System Change

The results of Derek’s experiment with the monster Alex brought to him were not pretty. However, they did confirm something that they had been guessing. When Derek touched the bird’s talon with the flame, the flame instantly disappeared into the beast. It was almost like it was sucked in.

Just as Derek’s Absolute Nullify skill sought out and pulled mana-based attacks to it, the flame seemed to be drawn to mana. Based on the reactions from the monster and from the runes, if Derek let the flame out of his control—which wasn’t hard to do since he was still working on his control—it followed mana paths.

For the runes, the flame followed the carved pattern that was inlaid with mana, and for the monster, it seemed to follow its mana channels. It was similar to what happened to a fuse when lit on fire—the fire moved up the fuse until it reached its destination. Once the destination was reached, something usually exploded.

So far, however, with the runes, nothing had exploded. They crumbled or turned to ash. As for the monster, it was entirely sapped of its mana and soon dried up. The more mana the flame consumed, the stronger the flame became. Luckily, even with his limited control, Derek could still will the flame to go out. Unfortunately for the monster that Alex had brought him, by the time he thought about putting the flame out, it was too late, and the bird was dead.

”If I had to venture a guess,” Alex said as he examined the monster closely. ”It seems that your new aspected void flame seeks out mana and devours it, but if there is no mana to satiate it, it moves on to other things. It quickly stripped this beast of its mana, then began draining its stamina and vitality.” He picked the monster up and flipped it over. ”It’s like... a husk or jerky now.”

”That makes sense,” Derek said. ”Especially since the void itself already attacks vital areas while ignoring defenses. It looks like it still does that, but it has a taste for mana before anything else. Would you consider this an attack? Or maybe more of a debuff?”

”I do not know,” Alex said with a sigh. ”This broadbeak doesn’t exactly have a lot of mana to begin with. It also wasn’t a very high level compared to you and your abilities. We would have to see how your new flame reacts to something that can actually put up a fight and not something bred specifically for food. But based on what I’ve seen—even with that tiny fingertip-sized flame—I would consider it a very scary skill to have to go up against, and I am very glad that I didn’t reach out and touch it earlier. The last thing I would want is to end up looking like Jace when his Battlelust is filled, yet having none of the benefits.”

Derek couldn’t help but chuckle. He glanced at the broadbeak, then back at Alex and nodded. ”Yeah, if it makes that chicken look like that after such a short time, then skin and bone and ghoul-like doesn’t seem far-fetched as a final outcome once it devours all of someone’s mana. I just wonder how much mana it burns and how quickly. Like, will certain mages have a high enough mana regeneration that it will be enough to combat it? Or will it grow stronger and stronger the more mana it consumes until it overwhelms even that mage? Will there be a way to defend against it?”

”Those are all very good questions,” Alex said. ”And all questions that I do not believe you will have any answers to for a very long time.”

”That... is true,” Derek said with a sigh. He couldn’t exactly just go around testing his new draconic void flame out when he had to be so careful with his void-based skills. However, he would hopefully be seeing Dave again soon, and the elf would surely have an idea or be able to help him with his training. Derek was still pretty sure Dave had originally planned for Derek to upgrade his Channel Void skill like this, anyway. ”I can still test it out on runes, though. If nothing else, trying to keep it from destroying low-class runes so quickly will help with my control and hopefully the skill’s progression.”

”Yes,” Alex replied with a nod. ”I was thinking the same thing. You may not be able to use it on other users or even real monsters currently, but you can at least practice.” Finally, Alex stood and sent the dead beast into his storage bracelet. ”I’ll dispose of this,” he said with a yawn as he stretched. ”But I think I’m going to call it a night. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since I was sent to that system-forsaken planet.”

”Sounds good,” Derek replied with a nod. ”Go get some rest. I’ll probably do the same soon.”

With one final nod to Derek, Alex placed his hand at the side of the door frame, and the door soon opened. ”Goodnight,” the young man said as he left Derek alone in his room. The door soon closed behind him.

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Derek got up and made sure that everything was still the same as it had been security-wise, then sat back on the bed and brought out another poorly crafted lamp from his storage. He figured that if he could get enough control over the flame to not completely wreck such an object, then better quality or higher-level runes would be a piece of cake.

He spent the next couple of hours doing just that until he ran out of all but two lamps. He decided to keep them just in case he needed a light somewhere down the line. Finally, he thought back to everything Alex had told him about the security of his room and figured that Time Prison wouldn’t draw any attention at all since it technically wasn’t even a void skill.

Dave didn’t seem to think it was a skill he needed to avoid using, or he would have warned him about it. So, with all that in mind, Derek reached out and pulled a very small bit of space apart, and the door to his Time Prison appeared. He’d only uncovered enough space for it to be the size of his head, but that was all he needed at the moment.

He opened the tiny door that appeared—which was actually quite comical. It was one thing seeing a massive door that could accommodate the size of a wyvern, but seeing one that a basketball couldn’t even get through gave him an odd feeling.

Derek didn’t have long to think about it as soon, a face popped into view that actually gave him a bit of a jump scare. ”Dammit, Marrick!” he half-shouted. ”You almost gave me a heart attack. Say something before you appear looking like an old hobgoblin.”

”I have grown quite fond of this look—especially since the evolution gave me my hair back,” Marrick said, deadpan. ”Have we made it to Origin City already? Or are you just checking in? Is everything okay on the outside? It astounds me how little time has passed since I last saw you. How long has it been?”

”Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Derek held up his hands. ”Slow down. One question at a time.” He shook his head, then answered, ”No, we’re not at Origin City. We’re at Alex’s family residence. Yes, I was just checking in to make sure everything was going well inside. I’m in a room with good privacy, so I figure it’s safe enough for a quick chat. And, no, it hasn’t been very long since we teleported.”

Derek then went on to explain to Marrick everything that had happened since they arrived. In the end, Marrick nodded and said, ”I see... Perhaps I would like to meet this Tanya at some point. I have found that I enjoy helping the young ones who have a good work ethic.”

”That’s up to you,” Derek said with a shrug. ”Do you all need anything?”

Marrick looked over his shoulder, then shook his head. ”We are fine. Like I said, barely any time has passed at all. It may even be best if you change it a little closer to the time outside so we can get a little more rest. We may not be able to do much in here, but sleep is still sleep, and though I do not know about the others—especially those such as Stella and Malorie, as they have been cooped up in here the whole time—I could use a little mental relief.”

”I can do that,” Derek said. ”Tell everyone whatever you want about what I told you. It shouldn’t be long now.”

”Oh, and Derek,” Marrick said.

”Yeah?”

”It seems that Klaus is either not inside your space or has found a way to keep his skill active while inside,” Marrick said. ”But I believe he chose to stay back on that planet. Or... he may have even teleported there with you.”

”I doubt it is the latter,” Derek said. ”Not with the Ascendants and other high-level people around. I wouldn’t be shocked to find out that he stayed on that planet with Jace, though. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to go to Origin City with us, and he already got what he wanted by being brought to a new system. And from everything we know about him, the odds of him dying there are slim to none.”

”That is true,” Marrick replied. ”I believe the same. With this door open—albeit small—it has given me access to my skills back for a short time, and I cannot sense him, even though I could when he would disappear back on that planet. So, it is safe to assume that he stayed behind.”

”I’m not too worried about him,” Derek said. ”He’s not exactly a great guy, but he seemed genuine enough with his word. It may even be a good thing that Jace has some company.”

”Perhaps,” Marrick said.

”Anything else?” Derek asked.

”Nothing as of this moment,” Marrick replied.

”Good,” Derek said. ”I’ll try to check in every night if I can. Hopefully, it will only have to be once or twice before that hall master helps us get to Origin City.” With that, Marrick backed away, and Derek closed the small door to his Time Prison, then moved the space back together.

He stored his Starfury boots, then fell back onto the bed. As he stared at the ceiling, he muttered, ”I wonder what Klaus is thinking.” However, he didn’t let his mind wander any more than that. It wasn’t his problem. He shrugged. ”Oh well, he’s older than Marrick is. He knows what he’s doing. I’m sure he’ll be fine, and if not, that’s not my problem.”

With those thoughts out of his mind and his new thoughts focusing on his new skill progression and Origin City, Derek closed his eyes. Marrick was right about something. No matter who you were or where you were, mental strain seemed to always be a problem, and the only surefire way that Derek had found to get proper relief from it was sleep. Meditation slowed it and helped a lot, but nothing worked like a good night’s sleep. Finally, Derek closed his eyes and drifted off.

Once again, a loud beeping noise interrupted Derek’s slumber. His eyes opened as the beeping continued. Derek sat up and stretched and yawned. How long was I out this time? He wondered, but shrugged and didn’t bother looking. He summoned his Starfury Boots onto his feet along with his jeans and t-shirt, then walked over to the door.

He stopped the beeping noise, then placed his hand on the frame and opened the door. Sure enough, Alex was standing there. However, there was a deep frown etched into the young man’s face.

”What is it?” Derek asked.

”That...” Alex sighed. ”It seems that we may have a bit of a problem. We have moved from Protocol 2 to Protocol 3.”