The Cracked Lands were exactly what the name implied: a vast, broken mosaic of earth where the ground had seemingly shattered like a dropped mirror. Fissures of varying sizes split the terrain, leaking wisps of purple haze that smelled of ozone and sulfur.
Silas picked his way across a narrow land bridge, hovering over a chasm that dropped into absolute darkness.
"I hate this," he announced, balancing precariously. "I'm an adventurer, not a mountain goat. Where are the lush forests? The singing birds? The taverns with questionable hygiene standards?"
Elena hopped past him, light as a feather. Her Agility was growing steadily, bolstered by the Void Strider class. "You're the one who wanted to come east. Stop complaining and watch your step. The ground here is unstable."
"Unstable is my middle name," Silas muttered, taking a large step over a crack. "But usually, it refers to my personality, not the terrain."
They had been traveling for a day. The fortress was a distant smudge on the horizon behind them. Ahead, the Spire loomed larger, a jagged needle of black rock piercing the grey sky. It looked impossibly far away, yet it seemed to dominate the entire horizon.
Silas paused, wiping dust from his brow. He pulled up his map—or rather, the mental projection of the area he'd built in his [Mind Palace].
"We're making good time," he said. "But the mana density is getting weird. It's... thicker."
He held out his hand. The air shimmered. Here, in the Cracked Lands, mana wasn't just an invisible force; it was visible, floating like dust motes in a sunbeam.
[Warning: High Mana Saturation.]
[Effect: Skill costs reduced by 10%. Recovery speed increased by 20%.]
"Oh, that's interesting," Silas noted. "My batteries recharge faster here. It's like a spa day for my soul."
Before he could elaborate, the ground rumbled. It wasn't an earthquake. It was a rhythmic thump-thump-thump.
Silas froze. He held up a fist. "Elena. Still."
He scanned the area. The fissures. The cracks. The overhanging rocks.
[Sovereign's Gaze] activated.
The world turned grey. He looked at the shadows within the fissures. They were moving. Not flowing, but pulsing.
Then he saw them.
Spiders. But not the Gloomhunter. These were smaller, about the size of a large dog, and they were translucent. Their bodies were made of shifting, geometric light—crystalline constructs of mana.
[Target: Phase Weaver (Construct)]
Level: 40
Rank: D-Rank (High)
Strength: 30
Agility: 50
Intelligence: 0
Special Ability: Phase Shift (Short-range teleportation).Weakness: Sonic, Anchor.
"Constructs," Silas hissed. "They're made of pure mana. And they can teleport."
"Teleport?" Elena's eyes widened. "Like you?"
"Cruder," Silas said, drawing Requiem of the Void. "But faster. There!"
One of the spiders materialized out of thin air directly above Elena. It didn't make a sound. It dropped, legs splayed, aiming for her neck.
"Move!"
Elena reacted instantly, dissolving into a shadow.
The spider hit the ground and immediately dissolved into light, reappearing three feet to the left, lunging at Silas.
Silas didn't dodge. He swung his sword in a flat arc.
Requiem met the creature's face. The blade passed through, but the resistance was weird—like cutting through water. The spider flickered, its health bar dropping only 10%.
"Physical resistance?" Silas growled. "Of course. They're made of energy."
The spider phased out again, vanishing.
"They're fast," Silas warned, spinning around. "Don't let them surround us. They're trying to flank."
Three more spiders materialized from the fissures, forming a loose circle. Their mandibles clicked, emitting a sound like grinding glass.
"Elena, don't attack their bodies! Attack the space around them!"
"What does that even mean?" she yelled, dodging a lunge from a spider that appeared from her own shadow.
"Watch!"
Silas focused. He didn't aim for the spider. He aimed for the spot where it was going to be.
[Intelligence Check: 50][Prediction Accuracy: 95%]
He lunged forward, stabbing at empty air to his right.
Shing.
The spider materialized right onto the tip of his sword. The Void energy in the blade disrupted its phase matrix.
[Critical Hit!][Phase Disruption.]
The spider shrieked—a static-filled noise—and shattered into shards of mana crystal.
"Hit them during their transition!" Silas shouted. "Or use Void to stop them from moving!"
Elena nodded, her face set in concentration. She stopped running. She stood still, waiting.
A spider charged her, phasing in and out of visibility.
Now.
Just as it leaped, becoming solid for a split second to strike, Elena thrust her Void Dagger forward. The blade didn't just cut; it anchored the shadow the spider cast.
"Gotcha."
The spider tried to phase away, but it was tethered to its own shadow. It flickered violently, stuck between dimensions.
Elena slashed across its eyes. It popped like a bubble.
"Nice!" Silas cheered, parrying another attack. "I taught her everything she knows. Mostly by screaming 'run away' a lot."
Silas was having a harder time. Two spiders were coordinating attacks, alternating their teleports. Left. Right. Above.
He was fast (Agility 44), but they were slightly faster (Agility 50), and there were two of them.
One clipped his shoulder. He felt a jolt of static shock, numbing his arm.
"Ow! No shock therapy!"
He needed a moment to breathe. He needed a reset.
He slammed his sword into the ground.
[Skill: Void Ripple - Modified]
Instead of an expanding shockwave, he inverted it. He created a localized gravity well. A sphere of distortion centered on himself.
The two spiders lunged at him. As they entered the five-foot radius around him, their movement slowed drastically. The gravity was crushing them, weighing down their light bodies.
"You guys are annoying," Silas grunted, straining under the mana cost. "Stop. Moving."
He released the well. The pressure vanished, and the spiders stumbled, disoriented.
Silas capitalized. He stepped in, his sword glowing with violet hunger.
[Void Consumption - Melee]
He slashed the first one, absorbing its mana instantly to refill his reserves. Then he spun and kicked the second one into a fissure.
"Fall!"
The spider tumbled into the darkness, its shriek fading.
Silas stood panting, wiping sweat from his forehead. Four dead spiders, one retreated.
[System Notification]
[Combat Victory.]
[Experience Gained.]
He looked at the loot. Shards of mana crystal lay on the ground.
[Item: Phase Crystal Shard]
[Grade: Uncommon]
[Description: A volatile fragment of crystallized mana. Can be used for enchanting or thrown as a grenade.]
"Finally," Silas huffed, picking one up. "Something that goes boom. Or at least zap."
He tossed it to Elena. "Keep that. Might save your life later."
She caught it, nodding. She looked tired. Using the shadow anchor took a lot of focus for her.
"We need to find shelter before more come," Silas said, looking at the darkening sky. The Spire was glowing faintly in the distance, a beacon in the gloom.
"Look," Elena pointed. Ahead, the land bridge widened into a plateau. On it sat the ruins of an old watchtower. It was crumbling, but it had walls.
"Good enough," Silas agreed. "Let's move."
They hurried to the tower. Inside, it was dry and relatively shielded from the wind. Silas checked for monsters—finding none—and set up a small, smokeless fire using a bit of dried moss and a fire starter kit.
He sat down, leaning against the cold stone wall. He pulled up his status.
Level: 37 Experience: 45% to Level 38.
"Steady," he murmured. "Good pace."
He looked at Elena, who was nibbling on a ration bar.
"You did good today," Silas said. "That shadow anchor trick was smooth."
"I just did what you said," she mumbled, though she looked pleased. "It's getting easier to see them. The shadows, I mean. They talk to me."
Silas's eyes sharpened. "Talk?"
"Not in words," she clarified quickly. "In... feelings. They tell me where to go. Where to hide."
"That's your Class," Silas said softly. "The Void Strider isn't just a rogue, Elena. You're a conduit. It means you're learning to listen to the darkness."
He looked at the fire. "It's a useful tool. But don't let it drown you. Darkness is patient. It can wait forever. You have to be the one who decides when to use it."
"I know," Elena said. She curled up near the fire. "Silas?"
"Yeah?"
"Why the Spire? Why not go somewhere safer? We have gold. We could live comfortably in a border town."
Silas stared into the flames. The violet light reflected in his emerald eyes.
"Because I'm not just trying to survive, Elena," he said, his voice devoid of his usual humor. "I'm trying to rule. And you don't become a Sovereign by hiding in border towns. You become a Sovereign by walking into the scariest place on the map and kicking the door down."
He poked the fire with a stick.
"Plus, I really want to see what's inside that Spire. I bet it's shiny."
Elena rolled her eyes, but she smiled. "Goodnight, Silas."
"Night, Mini-Sovereign. Don't let the Phase Weavers bite. They taste terrible."
Silas took the first watch. As Elena slept, he opened his [Mind Palace]. He began to simulate the fight with the spiders again, running calculations.
If I increase the radius of the Void Ripple by two meters... and decrease the intensity by 15%... I can create a persistent slow field.
He practiced the mana manipulation in his mind, refining the technique. He wasn't just leveling up; he was mastering what he had.
The night passed slowly. The wind howled through the cracks of the tower, sounding like mournful cries. But inside the circle of their small fire, the Sovereign and his Strider were safe.
Tomorrow, they would reach the base of the Spire.
And Silas had a feeling the tutorial was officially over.