Overall, Percy and Nolandās setup was quite simple. That didnāt make it any less effective, however. Using the pure mana to defend themselves, and the gravity mana solely to quickly deliver the explosive crystals to their opponents, they relied exclusively on the bombstones to take out the golems.
Naturally, the constructs grew stronger with each wave. Getting slightly larger and sporting an extra pair of detachable legs each time, there was no doubt in Percyās mind that they would have made for tough opponents had they faced them normally. Luckily, none of them survived their opening blow, though the third one
nearly
managed to leap out of the way in time.
Not wanting to risk their life in the fourth wave, they decided to take a break from the āgauntletā challenge at that point, to give the āswarmā challenge a try. Suffice to say, the golems were even weaker there, the explosions often taking several of them out at once. Still, their sheer numbers had made it a little difficult for Percy and Noland to hold their ground. Not to mention the strain theyād put on their limited supplies. By the time they cleared the third wave, their sack was already empty, finally putting an end to their cheating spree.
Of course, the results were more than worth itā¦
āCongratulations! Wave 3 has been cleared! Calculating rewardsā¦ā
Percyās only regret was his inability to bring the bombstones back home. A couple of those would have made for an excellent trump card. Sadly, this was just the nature of his clones.
āAwarded credits: 300. Current balance: 1729.ā
āWow! Words cannot express how glorious this is!ā Percyās mood instantly took a turn for the better, some tears welling up in his eyes.
None of his previous visits to the Vault had gone nearly this smoothly. Not only had he accomplished all his goals with time to spare, he even managed it without getting his body battered in the process.
Suffice to say, it was with great glee that he finally purchased the rune index heād been ogling for years, spending the next day studying it ā much to his hostās dismay. And he didnāt stop there, also buying a book on shape runes for Nesha. By themselves, these runes could force a material to take on a fixed shape ā in this case a cube. Combining them with the pocket, stability and control runes, his girlfriend would have everything she needed to craft her first prototype of a spatial amulet after some practice.
Well, assuming they found a suitable material for it.
At any rate, it only took him another couple of days to memorize the new rune. This one didnāt
need
space mana ā even though heād picked a variant that worked better with it. Percy could have easily learned to activate it too, using his pure mana, though he didnāt bother to do that. He didnāt personally have a use for it, so he only needed to relay the symbol and the instructions to Nesha, and let her take it from there.
About halfway through Percyās last week in the Vault, he had already accomplished everything heād set out to do, even having a little over 1500 credits left to spend.
āHmmmmā¦ Next time, I should look into other stuff. Surely, the Vault has more interesting things in stock than just magiscript books.ā
he decided.
Up until now, he hadnāt really had the option of branching out much. Other than the time heād purchased the mana conversion spell, Percy had been forced to funnel all his funds into reading material to progress through the challenges. This was his first time having saved up a sizeable sum.
āBut not right now. I still have to digest my new gainsā¦ā
Besides, there was another reason he couldnāt stay here any longer. Nolandās food was nearly exhausted, so Percy would have to start spending credits on that. His only option was to leave and dump the responsibility on Metatron.
āNow whoās the stingy one?ā
Noland asked.
āFine. I admit this place is starting to influence me.ā
Percy shrugged.
Either way, he had one final stop before bidding him farewell. While he wasnāt particularly worried about all the beasts heād brought to the Vault, Noland was a sapient host. Even though their current arrangement was the result of a mutually beneficial transaction, Percy couldnāt help but feel a little uneasy over leaving his new pal alone in this place.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Consequently, heād already decided to introduce him to Gabe. Not only would he catch up with his old pal in the process, but Gabe and Noland would have each other to discuss their shared circumstances.
Well, assuming Metatron allowed themā¦
***
āPercy? Is that you?ā Gabe asked upon opening his door.
āHow can you tell?ā
Gabe shrugged.
āWho else would visit me? Besides, youāre the only one bringing random creatures here. Also, nobody else needs a translation deviceā¦ Need I go on?ā
āFair enough.ā Percy replied, extending his hand. āThis is Noland. I found him stuck in an underground tunnel and offered to shine some light on his miserable existence.ā
Noland groaned internally over the joke, though he still took control of his body for long enough to shake Gabeās hand.
āIām actually on my way out of the Vault, but I figured Iād bring him here first. Iām hoping you could spend a couple of weeks teaching him the language, since he wonāt have the translation device after Iām gone.ā Percy added a second later.
Gabe didnāt seem particularly happy about it, though he ultimately agreed. At least, the system hadnāt threatened them with a penalty this time. Apparently, the Vaultās language wasnāt considered a restricted resource. This was probably because all the kids here learned it for free before they were even old enough to be subjected to the Vaultās brutal economy.
āI should put some effort into learning it too. Maybe I can sell the translation device back to the cube for a partial refund once I no longer need itā¦ā
Percy thought. Heād slacked a little on it, preferring to focus on his other studies during the past couple of trips.
Next, he proceeded to brief Gabe on Nolandās details, getting some information back from him in return. Apparently, his former host had made some progress of his own on magiscript. In fact, he was a little further along than even Percy, largely due to devoting all of his free time on the subject. Sure, his missing eyes made it a little tougher, but Gabe had still made it work through Mana Sense alone.
āAre you going to try the challenge?ā Percy asked.
Unless Metatron woke up feeling particularly generous one day, Gabeās only option was to get to the sixth wave of the magiscript challenge and ask for life mana to restore his eyes. A rather ambitious projectā¦
āNot yet. I think I could get through the first wave if I got lucky, but thatās about it. The Green level is much tougher than the ones youāve tried, and itās not like Iām in need of credits just yet.ā he explained.
Percy nodded in understanding. Logically, Gabeās current funds should last him long enough for his second core to reach Green, and then at least another decade past that. Hopefully, that would be enough for him to fix his eyes. Heād need them before he could resume the combat challenges, and heād need those to make it to Blue.
āAnyway, heās got plenty of time. If it looks like itās not enough, I can offer Metatron something to help him outā¦ā
Admittedly, the idea of handing the callous titan something precious made him sick to his stomach, but he wouldnāt allow his friend to starve to death if he could prevent it. Normally, the titan shouldnāt let his most precious test subject to die like that, but he might be willing to do it if it meant putting more pressure on Percy to accept his terms.
Either way, bringing another person here might have not been Percyās wisest move. His new buddy had grown on him, giving the powerful god another thing to blackmail him with.
āDonāt even go there.ā
Noland said, Percyās thoughts having inadvertently spilled through their connection.
āYouāve made it very clear what sort of place this is. I came of my own volition, remember? I donāt know what the future will hold, but the past few weeks have honestly been quite the exotic vacation. Whatever happens from here on out is none of your businessā¦ā
Percy sighed. He knew his host was right, but he couldnāt absolve himself of all the responsibility. Then again, he couldnāt afford to let such valuable opportunities pass. Had he brought a different Orange host here, chances are he wouldnāt have earned nearly as many credits this time.
āI hope you still feel this way the next time we meet. Maybe you can also negotiate with him how you want to be treated.ā
Percy replied, before elaborating.
He doubted Metatron gave the beasts much of a choice in the matter, but perhaps heād make an exception for Noland. Rather than placing him in a cage and experimenting on him directly, the titan might be open to letting him live like Gabe, as a regular resident of the Vault, completing challenges and earning his own credits. Then again, it was debatable whether that would be better, considering the manās lower grade. Either way, this was for Noland and Metatron to discussā¦
Bidding both men farewell, Percy stored the device before removing his soul from his hostās wounds, allowing them to resume their recovery unobstructed. The pull from his main body instantly yanked him out of the Vault in a familiar manner, having already grown rather powerful over the last couple of months.
Drifting through the infinite darkness, Percy couldnāt help but go over his latest gains, as well as the questionable price heād paid for them. Eventually, he would have to make this right. Frankly, heād already grown sick of having to tiptoe around the powerful, subjected to their whims ā whether that was Metatron, or the Divine Order.
āSooner or later, Iāll grow strong enough to see them eye to eye. To speak with them on my own terms. To voice my own demandsā¦ One dayā¦ā