Ebony's Fable

It took them more than 2 days of exploring to find the way down to the 3rd floor which was familiar mountainous terrain. They reached places that were wide, places that were narrow, dead ends and loops in the cavernous 4th floor.

From there it didn’t even take till nightfall when they reached the black screen which was the entrance and exit of Ordina with their newfound speed compared to when they entered.

There were 3 guards stationed at the black screen at all times. 2 beside where they entered and exited, one on each side. While the last one was on the other side which they didn’t let anyone enter from. Apparently, that was the other exit that is commonly accessed through the last floor of a dungeon. They didn’t really need to guard it since entry was only possible from one side but anyone who exited through the other side is easily confirmed to have completed the dungeon run.

Ebony didn’t take very long to find where they appeared from on the 3rd floor with his Mental Map since they explored the floor pretty thoroughly. Making their way to the 1st floor was simply a matter of how fast they traversed.

He didn’t encounter Top and his party but it was not surprising with the size of the dungeon.

Counting back, he had spent about 25 days inside Ordina. Almost a month. They walked out to feel the night breeze, it was cooling. The area changed quite a bit. It was brightened by tall lamps like the ones in the city, filled with bright phos. It was like a small camp here with quite some tents around. There were even a few buildings both in progress and completed.

The current buildings were mostly the workforce dormitories and also offices of the people working 28/7 to watch the dungeon entrance. The tents were likely parties who were going to go in but found it late and were resting before they went in. Hector asked one of the guards for the exact time and it was only around the 20th hour. They could easily make it back in time before Plainston closed their gates at the 26th hour. All of them wanted an actual bed to sleep on and a relaxing bath to wash themselves with so they hurried back.

Ebony watched as Scarlet and Hector’s breath misted up. The surrounding temperature dropped quite a bit. He also noticed the warmer and thicker clothes that people right outside the dungeon were wearing.

“It’s so damn cold!” Hector shivered.

Seeing them move so fast, the guards who were all Master Warriors now reminded them of the city’s main and side road speed limits. It was the same for most cities of the Empire and towns had them too but lower. Main roads were wide, there were lanes for both directions and a distance away from any buildings or roadside stalls. Different lanes had different speed limits. The closer to the centre of the lane the higher the speed limit.

The fastest they could go was movement equivalent to 200 Agility or the wind pressure and shockwaves would destroy or damage public property. Those who had skills to decrease the effect of that could move faster as long as the destruction caused was no higher than what a normal person with 200 Agility can do. Side roads were half of that. It was dangerous for anyone slow or low level to be on the roads so traffic laws have been put in place and getting more and more strict over the years.

Plainston changed quite a bit. Many new buildings were present. The inn he stayed in probably expanded once more in the time he was gone. Still, most rooms were taken only leaving the best ones which were more expensive. It was not much for any of them. Ebony took a pretty long bath, entering his new room which was larger and the bed seemed better. He had already retrieved his loot from Hector and left it on the ground. The wooden floor sure was resilient.

Scarlet had brought him dinner in another half an hour even though he never asked for it. She smelled like a sweet fruit as usual. Her mood was a good one. Ebony should’ve been happy about getting her food but he wasn’t. Weird.

He didn’t forget to borrow Blues from Hector. He had more empty ones than Ebony expected, Hector started to feel bad and just gave Ebony 8 of his last empty ones. Ebony did fill up a few for him, he insisted Ebony take them saying it was worthless empty anyway. Even forcing him to take 3 filled ones.

A good night’s sleep and some magic experimentation later. He just drank with Hector in the inn itself, Scarlet was present but didn’t drink. They were too lazy to go to a bar.

Instead of talking about the usual skill, magic, fighting and general stories and knowledge they just drank and talked about their future, aspirations and whatnot. Ebony already learnt alot from them, too bad little was known about mana beings.

Hector wanted to be the strongest. As simple as that.

Scarlet wanted to get stronger quickly and look for her parents that sent her something right before they couldn’t be contacted anymore. She didn’t say much about that. Maybe she would share more when they got closer.

Ebony did love fighting and he also wanted to get stronger so that he wasn’t helpless in any situation but people had a long life here. He didn’t want to live a life that was just fighting, it wasn’t so much a life. He enjoyed many things. Travelling, exploring and seeing the sights was one, eating good food was another.

That was why he wanted to pick up hobbies like crafting for example. Going to Arcta for a visit was also seeing if Roya was willing to teach him her craft. Well, he actually really wanted to find Gen again but that was for combat and magic training.

Hector happily gulped 2 or 3 drinks down before saying his energetic farewells and running off.

“Prepare your asses to be whooped, see ya!”

The table didn’t exactly turn silent due to some of the diners chatting as well.

“What do you want to do after you find your parents? I mean what is it that you really want?”

“...Search for the most delicious ingredients the world has. Eat every delicacy there is and make them better. I also want to slay a ******* and of course, taste it and make dishes out of it.” Scarlet exposed her desires for the first time.

“What’s a *******?” Ebony asked about the word he had never heard of.

“It’s like a giant flying lizard. A myth. Creatures of absolute power that are said to be able to swallow gods whole or play around with them to death but Elcra doesn’t have any. It’s too weak to withstand their existence or stay complete in their presence.

‘Giant flying lizard. Creatures of absolute power. Dragon, no doubt.’ Ebony almost thought there were no dragons. How could that be? Hunting and eating one sounded phenomenal. He wanted to make that happen too.

‘Ting’ ‘Generic Skill Elcrian level up 7 - 8’

‘Coincidence or another damn flex of the mighty?’

“I would like to taste them too… our goals don’t conflict, do you want to… Maybe travel across the oceans, lands and skies together in future. We can fight dragons together too.” Ebony liked Scarlet. He knew that for some time already, he just didn’t know how to get about these feelings. He wasn’t being overconfident or egotistical but he felt that she liked him too. At least he was sure she treated him differently and that she didn’t hate him. Ebony hoped that was the case.

“...Mhmm.” She nodded and kept her eyes looking onto the table.

“Let’s ascend together. See you.” Scarlet pushed off too fast for him to reply, nearby tables were flipped over from the wind pressure. One unlucky diner screamed and made complaints, Ebony paid for his meal as an apology.

Ebony thought Scarlet was referring to ascending the dungeon or maybe she was referring to the ‘skies’ that Ebony was talking about. Whatever it was he couldn’t hide the hint of a smile he had. It was stiffer than a board.

❅❅❅

“Boo!”

“...Grandma.”

“You’re no fun. How was it, did you have fun? Are you alright?”

“Yes, I had fun. I’m okay, only a small injury.”

“Oh, willing to admit you had fun? Maybe you grew a little in such a short time. You were saved by the blue haired boy, twice over. Well, getting hit by the petrification mage was minor but the mana storm would likely not have occurred if it wasn’t for that connection he built.”

“...Yes. What connection?”

“Bah, he probably doesn’t know either. It was unrelated and neither saw the other. It was pretty interesting, both the petrification mage and dungeon failed to get it. You admit that he saved you? Answer me my cute girl, do you like that boy?”

“...He took advantage of me.”

“???”

“He proposed to me. Took my hand.”

“...”

“Then he saw my…behind.”

“...”

“And he held my underwear out in front of me.”

“Hoh? This boy sure has some guts, seems like this old lady needs to teach the young some manners.”

“I…uh..uhmm. Proposed to ascend to Godhood together.”

“My little girl…”

“Ye..yes?”

“You like that boy.”

“...Yes.”

“...To think you grew up so fast. But no. This old lady will not allow it.”

“I didn’t ask for your permission.”

“Waah, your granny’s heart is hurt from your words. You really grew up fast didn’t you. Alright, come with me! I think you’re ready for what your parents took the risk to get for you.”

“I am ready. I can’t fall back, I will beat him up next time.”

“Beat him up? That’s my girl!”

❅❅❅

Left alone, Ebony left for the Quest Hall. Traded in most of his mana ores as he needed some to get stuff. While there was a limit to how much Greens could be traded in for Blues, trading Blue for Blue was possible. Honestly, the tax system and rate was ridiculous. 2 filled Blues are traded in for 3 empty ones currently. It was no wonder freelancers work and complete requests instead of just living on their own mana regeneration.

Ebony had 2 filled blues with dozens of Greens. 11 empty Blues and hundreds of Greens. He went to Z&Z to sell off whatever material he picked up like the earthen-topaz. There was no request or posts for earthen-topaz, maybe no one knew the dungeon produced it. He wanted out of the dungeon so badly he didn’t collect the spiderwebs that he wanted to check out.

He bought the best callstone they had in stock, it was still Uncommon rarity but can reach 90,000 to 95,000km. Mana consumption was the same at 5MP/km/s. There were some that were more mana efficient, some that had more range, and he obviously went for range. He wanted to be able to contact Scarlet, or even Hector to ask him stuff. With how large the continent of Elva was, 90,000km was a reasonable distance. It might have been excessive on Earth with Earth’s diameter being only about 12,700km or a circumference of about 40,000km.

Well, he had to stock up on Blues or higher rarity mana ores if he really wanted to make a call or connection from 90,000km it would take 450,000 mana for a single second. Too damn expensive. If he thought about it this way, the mana consumption of Quest Halls that had to connect to many other cities use up a heck ton of mana. It would be costly even if they had more mana-efficient technology. Ebony was definitely getting better stuff once he got away from this undeveloped place.

He never thought about it the other way. Other people would only be able to live frugally if they only depended on their base mana regeneration. Working, completing requests, making and selling stuff still earned more mana.

They had services to move contacts from one callstone to another. Simply put both callstones onto one of the slates they have that could transfer or copy the connection over. It was a cheap service, he had it copied over. They could also cut or remove a connection, to which Tuffock's was removed. Hector had told him how it could lead to him. He didn't notice how Ryley's connection was gone without him removing it.

Ebony found a random but similar long sleeve shirt, pants and a new pair of boots to buy. He was walking around in worn and torn clothes. His underwear and socks were still serving well. Z&Z really was a department store that sold everything. He found that they even have a book section. Nothing awesome but a collection of simple books from fictional stories to general history to cookbooks.

He bought a cookbook labelled ‘Icy Treats’ and a relatively newer book dated a few years back that was labelled ‘Torox against Martial Salamander.’. Torox was apparently a level 300 Master fighter that used poison in close combat. It was a series and there were quite a number of them, small thin books that described his battle and the different monsters’ unique abilities, habits, fighting styles, even what they ate and other stuff like whether their natural disposition was aggressive or not. He was actually buying it as a gift for Clovis but found himself interested in the book himself.

‘This Torox guy is pretty insightful.’ He was pretty impressed with the amount of detail and effort Torox had put into researching monsters that Ebony had not heard of. These books weren’t all that expensive but it still cost Greens and he would come back for more when he had time and mana ores.

There were still no spatially expanded bags or anything like that. Even if he ordered it it may take many months to arrive and would only be those that were like half as large as it looks or twice. Ebony couldn’t afford it anyway as the cheapest they could get delivered to this countryside wasn't even calculated in Blues. They would also be very low quality.

He also restocked a few types of dried meat, fruit flavoured biscuits and souper bread. Enough for 2 weeks even if he ate like a starving man. He left Z&Z with no one familiar present anyway and walked the streets. He didn’t know what to get Roya and Halvis but recalled the food shortage there so he bought fresh vegetables, fruits and some cuts of meat not found in Hoarfrost Glade. It had been months and he didn’t think Z&Z went to make another trip to trade.

It was weird, they would definitely profit even if they increased their trading frequency more. Perhaps they did, with Plainston growing the people here were stronger and making the trip will be much easier as long as Z&Z also dispatched higher level parties here. Still, it was the thought that counted and more food wouldn’t hurt.

Ebony had already thrown the tattered bag he used during the dungeon and swapped it for another one of his 2 spares. He also bought a coil of thick steel wires. Returning to the inn to get his stuff before leaving for Acrta. Tying up the bottom and top of the black block which was his loot with the thick steel wire. He adjusted it till he could sling it somewhat comfortably and wouldn’t shift around too much.

He was very intrigued with the material. It absorbed the ice mana out of his spells and even a little when he touched it with Icebody Enhancement on to carry it due to its crazy weight. He was pretty sure it got a little heavier than when he first picked it up.

Less than 2 gurs or 10,000km which took an escort party 7 to 8 days to travel was just a short distance to the current Ebony. It might take just 2 to 3 hours if he moved in a straight line and wasn’t slowed down by anything. Like the heavy material he was carrying or any monsters stopping him.

Ebony noticed that even in the day it was noticeably colder. He had checked the date to be the last few days of summer. It was truly the best that he didn’t have to sweat in the heat. His Heat Resistance also helped so that wasn’t a huge issue anymore.

He made his way onto the main road and sped to the main gate, making sure he had everything which wasn’t much. Crossing the plains leisurely with Icebody Enhancement on and the black block lumbering along. Carrying something so heavy made it difficult for Treading Steps and was excellent training. His shoulders were sore before he even reached Bubble Hills.

The weather change was more drastic than he expected. Even the outskirts of Bubble Hills had light mist around the ground level. It slowly rose and thickened as he moved like a phantom, not cutting apart the mist with his movement speed. The entire sky was covered in thick clouds that covered the sun.

Everything was just tougher on Elcra, the ground could take all of his weight without much trouble. It wasn’t even compacted dirt ground or proper roads. Ebony easily moved more than 4 times the speed of sound now, almost 5 but the effects didn’t seem as exaggerated. The speed of sound was hard to say too, with his manipulation he could slow or speed it up. That was just with his Agility, Running, Treading Steps and his Fortification taken into account. He didn’t even attempt to use Chaotic Repulsive Membrane to speed himself up.

Monster population was still very low but it should be increasing slowly since he didn’t even encounter a single person or party. Ordina attracted them like flies.

Ebony had kept a lookout for Obsius, maybe for a chat or something but he didn’t spot her and wasn’t going to go through the trouble of searching the entire hills which would take too long even if he had the speed and stamina. He actually didn't. Bubble Hills stretched across the entire Plains and Hoarfrost Glade, completely separating the two.

Snow. There was a thin layer of snow on some of the last few hills before he reached Hoarfrost Glade. It already took him 5 hours to get here due to the weight he was dragging around and Icebody Enhancement slowing him down significantly. He wasn't moving anywhere close to his top speed.

Looking up at the heavy dim clouds in the sky, bearing over the entirety of his range of vision. It was snowing a little in Hoarfrost Glade. Cold enough for him to notice that it was chilly. Others would start to freeze up already, Ebony had 50% higher base cold resistance compared to other humans from his Frostblaze Physique. Stacking together with Sheer Cold Resistance at Lvl 37 for 92.5% more resistance to cold.

The thickness of snow increased since he was last here but with his 3D Mental Map, it was not impossible for him to find where he was and the general direction of Arcta. The further he went into Hoarfrost Glade the more he understood why Z&Z didn’t come here so often with Journeymen escorts. It was too cold for most races. Constitution did improve elemental resistance but it was only to a very small extent and may even be hard to notice a difference when you had over 100 Constitution stat differences.

The surrounding concentration of ice mana only increased a little, he was sure it was mostly snow mana but he couldn’t confirm. The thing he was lugging on his back was slowly absorbing whatever ice mana landed on it.

Ebony’s feet dug deep into the snow even with his Treading Steps and it took much longer to navigate through the snowing and hazy air.

‘I really would’ve been dead already if it wasn’t summer huh?’ he sure was lucky to have not encountered much difficulties during his time here.

He was currently pondering on other methods of transport. Even with practically unlimited stamina, just running around was honestly bothersome and tiring. One of Ebony’s ‘small’ reasons for wanting to become better harder faster stronger was so that things got easier and more convenient for him. Deep down he wanted to laze around as well, now just wasn’t the time for it. Maybe a mobile car moved by magic, he could make use of the ice bicycle idea he played around with as well. If physically riding wasn’t so good of an idea all he had to do was use Ice Mana Control to move the vehicle.

He was stopped by the really ‘young’ and low level guards of Arcta. Ebony didn’t recognise them but they easily let him in when he said he was visiting the Thoya family. Nothing changed in Arcta. The Frost Elves wore the same clothes and everything completely unbothered by the cold. Maybe even glad that it was no longer so hot. Just like outside the village, it was quiet with a few soft clashes of wood from the playground.

Based on the time, the Thoya family should all be at home.

It seems like he was wrong. There were other people here, they had the typical adventurer or freelancer look with thick furred coats and jackets. Not many of them but some of the previously empty houses were occupied by them.

They were all Master Classed but most of their levels were within the Identifiably range for Ebony. He only saw about 6 people but they were obviously different groups, maybe they were 2 parties with the others elsewhere. One group of 4 walking around the street stalls and the other 2 just looking around.

The most noticeable was the pair. One was the huge wolfman who had much of their wolf features. Standing at at least 2 metres tall, still shorter than quite a number of the adult Frost Elves but much wider. Huge chest with bulging arm muscles and thick thighs full of power. Light grey furry upper body but human faced with wolf ears and thick full beard.

Whoever this man was, he was powerful. Ebony was feeling like the weight on his shoulders increased even more than what he was already carrying. Unlike mana which is absorbed by the myriad bracelet and mana ores, overflowing Vitality doesn’t get syphoned away. He thought it was also due to the Wolf Beastmen's higher base health regeneration. It would be interesting to train under such pressure.

[Master Warrior Lvl ???]

Then there was another one who Ebony couldn’t Identify the level of.

[Great Water Mage Lvl ???]

A relatively young human, surprising for a mage much less one who already evolved. Obviously wearing thick clothing under his blue robes, carrying a resplendent blue staff. It looked way more impressive than whatever Ebony had seen before.

Both parties ignored each other as Ebony walked past them. The water mage was the only one who gave a second glance at him.

“Ebony!” Halvis called out from his croft, it looked like there was more going on and not just snowy ground. The frostsilk was likely growing well. Halvis walked over and gave Ebony a crushing hug.

“Halvis. I’m back.” Ebony returned the hug but with little strength compared to Halvis.

“Good good. Oh my, I see you haven’t been sitting around. Roya is going to be mad.” Halvis released him and checked out the tattered robe he was still wearing.

“It’s okay. The robe the two of you grew and made protected me well.”

Halvis laughed. “You sure know how to talk. Come on in, it must be warm, no, cold out here. Clovis is currently out on an errand so you can surprise him later.”

Nothing changed inside the house either. Halvis led Ebony to the room he had stayed in while he was here to put his things down. He then went to Roya’s workspace to be met with the same hug but less crushing. She was visibly mad at the state of his robe but her anger subsided with Ebony’s sincere words of gratitude.

He silently placed all the fresh food he bought in their appropriate storage. Ebony would hand the books over to Clovis personally. Clovis returned and was a riot of exclamations and questions. It was time for dinner and he talked about his short journey and adventure.

Glorious plums didn’t disappoint and it was worth the trip just for them.

Ebony still couldn’t Identify either Halvis’s or Roya’s levels. From what he understood both of them were extremely young for Frost Elves. Roya was around 176 while Halvis was 181 years old, they were hardly even adults and were the youngest parents in the entire village. In the villagers’ eyes, they were akin to teen parents or even younger.

If he wasn’t wrong, at Master Classed their lifespan was around 875 to 1000 years. They were probably at higher levels than their counterparts in the village due to them having explored out of the small village and all the way to the Capital City, Tidal.

Clovis reached a respectable Lvl 28. Very fast with their standards of measurement, he wasn’t a combat class and didn’t need to hunt to gain experience faster so it was still reasonable. He was still considering whether to get a combat Sub-Class or Profession. Ebony had hoped he chose a Sub-Class for it, it wasn’t exactly very safe and Clovis could at least protect himself better but he didn’t say anything since it was ultimately Clovis’s choice.

Ebony had no problem giving him some tips on self-defence.