Chương 64: Chapter Sixty Three

Bob ignored his companion's confused reply as he made the jump, his mind instead focused on following how the mana moved through his body upon activating 'Sudden Step'. The speed of it made a full analysis impossible. The level-less skills he sometimes received from a Trait pick always operating far more smoothly than those he obtained on his own. Seeming to be on 'autopilot' compared to the more manual nature of non-monster abilities.

Still, he was able to catch as a near-infinitesimally small speck of mana shot out from his body. It being only slightly slowed by the immutable nature of the wall in front of him as it impacted its target; a patch of floor in the center of the sealed room. Normally, he would have been lucky to even pick that up; with what should occur next being over in less than an instant.

A change so immediate that one would not be amiss to wonder whether there was any space between the action itself and the choice to commit it. At least, when something wasn't standing in its way. In what felt like an endless moment, Bob sensed the bond between him and the mana in the locked room strengthen. For the speck of energy, of his essence, to begin transmuting its state to perfectly match his own.

The rest of the mana required to power the 'jump' flashing through him immediately after, his world narrowing as the space between them began to quickly disappear; bent and folded until their positions were just about to touch. And then they hit the wall. The sensation, when it came, felt strangely similar to his last moments in the lake now far above him. A horrifying mixture of being smothered by an inescapable weight, while simultaneously hanging by a tread over an endless abyss.

One which was worsened by Bob inexplicably experiencing it twice-over. His existence in flux as two versions of one Bob tried to exist simultaneously. Something which he felt intrinsically aware was not sustainable. He began to struggle, both instances of himself writhing desperately against the impenetrable barrier in search of some hidden crack or flaw. The only thing allowing him to accomplish even that much being that his current discorporate state wasn't entirely unfamiliar to him.

Bob clinging to memories of being unmade by an aggressive attribute boost, of when the 'system' had poured itself into him; searching for answers surrounding his acquisition of a minion and nearly burning him out in the process. The latter memory in particular ended up being valuable; him managing to use his recollection of the system's investigation to begin his own. His mana sluggishly and clumsily pouring out of both versions of him as it seeped into the enchantments blocking his way.

It felt like he was making progress, but Bob – even with his current limited faculties – quickly realized that it simply wasn't enough. His existence beginning to fray and tatter at the edges as both parts of him were stuck in a quantum stalemate. Neither capable of coming together, nor of halting the process now that it had already gone this far. Panicked and horrified, what was left of Bob's mind began searching for a solution.

Searching for any hint of a way out of the present situation as he scoured his fragmenting memories; quickly grabbing hold of the first possibility that came passing by. In an instant, both versions of him began to spit out thousands upon thousands of tiny, insignificant specks of mana. The duo endlessly repeating the initial stage of 'Sudden Step' while bits of 'himself' attempted to grab hold of the fleeing energy. Initially, it seemed like Bob had only made his situation worse.

The feeling of his existence 'fragmenting' beginning to accelerate, with his mental processes cutting out and growing muddled as more of 'himself' rode the wave of mana shooting through the enchanted stone. That is, until two of the specks – each so small that a grain of sand was a world of its own in comparison – miraculously connected. Upon that connection, there was a sudden stillness.

A halt in the surrounding well of space-time he'd crafted for himself as every piece of what had once been 'Bob' suddenly surged together with almost magnetic force. And suddenly, he was in a room. Ding! Dimensional Path Skill Acquired: Short Range Teleportation (C) Ding! Dimensional Path Skill Acquired: Dimensional Detection (D) Ding! Dimensional Path Skill Acquired: Fragmentary Dimensional Infiltration (B) Being physiologically unable, Bob didn't gasp as he came back to reality.

Instead standing stock-still as his mind attempted to catch up with what just happened. Only briefly managing to glance over at the shocking number of new Skills he'd earned while his brain did its best to repress the memory of effectively atomizing himself.

'Friend? What should hold?' He snapped to attention at what he initially thought was the octopus repeating its previous statement. Realizing only moments later that it was actually the original statement finally coming through. Not a single nanosecond having actually passed between the moment he decided to use 'Sudden Step' and the one where he arrived here. At least, not for anyone but him.

'Don't worry Buddy, false alarm.' Bob replied, doing his best to keep his mental 'tone' level.

'Feel free to chill out for a while. We're probably done scraping up mussels for at least an hour or so.' As the octopus mumbled its unconcerned agreement, Bob had to work hard to prevent himself from instantly reentering his previous dissociative state. The sensation of being torn in two and then shredded apart not an easy one to let go of. It becoming increasingly clear that Dimensional Mage's class description wasn't lying when it said that the occupation had a habit of keeping its practitioners 'limited'.

He was about to start chastising himself for stupidly taking unnecessary chances again – impressive looking skill acquisitions or not – when he was suddenly reminded of what exactly he was taking those chances for. The sensation of near-blistering heat emanating from not six feet away finally drawing his focus out of himself. And to the almost lived-in looking office standing in front of him.

He hadn't previously clocked the condition of the room he'd appeared in; not really being in a fit state to do so at the time. So, he found himself shocked when he realized that there was actual furniture still in existence surrounding him. A large, ornate desk carved out of a pale, almost bone-white wood sitting in the center of the room; with three chairs sitting around it and glass-fronted bookcases lining every wall. Bookcases still containing actual books.

Were it any other situation, he would have been forced to hold himself back from tearing into them. The idea of being allowed access to information, any information, surrounding the world he was now living in seeming beyond a luxury. However, it wasn't any other situation. And instead, he barely glanced over the hundreds of immortal tomes containing unknown ancient knowledge; the focus of his jeweled eye being quickly torn away. To an innocuous little object resting on the desk's right-hand side.

It slightly resembled one of the old mechanical stamps he used to see at libraries as a child, only its make being far more refined and opulent. The handle made of polished and inscribed stone, while the frame was crafted purely from gold; the etchings on its brilliant form being so tightly pressed together that Bob felt sure thousands of lines of magical text covered the fist-sized artifact. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

For once however, the gold was not where Bob's interest lay. Focused instead on the silvery-white glimmer just peeking out from beneath it; from where the 'face' of the stamp sat upon the desk's surface. Platinum. Once a material Bob felt very little about other than as a portfolio diversifier, now something that filled him with both hope and a base, covetous desire. His thousand, tiny little feet trembled as they slowly marched him across the floor.

Bob using his tongue to scale first one of the chairs and then the massive desk itself; a small bit of him momentarily disappointed by the impossibility of taking it with him. But most uncaring of anything other than what sat near its ledge. As he took the last few steps over to the item, the 'heat' coming off it felt like it was literally enough to burn; a pseudo pain beginning to radiate across his form. It was a good pain, however.

One he basked in as he slowly extended his tongue and gently picked up the strange and obviously magical object in front of him. Popping his lid and having the 'opening' to his sub dimension appear in the center of his enchanted-treasure room. Both not wanting to bother Buddy after telling him to relax, and feeling unwilling to have anything touching the item other than himself. And then, almost anticlimactically, he set it inside. Ding! Congratulations! You've found a Treasure!

You have acquired a ' Azcoran Seal of Binding (B)' This item is Enchanted! (5) Enchantments of the (Law) Path (2) Enchantments of the (Geas) Path Value is appraised at: 2, 634 Gold Pieces! Next Level: 5566. 48/5242. 88 Ding! Species Level Increase! 19 – 20 Constitution + 4 Dexterity + 3 Willpower + 2 Intelligence + 1 New Skill Slot opened! New Species Trait Available! Alert! Unique Trait Evolution Available! Alert! Species Evolution Available! Ding!

'Treasure Hunter' Unique experience gain activated 26, 340 Experience gained for ' Treasure Hunter' (B) Congratulations!' Treasure Hunter (B)' is now level 33! Perception + 20 Dexterity + 16 Willpower + 12 Ding!

'Treasure Sense' has reached its second Evolution Evolve Now? Ding! You have acquired (1) new Class! Ding! You have acquired (1) new Title! Bob luxuriated in the feeling of his attributes increasing. Watching each new window popping up with a palpable sense of awe and accomplishment. Because he'd done it. He'd managed to make it to D-rank. Something he expected to be more than game-changing given how well his last evolution had gone.

Especially when you considered that while getting to the 'end' of D-rank might be impossible, the first ten or so levels would likely pass in the blink of an eye. Heck, he was already guaranteed an additional Trait after evolving just with what extra gold he was going to have left over. For a moment he felt himself unsure of what alert to open first, but after realizing that he was likely to dither over all of his evolution options, he decided to start from the bottom up; beginning with his newest Title. Ding!

New Title Earned! Title: Relic Hunter Rank: C The artifacts left behind by the Cursed Ancestors can be both strange and potent. Crafted by magical languages now dead and Paths forgotten with the Lost Gods. For those with the nose to find them however, they can also be immensely profitable.

Feat: Doubles the effective range of 'Detection' Path Skill when in regards to items enchanted by the Cursed Ancestors Requirements Met: Acquisition of (2) artifacts of 'C' rank or higher, Possession of a 'Detection' Path Class Skill. Equip Title? Yes /No Had Bob eyebrows, they would have been slowly raising as he read over his new Title's description. Both due to the potentially useful ability it provided, and the Title's very intriguing flavor text.

Him having too close a connection with a potential 'lost god' to not be at least slightly interested in seeing one mentioned. Still, the information given wasn't exactly vast enough to ponder over, and with him shortly about to evolve there wasn't much point in swapping one Title out for another. Him not lingering much longer before closing the message and turning to the next system alert; curious to see what Class he'd managed to open up with his latest endeavor. Ding! New Class!

Class: Magical Contractor Rank: D A Class designed to weave magic into ink and paper, to bind sapient minds to agreed ends. A magical contractor may not be useful on the battlefield, but you might need to consult one if you want all agreed parties to actually show up to the fight… Class Focus: Geas Path Magic Attributes: Intelligence, Willpower, Perception Requirements met: Intelligence: 50, Willpower: 50, interaction with a 'Geas Path' Artifact.

He frowned slightly as he finished reading his newest Class's description, feeling a bit put out by its low ranking. As well as confused. Bob not able to understand how such a potentially powerful Class could get stuck at 'D' rank.

Him briefly thinking about how being able to 'magically' hold someone to a contract would have improved his previous life; a small slideshow running through his head as he imagined 'binding' some of his more slippery clients to their agreements without the need for courts and settlement conferences. A slideshow which, apparently, he wasn't alone in viewing. The horribly familiar sensation of being observed by a greater being slowly beginning to once again fill his wooden body… Alert!

Class-related Experiences detected which have advanced the Systems own!

(Condition Precedent) archived (Cost-plus-fixed-fee) archived (Force Majeure) archived (Unilateral power/Liability waivers) archived (Indemnification) archived (Limitation of Liability) archived (Compliance) archived (Dispute Resolution) archived (Prohibition on Review) archived (Non-Competes) archived (Automatic Renewal) archived (Incorporation by Reference) archived (Novation) archived (Void ab Initio) archived (Intellectual Property) archived (Market Making) archived (Proprietary Trading) archived…

1, 293 additional advancements to Class ' Magical Contractor (D)' made. Ding! Requirements for (S) rank Class achieved! Ding! New Class Acquired! Class: Fell Contractor Rank: S Agreements without honor. Cost without consideration. Corrupt thought now bound by magical means. With a Fell Contractor, signing on the dotted line means risking your very soul…

Class Focus: Geas/Law Path Magic Attributes: Intelligence, Willpower, Perception Requirements met: Advanced the System's knowledge on the nature of 'Contracts' and 'Fiduciary Agreements' Bob struggled for thought as the system ran rampant through his mind; barely able to comprehend the content of the golden window flashing in front of his eye as a superior intelligence searched through every nook and cranny of his memories seeking further 'enrichment'.

Still, as the assault lessened and the words in front of him slowly seeped into his freshly wounded psyche, he was left thinking just one thing.

'Oh, come on… That's just rude.'