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The Multiverse

Setting

One of the five large continents on this planet, this massive landscape is filled with all sorts of terrain, and Hayslem City, the Capital, is at it's heart.

The Capital is a large city, nestled on the coast. It is warm for a good portion of the year, but cools down when the sun sets. As such, swimming and skinny dipping are common especially among children, and the bathhouses are constantly getting traffic to those who want to cool off without going all the way home. For those less active, there are countless bars that serve ice cold drinks, but one in particular, Destara, is a popular bar for adventurer's, travelers, and such.

Additionally, the capital also houses one of the most important buildings in the universe, the Adventurer's Guild HQ. Its favorite sport is Brawlball, a ball sports game that tends to be very lively and energetic.

In the surrounding Corelands, are the low level fields where young and new adventurers can be found often training and fighting them to gain experience. From using guns, to staffs, to swords, you can see all manner of fighting here.

To the North there is the Bittrend Mountains, contrasting the hot nature of the capital with a chill. It is rumored that several dragons live there, and wreck havoc every few centuries.

There is also the Shavnar Savanah to the east, Etten's Bay, and Deskott Valley, as popular places. Deskott Valley even has a famous dungeon, though its pretty high level.
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Rosetta Continent

One of the five large continents on this planet, this massive landscape is filled with all sorts of terrain, and Hayslem City, the Capital, is at it's heart.

Minimap

Rosetta Continent is a part of Origin.

14 Places in Rosetta Continent:

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Zeebee Elestria Lake [25] Subject XIV. "I was just an extra they discovered at the end, but that doesn't mean I am any less powerful!"
Sora Lake [25] Subject Sigma. "What is up becomes down, what is left becomes right, what moves forward now moves back, so be ready in a fight".

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Old Hovercar


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Aziora City. Compared to Hayslem or Questrios it was barely a city, but prior to Valentine Inc setting up shop it was little more than a town. Aziora started as a midway, a rest stop for travelers between the two cities who couldn't afford easier transportation, and the occasional vacationer looking to get away from the city.

When Valentine Inc arrived it took little time for the small stop over to grow, and the company steadily increased their presence as the area grew. Eventually they built their headquarters in Aziora, a building compromised of an old world stone work base building beneath a simple glass and steel tower that stretched toward the sky. This building dominates the skyline, a pillar standing between the two older cities on the continent. The city sprawls out from this central point, various corporate buildings mixed with other private and government buildings, housing developments and hotels, restaurants and recreational areas.

The city is technically independent of Valentine Inc. and under the jurisdiction of the government seated in Hayslem, but in reality the company has a much greater involvement in the day to day running of the city by virtue of owning much of the infrastructure and business in the city. Aziora and Valentine Inc have become symbiotic.

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The northern regions of the Rosetta Continent, just south of the Bittrend Mountains and the Marshlands, was a large saclae ruin larger in scale then Hayslem City times ten. A huge and massive ruins, overtaken by forest there were plenty of "urban" areas as well, and it created a diverse and unique Ecosystem in its own right. As such, creature mutations had a variety, no, an infinite number of possibilities.

Sora and Zeebee lake, two adopted brothers, could personally attest to that. They were wearing specialized adventurers clothing that would double as medium-light armor, and boasted shielding devices to help protect them against attacks. But from what they had seen, they wondered if they prepared enough now. Goblins and Orcs could also be seen here, but so could weird mutations they had never seen before. Now, there were a bit more typical ones, like Goblins capable of using Ice Magic, or a Drake that could breath lighning. Rare, but expectable. But they had also seen Winged Goblins, Organic Golems, Zombie Centaurs, and a number of creatures which appeared to be made of pure energy.

Honestly speaking, this was already mind blowing. And this was only what they had seen in the past hour, having made sure to arrive a bit early then the scheduled meeting time with the one who issued the Quest for an Escort and Assistance through these ruins.

"Did we...get here too early?"

Now, they were suddenly considering the idea that maybe they got overzealous and arrived too early, looking at each other with a bit of a comedic oops expression.

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Cedric ducked under a bundle of hanging moss, brushing it aside. The area was interesting to say the least, he regretted not coming sooner. There was definitely magic here, creatures his research labs would have a field day with. Adjusting the satchel strap on his shoulder he continued on.

At a glance one would not expect to see him trudging through the ruins. Apart from the satchel there was nothing 'adventurous' about his clothes, he wore a suit, a long over coat, fedora, even his shoes didn't appear to be much for forging a path into the wilderness. Yet onward he trekked, seemingly unconcerned with his unconventional attire.

He felt his two companions before he saw them, which did not help his surprise when they turned out to be young children, at least in appearance. It wouldn't be the first time he worked with someone who was older than their physical age, and it wouldn't be the first time he worked with children who were much more skilled than anyone might expect.

"Haven't been here long I hope."

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"Oh good...we didn't get here too early....no no, its fine".

"See? You worry too much Sora".

"As if! You were worried too!"

"Well, neither of us were probably as worried as those guys".

As Sora and Zeebee had that conversation, they pointed towards three sets of bones that were totally picked clean. However, and this should be of particular note, those three skeletons did not look old at all. In fact, they looked quite new.

"It looks like they downloaded an app yesterday from their phone, so...it looks like maybe there is something flesh eating or acidic here".

ALthough hat first glance Sora and Zeebee might look like normal children, there were some things that could be noticed easily. For one thing, they never once had dropped their guard. Each one had their hands near weapons, and almost constantly they positioned themselves in spots that allowed them both to cover each other's blindspots. In addition, Zeebee kept vigilance on the sky and Sora had repeatedly tapped the ground.

In other words, they were anticipating both flying and tunneling enemies. Flying was a bit more predictable but, it was known that tunneling enemies were those that people always forgot to anticipate.

In terms of experience, they were more diligent then some researchers Cedric might have, as they remained cautious at all times. It could not be heard in their voices or words, but their body language gave them away. Zeebee especially was a bit more on guard.

"So then, you are the one that submitted the Quest, right?"

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Cedric had to admit he was amused by the terminology, quests and escorts and adventurers. He nodded a yes. "Just a little walk in the park." his eyes moved over the particularly clean skeletons, almost clinical. It was impressive enough for Cedric to make a mental note of. "You two must be Sora and," he paused to recall the name "Zeebee?"

Cedric could tell the two were clearly aware of their surroundings, he noticed their mutual synergy. It was like a pair of well trained guard dogs each ordered to protect the other. Their movements individually were completely natural but when taken together there was something unnatural about them. Like they had a connection that went beyond the senses. Good, he thought, always easier to work with people who work naturally together.

"Have you been in these ruins before?"

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"Yeah, that is right. The one and only Sora Lake, and my brother Zeebee Lake".

Sora introduced them. Although Sora and Zeebee looked nothing alike, they were introduced as brothers. They were only adoptive brothers at the all, but they got along better then many blood brothers do.

As for the question on if they had been there before....

"No, it is our first time but we did heavy research on the area. After all..."

"...rule one of our own Adventurer's Code indicates one should do heavy research on any area we are going to that we have not been to yet".

"And Rule two is to make sure you pack not just enough supplies, but extra supplies for when things go wrong..."

"...which they always do, but when they don't, we get pleasantly surprised and save on what we need to buy the next time".

The two acted like twins, finishing each other's sentences and maintaining a perfect sync. In truth, this was partially thanks to the ability Link which had linked their bodies and minds and gave certain benefits.

"On that note, it appears the name of this city has long been lost, though some theorize this was multiple cities grouped together. As for the mutations...not only is this area high in mana count, but it also has a number of research labs that at one point or another were doing experimentation on monsters to learn more about them. It seems there are a good number near that tower there..."

Zeebee began explaining, jumping up with a strength no human child should have and grabbing onto a high tree branch, pulling himself up and then pointing at a large tower in the distance.

"There are also a few places closer. And along with creatures, it seemed there were those that dealt in Magic Tools, various practices of Magic itself, and as such you can find a lot in this city...if it doesn't kill you that is. It looks like the middle of the city is some sort of Pseudo Dungeon, because when I used a telescope to scout that area I thought I saw creatures coming out of the stone itself, though maybe it was the stone or monsters that were different from normal".

As the two explained various things, each one continued to keep a watchful eye on the area. And for good reason too, given that some creatures were watching. Not attacking, not preparing. They were waiting for one sign, any sign, of weakness. They were waiting for what would be the perject time to strike. It was nerve shattering, because even just a straight attack could be countered and what they were waiting for...

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Cedric could feel it, them. The creatures around them, lurking, waiting, watching. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, the combination of natural instinct and his connection to magical creatures working to make him aware of the situation.

Reaching out in his mind he approached each creature, not directly, but in a broad sweeping manner. It gave the impression that he was more imposing than his physical stature, it would give them the same feeling of being watched that Cedric had. Not a challenge, but a sign that Cedric was aware and unafraid.

"We've got company already." he said casually, adjusting the satchel again. "Let's look for one of these research labs." creature hunting and data mining in the same place would be convenient.

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"Indeed...only one thing to do then to draw them out..."

Suddenly, it appeared that Zeebee both moved and stayed still at the same time. AN image of Zeebee moved forward, while an image of Zeebee stood still at the top of that tree. The one that moved was Zeebee's Specter, a clone he could make that was his duplicate, even in terms of abilities and can also benefit from Sora's Link.

Sora meanwhile took out a pair of binoculars to scout the nearby area.

This Specter moved forward just a few steps, when suddenly a tree it went near launched it's branch out to strike it. But unlike afterimages or illusions, Zeebee's clone fought back. He blocked the strike using his arm in a martial arts style Cedric probably had never seen before, since they both were personally trained in it by their adoptive father. As he blocked, a huge surge of electricity came out and set the tree, or rather a monster known as a Trent, on fire. It swung around wildly at first before falling over dead.

"Looks like the trees might also be monsters. No wonder this place is listed as a dangerous area that should be avoided. Well, the outer ruins seemed clear, but this far in the closer you get, the more dangerous it becomes".

"Zeebee, how is the Specter? How much damage? How bad did it hurt?"

Notably, although Zeebee's Specter took the hit, Zeebee had gripped his arm. But the Specter appeared to be in at least twice as much pain.

"Taking a direct hit from a huge tree is always bad. A normal human would have had their bones crushed".

"You need pain meds?"

"No, its manageable. However...if we take the forest route, we will have to keep in mind those attacks. If we take the open route though, we will get swarmed by the other monsters...as for the nearest research labs, it looks like there is one over there, that large facility. The language is old Rozain, but it appears to read 'National Magic Research Lab'. It looks like its not in bad shape either...however..."

Sora looked around, and watched their surroundings. Zeebee was also on edge.

"It seems that they are just watching...no, unless...it might be a type of monster that waits for it's prey to attack something else. The moment that no one can really avoid, that brief moment in a fight where one cannot help but focus on what they are attacking. If it's waiting for that, then..."

Zeebee jumped out of the tree and rejoined the group.

"Then it's bad. If they travel in packs, the moment we attack one they will strike the attacker. And if they have this much intelligence, they may hold some of theirs back if we don't all attack at once...Mr. Valentine? It looks like we need to get a bit messy, so please stand clear. It is unfortunate, but it appears a battle where a one hundred percent chance of victory is impossible has already occurred...there goes Rule 3 again..."

"For the record, Rule 3 is 'Avoid Battles unless you can be certain of victory, so that when something goes wrong, the odds wont be as bad as they could have'".

Sora took out two guns, while Zeebee and his Specter deployed Electro-Blades from the sleeves of his arms (think Assassin's Creed Style but the blade comes out from the outside and not the palm side).

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Cedric was impressed by Zeebee's specter and quick dispatch of the Trent. He couldn't help but smirk as his companions broke down the possible situation. Not having a guarantee of victory, the possible attack pattern of the unknown watchers, suggesting that he stay back.

"Oh I don't think you'll have to worry about me." he found himself subconsciously rubbing his ring, beginning to increase his reaction time and speed with magic buffs. Mentally he shifted from a non confrontational stance to a more aggressive presence, still not directed at a specific creature. His outward calm never changed as he reached out to see how many creatures there were. Despite his best effort he couldn't pin down a number, "I figure at least six. Hard to tell." he couldn't help but think the natural ability to mask numbers like this could be very useful.

"I'll let you two take the lead on this. It's what I hired you for after all. Then off to the research lab." a shadow of energy was weaving its way into reality around his right hand. "And remember, anything that doesn't get disintegrated is valuable to me."

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"Five". "Seven".

The two said their own oberservations, but looked at each other in shock when they did.

"It didn't match?"

"That is rare...better be careful".

With Link, their estimates were rarely if ever different from each other, so when that did happen they grew concerned. And when Valentine mentioned about letting them take the lead, it did work out well. After all, Sora and Zeebee did not have as typical of abilities as one might think. Sora might seem a bit more atypical then Zeebee, but in truth Zeebee's only seemed more typical. In their works, there were fundamental differences.

Sora started off the attack by taking a simple step, but he seemed to put a lot of force into that step. And at that same time, it appeared that all of gravity in front of him inverted. Several strange creatures with colors that let them camouflage flew into the air in that moment, but in that same moment there was also one that had lunged from the side and was already at Sora's throat.

But it was not moving, because Zeebee had just stabbed it. Yet notably, there was also one at Zeebee's throat, but that was stabbed by the Specter...but then the Specter went falling to the ground with one of those creatures on him. And had Valentine moved to protect the Specter, there was indeed more in wait.

The Specter died instantly, but Sora shot it with a bullet while Zeebee stabbed another the moment he did. The moment Zeebee went to stab though, another jumped out of the ground aiming for his neck, which forced Sora to shoot it. But the moment he fired, yet another one was jumping out. Zeebee only just managed to get that one in time by releasing a bolt of electricity at it, and then also releasing a huge electrical pulse from his whole body. This wide spread area of effect attack is what finally broke the chain of attacks.

"Seriously...that was way more then six or seven..."

The two went back to back, looking at their surroundings. There were definitely more, but they were staying hidden. From all sides, at all times. Zeebee was not even sure he had the room to release a Specter.

"Guess we gotta use those then".

"Guess so".

Deciding to use some of their equipment, the two took out a cluster of small objects. Those were Microgrenades, and they threw them into every inch and hiding spot around them. Although these creatures normally attacked when one's focus aimed at another enemy, grenades didn't cause that situation and therefore they did not immediately react...which caused them to get blown to smithereens by the grenades. There were still plenty of samples from the chain earlier for Cedric though, so they figured he would be fine with that.

"The more forested route it is then, I think. I would rather not want to deal with those again if we ended up fighting something seriously dangerous".

"Agreed...no wonder they tell rookies to avoid this area..."

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They came out quickly, in succession, from everywhere. By the third attack Cedric moved, raising his left hand toward the creature attacking the Spector. But he didn't attack, he blinked.

Appearing three feet behind the point he had been standing his hand was now pointed at a fourth creature. He fired a blast of dark energy, killing the creature. While this happened he was muttering an incantation while his right hand weaved its way through the signs of a separate spell.

As soon as the blast hit his left hand turned counter clockwise and it seemed like time slowed around him, he turned on one heel toward the next creature. His right hand swung around in a fist, carrying his bodies momentum and contacted the monster just below the jaw. The combination of speed and strength buffs with the slowed time increased the impact of the punch exponentially. Cedric could feel the jugular crumble, the bones crack. The creature crumpled in a pile on the floor.

As Cedric came back into real time an electrical pulse came from Zeebee, halting the chain of attacks. Taking inventory Cedric noted a few samples he could tag for his labs. Out of his satchel he produced three devices, tossing one at each of three corpses. They scanned the bodies before floating over them, projecting a barrier that would prevent any threat from damaging the subjects until they could be retrieved.

"Very well, after you." Cedric agreed to taking the forest route.

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Sora and Zeebee kept an eye on the surroundings as they traveled forward, making sure to always watch the various approach angles, and now trees as well apparently. Since the trees themselves were also monsters on occasion. However, it was really clear that this place was at the center of monster evolution given the varients they could see in the distance.

Thankfully the route they took was the correct one, and they managed to get closer to the facility. But as always, or perhaps as expected, there came the next issue. One that could not be avoided or overlooked.

"This city...a lot of it is ancient, made of stone...but those doors are automated...and working..."

As Sora said, the doors to the front of the facility would automatically open when any living creature came near, and closed after they passed through or left. The city had been long abandoned however, so the fact that things still worked and had power demonstrated the genius that went into crafting this place.

"According to the guide, this place also had a few facilities for Magus Computing and Engineering....basically, a version of computers that ran on magic. It was not quite as good as the electronic computer systems, but it was effective...and it seems to be active. And connected to security measures. Well, since this facility focused more on the bio aspect of magic, I doubt their security will be as dangerous as the more tech based ones but...we should be careful all the same".

Fighting monsters was one thing, but now it turned out they might have to fight the building itself. Zeebee who read that from the guide make his explanation with a grim face. However...

"We are already familiar thanks to the spar...the intense training we got from dad".

Sora said that, and the two while not happy were not backing down either. The two rechecked all their gear and made sure they were ready for trouble.

"So unless you want to try a different facility, it looks like this is your best shot. After all, if it still has mana, the equipment and specimens may be in good condition".

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"They're all the same to me." Cedric responded as he moved forward to the facility.

The fact that it still had working automatic doors was impressive, to say the least. A biological magic research center that still had power. This was bound to turn up something interesting.

Cedric approached cautiously, unsure what kind of security might be in place, and if it was designed to keep them out or subjects in. Cedric hoped for the later, he was after unique specimens after all.

He reached a hand out toward the doors, intending to touch them but they slid open before he could. It was strangely inviting, usually not a good sign on this type of exploration. The room opened up before him, some sort of atrium. The mix of overgrowth that had invaded the facility and various signs of magic technology set a strange scene, on one hand it seemed like the place had been kept up for all this time, on the other it had clearly been abandoned for a long long time.

There was what looked like a welcome desk with a monitor on it, and a sign with some image on it, but the decay rendered it unreadable. He tapped a finger on the desk, thinking. "You said this was a bio magic facility. They would have specimen storage, probably locked behind multiple security points. That's where we need to go."

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As the trio entered the facility, with Cedric having hurried ahead of them due to his curiosity no doubt, they were quick to find that so far the entrance hall was clear. Sora and Zeebee had been expecting something there, but after managing to slip in so far it was undisturbed. Not even a stray Goblin. It was beautifully overgrown though, but it appeared this place might not have been government but corporate because of the symbol behind the front desk.

Even though it was ancient, before the time of electric computers, robotics, or electric power in general, and from the materials and décor it was clearly from ancient times, it had an air of modern business to it. Even the fact it had some sort of company logo was mysterious. But that company logo was something that drew Sora's and Zeebee's attention for a few seconds, more then it usually would and the first time they broke from the air of veteran adventurers the entire time. But in exchange, the expressions on their face were very readable. Shock, surprise, and even fear...they were familiar with that symbol.

When they were kidnapped and trapped inside that horrible science lab, they had seen that symbol. Not inside the building itself, the scientists were not so stupid. But on papers and documents, when they were getting resources apparently. Sora and Zeebee had seen a more modern but eerieely similar symbol to this before. On a modern company that was directly related to the lab that did all those immoral and horrible experiments.

Even though the lab they were imprisoned in had no connection to Origin, this company had a connection to the lab...Ilya Genetics. A forerunner company.

But still, they had built up quite a bit of experience and had the physical and mental training from their adoptive parents, so instead of breaking out into an emotion or staying in that state they snapped back to reality.

"Y...yeah. This place is certainly going to be dangerous though, so we better stay careful".

"Indeed. From what I remember...well, reading about anyways, facilities like this usually have more floors and facilities going down then up. This was a bit tower shaped though, but its possible that is to throw people off. Maybe there is a map or floorplan somewhere?"

As the two approached the front desk, suddenly various magic lamps turned on by their own will, and the sound of something flowing could be heard behind the walls, making extra noise after long dormancy. It appeared this place had been in standby mode until sentient creatures came to visit...though, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was anyone's guess. It had been on backup power before, but it seemed that the main power was now turned on.

"Alert. Unauthorized lifeforms detected. Danger to labs detected. Locking down outer perimeter until Labs and Critical Areas are secure. Security levels are now at maximum".

And then of course, the building entered a lockdown state which had the primary focus of preventing people from entering or leaving, though it seemed mostly focused on the leaving part.

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"Well. That seems excessive." Cedric replied to the building going into lock down mode. "I swear I will tear this entire building down if it starts giving me trouble." he threatened to nobody in particular.

He began looking for something that might give them the layout of the building. "Will need to find security now on top of the labs. Of course we probably needed to do that anyway to get into the labs."

He looked at a couple of hallways, and went with his gut, heading towards one like it was obviously the correct choice to get where he was going. "Keep up boys."

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"Errr, I doubt that is possible" Sora noted when Cedric threatened to tear the building apart. "They would have fortified this place, enchanted it for increased durability and toughness, and then taken other extensive measures. Also, if you do somehow tear it down, a lot of rubble would fall down on top of us. Well, also..."

As the two kept up and Sora kept talking, Zeebee was wondering just who the guide was at the moment. However, that was when they came across one of the first security checkpoints.

Some form of forceshield, made through magic. Zeebee had his Specter come out and approach it, but it did not disintegrate him. It did however repulse him backwards.

"...if its security, even magic operated security, I can probably do something about it".

Sora went towards the field without any fear, and mumbled a bit of an unnecessary line.

"Up goes down, left goes right. In goes out, and heads becomes tails".

And then Sora walked right through. The line was just a habit of his, but what he had done was used his Inversion Power. Instead of rejecting, it accepted. Thus they could go through without any issue at all.

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There were a number of ways to get around this particular kind of security, Cedric had done so on more than one occasion. Reversing the polarity, for lack of a better term, was an elegant solution, he could appreciate the theatrical flare too.

As he stepped through the barrier he felt something. He couldn't put a finger on it, but he felt it in the pit of his stomach. There was definitely something alive in the facility.

Continuing down the hall they came to a peculiar sight, some sort of floating spheres. Cedric eyed the closest device, a quick incantation and he raised a hand toward it. "It's, a mine. They are enchanted with a detection ward." he lowered his hand and took a step back, luckily they weren't designed to go off just by being detected. "Could try an illusion counter." he mussed, illusion counters were easier to perform against a live user than an enchanted item, but it wasn't impossible.

He focused for a moment and cast an illusion over himself target at the floating mines, making himself disappear, hopefully. He took a step, then another. He was much closer to the first mine now, seemingly it was working. He reached out a hand slowly, breathing steadily, though his heart rate did increase slightly. It had been a long time since he had done something he wasn't entirely confident would work.

He pushed the mine softly.

It floated harmlessly away. Cedric smiled and turned to his guides. "Sorry, this is supposed to be your job." he cast the same illusion spell over the two of them. "Don't worry, you get paid the same regardless."

He turned and continued through the field, pushing one or two of the devices away as it did so. The feeling in his stomach began to grow. What ever else was in this facility, there was black mana, he was sure of it. Something powerful.

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"Well..."

"...I guess this is one way to deal with traps".

The two just commented on that. Ultimately, they felt a bit...not very helpful since they entered the actual facility. Of course, they got through the first barrier, which was a literal barrier. But ultimately, something about this place felt strange.

As they got past the minefield, it was ultimately growing on them.

"No security golems, no locked doors requiring some enchanted key, nothing that one would expect. It really is strange".

And there was something else that bothered them.

"Why is this hallway so long? Sure there have been turns, but...there has not been a single door to either side of us this whole time".

That was the real oddity. A facility like this without having a lot of doors leading to labs and storage rooms. It meant they had this long corridor before they got to the objective. That was bugging them a lot. And it seemed almost endless...

"Oh, son of a...I think we are already in another trap possibly. An endless loop spell".

"It is possible...but..."

"But?"

"There are magic sensors in this hallway. Anyone who uses magic here would trigger some kind of security event. Also, while there is a familiarity...what if the hallway is waiting for something to think that?"

"In other words..."

"...its a trap meant to psych someone out. Also its slight, but the corners are not perfect. It is a really nasty trick though. Make someone think there is a loop, and when they try to break it my guess is...the facility breaks them".

"...ouch..."

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"In other words. Just keep walking." Cedric suggested. He had an incredibly high tolerance of repetition, monotony. Even the thought of being trapped in an infinite loop didn't seem to put him on edge as much as it should have. Turns out being tortured beyond existing had the side effect of making almost anything so long as he existed.

The hallway still seemed to be endless despite knowing it would end. A mixture of illusion and design no doubt, but end it would. And end it did.

Cedric could feel that they were closer, but still a long way off. They had arrived at an elevator lobby, a security panel next to the door. Cedric approached the panel, touched it softly, and it lit up. Blue for a moment, then red. "access denied." scrolled across the screen. He touched it again, and again, "access denied."

"Biometric? Magic based?" Cedric wondered aloud before pressing the panel again. Again the message flashed across the screen. Frustration boiled and he punched the screen, shattering the glass. "Damn computers." he swung one arm in the air and the elevator door ripped open violently. A quick look inside explained why the access had been denied. The elevator cable had been severed, it wasn't security at all, there was no elevator to access.

Cedric peered down the long shaft. "This wasn't decay. This was cut." he looked back at his companions, a flicker of mischief in his eyes. "Now why would they do that?"

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"What is even more impressive was that they had an elevator..."

It appeared that this facility had been quite ahead of its time. Even though its magic based network system was no match for an electric one, it was clearly thought out through detail and design. The fact it even had a recognition system was truly incredible, and showed just how much it had in terms of funding and support. Which was odd, given that this was supposedly a private ancient magic research facility and not a government run facility.

"-------"

"Huh?"

"What?"

Suddenly, Sora and Zeebee turned back when they felt like they heard something. To normal and even abnormal people they would not have even recognized anything, but Sora and Zeebee had been...modified....to have hearing ranges outside normal people. As such, they could hear sound normal people could not perceive without some special power or gift.

"Did...something just say..."

"...die?"

Actually, to be exact they heard "Die Experimental Freaks", in a voice of cold rage as if it was judging them...and knew what they were. And that chilled them to the bone.

However, the two heard when Cedric commented it on them being cut, with a bit of intuition.

"My guess, either someone really hated what was down here or they did not want it getting out...or both..."

Sora and Zeebee did not scare easily. They were given Spartan like training, were attacked, kidnapped, and forced to go under scientific experimentation in front of crowds of people which was both humiliating and extremely painful, and then after they broke out had to be careful of people chasing them. But this place...had started giving them chills.

They could feel it. Their instincts could feel it. There was something dangerous here.

"So, shall we go down?"

But if they ran away every time they were afraid, they were taught they would never grow as people.

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"Suppose so." Cedric replied and stepped into the openness of the shaft. He allowed himself to free fall past a number of floors before slowing himself with levitation. He was following feeling in the pit of his stomach like a hound, finally he came to a stop at a floor, he wasn't even sure how far down he had gone.

"This should get interesting." he waved a hand and the doors slid aside, much less violently this time. "Here there be monsters." he muttered to himself quietly. "You boys okay on the way down?" he called up as he stepped onto the floor, letting his levitation spell drop.

When his foot hit the floor he felt something, an eerie shift, like the hallway had reacted to his presence. He couldn't see a change, but something had, it was as if the unheard score of the scene had shifted, hinting to the unseen audience that darkness was near. He showed little sign of nervousness, but he unconsciously began rubbing his ring.

They were getting close now.

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"Geronimo!"

Suddenly, Sora was falling all the way down at breakneck speed. In fact, he showed no signs of slowing down at all as if he would just impact the ground like it was nothing. And then...

Suddenly, Gravity inverted for Sora and he fell up. BUt actually, Sora did not invert gravity this time. He inverted the direction of the force he was falling at. As such, he seemed to fly up for a bit but then gravity took hold, corrected it, and he landed on his feet smoothly.

Zeebee meanwhile came down using some sort of automated zip line he installed.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Oi, you gotta have fun when you can on the job!"

"...its really hard to argue common sense with you when you use logic like that".

Zeebee disconnected himself from the line, as they looked forward into the hallway ahead.

And then when they entered...

"This is definently something's domain. Though it concerns me how its been alive all this tiem trapped down here...something tells me that it is hungry..."

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Cedric made his way cautiously down the hall. The lights flickered, some were completely off. It was lined with doors, cages, some looked open. A specimen hall. He approached the first opening.

Torn open. "Damn." Cedric leaned in, the walls were stained with dried blood, but no remains. "What ever is down here was hungry. This happened years ago. What the hell is keeping this place running, and fed?" he turned back down the hall and a flash caught his eye, something moved around the corner. "We got company."

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He didn't even need to reach out with mana, he felt it instinctively. Rubbing his hands together quickly, like he was trying to warm them, he ignited a fire that floated an inch above his palm. Holding his arm out stretched he approached the corner slowly.

As he turned the corner he was met with a blackness the light from his flame didn't penetrate. "Shit." Cedric threw the flame forward and twisted to his left, by sheer luck avoiding the stinger coming out of the dark. The massive paw that followed spun him around and backwards. Pitch darkness pulled back, slowly revealing a huge lion, from the top of its head two massive horns spiraled down around its ears like a big horned sheep. The massive front paws of the lion were followed by a grotesque rear, sharp pincer like legs and a long scorpion tail. A sick sound came from the creatures gut and grew into something like the sound of a roar, a hiss, and a garbage disposal all in one.

"Fuck you too." Cedric quipped and slapped the creature. This stunned the manticore for a moment, which Cedric used as a window to put space between himself and the creature, backing down the opposite hall, hoping to draw the creature in and give Sora and Zeebee the chance to get behind it. He wasn't sure if this plan backfired or not, because a purring sound emitted from the creature and the blackness engulfed the hall and rushed around him.

He quickly ignited another flame but was disappointed to see, or rather, not see it in his hand. The blackness was complete, he literally couldn't see his hand in front of his face and it was on fire. "Well that's a fun trick."

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And Sora and Zeebee watched what was going on, Sora clicked his tongue. That was because of the annoyingness of what the Manticore was using.

If it was something that absorbed light or whatever, he could inverse it to release light making it become clear as day. However, what it was doing was filling the entire hall with darkness. And that was problematic. That was because if Sora inverted it, it would become an entire hallway filled with light. Forget about being blinded, that sheer amount of light would burn all their eyeballs out. Even magic and science combined would not be able to restore their sight. That was the problem.

Which pretty much meant...

"Wait...huh?"

And then Sora and Zeebee noticed they could see. Neither of them realized that this was partly to do with the scientists tinkering, but also to do with the Adaptability mutation.

With that, the two quickly sprang into action. Zeebee unleashed an electrical attack on the creature, powerful enough to superfry it...hopefully, while Sora took out two handguns loaded with enchanted ammo and shot it right into the creature's fleshy bits. The ammo, once inside the creature, produced a crimson flame inside the body to burn it from the inside, while Zeebee was burning it on the outside with massive amounts of electricity.

And yet...

It screeched something horrifying.

"Zeebee! Cedric!"

"Yeah?"

"I think we only pissed it off!"

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Cedric could hear electrical crackling, gun shots, and a screech. He still couldn't see what was happening.

"I think we only pissed it off!" Sora proclaimed.

Back pedaling as quickly as he dared in the blackness. He focused on his breathing, slow, deep breaths. He had to even the field, and the only way to do that was to be sure the manticore couldn't see him.

But how was it seeing him in this darkness? He began casting various wards to mask different aspects he thought the creature could sense. Smell first, then heat. He stumbled over something in the hall just as he cast a silencing ward on himself, sending what ever it was careening away. While he didn't make a sound the object in question certainly did.

Suddenly he could feel the manticore, it was directly over him, he could feel the warmth from its breath. It had moved incredibly quickly to the noise, unnervingly so. Cedric closed his eyes in spite of the darkness, moved his hand carefully. Between the blasts of warm air and the sound of the creatures rear legs scratching the ground he gauged his aim.

A shard of ice formed suddenly, like the tip of a spear thrusting upwards. The creature shrieked again, but this time it was a wounded sound. For a moment the darkness pulled back, revealing the massive creature above him with the shard of ice peirced through its neck. Burn marks traced along its skin and bullet holes marked one side. The manticore hobbled forward and then  leapt away as the darkness eminated from it again, this time trailing away as the creature retreated to some distant corner to attempt to deal with its wounds. Thick dark blood streaked down the hall behind it, a large splotch of it covered the front of Cedric's suit.

Standing up slowly he steadied himself, and then hurried back towards the others. "It didn't look fatal, but it won't be looking for a fight any time soon."

He hadn't expected a manticore, especially one that could exude darkness like that. The idea that it would make a valuable study hadn't taken long to come to him, and to that end he was a glad the creature might survive its wounds.