Sighing Simon left his room and walked outside vaguely intending to tend to the garden In the end he simply took the watering pale and sat next to the garden his arms wrapping around his legs pressing his eyes tightly shut While he was so deprived of his sight he did his best to ignore the humming presence of his Astral power and focused instead on the sounds around him A squirrel climbing up a tree the drone of bugs his own breath
As he did so the knot of tension in his neck slowly eased flowing out of him into the ground beneath him There was something profoundly healing about the world Simon reflected to himself It was almost as if compared to the great weights the planet bore their small woes and stresses were so minuscule they could be absorbed without noticeable difference Very quickly Simon’s breathing had eased to the point he could lean back and feel the warmth of the sun on his skin
“It just it sucks being left behind ” Simon whispered to the air He was currently living with his mom in Star Crossing and due to her high standing and also Simon’s their house was about a half mile out of town upon a high hill that gave a good vantage point for the surrounding territory
In a post System world a half mile wasn’t so far that sprinting help couldn’t arrive in time to help handle emergencies but it was far enough that the bustle of the city fell away Plus with rumblings out of Franksburg of development of an electrical grid and a fuel substitute their tiny suburb on the hill might soon be seen as all too close to the noises of the city
Even with the rising threat of doom should the Raid Dungeon team fail by and large no one below the upper levels of the VIllage’s Administrations noticed Or at least the people gossipped and talked about it but never really doubted that their heroes would succeed
Simon pressed his eyes shut It had been hard these past few weeks to listen to so many people praising Thea for her bravery and power They talked about how she was from a relatively common Class as far as the Raid Dungeon party went and still was able to stand among them as equals due to hard work and determination Every time someone talked about her Simon felt a hand grip his heart to the point he simply ached all other emotions driven away To think that now she was out of his ability to assist or understand
Tensing his entire body Simon hissed “I’m so weak All I could do was watch as they left and now not even “
He trailed off unsure of what to say As his thoughts always did when faced with the question of how to become stronger Simon’s thoughts turned towards David The Ghosthound The man who more than anyone else had gotten to where he was due to hard work and determination
Oh Simon didn’t deny that Thea’s recent emergence was due to those same traits but he was likely the only person who realized that Thea’s emergence coincided with meeting the Ghosthound and watching how he mercilessly drove himself forward always pushing harder farther faster He was a man that lived under a dreadful weight At this point Simon wondered if the Ghosthound could stop pushing or would the sheer momentum of him continue to drive him farther and farther from the rest of humanity
Simon had trained his Skills but he wasn’t as exacting as he knew he would have to be to move among the highest level of Classers When he grew tired Simon didn’t want to push even further he simply wanted to stop and rest Of course he wasn’t going to baby himself up to that point but everyone he had talked to had told him that any work that he would put in after that moment he sincerely believed he couldn’t go on any longer was just as valuable if not more so than all the work that came before that Therefore those that could push past the weariness were getting in double the work as those who couldn’t
These principles were derived from pre System exercise science of course but all the experts agreed that post System Skills improved for a lot of the same reasons that muscles did previously It simply left Simon exhausted feeling like a vast gulf was opening between himself and others even with the rarity of his Class That space between himself and the Ghosthound was a given but now it was surely between himself and Thea
Simon spun around jumping up to his feet in response to the sudden sound The broken body of the bird that had slammed into the glass window seemed glued to the impact zone the thin crack holding it in a vengeful grip But then the moment passed and the body tumbled down and settled into the bushes next to the house
Letting out a breath Simon muttered “Fuck this ” and closed his eyes He reached for his Astral power and his awareness spread rapidly outward
He could feel how in the living room his Soulbound companion got to his feet shaking his oxen head in displeasure It was very clear that his friend did not look kindly on him giving in to temptation so quickly but Simon didn’t care about that now he simply let himself get lost in the teleportation allowing his perceptions to shoot off across the horizon scanning quickly
Simon blinked and then his smile split his face widely They were back
The Raid Dungeon party was there looking considerably the worse for wear even the Ghosthound His once fearsome cloak of bones now truly looked like something that had been kept in a crypt for 100 years crisscrossed with broken bones and holes
In fact
The longer Simon looked at the group the more his smile faded away Something was definitely wrong The group’s faces were grim and said There was very little talking and most of it was the Ghosthound speaking quietly to Rose and Alana while the whole group was very specifically not looking at
Thea
Kneeling on the ground next to Chrysanthemum
The urge to vomit was so strong that Simon was knocked out of his trance brought back to standing in front of his and his mom’s garden His vomit was acidic and yellow as he spewed it over the ground and he took several long seconds to blink away his tears and regard the stomach liquid he had produced It seemed so chemical so foreign so far from how he would describe himself even his most inner workings So close to being something other
Shivering Simon closed his eyes and looked at Chrysanthemum again Her hair had fallen out and her skin was coming off in large flakes She seemed to be some sort of rotten fruit lumpy yet soft unnaturally shaped her previously strong bulk now emptied like a spent water balloon
Gently Thea stroked Chrysanthemum whispering something that not even Simon’s Astral ears could hear Out of habit he had formed a small Astral Projection of a bird but he let that dissipate hoping that no one had noticed Simon’s thoughts were bouncing around his head violent and strange and he couldn’t deal with the Ghosthound turning his baleful green eyes to him issuing some order
Simon needed time to understand what had happened
Next to Thea’s body there lay a sword and an antlered helmet which he recognized as the Regalias of the Champions At least they had accomplished that goal And as suddenly as he had thought of goals there was a flicker from the Dungeon behind the group a burst of golden light and a notification appeared in Simon’s vision
Congratulations Zone 32 Your strongest warriors have cleared the Raid Dungeon The ambient energy in the air will be increased to 1 5x previous levels In addition the Raid Dungeon will remain a powerful Dungeon with great rewards in its depths Continue to defeat this Dungeon and you will perhaps discover hidden secrets
Due to the victory the area of Zone 32 will be increased by an extra 50 miles in each direction Warning when this planet entered into the System some smaller portions were frozen in time Some humans might be contained within these areas However the monsters in the new area will be between Level 35 and Level 45 so act quickly Those areas will open tomorrow
Contained in the new areas will also be an additional Rare natural treasure due to being the 2nd group to clear the Raid Dungeon on your planet and the 5th in your Cohort All humans born in your Zone will receive an extra +5 to all Stats while within your Zone