Primer for the Apocalypse

Without a variety of enchantments, the swamp zone would have been miserable. I had little doubt that the residents of the floor would have completely ignored the zone if doing so wouldn’t have led to quasi-beast waves.

I’d been surprised the first time I saw one, having believed the dungeon balanced the zones. After asking around, I quickly learned the third floor was one of the least active in that way. Almost all the other floors had semi-regular attacks against the settlements. It made me wonder if the number of non-combatants had anything to do with the trends.

Regardless, I decided to focus my efforts on the swamp zone after leaving the hot spring. Marjorie and the others would probably be ascending soon, but it was fine. I’d catch up with them soon enough.

The swamp very obviously trended toward Water/Poison/Death, though there was also a fair bit of Nature, Fire, and Earth mixed in as well. Most of the creatures were semi-aquatic, meaning attacks from below were highly likely.

There were elevated areas one might traverse without stepping into the muck. However, they were all narrow, making it easy for a fast enough predator to attack without giving whatever was on the surface much room to maneuver.

The trees were similar to those in the forest zone, though true vines were also intermixed with the ribbon-like strips that made up their trunks. A few solid-trunk species were also present, but they were markedly less common than the banyan-esque trees.

[Water Walking] and [Insect Repel] were two enchantments I immediately decided were must-haves within the swamp. The bodies of the mosquitos were larger than both my fists put together. While their size provided a decent target, they moved insanely fast and had ridiculous reflexes.

Since I had neither enchantment on hand, I hastily set up my crafting pod in the center of a hollow tree and got to work. I heard a group pass by as I completed my task, but I didn’t give much thought to their presence. I was still in the low-tier area of the zone, and I didn’t plan to stay in the immediate area once I finished the necessary enchantments.

Thankfully, I had a wide variety of raw materials to work with, most of which I’d acquired on Earth. Because nothing was beyond Tier Three, there was no issue with bringing any of it into the dungeon.

It was a short-term advantage that would only really help on this floor unless I made efforts to increase the tier of the material once I ascended to the next floor. Trying to tier up materials was always hit or miss, though having them tier down was practically assured without mitigation.

Once I had the new enchantments active and equipped, I headed deeper into the zone, having largely forgotten about the group that had passed by my hidden pod nearly an hour earlier.

Because I wanted to draw the attention of the mobs within the zone, I headed forward without stealth. I generally explored with a domain semi-established, requiring only a small flex of will to anchor into reality once an engagement began. Anchoring wasn’t strictly necessary, but Master Kairos and the other disciples had constantly drilled it, so I figured it was a habit worth reinforcing.

That was especially relevant now that I knew people were watching – one of which, I’d recently learned, was from the Epikairos Sect. Master Kairos had reached out and had one of the elders sent to the dungeon town to monitor my progress. It was probably hugely beneficial for whoever he sent, given the much higher mana density on Sira.

Having already fought several creatures in the low-tier area, I felt comfortable pushing myself a bit now that I’d entered an area equal to my progression.

Feeling the urge to progress more quickly than I had been since entering the dungeon, I projected my desire to fight and gain experience as soon as I crossed into the mid-tier area of the zone and deactivated [Invisibility.] I was immediately rewarded with movement within my sphere of perception as creatures were drawn in my direction by my pulse of intent.

Unfortunately, the action largely negated the insect repellent, so I had to quickly change out my [Barrier] for one that zapped anything that got too close with a bolt of Lightning. It was an expensive enchantment to run, but I’d collected a lot of Lightning cores and materials during my exploration of the storm zone.

I also had a Time-based Barrier going, but it was a constant drain since the spell was either on or off. I hadn’t figured out how to make the spell reactive instead of static, though Master Kairos assured me it would eventually be possible.

Lightning and Ice were still two of my favorite magic types to fight with, and they countered the creatures of the swamp zone quite nicely. Since I was standing on a small disk made of Space mana, I didn’t have to worry about the Lightning rebounding or trailing back through the overly damp ground.

That had happened once before, and I’d been pretty careful about not repeating the mistake. I hadn’t thought something like that was possible since Lightning was supposed to stay in the ground once it hit. However, magic interfered with logic often enough that I generally accepted the weirdness with little more than a headshake.

None of the creatures coordinated their attacks or worked together. Each struck individually and without care of the others around it. A field of Slow allowed me to easily keep track of the attacking creatures, and I picked them off quickly as they broke through the layer of ice that I’d coated the murky water with.

The ice wasn’t strong enough to hold my weight or provide any kind of defense against the mid-Tier Three creatures attacking, but the chill slowed the predominantly cold-blooded creatures further, which gave me more time to respond to the mass of aggressive creatures.

After draining the cores powering my weapons about halfway, I shifted to using my personal magic combined with the occasional bout of melee. I’d gotten quite good at shifting my weapon into different forms mid-combat, so I was sure anyone watching was probably getting a bit of a show as I blitzed through the last quarter of attacking mobs.

I limited melee combat to small groups since my mind was not quite up to the chore of truly multi-tasking. It was one of the many things Master Kairos had assured me would come in time as I ascended through the tiers.

I returned to [Invisibility] as I collected the carcasses of my fallen opponents before the dungeon could reclaim them. Staying visible would only encourage the dungeon to send more opponents, and I disliked being ambushed while focused on another task.

Once my task was complete, I let the effect fade and continued forward, drawing the attention of whatever mobs I might naturally encounter. I didn’t project an intent to fight, so I wasn’t unduly targeted by the creatures I sensed nearby.

After nearly another hour of intermittent surges in combat, I heard what sounded like muffled explosions in the distance. Whatever was fighting was just beyond my spatial perception, which added to my curiosity and motivated me to head in that direction.

As my Spatial Sense expanded into the area of conflict, I picked up my pace. It looked like a party had gotten in over their heads, and only two of the four individuals in range were still breathing. The two who were not breathing were also torn into pieces, so I felt pretty confident they were beyond saving.

Of the two that were alive, one was clearly unconscious, with the other standing over them protectively while being assaulted from three sides.

Given the dire situation, I didn’t think it necessary to ask if the individual still fighting needed assistance. I quickly cast a Barrier around the man and his companion, making it flash visibly so the clearly exhausted fighter knew he was somewhat protected.

Knowing my Barriers could withstand my magic, I unloaded on the mobs attacking the pair. I stuck to Space and Time magic to keep from compromising the integrity of the Barrier. While it would undoubtedly be capable of withstanding a few volleys in different elements, it would eventually fail. That limitation did not exist for attacks using my own mana.

If anything, any mana blowback would only strengthen the Barrier since it came from the same source.

The man’s expression immediately shifted from grim defeat to one of relief. Seeing he was finally protected, he shifted his attention to the unconscious female lying below him.

Given the number of carcasses already scattered throughout the immediate area, it was clear they’d drawn in a much larger hoard than they’d been capable of handling. Had I not come along when I did, it was likely the two surviving members of the group wouldn’t have lasted very much longer.

I had no idea how long the rest of their party had been dead. Since they hadn’t died within an established domain, bringing them back to life would violate the guidance Master Kairos had given me. It would definitely qualify as a major Time spell outside a limited zone (and observed by who knows how many people).

It sucked, but there was no way I was going to draw his ire like that, especially not for strangers. If I had arrived moments after their death, that would have been different. If I tried to use Time magic to reverse the damage, it would just restore the bodies and leave them empty shells since the souls had almost certainly moved on already.

I carefully approached the two survivors after the last mob fell, not bothering to collect any of the material. I had no idea how injured the woman was, and time might be of the essence.

[Aiden Jones – Level 23 – Crafter – Fire/Air]

[Faith Esperanza – Level 23 – Chef – Time]

Oh! Another Time Mage!

“I’m a Healer. Is it okay if I approach?” I asked the man. He looked torn between caution and hope.

“Can you help the others?” he asked before turning and catching sight of the mangled remains of his friends. I hadn’t excluded them from the violent effects of my spells, but they’d already been in pieces before the Barrier had even gone up.

“I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do for them,” I replied carefully. “They were both already gone before I intervened. Had either of them still been alive, I would have protected them with a Barrier as well.”

“Are you sure?” he choked out. His eyes were red and beginning to swell from the rush of emotions now that the threat had been taken care of.

“Very,” I assured him. “What about her?”

Aiden looked down, almost in surprise. “Faith…” he murmured. “Can you help her?” he asked, looking up hopefully. “She took a blow to the head pretty early on. If she hadn’t…”

I nodded, letting him leave the thought unfinished. If she hadn’t been taken out in the beginning, his friends might still be alive. With Time magic, she should have been able to both protect and heal, especially if she was part of an active fighting group.

She should have been able to protect them with Barriers, too, unless her spells weren’t strong enough or her affinity was too weak to make maintaining multiple spells viable.

I felt the identification spell bounce off me. “You’re a Time Mage too!” he said in almost disbelief. “Seriously, what is with all the Time Mages? Aren’t y’all supposed to be super rare or something?”

I tilted my head and glanced at the man as Diagnose informed me of Faith’s condition. I didn’t bother responding to his comment since two Time Mages really weren’t very many. Unless he’d encountered a lot more somewhere, I had no clue what he was referencing.

Focusing on my patient, I noted she was suffering from cerebral hemorrhaging and a cracked skull. Yikes.

I concentrated my magic on the injuries. As a Time Mage, she’d likely be especially sensitive to Time magic. Anything beneficial would be extra effective, while anything hostile would be strongly resisted. It was what made fighting something with the same affinity so difficult.

I didn’t even need my wand since I understood the injury and her body was almost eager to respond to my magic.

The girl groaned.

“Faith? Are you okay?” Aiden asked as he put a hand on the girl’s arm.

She blinked several times before focusing on her party member. “Aiden? What happened? Where are Dewayne and Bobby?” Noticing me there, she blinked again. “Who are you?”

There was something familiar about the girl, but I couldn’t quite place it. I was sure I hadn’t met her. I would have certainly remembered another Time Mage. I’d only met a few of them aside from Master Kairos and his servants.

“I’m Emie.”

“No, I know you,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “Didn’t you go by something else before?” She stared at me for a few seconds as I struggled to find a response. She did look familiar, and if she claimed to know me, there had to be something to it.

“Wait a minute,” Faith said suddenly, holding up a hand. “You’re wearing sect robes. And not just any sect, the Epikairos Sect, right? I’d recognize those colors anywhere.” Not waiting for a response, she tilted her head up curiously. “Why are you wearing sect robes? Are you from one of the other planets?”

“I’m from Earth, but I’m part of Epikairos Sect. I’m also a Time Mage,” I answered before she could ask any more questions. “Did you join the sect in Atlas Online?”

“Yes!” the girl said, snapping her fingers. “That’s where I know you from. You were supposed to be my rival, but you hardly ever got online!”

“Callie?” I said hesitantly. She looked nothing like the avatar of the girl I played with, but I supposed that wasn’t too strange. The girl in front of me had a natural tan with dark hair and dark eyes, whereas the game avatar had darker skin and light eyes, with thick silver hair.

The girl beamed. “YES! You’re Duality! I knew that I knew you!” Faith/Callie said with a grin. “How did you get here? When did you get taken from Earth? And how did you join the sect? I get that the game was real. That was pretty obvious once I found myself in a dungeon with an interface flashing in my eyes, but the sect –”

“Faith!” Aiden interrupted her. “Focus. You can discuss all this later. We’re still in the swamp, and we need to figure out what we’re going to do.”

The excitable woman blinked a few more times before glancing around. “Where are Dewayne and Bobby?” Faith repeated her earlier question.

“They didn’t make it,” I said, breaking the news. I could tell that Aiden really didn’t want to say the words, so I spared him the struggle. “They were already beyond saving when I arrived, and it took a few minutes for me to break the mini siege you guys were under.”

“What?” she asked disbelievingly. “No! I’ll just Rewind everything!”

I was about to say something to stop her when I felt her mana gathering. Master Kairos had been pretty clear about not casting major Time magic outside of an anchored domain, but I wasn’t the one casting, and there wasn’t enough time for me to counter her spell.

As it was, I barely had time to Time Phase before her spell went off. Only my training in quick casting allowed me to do it in time.

I stretched out the moment as I contemplated the potential repercussions of Faith’s impulsive, or perhaps desperate, action. Master Kairos was probably going to be mad that I’d failed to stop her from displaying such magic in front of a potential audience. But for all I knew, she could have been casting such spells with little restraint the entire time she’d been in the dungeon.

I most certainly did not look forward to my next set of correspondence with the Patriarch.