A few months have passed since my evolution. Everyone adapted quickly to my third tail, and now the novelty has worn off some are even expecting a fourth. I've entered the dungeon with the Kheshamo fighters a few times, but we haven't encountered the treant. However, we have looked for it and recently discovered it wandering far to the south of the entrance, several kilometers away.

It's a roaming boss that we'll have to look out for and we don't have an airship to attack from, to stay out of its range. We'll have to deal with it eventually, but right now, we are too weak.

We've not been able to get to the first boss in the monster dens, but I've killed the mini-bosses and we've managed to bring back some monster parts, the pieces that survived anyway. There isn't too much of note other than the Arachnoid fangs.

Night Death Fang:
This fang injects Night Death venom when stabbed into flesh. 17 Enchantment allowance.

I've gotten used to my new mana hearing and mana smell, my higher learning ability really helped, but it was hard to get for the first week. Despite that, I still struggle with new mana sounds and smells from spells. Getting hit by spells often results in both hearing and smelling the spell, and its potent scent and sharp sounds are distracting. I've been training to get used to that, but it's not as easy as it sounds. The spell's power often means it's louder and sharper than ambient mana, like glass breaking, but every element and essence is different in sound. Although it doesn't cause permanent damage the intense and deafening sounds often break my focus for both my minds.

Smells are already distracting when it comes to high intensity ambient mana, and spells are much worse, a pungent smell that hits me deep in my nose, making my eyes water. Again, the actual smell ranges from a neutrally pleasant to forgettably bland; it’s the intensity of the smells that makes it bad. The more intense the spell's mana, the more potent the smell, just like how it results in louder sounds.

Today is Tana's tenth birthday, which means he's unlocking his class. I hope he gets something good. He has his bond at level one fifty and maybe a few other good things. He also doesn't have the extremely demanding Heirloom tier, so he can get high tier classes more easily, maybe even surpassing my own.

I walk over to the docks, where the Valymo and the Winamr are both being upgraded with new designs. A new prototype is also being made, the Myomwi, translating to Six Wings of Air. It's a model of a proposed flagship that will be the first to venture out of the Nexus. True to its name, it has six enormous sails both over it and to the side.

I had given Dad the solid fire metal to work with, but all it's done is melt through the anvil. To shape it, we'd need an anvil made of solid ice mana. Tusile had caught wind of the solid mana and asked if such a material could be used to make an airship. We are still talking through designs and how to power the airship. But I had an idea. An airship made from dark mana could be used to not only create an airship with highly reduced weight but could also have its interior bigger than the actual ship through a modified storage enchantment.

That is how the prototype came to be. It won't be the last prototype, nor will it be the final design. Tusile wants the flagship to be as best as it can be. I've already changed the Mana Arc's liquid mana production, utilizing its [Mana Liquification] ability, from fire to dark mana, and we are collecting the mana for use. Since liquid mana is ten times denser than solid, I can expand the liquid mana into solid mana with the use of [Mana Manipulation]. It's actually quite easy for liquid mana, since all I am doing is releasing the pressure, it's compressing it back into liquid form that is the hard part.

The Mana Arc produces a few drops of mana every minute, but it will change based on how much dark mana it's compressing. While the flagship will be a behemoth large enough to house the village, in the plans at least, we'll need a crazy amount of solid mana. Then there's the issue of powering the enchantments. I've been experimenting with mana wiring, trying to get it to work. It should allow the consumption of crystalized fuel rods to power the enchantments, but obviously it's complicated even if it works in theory.

Making mana wire is a must and is probably a breakthrough for [Mana Weaving], but no one has got it yet. The whole idea of mana wiring relies on it not only being produced but also working as intended, the theory works but we will have to test it just to be sure.

Tests have already confirmed that we can make small fuel rods and release their energies safely. The collection of the released mana is also easy; it's the distribution that is the hard part. It can work by growing crystalline batteries as the wiring, but only I can do that so it would take months, if not years, to complete the work. In this way, the battery would work like a mana pipe. The downside is that it would have to be filled first to work properly, and given its volatile nature, mana batteries used for mana piping are not a good idea.

The mana wiring should make use of the mana pathways that naturally form, these pathways work like high-speed roads for mana, and thus anyone should be able to make them as long as they have the required breakthrough.

The ultimate goal is to find a way to make a mana computer, but unfortunately, that is not going to be easy even if it's at all possible.

* * * * * * * * *

For years Tana practiced until his hands bled, he fought to the point of collapse, and he practiced his Bond so much he was constantly out of mana and still, that girl stands out of his reach. Tana wanted to go up to her, stand at her side, and train with her, but there was no way he could; he was still way too weak. Tana looked over his evolution and class choices again and made his choice.

Lifeflame Runalymo
(Major)
Age of 10, Have Bond at level one fifty before the age of 10, Have ten Bond Skills before the age of 10, Have 5 or more evolved Bond Skills before the age of 10, Have the evolved Bond skill: Living Flame, Have the evolved Bond skill: Inner Flame, Have the evolved Bond skill: Flame Raiment, Have the skill Vitality Control at level 100 or more before the age of ten, have ten or more breakthrough in Vitality Control before the age of ten, have capped Vitality Control, Have defeated numerous people above your level. Have slain numerous monsters above your level solo.

This Runalymo is one with the Lifeflame, producing endless amounts of vitality-filled flames. This Runalymo has strong regeneration due to the flames of life and can survive most injuries, able to heal most wounds, and survive even fatal hits; many will see this Runalymo as unkillable. Able to burn away the vitality of their enemies, many will be baffled at how this Runalymo can kill beings and leave no physical damage.

Lifeflame Guardian
(Major)
Requirements: Age of 10, Have Bond at level 150 before the age of 10, Have 10 Bond Skills before the age of 10, Have 5 or more evolved Bond Skills before the age of 10, Have the evolved Bond skill: Living Flame, Have the evolved Bond skill: Inner Flame, Have the evolved Bond skill: Eternal Flame, Have the evolved Bond skill: Flame Raiment, Have the evolved Bond Skill: Life Consuming Flame, Have the skill Vitality Control at level 100 or more before the age of ten, have 10 or more breakthrough in Vitality Control before the age of 10, have capped Vitality Control, Have Battlefield Awareness at level 100 or more before the age of 10, Have 10 or more breakthrough in Battlefield Awareness before the age of 10, have capped Battlefield Awareness, Have Foe Sense at level 100 or more before the age of 10, have 10 or more breakthrough in Foe Sense before the age of ten, have capped Foe Sense, Have defeated numerous people above your level. Have slain numerous monsters above your level solo.

A Bond warrior of the Lifeflame, capable of both healing and destruction, you are both a shield and a sword for those you wish to protect. You are a source of life where most would not expect to find one and a source of death to those who dare challenge you.

Tanafyam evolved. He could feel the burning flames within his blood; soothing, not what one would expect from fire. At will, he could now shroud himself in flames and heal from any injury, and his racial skill that boosted mana generation now boosted vitality generation instead.

Tana received several skill choices for his class: [Vitality Core], [Flames of Life], [Flame Strike], [Sticky Flame], and [Flame Shroud]. [Vitality Core] allowed him to produce more vitality to fuel his Lifeflames. [Flame of Life] allowed his flames to heal instead of burn. [Flame Strike] was a long-ranged attack that shot out a jet of fire with a jab. [Sitcky Flame] made the flames hard to remove and extinguish, which could be helpful with healing flames. Lastly, [Flame Shroud] was a defensive fire that burns all incoming attacks.

Tana spent the rest of the week training his new skills, Striking repeatedly, learning new ways to expand his skills, and practicing the newfound functions of his class skills.

Flames of Life: You've managed to make your Lifeflames heal more; this will help you restore life to yourself and others.
1st Breakthrough: You've managed to make the Lifeflames restore flesh, not just vitality; this will help you keep yourself and others alive.
2nd Breakthrough: You've managed to make the Lifeflames grow hotter and give off an aura of healing warmth; this will help you heal multiple people.
3rd Breakthrough: You've managed to make your Lifeflames spread from person to person, spreading the healing to all who need it.

Ting! Flames of Life has obtained level 27!

Flame Strike: Somehow, you've managed to release a burst of fire with a quick stab; this will help you strike your foes at a distance.
1st Breakthrough: You've managed to sustain a jet of flame; this will make doing so more efficient.
2nd Breakthrough: You've managed to release a wave of flame; this will make doing so more powerful.
3rd Breakthrough: You've managed to release a ball of unstable fire that explodes at its destination; this will help make the explosion larger

Ting! Flames of Life has obtained level 30!

As Tana practiced more and got breakthroughs in his other skills, he obtained another skill, [Body of Fire], a skill that boosted the Bond skill he got from Alysara, [Fire Enhancement], which was later evolved to [Inner Flames].

Ting! Your Class, Lifeflame Guardian, has obtained level 43! 15 status points awarded.

At the end of the week, Tanafyam felt ready.

"Master Esofy," Tana said, after the day's training, "I would like to enter the dungeon; I want to get stronger."

Esofy thought for a minute before nodding. "You're level forty-three already; that's really impressive, but it's a perilous place. Also, you need to get armor, tough armor, and a good weapon or two; a shield would be great as well."

"What do you recommend?" Tana asks.

"First, you'll need to distribute your stats: vitality and especially endurance, a good amount of strength and agility as well. A hundred into each of them, minimum, spend the rest on intelligence, mana, and mana generation. You don't have enough points yet, but a hundred points should be spent on each stat to have a well-rounded build before you specialize further. For gear, you should take a battle axe and a shield; for backup, have an arming sword. For armor, you should have something like Alysara's armor, padded armor made of earth silk and metal plates for added defense."

"Why not a spear or halberd? Won't reach be better for the main weapon?" Tana asked.

"The spear maybe, but the dungeon is a forest and we'll be going into the dens; both areas are bad for long weapons as the trees get in the way and the caves are too narrow," Esofy explained.

Tana nodded.

"Also," Esofy continued, holding up a finger, "We are setting up a full expedition. There should be around two hundred people entering the dungeon, we'll split up into smaller groups and you'll be with me. Always listen to your group leaders. There will be other people around your level, and you will train with them. Now go to Aly's place and order your gear; they make some of the best armor around."

Tana nodded and left after Esofy had given him some money, with a promise to pay her back.

Arriving at Aly's family store, Tana hesitated. He was not sure why but the prospect of potentially meeting Alysara has him nervous; after all, she is so far ahead of him, so talented he shouldn't be wasting her time. It would be bad if she couldn't shine as brightly as she could have because of him.

Tana's indecision got the better of him and, as if to make up his mind for him, the door opened, and Alysara stood there, hand on hips. She stood elegantly, her long royal blue hair framing her face as eye wraps hid half of her expression, but her mouth portrayed playful annoyance.

"Are you just going to stand there all day? Come in already!"

Before he knew it, Tana was pulled into the store.

"It's rare for you to be out of the Esofy's dojo, is there something you want to talk about? You've gotten a lot stronger since I last saw you." Alysara smiled, the serenity of her expression making Tana even more nervous; he didn't know why he felt this way.

"Well?" Alysara asked.

"I-I well, I mean, I need a-armor and w-weapons, I'm going w-with the expedition in the d-dungeon," Tana smacked himself mentally. Why was he finding it so hard to talk to her recently?

"I see," Alysara said, walking over to a shelf with several scrolls. She took a few out and unrolled them, revealing depictions of several styles of armor. "Pick which one you like best, but keep in mind they all have different uses. This one here is gambeson, it's a lot cheaper and easier to make, especially for me. It's not the best, but it works remarkably well for what it is. It's decent against slashing and blunt force damage, but the weapons can get through with enough force.

"This one here is chainmail. It's great against slashing attacks and good against piercing weapons that are larger than the rings, but not so great against blunt damage. However, it is worn over thin gambeson, so you get twice the defensive value out of it."

Tana liked the idea of the chainmail; it seemed like wearing flexible metal.

"This one is brigandine, it’s metal plates riveted to cloth. Not only does it look great, but you get many of the bonuses of chainmail and it resists blunt force. It does have small weaknesses, like it's harder to cover certain parts of the body, so chainmail does have that advantage, but you're probably going to be wearing some padding underneath the brigandine."

This one also sounded useful and did look good in the picture.

"Lastly is plate armor. It's the most expensive and takes the longest to make, but it's extremely good at blocking all forms of physical damage; it's like wearing a shield in all directions."

The last one looked too grand to be real. A person covered from head to toe in metal, even the tail covered in segmented plates to allow for movement.

Wouldn’t there be too much weight for the tail?. Tana thought, staring at the picture’s tail.

“Ah, the plate is actually very thin for the tail, the whole tailpiece doesn’t weigh that much, it’s just there to prevent your tail from being cut off” Alysara said, noticing Tana’s inquisitive look.

"Which d-do you r-recommend?" Tana cringed inwardly at his awful stammering.

"The brigandine is a good choice as it has a good balance between defense and freedom of movement.”

"I'll choose that one then."

Alysara started weaving Mana Silk, which kind he didn't know. The armor slowly descended from a cloud of mana as if it was being grown from it. It was made to fit Tana and completed in a half-dozen minutes.

"I'll have Momara make the rest; it should be done tomorrow.” Even incomplete, Alysara still put in the effort to decorate the armor with another type of silk. Stylized depictions of fire decorated the sleeves, while a cross of blazing swords decorated the chest and back. There wasn't as much decoration as usual, but Tana found it more appealing. The decorated areas brought his eyes away from the undecorated spots, leaving just enough not to overwhelm his sight.

Tana paid for the armor and also ordered the weapons before leaving. He breathed a sigh of relief when outside, the nervousness fading away.

What's wrong with me? Tana thought as he tried to figure out his emotions.