After leaving the summoning room, he found the hallway only extended another ten meters before ending in a door. This whole area was lit by a single torch near the stairwell, which was why Alan hadn’t realized how small it was. There were also only three doors. Beside the one on the end, there was the single door on the right side of the hallway that he’d entered, and another on the left.

  Unless the dungeon had decided to throw a curveball, which was possible, the final encounter was probably in the room at the end. Alan could skip right to it, but he thought that it would be better to learn what he could from the other door first.

  It was a wooden door like all of the rest, and when he opened it, he was surprised to find what looked like a bed chamber. There were two torches on the walls providing just enough illumination to make out all the features of the room.

  There were a few cupboards or dressers along one wall, and a large mirror on another, with a few small wooden boxes around it. The most opulent feature of the room was a king sized bed against the far wall. Alan wasn’t sure what he expected, but what he found on the bed was not it. There were chains from all four bed posts connecting to the hands and feet of a rather scantily clad woman lying on the mattress.

  While it was definitely a woman, she was not wholly human. The key features separating her from a human were the bright red skin, the two curving horns on her head, and the devil’s tail sticking out from underneath her. Other than that, she was remarkably human. Other than Pixel, he had never seen a woman so well proportioned.

  Angel: Penitent Succubus[O] (rare) level 10, threat: deadly.

  A succubus, sure, that made sense. He didn’t miss the fact that this creature had a grade, and it was orange. Alan whispered so as not to wake the unconscious creature. “How come identify hasn’t been showing a grade for all the other non-sentients I’ve run into?”

  “Good question, no one is really sure. Probably a cost cutting effort by the Network. Most people only hunt things around the same grade as themselves, so why bother putting it on there. You only get a grade designation on creatures if it differs from your own. Those with a soul usually show a grade, however.”

  That was confusing, but what wasn’t around here. Remembering how the last chained ‘angel’ had reacted to him, Alan decided this room was better saved for later. Also, the fact that this thing was two grades above his own meant that he did not want his curse to force a confrontation he might otherwise avoid.

  Slowly backing out of the room, Alan made his way toward the last door. So far this floor had contained a private summoning room and the priest’s bedchamber. He tried to think of what the last chamber might contain. A study, a bdsm sex dungeon, an ice cream parlor. Alan prayed it wasn’t the sex dungeon.

  Opening the door slowly, he was greeted with rows of books. There was a long aisle running down the middle that went straight from the door to a series of small tables. Seated at one of the tables, facing away from him, was a human figure with long hair and a white robe. A library wasn’t as good as an ice cream parlor, but maybe he could also pick up some books while he was here.

  The figure broke the silence. “Why would he do this to me? I thought he was happy with our arrangement.”

  The voice was female, and Alan didn’t think the words were directed at him. It seemed more like she was talking to herself. The room was rather brightly lit by a series of what looked like magical light fixtures in the ceiling. It made sense not wanting torches in a room full of combustible books. Shadows weren’t really an option, so he chose to hide himself behind a rack of books instead.

  “I did everything a Patron should, why would he forsake me?”

  Psychiatry was not Alan’s field, but he could tell that something wasn’t right with this woman. Also, he was pretty sure she wasn’t a real human. He didn’t want to use identify yet and probably tip her off to his presence, but he had come to the conclusion that this was the Angel Gleena. Although, if the dungeon stayed true to form, she would be a demon for some reason.

  “There was no choice. I couldn’t allow him to use our bond that way, I had to end him.”

  Well, that clinched it for him. She was the one who had killed the priest, and putting aside whatever flavor-story the dungeon had come up with, his quest required him to kill her. As Alan came up with a plan of action, he also listened to her monologue. He wasn’t too worried about what she had to say, but maybe something she muttered would help him when it came time to deal with the chained succubus.

  “Of all the choices he could make to replace me, he chose her! He got off lightly.”

  There were three rows of books between the reading area and his current location. He made his way to the far end of the shelf he was currently hiding behind, and then started creeping forward. His steps were whisper quiet, but if she was having a mental breakdown, then she could be dead to the world, or become suddenly lucid at the slightest stimulus.

  “And the way I found them! I had no choice, no one could blame me for what I did. It wasn’t an atrocity, not really.”

  Her justifications would make for a good soap opera, or maybe an interrogation room confession on a bad cop show. He was approaching the last shelf now. Once there, he would have to check for obstacles in his way before trying to sneak up behind her. The reading area was very well lit, so it wasn’t a matter of hiding, it was a matter of not causing her to turn around.

  “What do I do with her now? An Angel, how can she be an Angel? She deserves to pay, but how?”

  His path was clear, but from this side of the shelf, it would be about five meters to reach her. If he went back to the other end of the bookshelf it would only be a meter, maybe slightly more. Once again he crept almost silently along the back of the bookshelf.

  “At least her spawn was dealt with. The memory of their screams will keep me company now that his bond is gone. Dammit, why do we bother!”

  It was time. His spewn was in his right hand, and he purposely left his other hand empty. He didn’t know how high a level she was, but he was certain she was a bad guy, so a sneak attack wouldn’t trouble his conscience. Using identify would have given him a little more info, but it also would have given away his presence. It didn’t really matter what it said, either, since he had to kill her to finish his quest. He was almost better off not knowing if she was stronger than him.

  Committed, Alan made his move. All at once his muscles fired and he was going. Pushing off with his feet, he balanced himself with one hand on the bookshelf as he sprinted forwards. His right arm came downwards, smashing the egg of his spewn onto her head, bracing himself for the explosion of gore.

  That explosion never came. His weapon impacted the crown of her head, and he felt a slight give, but that was it. Pulling his spewn back, he could see a depression in her skull, but it had failed to burst open, and it didn’t even look like he had broken open the skin. No blood was obvious.

  She had just started talking again when his blow landed, and it stopped her mid syllable. There was a pause, the silence stretching, before she suddenly rose from her seat. Alan was too shocked to do more than stare, which of course triggered his skill.

  Demon: Damned lesser Angel[R] (Rare) level 10, threat: deadly.

  So, this was not good. Alan had anticipated her being strong, but nothing like this. He had recently earned an achievement for killing someone who was red grade, but that man was most likely a recently evolved person, and Alan had been boosted by the effects of an Army Array.

  This demonic angel wasn’t only red grade, it was a rare creature, which he knew meant it was far stronger than its level might otherwise indicate. This was possibly the octospatium all over again, a creature far beyond his means to vanquish. However, the threat level of deadly was actually encouraging to him.

  Pixe had warned him that if he had ever seen a threat level of ‘inevitable’ he should run. That indicated a person or creature who he had no chance of defeating, they would be too far beyond him. The fact that Gleena was only deadly meant there was a chance.

  He also didn’t have a choice. She was now staring at him and the red glow in her eyes was the least menacing thing about her at the moment. Alan already knew she was deranged, and now she was also understandably angry about having a large dent in her head. He needed time to plan, so he sent two prismatic orbs at her before dashing into the book shelves for cover.

  He gave his all into putting some obstacles between them, so he didn’t see her raise her arm and turn her hand into a flamethrower. The bookshelves next to him went up instantly. These weren’t going to provide any cover, instead he could feel the heat blistering his skin. It was time for a tactical retreat.

  Gleena anticipated him and set the flamethrower on the bookshelves by the door. The heat of those burning pages would keep him from escaping through the door. Having only one option left, he had to return to the only area without such abundant kindling, the reading area.

  When he came back around, he found Gleena looking different than before. Where she had looked like a slightly disheveled woman who hadn’t bathed in a couple of days, she was now literally glowing with perfection. Her skin had become a healthy bronze color and her hair was a radiant golden blonde. Her robes were spotless and she had a pair of magnificent black wings unfolded behind her back.

  The only imperfection was the big dent on her crown. Alan was starting to feel bad about that, but if Gleena’s ramblings were to be believed, she was a murderer and torturer of children. He decided that she deserved it.

  She seemed comfortable using fire, so he didn’t like his chances with fire bolts. Pointing his spewn at her, he cast a series of max-mana shadow bolts at her as he strafed across the room. He had already activated mana lode, but the rapid fire spells were still a significant drain on his pool. He had been getting some good use out of that ability, recently, so he knew his mana would refill quickly.

  Four large bolts struck her torso in rapid succession. They left marks on her, but they didn’t seem to faze the angel. That could also have been from her altered mental state, however. In reply, she raised her hand and sent a stream of fire his way.

  He hadn’t sensed a gathering spell form, this must be more like an ability, so he hadn’t had a chance to disrupt it. Seeing the vicious flames roaring towards him, he did the only thing he could think of, water beats fire. He conjured a small swimming pool’s worth of water and put it in the path of the angel’s attack.

  An explosion of steam sent him flying against the back wall. He felt a couple of ribs crack, but his regeneration spell was already patching those up. He was surprised to find that the angel had also been knocked backwards and was currently lying in a broken and burning bookshelf.

  It didn’t seem like the fire had much of an effect, but the impact had damaged one of her wings, and when she stood it was bent at a gruesome angle. Most of Alan’s mana was gone now, and while his ability would restore it faster, it still took time. He was going to have to engage her at close range again.

  So far Gleena hadn’t displayed any melee capabilities, maybe she was limited to her flamethrowers. He brought out his shield to go with his spewn. Hopefully it would be able to help deflect her flames if he couldn’t dodge in time. He didn’t think tortoise shell was flammable.

  It turned out that martial arts was a favorite pastime of Angels. As he approached, Gleena shifted her stance and brought one of her arms up while keeping the other close at her side. He originally thought she was preparing to use another flamethrower, but then he saw her use Fa Jin, the release of internal power, to deliver a viscous ura zuki, a short powerful punch towards his chest. Her raised arm dropped back as her lower fist came up at an angle.

  Only the many hours, days, and years he had spent on sparring mats let him react in time. Not even his sixth sense talent could compare with the muscle memory he had achieved. He was able to deflect the first blow with his shield, but she followed it up with another ura zuki with her other fist. Not wanting to drop his spewn, he was forced instead to sacrifice his shield, by dropping it, and punch the incoming forearm, knocking it off course and hopefully numbing it a little.

  Not to be deterred, the angel brought both arms in from the side and tried to grab him and enter a clinch. However, her fingers had trouble gaining traction on his chainmail, and he was able to slip loose. A series of short, brutal exchanges followed. Little damage was done, with both fighters starting to get a read on their opponent. Alan had managed to inflict a few small lacerations with his spewn, but he struggled to prevent her from dealing damage.

  A lot of defensive tactics in martial arts relied on deflecting or lessening blows. However, when your opponent is just as fast, and far stronger than you, even a lessened blow is still painful. While Gleena was the only one bleeding, Alan’s health display had plenty of yellow on it. Despite being hurt, he found a smile trying to creep its way onto his face. Alan was pretty sure he had found a way to beat, or at least to get an advantage against the angel.

  In all of their exchanges he had noticed that Gleena only used her legs for position or generating power. She never used her legs themselves to strike. Perhaps with a giant pair of wings on her back it wasn’t too effective.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The next time she went for a strike, this time a kizami zuki, he was ready. The move was a short jab, usually used to create space, but she added a short step to increase the power to make it more of a serious attack on its own. He had seen her use this previously and was able to let his body drift out of the way while hooking her now exposed front leg with his own and pulling it back towards him.

  She was stronger, but not enough to make up for the leverage he had on her, and the angel ended up completely losing her stance and was forced to roll to the side to salvage the situation. Alan was ready and stabbed down with his spewn into her exposed back. While her bones may be thick enough to resist breaking from his hammer blow, her skin was not tough enough to prevent the blade from cutting deep into her.

  Her back arched from the pain and her roll turned into a flop. Alan pulled out his spewn from her and stabbed down again. She now had two gaping holes and blood was pouring out of both. The first attack had been meant for speed, driving his weapon in fast and deep. For the second strike Alan had a little more time, and he was able to feel his talents tugging him toward a vital area. So at least this demon/angel had vitals.

  Having dealt what looked like massive wounds, he backed up to see what effect they had. Gleena scrambled back to her feet, still shrieking with pain. Alan readied himself for her to retaliate, but instead she stood there for a moment, the luminescence around her briefly flaring.

  With a sinking feeling, he started moving around to see her back. He wasn’t wholly successful as she started to spin to face him, but he managed to catch a glimpse of the first wound, and there was only a slight trickle of blood coming out of it. This angel must be able to heal herself. That was not ideal.

  Alan would have to modify his plan of attack. He couldn’t deal a series of serious injuries, slowly wearing her down. If she could heal, she could most likely outlast him in such an exchange. He had seen how much his energy pools had grown upgrading to opal, so he assumed a red grade creature’s would dwarf his own.

  No, if he was going to win this fight, he would need to do massive damage in a short amount of time. There were only a few instantly fatal blows that he had observed so far. Enough damage to the brain, cutting something's head off, or destroying someone’s heart. Damaging Gleena’s brain was going to be tough if his surprise head smash hadn’t been able to crack her skull. He could try stabbing her in the face, but that seemed hard to pull off, since he would need to hit an eye or other orifice to avoid bouncing off her skull.

  Cutting her head off could be a challenge as well. His spewn had been able to penetrate her flesh, but there had been some serious resistance. And, even if he got through the tissue of her neck, there was the spine to deal with. That left the heart. He wasn’t sure exactly where it was, but his talents were telling him there were vitals, so if he stabbed her enough times in the chest, he should hit it eventually.

  That was the end goal, now he had to figure out how to accomplish it. Gleena seemed content at the moment to heal up the injuries she had taken, so Alan would use this time to look after himself, as well. His mana pool was almost full, thank you mana lode, so spells were back on the table. He cast minor healing and minor regeneration again, which brought it back down below half, but they brought his silhouette back up to green and left him with some in reserve.

  It might be blasphemous to say, but as much as the angel seemed to enjoy the martial arts, Alan thought he was better. It wasn’t just the fact that he was able to incorporate leg strikes, his Muay Thai instructors would kick his ass otherwise, he was better able to shift between forms as well.

  It was the difference between someone who regularly attended karate classes, and one who spent time sparring. There was a difference between knowing how to punch, and knowing when to do so. Alan was healed and ready to go, so whether she had healed up or not, he moved back in.

  Taking several small controlled steps forward he swiped with his spewn. His bladed weapon was another advantage over the unarmed angel. She deflected the strike down and away, and Alan used the momentum she imprated to complete a spinning kick. His front foot twisted and he brought his back leg forward, causing his whole body to turn. He briefly lost sight of Gleena, but she was busy trying to recover from her deflection.

  His back leg was now ready to launch his attack and he had reestablished sight of his target. She was still not fully recovered, so he altered the trajectory of his leg slightly and instead of kicking her chest, he sent his foot up into her chin. Gleena’s head snapped back and he heard her teeth click together.

  He brought his leg back to the ground and lunged forward with his spewn, stabbing straight into the area a human heart would be. This was a movement that would have looked impressive in a movie, but was almost impossible to pull off in the real world. Luckily, that world no longer existed, and Alan’s new body, with its insane dexterity and strength, allowed him to pull it off.

  The bulbous blade made a sizable hole in the angel's chest, but it must not have found her heart. It did manage to refocus her attention and she delivered a massive hammer fist punch to Alan’s torso. It drove him back, and he just barely managed to hold on to his weapon, the spewn making a sucking noise as it was rapidly withdrawn from her chest.

  That exchange had been punishing for both of them. Alan’s chest was a deep yellow, but his regeneration was already at work pushing it back toward green. Gleena’s chest had a hole in it bigger than his fist, and it was hemorrhaging blood. Even as she recentered her stance, though, she started glowing again and the flow of blood rapidly dropped off.

  One section of her chest down, still all the rest to go. Alan was more cautious in the next exchange, trying to throw her off since she would be expecting something daring. Instead, he focused more on blocking her strikes with his weapons bladed edge when possible. It wasn’t as natural to him as using his hands, but it had the benefit of leaving wounds on his opponent.

  Both of them backed off, taking a moment before recommitting themselves to violence. In this bout, Alan was going to mix it up. He let her make the first attack. It was another series of ura zukis, one of her go-to moves. He blocked the first two with his forearms, but on the second one, he allowed his arm to drop after deflecting her punch, causing the blade of his spewn to slice along the inside of her arm.

  It was a nasty gash, but something her healing would soon overcome. However, every wound slowed down the healing that was still occuring in the center of her chest. The small wound also interrupted her momentum, and she recoiled slightly. Alan thrust his left arm toward her face, which she attempted to deflect, but he stopped short and instead of trying to connect, he directed two prismatic orbs directly into her eyes.

  The energy form of the soul guide had been resistant to these, but the more physical lesser Angel was dazzled. Since she was temporarily blinded, Alan could have stabbed her chest again, but he decided to take another chance. He brought his spewn up and sliced through the front of her neck. He felt the tip of his blade briefly catch on one of her vertebrae, but then it slid along it and continued through the rest of her flesh. The bones in her spine had indeed been too strong for him to sever, but the soft tissue was another matter.

  No one was going to call her nearly headless, but there was a gaping wound where the front of her neck had been. Blood wasn’t simply gushing out, it was fountaining across the room in a display to put Uma Thurman to shame. Gleena bent over at the same time that she reached up with both hands and clamped them around the wound. Her healing went into overdrive, the glow around her was painful to Alan’s eyes, but her back was now exposed.

  A couple of steps put him behind her, and although it was an awkward angle, he shifted his grip and started stabbing repeatedly. Here and there a strike would glance off of her impossibly strong rib bones, but enough got through that she was soon immobilized by the pain and damage. Alan didn’t know how many times he stabbed her, but finally he found her heart. It was lower than he would have expected.

  “Holy shit, Alan. That was bloody.”

  His fury talent had kept his stamina from crashing, but he was still out of breath and panting. He needed a moment before he could respond. Shockingly, there was still a table standing nearby that wasn’t on fire, so he leaned on it as he wiped his face with his blood rag.

  Most of the clothes that were left in the necklace’s wardrobe were too gaudy for Alan to wear, but he had repurposed a few of them as cleaning items. His blood rag was a brown and red paisley shirt that had no business on a person, unless it was to wipe off copious amounts of gore. About the same time that he cleaned off his face and hands, he had recovered enough to answer.

  “What can I say, I’m a badass.”

  He could hear the disappointment in her voice, “wow, way to ruin it.”

  “Well, I didn’t see any other way to kill her. She was stronger than me and able to heal her wounds. USUHS doesn’t cover Angel anatomy so I had to find her heart through trial and error.”

  After explaining what USUHS was, Tamee said, “Remind me to never let you operate on me.”

  “Har har.”

  The exchange had served to lighten his mood. It also distracted him from noticing as Gleena turned into loot. Looking down he found a small wooden box. That was usually a sign of good loot.

  When he opened it, he wasn’t disappointed. He found an opal class stone, a seeker talent stone, and underneath was another torn page from the priest’s diary. He also checked his notifications and found the quest completion message, awarding him the two hundred dungeon points. He scanned the stones first.

  Item: Opal Inquirer Class Stone, rarity Uncommon. This stone can be used to upgrade the seeker class to the opal class Inquirer, a spirit based class that specializes in exploring the meaning of the soul. These questers take nothing for granted in their search for understanding. Requirements: A Sensitivity talent.

  Item: Seeker talent stone. Usable by anyone who has at one time had a seeker class. Will grant one of six seeker class talents. Not usable if they have already unlocked all six.

  He would have used the talent stone right away, but in the interest of thoroughness, he read the priest’s diary first.

  I finally did it. Nothing in my Patron’s library contained knowledge of how to sever the bond, but there were hints of where I should look for the answer. If the Holy beings known as Angels weren’t going to help me, then it was to the Infernal Demons I must look.

  It wasn’t easy acquiring enough infernal powder to perform a summoning, but it was worth it. In all of my studies, there were few descriptions of the appearance of Demons. Imagine my surprise when I encountered, not a snarly beast, but a heavenly beauty.

  Her name is Ireen and she is a much more suitable being to bond with. Never mind the difference in power, Gleena is a sullen and gloomy Patron, while Ireen is vibrant and joyful. She is also very knowledgeable, and she promised that she could help me sever my bond.

  It ended up being a very enjoyable ritual, involving both spiritual and more fleshbound components. Not everything went exactly as I had expected, however. Instead of a clean severing, it was more like a corruption. Apparently the mortal component, that’s me, is incapable of cutting the connection, and it was Gleena who would need to break it.

  In order to convince her to end our bond, I poured infernal mana down our link. The best way to obtain this mana was from Ireen. Getting it from Ireen was the best part. By consummating our future connection she was able to pass her mana into my aura where I then sent it back toward Gleena.

  I will admit that she upheld our bond longer than I would have expected, but that just meant the Ireen and I had to keep going. By the time the bond was finally cut, I was a worn out husk of a man, but it was incredible. I look forward to creating my bond with Ireen tomorrow.

  “Are you blushing again?” Tamee asked.

  This of course only made Alan blush harder. “I was not expecting the graphic nature of that journal entry.”

  “Oh, can you read it to me?”

  Alan grimaced, “Seriously, can’t you see it yourself?”

  “Well, yes, but I am sure it would be more fun if I heard it from you.”

  Alan ignored her. Again, the flavor text was fun, but he didn’t see how it would help him. Technically he had finished the quest, he could leave now. But it hurt the completionist inside of him to leave the succubus behind. There must be something he was supposed to do with her.

  Putting thoughts of the chained demon behind for the moment, he absorbed his talent stone. A brief, joyful, burst of information later and he had a new seeker talent, Inspiring Presence. The priest’s journal had also made mention of having a presence, although his was calming. He might have heard the term mentioned before as well, it was time to figure out what a presence was. He had a feeling he might have encountered some before.

  “Can you tell me what a presence is?” Alan asked.

  Tamee came back right away, “I was wondering when you would finally get around to asking about them.”

  Alan was a little confused, “what do you mean?”

  “Well, first off, you have run into several presences already, and they usually get your attention. Second, you might have noticed you have a presence of your own.”

  He was surprised she already knew, “I know, I just got the inspiring presence talent.”

  Tamee made that sigh again, the one that said Alan was an idiot. “Did you forget that talents do not give you abilities, they only enhance what is already there. I first noticed your presence when you helped rescue those prisoners in the dwarven mines.”

  He was an idiot, she had beaten it into his head on several occasions that talents were not the same as abilities. So, he already had a presence. Thinking back on his encounters recently, that made some sense. He remembered how he had emitted an energy that had countered the intimidation he had felt from the soul guide. Going back even farther, he remembered the blade angel who had suddenly caused her allies to rally, before Alan somehow countered her.

  He explained his thoughts to Tamee, to see if he was correct. “I’m guessing a Presence is a type of energy we surround ourselves with. And it somehow affects the people around us.”

  “Ding ding! Everyone has a presence, but most peoples’ are so small or insignificant that we don’t really count them. There are some though, who are able to project their Presence in a radius around themselves. The energy of their Presence can have many effects, but they are usually broken into three types. Inspiring, Calming, and Dominating. There are plenty of variations under those classifications, but they basically fall under the umbrella of one of those.”

  “Is a presence limited to being only one of those three types?” Alan would be happy with an inspiring presence, it seemed the most useful. However, he was always looking for exploits.

  Tamee had good news for him, “No, often they are, but a Presence can incorporate one or all three of the main effects.”

  “Okay, Tamee. I think I’ve got the idea, is there a downside to a presence?”

  “Not that I have ever heard of. And there is a huge upside. When two people with presences are near each other, the stronger presence wins. It is rare for one to completely dominate the other, since proximity makes them stronger, but it can help shield your allies from an enemy’s presence.”

  “Well then you can probably guess my next question.”

  Tamee had indeed learned how Alan thought, at least enough to anticipate him. “How do you make your Presence stronger? It is related to the strength of your soul, something you already know how to improve.”

  That made him pause, “you think I should evolve my seeker class. But it’s only an uncommon version, shouldn’t I try to get a rare one?”

  “There’s that silver spoon again. Most people would be happy with an uncommon class upgrade. They are uncommon after all. The fact that you have three rare classes is already ridiculous. I say go for it, a rare class isn’t necessarily any better than an uncommon one, after all. It all depends on your Path. And I have to say, Inquirer, as awkward as that is to say, sounds perfect for you.”

  She made a lot of sense. Alan had been too worried about maximizing his advantages, and didn’t think of how lucky he had been already. He also had almost sixteen more hours to kill before his curse wore off. Before confronting the succubus, he wanted this anthema gone. He might as well make use of the time while he could, but he decided to work in a room that wasn’t so filled with smoke and ash.

  The books in the library would have probably contained all kinds of useful knowledge, but sadly the fire had consumed them all. There might be a few pages here or there that he could read, but it wasn’t worth scouring the debris to find them. Instead, he made his way back to the summoning room.