taken him more than a minute, but that still felt like far too long.

  He wrenched his makeshift door open, panting with exertion. Running alongside the jagged carvings lining the walls, he quickly grabbed at food and weaponry by the handful, piling them all up behind the tree and covering them with the fallen leaves that he’d begun using as blankets and carpets. He didn't know what they would possibly do against the Storm, but he couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

  Why was it coming again? Hadn’t it done enough damage the first time?

  Tyler gripped his door-log tight using the two makeshift handles he’d carved into the wood, wedging it into the cave entrance with all the force the Flowing Sands could muster. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t move it back out. He just needed to protect these things.

  Fuck.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  And things were finally going well, too.

  What else should he do? What else could he do? He felt so powerless again, despite the strong magic coursing through his soul. It all felt so —

  The Dimensional Storm Has Come.

  First it was the lightning and thunder, then the crash of debris against the waves, and then that stinging mist that effused his surroundings in a purple haze. He'd expected them to come one by one as they had the first time he'd encountered the storm, but he'd barely processed the message before the chaos was completely on top of him.

  His feeble attempts at protection hadn’t even bought him a second.

  Multiversal debris flashed in and out of the cave, swirling and slamming against the walls and his outstretched hands as he fought to protect the tree. Shards of glass and sharp rocks stung as they impacted his skin like falling hail, but Tyler stayed firm, willing his mana into the Dragon’s Bones as he stared through the chaos.

  “Gah!”

  A giant, gaping maw flashed into existence in front of him, and he instinctually slammed his fist into it, launching it across the room with the force of his whole body. It was only after the fact that he realized it was just the head of a statue — the stone crumbled against the opposite wall before flashing out of existence once more.

  “Not now,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “Not again.”

  A metal pole spun towards him, and Tyler screamed as he slapped it aside.

  He couldn’t do this again. He couldn’t.

  After all this time, he’d finally felt hopeful again. He’d felt like maybe the world did have a sense of justice, that if he’d just kept working at it he could gain the power to write his own destiny. And it had been working, too.

  Crack.

  The sound of reality breaking snapped through the world like a god’s whip.

  A chorus of fierce caws split the air, shaking the island as beings of immense power began to announce themselves. He could feel weight pressing against his soul, like the gravity he’d felt around Savadiere but from every direction at once and wholly unrestrained in its dominance. Every movement, every action, every thought felt like he was fighting through molasses, his lungs struggling to breathe against this suffocating force pressing down against him.

  Through the chaos, he thought he could hear dozens and dozens of duneclaws screeching back at the monstrosity. But the noises were instantly silenced as a wave of energy washed over the island, sending tingles down his spine. Just like that, and they were gone.

  He struggled towards the entrance of the cave, gripping his strongest duneclaw knife in one hand and the core of protection in the other. His pile of supplies had come undone, and now rogue spears and duneclaw jerky were battering against his back, mixing with the stinging of the violet mist in a cacophony of sensations.

  What is this thing? How is it doing this? And how could...

  His eyes widened as his log was instantly wrenched out of place, and he caught a glimpse of one of the creatures through the haze of debris and mist. It was pure white, and so small as to be just a tiny speck in the distance. But with every flap of its wings, it was as if all the trees on the island rippled with its power. It leveled its gaze towards him, and he felt time pause, slower than it had ever before.

  System Boon Engaged: Analysis

  Incarnate Songbird

  These elementals hold sway over all living things. Those that oppose them may find their hearts stopped with a single note.

  Even as he stood still in time, the bird was still slowly flapping its wings, opening its beak to caw in his direction. He had never felt so small, so insignificant before. It was like he was an ant, happening upon the wake of an elephant for the very first time.

  But why was it after him? He hadn't done anything —

  The slow rumble of a slow-motion crack filled the air, and he realized his mistake.

  The thing wasn't after him. It was after the tree.

  Behind him, the stone floor of the cave had cracked, sending iridescent light shining onto the stone walls and carvings that surrounded it. The banana tree was trembling, its leaves flashing bright green as if in alarm.

  No! Tyler mentally screamed as a torrent of magic slowly poured from the bird, grasping the massive tree like the invisible hand of a giant. No!

  As time resumed, a wave of force barreled into him like a speeding train, passing through him in a violent woosh before impacting the tree.

  Crack.

  He was lying on his back, his head spinning from the impact. But he could feel the ground trembling as he struggled back to his feet. The tiny pinpricks from the mist seemed to intensify.

  “No…”

  It’s going to kill me without even noticing that I’m here.

  Tyler pushed himself back to his feet. What could he —

  “Fuck!”

  Another wave caught him in the chest, and it was only due to his weeks of constant practice that the Dragon’s Bones dampened the blow enough for him to keep his bearings.

  The tree was being wrenched out of the ground, though. It furiously shook, branches snapping from its vast canopy as the plant strained against the pull of the monster.

  Woosh. Another wave. He just barely managed to keep standing.

  But slowly, cracks were spreading throughout the floor.

  No.

  Before his conscious mind could catch up, his feet were already moving. His long gait ate up the terrain in seconds, propelling him towards the thing even as the pressure clung onto him like thick cobwebs. Grass flashed by, then trees, then sand.

  Another burst of force slammed into him, and he took it on crossed arms, stumbling for just a moment before he was back to sprinting towards the thing. He could taste salt in his mouth, rendered airborne by the churning sea.

  Within breaths, he was at the edge of the beach, his feet digging deep crevices into the sand with each step. The bird was hovering off the shore, its attention still completely locked onto the tree.

  “Leave me the fuck alone!”

  Tyler’s feet touched down on the edge of the water, and he jumped.

  He wasn’t going to make it.

  But as he soared through the air, the Flowing Sands thrashing through him with all the force his Peak-Novice mana could muster, he realized that he had known that all along.

  His knife trailed behind him, clutched tightly in his hand as he wound his arm backwards as far as it could go. And behind all the training and practice that had consumed his new life, he hurled the thing towards the bird.

  Tyler crashed into the roiling water with a tremendous splash.

  The purple mist felt even more powerful in the water, the closeness of the cosmic ocean causing the energy to flow through him like a tide just barely restrained by a collapsing dam. The Core of Protection unfurled, blocking out the swirling debris and the attacks that he knew would be coming from the bird. But even still, the waves buffeted him, and it was all he could do to keep himself going upwards.

  But as he surfaced, he knew that his aim would have been true. Except…

  No.

  The knife was still hovering midair, just inches away from the bird. And for the first time, he felt the full weight of its attention.

  The Core of Protection cracked.

  His muscles seized, spasms running through him as the pressure on his soul tripled in an instant. From the edge of his skin to the marrow deep inside his bones, every cell in his body quivered with the onslaught as his body fought to keep itself from falling apart.

  With every flap of its wings, a violent song crashed against his very being. The very same technique that had slaughtered dozens of duneclaws was now pressing against him, growing tighter and tighter by the second. He was getting buffeted closer to the edge of the cosmic ocean, the power of the Dimensional Storm hurting almost as much as the creature’s attacks.

  Tyler coughed up a mouthful of bubbles, only for it to be replaced with a suffocating chill as his mouth filled with cold, salty water.

  No air. No escape.

  He was dying, he knew. The thing’s magic was already mangling his body, pressurizing his blood and crushing the air from his lungs. His heart was slowing to a stop, straining painfully as the force around it redoubled with every beat.

  But even as his vision blurred and his fingertips grew numb, he felt that little flame of emotion grow hotter and hotter within him.

  Every moment of his life he’d bowed to the whims of the universe, huddled in the shadows in a desperate bid to survive. He was done letting the world take from him as it pleased. He refused to let this thing win.

  Tyler roared as he surfaced, his hands gripping onto something despite the lack of anything solid around him as he willed Resilience through himself, spinning that deep cyclone of mana in his core and straining with all his might against the bird's pressure.

  You will not take this. You will not take everything that I have worked for. You will not steal this new life that I have built.

  His muscles fought against the immense power locking them in place, twitching and tearing as they shucked the fibres of oppressive magic one by one. His eyes fluttered open, and he glared straight at the bright white monster hovering above him, blood dripping from his mouth but his jaw set firm.

  With every ounce of his being, he screamed in defiance, crashing his indomitable will against the weight of a cruel and uncaring world.

  And his body responded, ripping through the chains of magic woven through his limbs —

  And then all he knew was a world of black and violet.

  — – —

  But unbeknownst to him, as Tyler’s heart sputtered to a stop and the breaths died from his lips, that cyclone of Resilience within him was finally reaching a tipping point. Resonance bloomed in his soul from all sides, mixing with the dense cloud that already suffused every inch of his soul. And as he floated there in that space between worlds, blood still and the Core of Protection hanging broken from his neck, his Resilience condensed into a hard, dense mass deep in the center of his core.

  And as the last strands of his life began to fray away, the energy came flooding back outwards.

  Congratulations! You have advanced to Journeyman.