Lilac gave the rest of her party a wave as they headed out on their hunting trip. They had asked her to stay behind so she could rest and, while Lilac felt fine, she couldn't exactly say no. Truth be told, she had some things she wanted to mess about with herself. Still, Lilac did feel that Lily was being a tad overprotective. Lilac had insisted that her 'Consumptive Flame' thing was under control but Lily just wouldn't listen. lilac couldn't help but sigh slightly as she slumped down on a rock to relax. But the young mage just couldn't sit still. She'd be fine if she just didn't cast fire magic, right? So, Lilac summoned her wickerwood staff and pointed it at a Stalagmite. She attempted to cast [Water Shot]. The spell failed.

  The Mage looked at her staff, confusion and worry warring on her face. The Mana had begun to respond to her intent, guided by the System as usual. But then it just stopped; destabilizing and returning to a neutral state before it could take on the shape of the intended magic. She tried again, focusing her mind on the pattern of the Spell instead of just relying on the System's guiding hand. Again, the spell failed to manifest, but this time, Lilac could see a bit clearer. The moment the spell wold give the Water Aspect to the Mana it was shaping, the Mana refused and collapsed. She decided to try and different element and attempted to cast [Bark Blast]. That also failed to form. A worry crept into Lilac's mind. She worried if the burn of her new Physique had damaged her Mana Viens; the network of channels in her body that allowed her to interact with Mana. That spellcraft book the System had given her said that those channels were incredibly important to casting magic but were also somewhat delicate at times and could be overloaded. She decided to try some of the Mana sensing techniques she used to feel out those veins the first time around.

  Frankly, at that point, Lilac was expecting to fail. She expected to have been broken. After all, her mother had always said she was a stupid girl, and it was her decision to mess about with the glitchy system that had caused this. The Systems INT stat was a measure of how easily someone could learn new things, nothing more. Which made sense. Intelligent people could do stupid things. Lilac was pulled out of her lamentations by something very unexpected. Her Mana sense hadn't been damaged, It had improved. Drastically so. She could feel the Mana around her with a sharpness that was frankly amazing. What's more, she could sense the Mana within her better as well. And it was there that she found the true answer to her issues. The mana flowing through her already had an aspect, Fire. Fire and water were opposing elements in every sense, there was no way her Mana could aspect itself to Water without extreme manipulation. And Nature was the Element that fed into fire in the wheel, it couldn't form because the fire mana was eating and converting the Nature mana back as it was made. Logically then... Lilac held out her staff and cast [Stone Bullet]; an Earth Aspect spell. Success.

  Lilac let out a sigh of relief; she wasn't damaged at all. Or well, maybe she was. Her natural Man was now aspected to fire, likely due to her Physique, and who could be sure that wasn't already dangerous. Physique; Chloe had suggested it to fill the second slot after Lilac had shown the 'Bloodline' thing. She remembered something about puppies. Wait, no; that wasn't the important part. Puppy.... puppy girls... some ideas... Ah. Chloe had some ideas... about puppies? No, It was some ideas relating to 'Bloodline' and 'Physique'. Why were they talking about puppies again? Lilac couldn't remember. Maybe it was related? Probably not. Either way, if Chloe had some clue as to this whole thing she needed to ask her about it. Well, she also needed to remember to ask her, which was the harder part. Actually, she hadn't really done more than give the System description more than a quick glance. She should probably see what it actually said about this Physique thing. Admittedly, she was a little worried that she might trigger the flames again. Then again, if it was blocking some aspects of her spellcasting, that was more than a little important, right? "... URGH! Fuck it!"

  The buff to her fire magic was grater than she expected. It was still a little irritating that she was locked out of two whole elements entirely, but she got a fair bit in return. Was it an equal exchange? It was a little hard to say for sure. But she was planning to go for a fire build anyway. Interesting question actually. WAs she drawn to the flames so easily because of her dormant Physique? Or did it develop this way because The Tutorial was so heavily Fire Aspected. Oh well, wasn't all that important. It wouldn't actively change anything. More pressingly, Lilac had a burning desire to experiment. The Mage giggled at her own joke and mouthed a sorry to her absent sister as she set her staff off to the side. Lilac took a couple of deep breaths and raised her hands, targeting a different Stalagmite this time, as the original target had been destroyed by the Stone Bullet. She focused hard, concentrating on the feel of her Mana as she cast [Fire Arrow]. The Mana within her seemed eager to respond, flowing through her and shifting more heavily to fire as the spell shot from her extended hand and struck the rock, splitting it. The sensation of casting without the focus was addicting; the way the fire within responded to her intent was something that left a buzz of excitement that didn't fade, even as the Mana calmed itself. Lilac was more of a Sorcerer than a Wizard at this point, but that was actually kinda cool and as she stood there, taking it all in, she just couldn't hold back anymore.

  The pertinent pyromancer giggled and guffawed with unrestrained mirth that echoed through the cave.Chloe led her group through the burning forest, periodically wiping away the accumulated sweat that clung to her skin. the simple clothing she had gotten from the System store with the last of her tokens was thinner than her previous leather gambeson by a significant margin, but it wasn't thin enough to keep her cool. The soft garment, which Chloe assumed was made of some kind of natural fibre, would likely smell atrocious by the end of the day, if it didn't already. The Martialist glanced over towards Lily. "Will your Sister actually stay put?"

  "Probably not entirely, but I do trust her not to do anything too stupid."

  "You do?"

  "...Mostly. She'll probably investigate that water-logged tunnel she found. She did get that 'Something Lung' skill from the Gacha"

  "... 'Mostly' doesn't exactly inspire that much confidence"

  "You get used to it. Lilac struggles to sit still is all"

  Ashley's giggle drifts over the group "She'll be fine. Even if that Physique of hers flares up, I'm sure she can get it back under control. She did it once already and that was when it took her by surprise"

  Chloe felt herself wince. She hadn't expected anything that crazy to happen when she suggested it. Usually, when it came to Physiques in the kind of Xianxia she was using as reference, these things were causing problems from the start. Heck, she could practically see the scene in her mind; some poor village girl with frequent fevers slips into some kind of coma, she is saved by the Main character and taken back to the Sect to gain mastery over her powers. Huh, Sects. Maybe, if this kind of thing really existed, that would be what the modern guild structure would evolve into. Chloe drifted deeper into her thoughts as she walked. So deep that she didn't see the burning branch swinging into her face until it was too late. Chloe let out a startled yelp as the branch made contact, burning her face as it pushed her to the ground. Ashley pulled Chloe to her feet as Lily nocked an arrow, Four trees wrenched themselves free of the dirt and turned on the group

  "Bloody Hell!" Chloe spat as she summoned her blade

  "Use the trees as cover, huh?" Lily grinned at Chloe

  "I didn't know they'd fucking stand up!"

  "Girls, focus." Ashleys' voice brought the other two to attention "Lets do this!"

  Lilac checked over her equipment one more time; everything seemed in order. She hadn't, unfortunately, brought her dive suit itself. But, thankfully, she was wearing shorts and a top that were just tight enough that they shouldn't get in her way while she was swimming. It was practical clothing that she'd selected because she'd expected to be moving about a lot. She hadn't quite expected it to turn into a psudo-camping trip, but it wasn't something that she was going to complain about. After tying her hair back into a long braid, Lilac re-read [Steel Lung]. 15 minutes of extra breath holding and a reduction in the effect of decompression sickness. Frankly, it was a great skill for someone used to free diving. And it had already helped her out. When she was struggling to gain control of her Physique, the skill was allowing her to not be as affected by the spasming of her diaphragm by making what few gasps of air she did get much more effective. But now it was time to put it to use for it's intended purpose.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  As Lilac slipped into the water she couldn't help but feel like it was colder than she remembered it being, though it might be possible now that her body was running at a higher temperature. A mildly disconcerting thought if so, given that that might have some knock on effects. Well, it wasn't anything she could do anything about now so she'd just have to add it to the long list of things that she'd probably forget to do something about later. And hey, the slightly chill was kind of refreshing. Another possibility presented itself as she swam deeper, because as she approached the flooded Lava Tube the water grew warmer. If that was her getting used to the water or the water actually getting hotter was difficult to tell. It didn't actually take all that long for Lilac to make it to the statue that she had gotten the Flamepledge amulet from yesterday. She shined her divelight about to get a good look at the thing at it was truly massive; at least 30 meters tall. The tunnel itself was slightly sloped and, deciding that she didn't want to swim deeper, Lilac swam to follow the incline upwards.

  As Lilac followed the tunnel upwards she could see a clear difference between the top and bottom halves of the tube. The top still had ridges and wave-like patterns in the stone consistent with formation by cooling liquid rock; a classic magma tube. About a half way down, however, the tunnel was smoothed down into flat stone in a way that was decidedly not natural. At the bottom along the floor, the tunnel turned flat instead of curved and featured a path of cracked flagstones that, despite the wear, were clearly arranged in some kind of ornate repeating pattern. A few more statues popped up occasionally, but those were damaged and, in some cases, nothing but leg. Along what was starting to look increasingly like a procession path of some kind, short stone lanterns stood at regular intervals, some still shedding light over the tunnel. Lilac could feel the magic within those lamps.

  After 6 minutes, Lilac considered turning back. After all, an extra 15 minutes total only really gave you 7-ish minutes one way on a two way trip. Just as she was about to however, she noticed something ahead; an actual surface to the water. Well, Lilac obviously decided to check that out. there indeed was air there and, after finding a spot with enough space, popped her head above the surface. The sight was actually kind of pretty, the way the light from the underwater lanterns reflected on the surface of the water made the liquid look like it was glowing. The tunnel itself went on for a long distance and while Lilac couldn't quite make out the actual end of tunnel she could see something she hadn't seen in days due to the smoke of the forest; natural light. With a grin, Lilac pushed forward, her adventurous spirit in full gear.

  Chloe took the first move, activating a [Skinshield] barrier and pushing into the front. Her sword dug into the bard of the nearest Ent, dealing damage. However, the angle meant that most of her momentum was absorbed, causing her to stagger slightly as she withdrew her blade. That was enough for the Ent she was attacking, and two others, to catch her with a [Bark Blast] spell each. All hit, but thankfully the [Skinshield] was able to absorb two of the three attacks. The third did hit though, causing Chloe to wince and move backwards slightly. Ashley cast a [Low Heal] as Chloe removed a chunk of back that had stuck in her shoulder.

  Lily fired an arrow, hitting the fourth Ent. it raised it's burning branches and swung to retaliate. The Rouge responded by using her [Spatial Hop] to teleport dodge. She tried to turn and hit it again right after but the disorientation from teleporting for the first time was too much and the shot went wide. "Hey, you... urgh... you okay Chloe?"

  Chloe responded with a grunt as she recast her [Skinshield]. "I'm fine, this skinshield thing I picked up is already paying off wonderfully. You good though? Sound a bit winded"

  "Yeah, didn't realise Teleportation would feel this... unpleasant. I can get used to it though."

  Ashley cast another [Low Heal] to top Chloe off "Can already tell the Extra MP is going to be useful. Might be an idea to try and Focus one of them down if we can"

  Chloe gave another grunt as she parried a Burning branch "We can try, but it's easier said than done when we're outnumbered and surrounded"

  Lily jumped back to dodge an attack, opening her mouth to say something. unfortunately she is interrupted by a a direct smack to the face from another Ent. She lets out a scream as she's knocked into a nearby bush "Fuck! Shit! Ow!" Her original Ent fired a [Bark Blast] at her, but she dodged using [Spatial Hop]. "Bloody hell! Those freaking thorns jabbed my leg!" Chloe winced sympathetically as she deflected another branch attack and countered. Ashley sidestepped a [Bark Blast] as she casts [Low Heal] on Lily to offset the damage. Lily gave a thumbs up and fired another arrow. The shot hit the Ent, imbedding itself and causing a loud crack to sound from it's frame. The Rouge grinned to herself as she went to sidestep the Ents' next attack. However, as she did, a pain flared up in her calf, causing her to stagger. The Branch hit hard, pushing her down into the soot covered floor. Lily groaned as she pushed herself up and blinked away with another [Spatial Hop]. She took a sharp intake of breath as another flash of pain seared through her leg. A glance down revealed glowing red-orange veins flickering like fire beneath the surface and slowly blackening skin around them. "Uhh...Ash? Help?" Ashley cast a [Low Heal] without looking, as she was focusing to dodge an attack. "No, Ashley! Look! My legs glowing and it feels like it's burning on the inside!"

  Ashley glanced over with a scowl of concern. She dodged another branch swing as she puzzled it through in her head. 'It must have been the thorns!' Ashley raised her staff and began to cast [Low Restore]. As the magic surged through Lily, she let out a soft sigh of relief "Thanks Ashley, I can feel my leg again. My Max HP went down a bit from whatever that was though, and it hasn't gone back up."

  Ashley let out a soft "Fuck" under her breath as she moved back a little bit to assess things "The thorns of the bushes around us have some kind of toxin in them, try to avoid getting jabbed!"

  "Got it!" Chloe got a strike on the Tree she was facing as s second Ent hit her, eating at her barrier. "There's a lot of them in the clearing though."

  "Just be careful!" Lily lined up another shot and loosed, hitting the Ent just below where she had hit it before. "You do not want to feel that shit, trust me" The Ent lined up an attack. Remembering what had happened when she dodged away, Lily instead rad towards the wooden fiend, using her flexibility to dodge the strike and fire a [Power Shot] almost point blank into the trunk. The wood split in twain as the arrow went deep into the monsters form. Lily had secured the first kill of the fight. They had little time to rejoice, however, as not long after, two Sonic Wolves ran into the clearing, attracted by the sound of the fight.

  Chloe let out an exasperated laugh-like sigh "No rest for the wicked."

  Lilac kept walking. The level of the ground had basically stabilized by now and she was pushing through waist-high water towards the light. Thankfully, it did not take her too much longer to reach the end of the tunnel and, when she did get close enough to see what lay beyond, her breath was taken away. The tunnel opened out into a large domed cavern, bigger than she could realistically measure with her eyes, with many tunnels like the one she had emerged from leading off in various directions. The natural light she had been chasing came from a portion of the domed ceiling that had collapsed in on itself. But what really stunned the flustered flame-user was the building at the Caverns centre.

  It was a large gothic-style cathedral made of dark grey stone with red gems serving as highlights. Directly in front of it's wrought iron gate was an a large circular courtyard, elevated above the flooded floor of the cavern by means of thick, ornate pillars. Many walkways extended off of the main courtyard, heading to the entrances of the various tunnels at the edge of the cave. Though, a large number of these walkways had collapsed, creating piles of debris in the water below. Enough did survive, however, to provide multiple means of access to the courtyard proper. Lilac, however, dare not climb the spiral stairs that twisted around a nearby pillar to provide access to the upper walkways. Standing in front of the main gate of the cathedral was 3 humanoid figured wearing soot-coloured amour and two large and vicious hounds with fur of similar hue.

  A plus symbol. Now, Lilac didn't know the exact meaning behind the Symbol when it came to the EqL thing, but it wasn't like it was impossible to guess. These things were technically EqL 3 and 2, but had something that made them a bit spicier. Probably not something that usually showed up in Tutorials, definitely not something she would want to touch. Heck she wouldn't touch this even if the plus symbols weren't there. Still, if there was something like that in front of the place, it must be important to some extent. She'd tell the others about it when she got a chance... If she remembered. For now though, best to leave before they notice her. And with that, Lilac made a hasty retreat back to base camp through the flooded tunnel. Thankfully, she'd left a marked to tell where she'd actually come from. Good Practice saves lives.

  Lily broke the surface of the water in the base cave with a soft gasp and began to pull herself from the water, as she did so, she heard something move off to the side. assuming it was her friends back, she took a breath to talk and turned to face them. Only to see a pack of four Sonic Wolves staring her down instead. Well, three of them stared her down, another was nosing through the pack she'd left on the ground with the equipment she hadn't needed. Lilac summoned her staff from her inventory. Or more accurately, failed when she tried to. She looked over to the part of the cave where she had been practicing her spells earlier, her staff still sitting on the floor there where she had forgotten to put it back in her inventory. One of the wolves stamped on the staff as it approached, causing a snapping sound to echo dimly as it broke in two and causing Lilac to visibly wince. Lilac didn't have time much to think about that though, as the wolves had begun to approach her.