Chapter 43: Depature
The gray light of the early morning spilled in through the window, illuminating the small inn room. Tyler’s eyes slowly fluttered open, and he sat up with a heavy groan. He stretched, his joints popping as he yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. His mouth tasted incredibly sour, and when he tried to swallow, his throat felt like dry sandpaper.
*I wish I could brush my teeth. I haven't brushed them since I came into this world. What do people even use here?*
Everyone he had met in this world had perfectly white teeth, but he also knew they definitely didn't have toothpaste. After all, he had been transported to a medieval era.
He shoved his blankets aside and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Before his bare feet could even meet the cold wooden floorboards, his black leather boots materialized out of thin air, seamlessly covering his feet. He stood up and stretched once more, rising up on his toes to work the stiffness out of his calves.
He took in a deep breath and exhaled.* James hasn't come yet. Did I get up too early?*
Suddenly, the translucent System panel materialized in his mind's eye. But instead of its usual calm blue color, the text was flashing in a blaring, aggressive red.
[WARNING: FIVE DAYS HAVE PASSED WITHOUT THE USER PROGRESSING. A QUEST HAS BEEN INITIATED AND MUST BE FULFILLED BEFORE THE USER RUNS OUT OF TIME.]
"What?" Tyler said. He froze in shock, his eyes widening as he read the mental text.
The warning panel suddenly disappeared. Another instantly took its place.
[QUEST: KILL A BOSS MONSTER]
[DURATION: 48 HRS]
[PENALTY: DEATH]
"Kill a boss monster? What is that?" Tyler muttered as he read. But as his eyes reached the bottom of the text, his breath hitched violently in his throat.
"Death? Wait. You're going to kill me if I don't do this quest? But that's unfair. You're the one who chose me and brought me to this world!"
Another panel appeared, the red text cold and indifferent.
[THE ASCENSION SYSTEM IS A DIVINE MECHANISM CREATED TO ASSIST THE USER IN ACCUMULATING POWER.]
[UPON DEATH, ANOTHER HOST WILL BE CHOSEN.]
"Huh?" Tyler said, his shoulders slumping. He felt all the strength suddenly leave his legs. He stumbled backward and fell heavily onto the edge of the bed. "So, another person can be chosen. I can just get replaced?"
He pressed his hand over his mouth, frowning in deep thought. He paused, staring blankly at the floor as a heavy silence stretched across the room. *Right. The only reason this thing exists is to make me stronger. It's designed to make its host accumulate power. That's why it gave me this quest. Because I haven't leveled up in the last five days. But I was in a coma!*
He sighed, his chest tight with anxiety. "It doesn't seem to care about that at all."
"The only thing that matters to it is me getting stronger. Nothing else."
He stood up, a cold chill running down his spine as he remembered the sheer agony the System had caused him when it first scanned him back in the monster zones. The way the world had violently glitched in front of his eyes, the blinding pain that had instantly knocked him unconscious. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was more than capable of killing him. Just from that memory alone.
"Alright," he muttered, his jaw tightening. "I guess I have no choice."
Before the clock runs out, I'll make sure to kill a boss monster.
Suddenly, the sharp creak of floorboards sounded just outside his door. The innkeeper knocked lightly.
"Come in," Tyler called out.
The innkeeper opened the door, offering a polite nod. "Excuse me, sir, but you have a guest waiting for you outside."
*Oh, James must be here*, Tyler thought. "Alright, I'm coming," he said, turning back toward the mattress to straighten the sheets.
"No need, sir. We prepare the beds for you. It's part of the service."
"Oh. Thanks," Tyler said.
He walked out of the room, following the hallway back to the main lodge. Through the open entrance, he saw James leaning casually against the doorframe, waiting for him in the cool morning air.
"Are you ready?" James asked, his arms folded over his chest armor as he stared at Tyler.
"I'm ready," Tyler said, stepping out into the street.
"Alright, let's go."
They walked side by side down the cobblestone road. As they moved, James glanced over at Tyler and cracked a small grin. "You've really grown."
"Huh?" Tyler asked, looking over.
"You look stronger," James noted. "Your body has totally changed. You look more like a fighter now."
"Really? Thanks. You helped me get this far."
"No... you did most of it," James said, his smile faltering slightly.
Inwardly, James's thoughts darkened. *This actually has me worried. After the healer left, while he was still unconscious, his body started changing. His fever got worse. He started sweating a massive amount. Lisa had to constantly wipe his forehead and force him to drink water. But his muscles... they just started to grow on their own. The more days that passed, the more he started to look like a hardened combat-type.
"James," Tyler said, breaking the silence.
James blinked, pulling himself out of his thoughts. "What is it?"
"Well, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. It might take you by surprise."
"It's alright, you can say it," James said, his brow raising in genuine curiosity.
"Well... do you know what mana engrams are?"
"Mana engrams?" James repeated. He looked straight ahead, his eyes narrowing as he tried to remember.
*Mana engrams... I remember now. Back when I used to go to the Academy, they taught us about this. They used to call it something else. The Mana's Memory. But how does he know about it?*
"Yeah," James said out loud, looking back at him. "What about them?"
"You said mana is all around us," Tyler said. "And these mana engrams, they're everywhere too."
James looked down at the cobblestone road and nodded slowly. "Yes, that is true." He looked back at Tyler. "But how do you know about this?"
"The system told me."
"Your system?" James asked, clearly surprised.
"Yeah," Tyler nodded. "I got a new skill."
"When you became an E-Rank?"
"No," Tyler shook his head. "After that incident."
"What incident?"
Tyler looked at James, his expression tightening. "You know. The one that got us caught."
"Oh," James said softly as the grim memory surfaced. "I remember. So, you're saying you got a skill from that?"
Tyler nodded. "Yes. But as I told you before, we can't really talk about what happens for the system to do that. Just know that I've got a skill. I don't want it to happen all over again."
James nodded in quiet understanding.
Tyler exhaled a long breath. "The mana engrams. The system said that they are like the mana's memory. That they carry skills inside them."
James looked at him. "Yeah. That's exactly how it works. Each and every one of us has those engrams." He paused. "That's how some of your skills can even pass on to your child."
"Wait, that can happen?" Tyler asked, genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, you didn't know?"
"No," Tyler shook his head. "The system didn't mention that part."
"Well," James said, slowing his pace slightly. "Since each and every one of us has mana engrams, some of those skills can pass on to your offspring. They can literally be born with it, without even needing to level up. But... it's very rare."
"So it doesn't happen often?"
"No," James said. A small, fond smile tugged at his lips. "The greatest thing about it is sometimes a combat skill a person has can become a passive skill to their offspring."
"Wow, really?"
"Yes."
"Whoa, that sounds awesome," Tyler said, his eyes widening. "That means no matter how much they use that skill, they won't run out of mana, right?"
"Yeah."
"Wow..." Tyler muttered, staring thoughtfully down the road.
"So, what do you want to say about this new skill of yours?" James asked, bringing them back to the topic.
"Yeah, right," Tyler said, snapping out of his thoughts. "My skill is called Assimilation. It allows me to activate dormant mana engrams and extract skills from the weapons I've crafted."
"What?" James said, stopping dead in his tracks. "What do you mean by this?"
"When I use my crafting skill, it aligns the mana engrams into a circuit. That allows me to activate the dormant engrams once I insert my mana into them. I think part of it is because of the dark mana inside me."
"Wait, so you're saying you can use skills that aren't yours?" James asked, his voice filled with sheer disbelief.
"Yeah. I can extract skills from the weapons themselves and use them, but I can only use them when I'm holding the weapon."
"That sounds absurd," James breathed out. "Tyler, do you even know what this means?"
"I know," Tyler said, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous smile. "It's pretty huge. It's a massive advantage. I don't have to wait to level up every time just to get another skill."
He looked at James, quickly putting both of his palms up defensively. "But it doesn't work every time."
"Still, Tyler, that's an incredible skill. It must use a lot of mana."
Tyler scratched his cheek. "No, actually, it doesn't use any mana at all."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It's a passive skill. It doesn't use any mana."
"Then you can use it constantly..."
James rubbed his chin, looking closely at Tyler. "If those skills are extracted... can other people use them?"
Tyler straightened up, his hand falling to his side. "I never really thought about that."
James continued walking, and Tyler fell into step beside him. "You mean you never tested it out?"
"No," Tyler said.
James's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Normally, mana engrams only pass on to a child with the same class. For example, if Heather was an Assassin, even if my mana engrams passed on to her, it wouldn't work, because I'm a Knight."
"Oh, wait. So maybe the mana engrams inside the items work the exact same way. Maybe a specific class can only use a specific weapon."
"Yeah," James nodded. "That makes a lot of sense."
Tyler thought back to his own weapons.* I think I can use the Seven Strikes skill. I don't think the spear is actually meant for a Craftsman, but then again, the system said Craftsman was just a class I got because the first skill I got was crafting.*
As they walked, getting closer to the marketplace, Tyler noticed the area wasn't as crowded as usual, though there were still some people milling about the stalls.
"Tyler," James said softly. "Earlier, you said that you have dark mana inside you."
"I did," Tyler said.
James slowed his pace a little, causing Tyler to do the same. "Well, you see... that isn't normal."
"Yeah, I didn't think it was."
James looked at Tyler, his expression serious. "The dark mana was used by the Demon King, and that mana is inside of all monsters. Most people who use that mana go completely insane."
"They do?"
"Yeah," James nodded. "And the way you got it, it's not even right. What I mean to say is, there's really only one way to get dark mana. And that is to eat monster meat."
"Eating a monster?"
"Yes," James said. "If you eat the meat of a monster, raw or not, you will receive dark mana. It will run right through your mana veins. But there is about a seventy percent chance you will go insane. You will become a monster yourself."
"Wait, so you're saying I could have turned into a monster?"
"Yes. Well, not literally, but listen. Once people have dark mana inside their veins, they... become far more sensitive to their emotions. They become completely susceptible to rage, greed, lust, and so on. They can't contain themselves."
"Oh," Tyler said, a cold chill running through him. "I didn't know."
He looked down at the cobblestone, a sickening realization hitting him. *Imagine if I had eaten monster meat out in the wild without even knowing this. I could have gone insane.*
He looked back at James. "But I have it inside me. Yet I feel... fine."
"That's why I said it's a seventy percent chance. Some people don't go mad after eating it. They actually gain a kind of reward."
"A reward?"
"They gain a skill."
"Wait. So, are you saying that I might have gotten a skill because of the dark mana?"
"Well, yes. That might explain why you reacted that way," James explained. "When people eat monster meat, they go through an incredibly painful process. Some of them fall unconscious because of it. But if they survive, and manage to cling onto their sanity, they gain what we like to call Dark Skills. These are skills that can be found in monsters, but they're not regular ones. They are like ultimate skills. They are incredibly powerful."
"You're right, everything makes sense now," Tyler said, his eyes widening. "That's why I got such a powerful skill."
James looked at Tyler, his eyes narrowing slightly as they continued to walk. "Dark mana and pure mana don't mix. Yet yours somehow did. When a normal person has dark mana, it stays in a specific part of their body. They have to draw it from there to actually activate the skill. And yet, yours seems to be spread around your entire body, completely mixed along with your pure mana. They are not separate. They merged."
"You're right," Tyler said, genuinely confused. He looked at James. "But how did you find out about that?"
"I can tell. You radiate a completely different aura from other people with dark mana. Usually, people with dark mana radiate an obscene, heavy aura, just like monsters do. Even if you can't see it, you feel it. It makes you keep your guard up. It feels like you're standing right next to a monster."
"But with you, it's different. The feeling... it doesn't feel the same. But at the same time, it feels kind of unnatural."
"You mean there's a feeling you get when you're near me?" Tyler asked.
"Yeah," James smiled slightly. "But it's barely noticeable. You only notice it if you search for it."
Tyler looked back at the ground. "Aura... what does he mean by that?"
Suddenly, a memory violently resurfaced. Late one night, walking down the street, he had passed a woman. A woman who made him feel like he had crossed paths with Death itself. Just by walking past her, he felt like he had barely survived a fatal encounter.
*Did that woman have dark mana?* he wondered, a cold sweat pricking his neck. *Because if she had it, it must have been overflowing.*
"You surprise me every day," James said, breaking his train of thought. "It feels like every day, you do the impossible."
Tyler frowned, falling silent as they walked the rest of the way.
They eventually reached the wagon transport station at the edge of town. They climbed onto the waiting wooden wagon, Tyler and James each paying their fares to the driver before taking their seats. To their left lay the sprawling expanse of Veridia.
As the wagon lurched forward and began to rumble along the dirt path, Tyler leaned back against the wood. *I'll have to get back before sunset. Since I need to pay James as quick as possible, the fastest way to gain money is at the ore shop. I will turn as many iron ores into ingots as I can.*