Aperio tilted her head, turning around to face the mountain she had designated as the lair of the first floor's guardian. The simulacrum of a mythical being Eleanor had told her about was preparing to face its inaugural human opponents. Though she herself thought nothing about a three-headed dog, as she had seen them before, this one seemed to hold more significance than any other. At least, it did if the comments of the mortals in its lair were anything to go by.

"Should I not have picked the dog for the first floor?" she asked, glancing at Eleanor. "I had thought it a good choice. Nearly every nation these mortals come from have something like it, after all."

"It's still a big-ass monster that they’ve only ever seen in movies or like, a book before," the mortal mage replied.

"It is not that big," Aperio mumbled, turning her gaze back from the people inside the arena. "The Dragon was much more formidable. Besides, you would be a more dangerous opponent than that dog, Eleanor."

"How is the instancing going?" Caethya asked, quite obviously trying to shift the topic. "You haven't done something like that before, right?"

"Not like this, at any rate," the All-Mother replied. "But it is not complicated, either. All you have to do is create a few pocket dimensions inside the one they are already in. The dungeon itself is handling that quite well." Though, in the end that is also just me…

Despite the fact that she had made the System — and was it — Aperio still found herself a little confused on the matter. Perhaps her time as a mortal had made her mind susceptible to paradoxes she had not known before. Something to think about at a later date.

"Ah yes, making dimensions," Eleanor quipped. "As easy as walking, right?"

Aperio gave a nod. "Yes."

"Your normal walking includes bending reality to your whims," Caethya said with a slight giggle. "I need to figure out how that works one of these days."

"I simply walk and end up where I wanted to be," the All-Mother replied, offering a slight shrug of her wings. "One day the fabric of reality will be as malleable for you as it is for me, I am sure of that.

"In any case," she continued, bringing their group above the arena of the first floor, "there are some mortals we have to look at." The room below them changed to show a group of three mortals entering. "I am intrigued by what Merlin will do. She should be able to kill it with a single spell."

"Merlin?" Eleanor asked after she stabilised herself by leaning against the nearest wall. "As in, the wizard from centuries ago? Is this like, a dude with the same name, or does he actually still live?"

"She is alive through means I still find questionable," Aperio replied and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "They are also means I will not explain; having one of you mortals do something like that is more than enough."

She wouldn't be surprised if she found more of them doing rather questionable things to stay alive longer, but with what she had seen happening on both Earth and Verenier already, it was basically guaranteed to be less than pleasant. Mortals seemed to have a tendency to come up with new ways of being cruel when it meant they could gain a little something for themselves. A fact of life she hoped the changes she had planned would at least somewhat address.

It would require a lot of work, and a better understanding of her own creation and the limits — or more likely, lack thereof — of her power. But, in the end, it would be better than removing everything and starting over yet again. That is what her past self would have done, and Aperio had no desire to become like that again. Her current idea might not be all that complicated on the face of it, but splitting reality into technically infinite versions of itself would probably require a bit more attention to detail than she was used to.

"I see," Eleanor replied, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "But why are you allowing it if it's that bad?"

"Because, in the end, the only one she might harm with it is herself. If she is willing to risk her Soul for a pitiful attempt at immortality, I am not going to stop her."

"Is there even such a thing as immortality?"

"Only for Aperio," Caethya replied. "Everyone else could, technically, die a final death at one point or another. Only she cannot."

"My death would mean the death of all creation," Aperio added with a small shrug. "Perhaps I could kill myself if really, really set my mind to it, but as far as I am aware, even that would not work."

She had serious doubts about her ability to die. After all, she had given it her best shot in her previous attempt, and all it had done was sever her from her memories. She assumed she had chosen that route, as a true, final death was not an option. Or maybe I somehow did kill myself successfully, and I still managed to reincarnate?

Aperio shook her head. Pondering the matter would manage to give even her a headache. She was nothing and everything, all at the same time; located everywhere at once as well as contained in the body she had made for herself. Paradoxical by nature, if by nature you meant more of the unnatural.

"Who are we watching, anyway?" Eleanor asked. "They all kinda look the same at this distance."

"The one with the sword and shield," Caethya replied, her voice carrying a hint of confusion at the question. "Can you really not see them from here? It's barely half a league."

"Half a league? No, I cannot," the mortal mage replied. "Maybe a few hundred metres without help."

Aperio raised a brow at the measurements used. It would seem Caethya had taken the time to learn those while she had not. A touch of her magic brought forth a small projection that hovered in front of Eleanor, showing the fight below in greater detail. "Will this be sufficient?"

"That is more than enough, thank you."

The All-Mother gave a small nod before she wrapped a wing around her love. For now she would relax a little and watch the mortals of Earth attempt to conquer their first dungeon. She knew they would not do it today, or even a month from now, but one day they would manage to prove themselves worthy.

///

Merlin slammed her shield into the ground, causing a pair of white spectral wings to extend to either side of it and redirect the torrent of fire coming her way. If the stupid System had not thrown her into this group, she would have already been on the next floor. But no. Now she had to not only baby sit two newly awakened, but also hold back so as to not draw more unwanted attention.

As soon as the stream of fire had subsided, she used her [Quickstep] skill to bring herself next to one of the monster's legs and slashed at it with her sword. Tiny wisps of fire flared at the cut for a moment before they were drawn into the body of the beast and the wound healed. Her flashy moves would not work, but she could burn it from the inside out without anyone noticing. Well, anyone that wouldn't already know.

The entire time she had been in the arena she had felt… seen. It was something she attributed to the All-Mother, who was undoubtedly observing this fight from somewhere. Why that woman would do such a thing was not something Merlin knew or cared to learn; she only wished that this annoying feeling of being watched by the very air that surrounded her would go away.

Another use of her skill brought her back to the two men, just in time for one of them to quite literally throw a ball of fire at the dog. For someone as weak as him, it was quite an impressive feat, but in the grand scheme of things it would amount to fairly little.

At least, that's what should have happened, but going by how much the monster recoiled, that did not seem to be the case. Merlin could not help but frown at the fact, a flick of her wrist causing two talismans to appear in her hand. Perhaps this fight — if you could really call it that — could provide a measure of entertainment. Or at least some data.

The arrival of the All-Mother had reawakened the Voice of the World, yes, but it had also changed it. To what extent, nobody except Aperio knew yet, but it was only a matter of time until they figured it out. Human ingenuity knew no bounds, after all. At this point, Merlin was fairly certain that some people would manage to find, and use, literal exploits contained within the workings of the System. It was fairly game-like after all and, as Aperio had freely admitted, nothing is perfect.

"I would really like a health bar or something for this," the more lightning-inclined man hissed. "That seemed to have worked well enough, but maybe it can act?"

"It can't," Merlin replied, raising her shield slightly as the monster in question turned its attention back to them. "That thing isn't even truly alive to begin with. It's just a construct made from mana to help us train."

"Seems pretty intent on killing us," the fire mage said and prepared another ball of flame. "Just like the wolves and rabbits."

Merlin gave a huff in replay and adjusted the grip on her sword, the two talismans she had summoned wrapped tightly around the handle. "You learn best when under duress."

"And how would you know that?" one of the two men asked, Merlin not really caring which one it was.

"Experience," she replied. "Not everyone lived a comfortable life until… this happened. Some of us had to make do with what we could gather ourselves. That sometimes included taking your cut from the local wildlife."

Before either of the two men could ask more questions, Merlin vanished from their side again, her [Quickstep] propelling her towards one of the beast’s heads. Normally that skill alone would not have gone far enough but a healthy kick off from the ground took care of that little bit of extra distance she had to close. The two newly awakened wouldn't be able to tell the difference, anyway.

///

Jacob threw his next fireball at the beast's feet, as Wyllt had thrown herself at its head and he did not trust his abilities enough to not hit the woman. He was fairly certain it wouldn't harm her as she had taken the monster's fire breath head on without a problem, but she had also used her shield for that.

Going by the large white wings that had come from it, he assumed that she had somehow enchanted that thing to help with defending. Whatever Wyllt's Class was, it certainly seemed strong.

Neither he nor Ryan had an ability that let them teleport short distances like she could, but then, neither of them were close range fighters that needed to be right by their enemy to do damage.

Much like his other attack, the monster reeled from it, but seemed otherwise fine. Arcs of electricity flickered along Ryan's knife, the man waiting for something before letting his own attack go off. That something turned out to be the return of Wyllt.

As soon as the woman had resumed her position in front of them with her shield dug slightly into the ground, Ryan pointed his blade towards the ceiling and let go of his spell. A low rumble rolled over the arena as the man sank to one knee, taking deep breaths as he dropped his knife to instead steady himself with the newly-freed hand.

As soon as the rumble of thunder had begun, it vanished. Before Jacob even had the time to even begin thinking about where the spell had gone to, a blinding light flashed in front of him, quickly followed by a loud crack and the howl of the beast. The three-headed dog had been struck by lightning, and was left standing on shaking legs as what looked like steam rose from its fur. Whatever Ryan had done had seemingly been a success.

Despite Jacob's previous expectations, the fight settled back into their previous rhythm. He would throw a ball or lance of fire whenever there was an opening and his mana levels allowed it, while Wyllt dashed in and out to deliver a myriad of tiny cuts that all seemed imbued with something as the beast took longer and longer to attack again after every blow she struck. It was Ryan's magic that had the biggest effect on the beast, but the man needed a few uninterrupted minutes between lightning strikes to catch his breath and prepare the next one. He also managed to shoot some smaller bolts here and there, but they had nowhere near the effect of his big strike.

If they could keep this up, they would beat the first boss no problem; it was only a matter of time. With every attack they threw at it, the monster grew weaker; its attacks more erratic and less powerful.

Should they manage to beat it, he would have to ask Wyllt to stick with them. Their current tactic quite obviously worked quite well, but the woman didn't seem to be keen on forming a group in the first place.

For now, Jacob would be focusing on the fight at hand. It was something he had never really thought he would have to do, and he certainly never would have guessed he'd enjoy it. He'd always assumed fights would be more frantic and heated, and that the mere idea of his life being in danger would be paralysing. Now, it didn't seem so bad. Enjoyable, even.

GamingWolf

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