Chương 54: Tearing space open for fun

Realistically, there are only two options. Translate intent and companion pocket. Both are of questionable utility. Future phases all indicate a level of cooperation with humans, not animals. Even when I return to earth, it will be along with other humans. Translate intent just seems useless. I could see some situations where it would be useful, but I can't see myself placed in any of those situations. The bonus regeneration from companion pocket, though…

My finger taps against my chin while I stare at both of the options. … I think it's time to take a little risk. With only slight hesitation, I make my choice. [Class skill acquired: Companion Pocket] I'm sure the system won't let me be sealed in an endless inky blackness for the rest of time. Right? The silence makes me start to regret my decision. Brax sits silently, holding the fireball staff in both hands. Given how still he is, I wouldn't be surprised if he were asleep right now.

Speaking of, I've done a lot today, but I'm not feeling sleepy at all. No sluggishness or even brain fog. It only takes a minute for me to blame my increased stats, likely endurance. I should still probably sleep just to be at my best. [Health: 1140(861)] [Mana: 740(488)] Not before healing, of course. One Mind/Two Bodies My mind splits, with one part focused on getting up and eating while the other focuses on funneling mana into healing.

It's really nice not to open my eye to becoming a ravenous animal and having to deal with partial starvation. The amount of food I can eat while healing is amazing, going through three giant sticks of meat. The sensation is strange. I'm consuming several times my stomach's volume, but not feeling full. There's gotta be some supernatural digestion going on here. Sadly, there is no chime during the next few minutes of healing. After I finish, I sigh and speak.

"Kevin, fall asleep for eight hours."

"What was that?" Brax asks. I'm unable to answer as my eye is pulled closed and I drift into sleep's loving embrace. The world snaps back, and I feel amazing. I jump out of bed with a smile and a blue screen in front of my eyes. [4. 13 cycles until next phase]"Another day, another dollar," I say with joy. Brax rustles over in bed, sitting up with his orange hair bent in all directions and a dazed expression. I snort and cover my mouth as I watch him.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" I stifle a giggle.

"Nah." He waves me off.

"I went to bed right after you." After activating One Mind/Two Bodies again, I grab some more meat to chew down while healing. Brax stretches and yawns, walking slowly over to the fountain before washing his face. The sight makes me think of myself. My mornings were the same, even after I entered the dungeon. Waking up dazed, bleary-eyed with a massive cowlick. The time when it stopped was… right after I became a high human. Yet another benefit of evolving.

I try to think of what my next evolution will look like, but I guess I'm not creative enough. It's hard to imagine what comes after a high human. Given that I'm the first human to evolve in a large number of cycles, it's safe to say that Brax doesn't know either.

"Is my morning routine that interesting?" The words bring me back to reality. Brax stares at me with damp hair and an eyebrow raised. Then, I realize I've been staring at him the entire time.

"No, just thinking."

"About what?" He shakes the water out of his hair.

"Well, what goes into the rarity of the class you get when you hit the level requirement for an upgrade?"

"That's easy. The more impressive your actions, the better the class."

"Really?" I ask.

"Is it that simple?"

"Yup." That makes sense. The fight that got me my evolution and class upgrade was against the juvenile troll, which was more than double my level at the time. Which means I need to do something of equal magnitude if I want another amazing evolution. Before I know it, the skill overflows. The remaining wisps of green energy flowing over me slowly dissipate. [Mana: 740(413)] Spare… mana? Whoever heard of such a thing? With a deep breath, I stand and walk to the center of the room.

"Yo, Brax, I'm going to test a new skill."

"Uhhhh, okay? Why are you telling me?" He asks, beating the water out of his hair.

"It may or may not strand me in the area between dimensions and leave you alone in the tutorial." This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. His head jerks up.

"What!?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," I say casually.

"What the h-" Companion Pocket A pulling sensation spreads through my body in an instant, intensifying quickly. Everything goes black for a split second, as if I blinked. Brax teleports, from bowing at the fountain, to right in front of my face. He jumps in alarm, stumbling backwards with a yelp. The instantaneous movement makes me do the same, snapping back. Chime"What the hell!? You teleported! You said you couldn't do that!" I scream.

"Teleported!? What are you talking about!? You just disappeared!" He screams back. Both of us catch our breath while staring at each other.

"Wait, so how did that look to you?" I ask, stepping forward curiously. He fixes his posture and looks at me in annoyance.

"Well, right after you ignored me and activated whatever you did, you disappeared. One moment you were there, then it was like the air ate you."

"Ate… me?" He nods vigorously.

"Yes. The air curved around to eat you, so I came to look and see what happened. Then, the air un-ate you a little while later."

"How long?" He looks up and thinks.

"A few micro-cycles." God, I hate system time. I shake my head.

"Never mind." System, what the hell happened here? The blue screen appears in response. [Error!] Oh no, not this again. [Tamer lost] [Searching…] [Searching…] [Searching…] [Searching…] [Unable to find tamer] [Redepositing companion] [Tamer found!] [Error resolved] What? That confirms that the system isn't sentient. It basically said, 'Well, everything worked out, so I don't need to do anything'. Looking inward, I notice that some of the mana cycling in my body is missing. [Mana: 740(313)] Great. Just great.

A hundred mana for a few seconds of nothing.

"You know, I had a few theories about your status. But seeing a space affinity skill just shattered all of them. There's not a single tier two class that has your combination of skills. I can't even imagine a class that has everything you do." I open my mouth to speak, but he interrupts me.

"Nope! Don't even tell me. I'm fine having absolutely no clue what's going on. All I know is that you are absolutely above tier two." He raises his hands and gives me a look that says he's given up. I stare at him for a few seconds in astonishment. Slowly, a chuckle builds in my throat before leaking out. The chuckle grows into laughter. It grows louder as tears form at the edge of my eye. A giggle comes from Brax's mouth, building up just the same.

Soon, we're both laughing at the crazy situation we've found ourselves in. Tears travel down my cheek, which a feeling inside me says is partly unresolved trauma. After a few minutes, we both calm down. Both of us slowly catch our breath.

"If you're secretly a tier six mimic, then I take back everything rude I've ever said to you." He says while still giggling.

"I'd have to be one screwed-up mimic if I went through all this trouble for an engraving kid," I say, wiping tears out of my eye. He smiles, and I return the gesture. Rising off the ground from my fit of laughter, I walk back to the center of the room.

"I'm going to do it one more time." Brax nods, trying to push seriousness back onto his face. Once I'm calm and focused, I activate the skill again. Companion Pocket Again, my body feels like it's being pulled into itself. A flash of black passes, but Brax doesn't teleport. His hand teleports to his chin, clearly thinking. Chime"Same as last time?" I ask.

"Yup." System? You got anything to say? [Error!] [Tamer lost] [Searching…] [Searching…] [Searching…] [Searching…] [Unable to find tamer] [Redepositing companion] [Tamer found!] [Recurring error detected] [Attempting fix…] [No traditional fixes on record] [Devising a workaround…] […] […] […] Wow, this really brings me back. It was only a few weeks ago, but still.

[Workaround created] [Workaround applied] [Skill mutation] [Companion Pocket > Stasis] [Stasis] [Select a duration to hide between dimensions after anchoring to anything. Regeneration rate of health, stamina, and mana increases between dimensions. The user will not experience the flow of time when in this state. Regeneration rate scales with skill level.] My eye widens as I read the description. Did the system just change a taming skill into a… Actually, I don't know what kind of class this skill would come from.

A space mage, perhaps? Anyway, this is an amazing outcome. Being able to set the duration is amazing and makes it incredibly versatile. Not sure what the anchoring part is about, though. I guess the original skill had the companion anchored to the tamer. Wait, does anchoring mean anything, anything? Does that mean I can throw a rock, then anchor to it just as I throw? I HAVE to try that.

"Well? Anything happen?" Brax asks.

"Yes, yes it did," I say with a smile.

"Everything worked out wonderfully."

"That's good." He walks back to his mattress and picks up the staff again.

"If that's all, I'm going to go back to studying again." Addict. Not that I can blame him. If I had the time to sit around and explore the complexities of mana, I would be doing the same.

"Yeah, that's all. I'll also head out." With one last drink of water, I grab my axe, hoist it over my shoulder, and push the large door open. This door has always been a good gauge of how much stronger I've gotten. When I first arrived in this area, I had to push with both arms and a lot of my legs. But now, it opens with a casual push with one arm, as if I'm opening my front door. Every time it gets easier, a little spike of joy pierces through my heart. No, that's putting it simply.

In reality, it makes me ecstatic. Sunlight scatters over my face as I exit into the cavern. None of the sunbeams have moved an inch since I arrived, which confirms that the sun doesn't move either. It might be an interesting little fact, but it makes me think of how an environment in which things don't cool down at night works. The sun feels just as hot as the one at home. Wouldn't that amount of heat turn the entire cavern into one big oven? But no, it feels like a cool seventy degrees.

Holding my axe, I prepare to pick up speed into my usual leaping, but a thought stops me. With my free hand, I pull out the rock that Brax gave me. The one with the stone pillar spell on it. Looks like I'm not out of the mage game yet. Instead of speeding to the next fight, I focus on the formation inside the rock. It only takes me a few steps to activate One Mind/Two Bodies, doing so because I'm having trouble with walking and giving full effort at the same time.

Mana floods through the engraving, investigating every little channel inside. When a good enough picture is in my mind, I start attempting to create the formation out of my own mana. I push mana to the edge of my skin, but it comes out as mist, dissipating into the air as it usually does. The edges of my lips pull down. How should I- Without warning, my body seizes. The axe clangs to the ground, and I follow, collapsing like a mannequin. Muscles writhe under my skin while my limbs twitch and spasm. Goddammit!

I forgot to nullify pain!