"What the hell happened to you?" Matt asked, looking through the large stone doors Lue had brought them to, the group staring at Lewis on the other side as he brought together the different pieces of the spider's broken mana core.
"A dungeon monster spawned out of nowhere and jabbed me, so I returned the favor," Lewis replied, walking over to them with only a small limp, his condition far better than he would have expected from someone with a hole in their leg, but he thanked his luck that the creature's sharp-pointed legs were fairly narrow and only inflicted a wound the size of a finger, which was rapidly sealing.
"More importantly, this thing was level 15, and I got a ton of experience from it, almost enough to get me another level. Not to mention it had this for its eye." He added, holding up the ruby spell stone.
"So that's where these green bastards got them from. I knew there was no way they made them themselves." Matt answered excitedly, waving the goblin mage's staff around with the identical spell stone embedded at its tip.
Smiling, Lewis recalled the system message regarding the dungeon and wondered how much these fire spell stones were worth in TP. The only issue was that he had no idea how to actually pawn them off since the message had never explained how exactly he was supposed to.
"Does that magical flamethrower still work then? Or was it a one-time use?" He asked the young mage.
"Nah, I can still use it; I can store a bunch of fire mana inside the thing for whenever I want to unleash it," Matt replied, confirming his theory.
"Alright, then I want to try selling this to the system shop," Lewis said, walking out the large stone doors to stand beside the others.
As he stepped past the threshold, he turned to Patch and the others.
"I'm guessing you guys are still low in levels since I took a lot of the credits from the goblin extermination, so we should probably try hunting in the dungeon to level us all up." He explained.
Patch nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything, Lewis continued.
"The thing that jumped me was a stone spider that appeared out of the ground. It could shoot fire from the spell stone on its head and used its sharp stone legs to stab at me, but I think we could deal with them easily enough as a group."
Patched looked like he wanted to say something, but closed his mouth after processing his words. Lewis had figured out that the former commander was a big fan of gathering as much intel as he could before forming a decision, so he told the man everything he knew straight away.
"But before we go in together, I want to see if I can get the system shop to buy this spell stone. The system said anything we acquire in the dungeon could be sold for TP, and I've been meaning to visit the shop again now that I've collected a fair amount."
Lewis sat down nearby and closed his eyes, entrusting the others to take care of his body while he was defenseless, and focused on that door tethered to the back of his mind. Just like before, he felt his consciousness drift and stretch as if being pulled into a dream before the familiar world of the system shop appeared, the vivid galaxies swirling above as he stood on the rippling black floor that reflected the countless dots of light from above.
When the system shop message appeared asking him which option he wanted to choose, he didn't hesitate to summon the system guide again, wanting to ask it some questions.
A small whirlwind of golden particles unveiled the arrival of the system guide, his flowing white robe emitting a faint, radiant light that reflected on the rippling ground underfoot. The man smiles as he observes Lewis, giving him a small nod of greeting.
"It seems you have found yourself a dungeon, and on the first floor at that. Impressive." The man said, taking Lewis by surprise.
"I assume you wish to sell this F-rank spell stone, along with the broken mana core?" He added, pointing at the ruby Lewis had clutched in one hand without even realizing, the pieces of the mana core having somehow appeared on the ground next to him.
"Ah, yeah, please." He stammered, unsure how the stone was here with him when he felt like this was some sort of dream space. After all, his body was still sitting outside the spiral mine's dungeon. A moment after, the items disappeared; without so much as a puff of air, the ruby simply blinked out of existence from one moment to the next, leaving his hand to curl into a fist from the sudden loss of pressure.
F-rank fire breath spell stone sold: 500 TP
F-rank mana core (damaged) sold: 10 TP
Available TP: 1010
The huge number of TP he got from the spell stone shocked him, instantly doubling all the points he had gained from killing those goblins. With this, he was infinitely more enthusiastic about exploring that dungeon; the chance to gain such massive boosts to his TP was incomparably more valuable than farming mobs for points.
"Ok, great. I want to spend some of my points on information about what the hell is up with me. I picked a mage class, but the system gave me anti-mana and skills that seemed to somehow work off my spirit, which I also want clarification about." Lewis, said some of the anger from being left completely in the dark returned as he faced down the system guide.
"I'm afraid you don't have enough TP to know the full truth, but there are indeed things that are different with you and your path, as you have already concluded." The guide answered, giving Lewis an apologetic smile.
Lewis's jaw tightened at the guide's words. He had been patiently waiting, gathering more TP to get answers, but even after earning over a thousand points, the guide was saying he still wasn't allowed to know what had happened to himself. But before he could explode at the man, the system guide spoke up, seeming to sense Lewis's agitation.
"The only thing I can tell you about your situation is that you are indeed an anomaly, and not through any system design. Your skills and abilities are reflective of this anomaly and made you unable to harness the power of standard mana. This should have limited you to the singular ability of your anti-mana, as you call it, but as a side effect of your unorthodox circumstances, you have also managed to access the power of your spirit, since mana had yet to infuse you, among other reasons."
Lewis was stunned by the revelation. He had never once thought that his anti-mana was anything more than the system screwing with him, but to find out that it was all some random anomaly, like being born a twin or with some innate abnormality, was honestly anticlimactic. Still, despite being told what he had long feared, that he could never use mana, he was hopeful at the mention of spirit power.
"What even is a spirit? Is it like my soul?" Lewis asked, jumping on that thread, as it was the only path that promised a hope for some sort of magical equivalent.
"The soul and spirit are two very different things indeed, yet both share various similarities. For one, the soul is something that is usually far out of reach for even the strongest of beings. Individuals with the power to interact with souls, like reapers and necromancers, can only ever comprehend a fraction of the true soul. No, the soul is not something that can easily be discussed or understood. The spirit, on the other hand, is far less grandiose but hides an equally endless potential."
"Despite how much I wish to give you an in-depth lecture about it and the reasons why your own spirit is so promising, I can only divulge a certain amount of basic information, and only because you have gathered significant TP at such an early stage. Instead, I will recommend you purchase this specific cultivation manual, which is the only method that will guide you through the first steps of understanding and improving your spirit. The manual will explain far more about your situation than I am able to, and it contains information on how to make up for your lack of mana in a way you are perfectly able to take advantage of. It will require 1000 points, but I guarantee you will find the information it contains to be of great value. Not that you really have that much choice since most other paths and manuals in the system shop will be incompatible with you." The guide explained as a strange blue diamond-shaped crystal the size of his thumb, materialized before him.
[Scarlet River Clan Spirit Cultivation Manual—Restricted
A comprehensive guide instructing on the power and utility of the spirit and the means to cultivate it through the path of the scarlet river technique.]
He frowned at the small crystal, the item supposedly being a sort of manual by some sort of clan that reminded him a lot of eastern cultivation stories.
"What is this? How do I even use it?" Lewis asked the system guide.
The man smiled kindly before waving his hand, a small golden band wrapping around the crystal and forming a simple pendant.
"Think of it as a highly compressed book. All you need to do is hold it while willing yourself to access its contents, similar to how you arrived here, and it will guide you on the path of a spirit cultivator. Don't worry, although many mana constructs and devices will be inaccessible to you, due to your unique energy, this manual is provided by the system itself, so nothing you personally purchase will be incompatible with you; in fact, this manual is bound to you and will simply appear as a pretty rock to anyone else. Oh, but do keep in mind that that won't necessarily hold true for the purchases of others, nor will all system-purchased items from your fellow peers be usable by you, often requiring an infusion of mana, no matter how small, to control and activate. So, do you wish to purchase this cultivation manual?"
Lewis didn't think on it long as he accepted, the system not even requiring him to speak it aloud as it seemed to read his approval, a confirmation message appearing, which he approved, then the pendant floated around his neck and settled onto his skin.
"I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing what you do next." The system guide added as he was turning into a swirl of golden particles and disappearing, Lewis felt himself get pulled back into his real body moments later.
His eyes snapping open, he saw the others around him all snap to attention, Lewis's hand reaching for his neck as he grasped the new necklace, its blue diamond crystal resting against his chest.
"So, how did it go?" Matt asked, the others seeming to second his question with their expectant gazes.
"Well, I got a new necklace that's also apparently some sort of spirit cultivation manual. Cost me all the TP I had gained, though." He replied, looking down at the necklace before storing it back under his clothes and getting up.
"But more importantly, that spell stone I got, I sold it for 500 TP in the system shop."
All of them seemed to jump at his statement, as if they had been physically shocked. Jonny even whistled at the amount, all their eyes getting a glint of hunger as they faced the open stone doors marking the entrance to the dungeon.
"Yeah, I know. If it wasn't enticing before, then it definitely is now. We should all try to level up to at least level ten before going back. At least, that's my plan; I'm only a little under three levels short." Lewis said, the others joined as they all stepped into the dungeon with weapons ready.
"I like the sound of that. You took the credit for those goblin kills, not that I can argue against it; I would have been sliced up by the little fuckers. But hitting things really hard is my kind of fight. Speaking of which, give me a second." Patch said, suddenly stopping right inside the dungeon and closing his eyes.
They all looked at each other as the former commander stood completely motionless for about five seconds, only illuminated by the soft glow of the large mana pillars, until his eyes suddenly snapped open, and a large sledgehammer appeared in his hands.
Lewis was surprised, but also impressed that the man would buy such a weapon instead of conserving his TP. Then again, he didn't seem to have any specific reason not to spend them, unlike Lewis, who had when he wanted more information on what was happening to him. He technically did get some answers just now, but he hardly felt satisfied with being told he was just weird and moving on. He felt like there was something else going on, and he couldn't shake the feeling that it was something important he just couldn't quite remember. But he at least now had a lead to start with in the form of the spirit cultivation manual that he intended to look into the moment he got the chance.
"If we're going to be hitting stone creatures, then I figure a blunt weapon would be far more effective. It only cost me 10 TP, too." Patched said happily.
Jonny looked thoughtfully at the large hammer before he, too, closed his eyes and became completely motionless for a few seconds. Soon enough, a slightly bigger sledgehammer appeared in his hands, and he grinned at Patch.
"I don't know why you took the cheapest one. This hammer has far better shock absorption capabilities and greater durability." Jonny said smugly.
"Yeah, but it also costs twice as much. And spending more points on something you might not want to constantly carry around means you'll have to trash it the moment we're not up against stone creatures, so it will end up being a waste of points." Patch retorted, ever the strategist.
Lewis smiled at the good-hearted banter, noticing Lue wielding two obsidian daggers while Matt clutched the goblin mage's wooden staff. It seemed neither of them wanted to spend their TP since their current weapons were already pretty good. But right as he was about to rally them forward, he suddenly remembered his free points from reaching level 6 and immediately assigned one to intelligence and two to willpower. After all, he would need better control over his anti-mana to target the stone spiders' mana cores.
"Alright, gang, let's go hunt us some creepy crawlies!" Matt said excitedly, beating Lewis to it as he waved his staff around with a huge smile plastered on his face.