[Body Double POV]

[~7 Hours Earlier]

I catch the transport crystal and place it in my storage while my main body leaves to check out the town.

My other body double heads off to begin farming skills while I glide down into the Canyon to step into the nearest stable dungeon.

It seems to be a standard high E-Grade grassland dungeon, but I don't stick around long enough to figure out what kind of monsters are inside. I set a dungeon walker point and crush the teleportation crystal in my hand to bring me back into the lobby of the Galeheart Tower.

Unfortunately, this body double form doesn't have all of the perks of my main body. I don't have access to my Red Hydra's Buff, and no Qi is present in my core. However, my mana control is still leagues above anyone near my level.

I place a shielding barrier up, mimicking my old way of suppressing my intimidation perk's aura.

As I walk forward through the blinding transportation light, I see a single figure in the lobby waiting for me, stood up against the desk that the two lobby men sit behind.

Arie stands up straight and gives me a wave.

His all-black outfit contrasts a lot with the white mana shielding as he walks over with a curious expression but decides not to bring up my change in aura that I'm pretty confident he can perceive.

He just speaks up, turning to the elevator.

"I was prepared to wait a few more hours, but looks like you came right on time. I assume this means you already made it to Sector 2?"

I nod, and the elevator door dings while sliding open. We board it.

"I have. Let's save the talking until we make it there."

My eyes move around the room in a suspicious manner, and Arie shrugs.

"Sure, whatever works for you. If you really think you can get me deeper into the Abyss, it'll be worth the wait."

*Ding*

We make it to the dungeon access floor and make our way into the Red Ogre dungeon to use as a connector point to teleport back to the dungeon I just left.

As we step out of the exit portal onto a narrow rocky ledge within the canyon, I let out a sigh, and Arie's questions begin to fly.

"Your aura feels totally different than last night, what's up with that? And is what Fisher said true? The abyss is really nearby?"

I airstep upward, and soon see Arie follow as he manifests small platforms of white energy beneath his steps.

"The aura may feel different because my main body is off exploring the city. You're talking to a body double right now."

Arie lets out a remark in a joking tone.

"Oh, you sent the errand boy to come fetch me, that's real nice."

I turn my head back as we're about to exit the canyon.

"Hey, it's still me. I'm just multitasking."

I turn back as the open desert comes into view. The town is on one side of the canyon while a giant black looming cloud of used up demonic energy is sitting stagnant in the desert.

I point to it.

"Does that answer your second question?"

Arie's eyes track it left and right, scanning the massive black cloud that curves around as far as the eye can see.

His ranked-up buff even activates, and I see a layer of white energy forming around his eyes as we begin to float closer.

"Yeah, it definitely does... Let's check it out."

We fly over to the edge of the Abyss, and I activate my Demonic Energy Manipulation, but use the trick to split my focus that I learned before to allow myself to use mana-powered skills as well.

It's been a while since I used energy like this, but with all my new Qi and mana control training, my ability to manipulate any kind of energy has increased drastically, it almost seems as easy as breathing to spot the small clusters of unrefined energy in the Abyss and pinpoint enemies that line the border.

As my head turns to look straight in the direction of one that seems to be the same strength as those Demonic wolves I faced in the Abyss right outside Solara, Arie's gaze turns to it too.

We both touchdown about 20 meters away from the wall of darkness, and he speaks up.

"So you can actually see them too?"

I nod with both arms crossed.

"I'm more surprised you can see them, honestly. Is it a special perk from your ranked-up buff? I thought it could only manifest weapons and gear for you like you showed me before."

He nods and begins to manifest a white bow out of energy, then draws back a shimmering white arrow made of the same material.

Moments later, he locks it onto a target in the abyss and lets the arrow fly.

It pierces through the veil of darkness and hits the swirling ball of unrefined energy I pinpointed previously. Then, a howl and squeal of an injured wolf calls out the moment it's hit, but ceases moments later as I'm sure the monster was killed.

Then, the sizzling sound of sparks and Demonic Energy reacting with mana erupts from inside the Abyss for a few seconds, crackling like fireworks, then going silent again.

My curiosity is piqued.

"How'd you manage that? You sent a mana-based attack through the Abyss without it instantly erupting into sparks?"

"It's more complicated than that. Inactive, sealed, or very unique mana signatures don't activate a reaction. It's how you're able to wear gear inside the Abyss and not have it explode on you. As long as the mana isnt free flowing or actively iteracting with anything, it shouldn't combust."

I nod, pointing a finger at the abyss and shooting a fireball at the dark wall to watch it explode and turn to yellow and white sparks the instant it makes contact with the wall of black fog.

Arie continues, activating his red hydra's buff for a split second and letting a white arrow coated in red energy fly into the abyss next.

It soars for hundreds of meters, almost further than I can sense, then finally hits something, and the energy is dispersed, making a crackling explosion deep within the darkness.

"The energy from this buff works as a protective layer as well, it makes my attacks last even longer before they sizzle out. However, I have reason to believe my skill and buff are not replicable. You see, I didn't naturally awaken my Spirit Archer skill. It was artificially infused into me while I was awakening as a gift from my village leader back in Sector 4. I believe because of this, the special traits have carried on to my ranked-up buff too."

I turn my head to Arie, wondering exactly what he means by this. I always knew his skill was odd. "Spirit Archer" is not a skill I've ever seen a replica of. After scanning hundreds, even thousands of skills in cities like Solara, Vice City, and Valor City; I've never seen a skill like this. Whatever he's talking about, it would explain a few things.

"I've been meaning to tell you this for a long time, but never found the opportunity to do so."

There's a silence between us, but I reply in a friendly tone.

"You can tell me anything, my lips are sealed and my ears are open. We have plenty of time."

He smiles.

"Well, as you already know, I was trained at a very young age to become a strong archer. Others in the village were made to focus on their specialized abilities too. Some were tanks with shields, others were rogues with swords and daggers, some specialized with medicine, and others worked on their perception skills day and night."

He lets out a sigh staring into the Abyss with the white glow from his buff still surrounding his eyes and charging up his bow to make another arrow.

"There were 20 of us, orphans. And of course the leader of the village who took us in to train. Every day he would consume white pills and tell us to sit on slabs of black rock while we eat our meals, and even while we slept. The day any of us turned 18 was the day he'd bring us to a low-level dungeon and watch us awaken. Everyone came each time, and the old man always told us that we would awaken special unique skills if we followed his training regime."

I nod, letting Arie go on, curious about this unknown history he's hinted about but never shared with anyone on the team before.

"Most members would awaken normal skills. Body hardening, swordsmanship, speed or strength buffs... So we just assumed the old man was crazy, or just kind; Keeping our hopes up and making our lives fun despite being misfits thrown away by our families in the Dark Continent. However, this all changed when my 18th birthday came around."

Arie pauses, smiling to himself, and releasing another arrow far into the Abyss. As it pierces through two Demonic wolves that were approaching at the sound of its fallen fellow monster's call, he continues to talk.

"I was the first to awaken a unique skill. I was overjoyed, but the old man seemed to be the most happy of all, screaming out that his hypothesis was right and I was the first success. After that day, he'd bring me to the dungeons in Solara to train every weekend, buying as much mana potions and gear as I needed to buff up my mana control at a young age and level up quickly."

Arie powers down his buff and the bow disappears from his hands.

"A few years passed as I trained up my skills with the other kids there, and one other girl in the village awakened a unique talent too. Her name was Luna. It wasn't a powerful combat skill or anything, just a very unique perception skill that only works at night."

Arie lets out a sigh.

"The old man told us he would awaken us fully if we ever made it to level 500, but we all thought that was just to push us further in the future. However, there were no dungeons strong enough for the public to farm in once we got to a certain point. As each of us hit level 250, we were each given special access from the Solaran government to enter the Hunter's exams with temporary citizenship granted by the Hunters Association. It takes a few years to get approved, but the process is not complicated. Long story short, I left my village right after one of the first big surges, entering the C-Class exams, and meeting all of you..."

He pauses and we stare off into the Abyss in silence for a few seconds, and I connect all the pieces together in my mind even before he speaks up again.

"Ever since we first set foot in Solara, I dreaded nearing the Abyss because the fact that it was that close to the city could only mean one thing. It had already enveloped the place I used to call home. I'm sure our leader got out of there with the students he had left, but I still wanted the closure of seeing it one more time. Once I finished up my power leveling with Chester in Solara last week, I went to venture out into that pit of darkness to find what remained of my village but couldn't make it far enough in... I kept running into some damn giant worm and was never able to make it past."

Despite the long heartfelt story, memories of running away from that giant Demonic worm come back to my mind as well, and I can't help but to crack a smile.

"You almost got eaten by one of those things too?"

He sees me chuckle and shifts his serious tone back to one more lighthearted and smiles back.

"Yeah, three times actually. One time, two of them even attacked at once, they're no joke. No matter what direction I came at, they wouldn't leave me alone. My arrows still aren't strong enough, I never even managed to leave a scratch."

Memories of my time in the abyss flash through my mind, then I compare it to all of the training I've done recently. It's not too outlandish to believe I could make it past those worms now if I really tried.

So, I nod to myself and respond to Arie with a proposition.