Oh boy, I swear I spend most of my time here complaining and trying not to lose my left arm. I look at the aforementioned arm; even days after restoring it, it remains pale up to the shoulder.

The light here isn't exactly made for sunbathing and I'm wearing warm clothes, but I expected at least some hint of a tan? At least on my hand. Maybe it's not as perfect as I thought it would be? Lily's skill level might not be high enough, so the arm is pale because of this.

It's a pretty mild aftereffect, I must say.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Grumpy, is everything fine?

Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - Yes! Some food would be nice, but StrongestOne is doing what he can, even sharing it with me! So be nice to him the next time we meet.

Lily. Why are you even defending him now when he spent some time not even telling us that you are with him? Who knows what thoughts are going through his head. Silly girl.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Your arm?

Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - It's growing nicely! Already close to the elbow. I might try to make it more muscular than the other one >:) I wonder if it's possible?

The heck? Why would you… wait… that's a pretty good idea, isn't it?

Lily, are you maybe a genius?

Noname (Hell, group 4) - That's smart! You should try that.

Maybe I can cut off my arm again and she will regrow it but stronger than before?

Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - Noname, what the hell. Don't mess up with young girls. Grumpy, you are pretty the way you are, don't listen to this armless mana maniac.

Savant (Hell, Alone) - I bet he wants her to train to then regrow his limbs and make them stronger.

Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - lol, that sounds like him.

FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - food gone :(

What the heck Biscuit? When did you learn to use emoticons?

"Kitty man…" I hear a small voice next to me and with a sigh, I turn off the Community, turning to Isabella.

Yup, that's me. The whiskers drawn with charcoal onto my cheeks are still on my face. I'm a kitty man.

Dang it, if Hadwin or Tess see me like this…

"Are you hungry?" I lower myself a bit, my body still complaining with every move I make. Isabella nods and I send her to Cipher to get water from him, it should at least help her a bit. I still need at least a few hours to be able to fight, at least somehow.

Sure, the trio and the girl could go and hunt without me but that would also be dangerous, to them - in case some stronger named monster appears and to me - in case some stronger monster finds me alone.

As always, nothing ever goes according to plan.

While we are sitting here and hiding, I continue to examine my new constructs using tiny bits of mana to do so. I do it while remembering the troubles it gave me.

Yet I'm still happy with the result, nothing good is for free, isn't it? And some pain never stopped me before.

The most annoying part of this all is probably the fact that I have to sit there, unable to test it out. After all this effort I put in, all this theorizing and coming up with the structure in my head while remembering the end of the second floor.

Kinetic Mana Heart could become one of my strongest assets. Strengthening my heartbeats with my mana, absorbing kinetic energy from them - hopefully not stopping my heart - and then using it.

I can use the energy with Symbiotic Transference and boost my physical stats. I can shoot out kinetic energy. I can turn it into thermal energy. It all allows me to skip the annoying part of absorbing it from external sources.

Yup, it's kind of a janky way, all messy and with a lot of steps that are here to cover my weaknesses but that's how I roll.

Not even a few minutes have passed since Isabella went to Cipher and I feel a touch of perceiving mana on me and our group. Something I worried about and tried to counter by putting a small amount of disruptive mana into the room we are in. Yet they still found us.

Well, this is going to hurt.

I stagger and pause, leaning against the side of the house, my mana burning through my body even though I'm using so little of it. It makes me twitch every time I use a bit more of it and too quickly. The only good thing is that after running for a bit my body warmed up slightly and hurts a bit less than my circuits.

[Perception] encompasses our area and once again I guide our group and we continue to run through the streets.

"On this wall," I say shortly to Isabella and point with my finger so her flames roar and burn the invisible monster on the wall - a Chameleon Bat.

A few rats get closer and The trio from Hard difficulty starts fighting them before Isabella joins them and they quickly dispose of the group.

I set up my Mana Regulator to 10 percent of my mana and my heart starts to send kinetic energy through my body with every beat.

First heartbeat.

I use the energy, transfer and strengthen my pummeled body.

Second heartbeat

I shoot a thin cone of kinetic energy.

[You have defeated a Chameleon Bat - lvl 49]

I absorb a few more beats and then create a tiny mana orb, immediately using the energy to boost it to dizzying speed. With a loud whistling noise the orb flies through the air and literally obliterates the head of one of the monsters.

[You have defeated a Wererat - lvl 71]

Immediately the perceiving touch on us disappears and I cut off mana going to my construct - Kinetic Mana Heart. [Perception] continues to scan our surroundings and feeling another mana signature I focus on the place more.

Oh, so that's how it is.

I gesture to others and they quietly follow me, Isabella walking close to my side. Slowly, carefully we walk through the eerily empty city, only surrounded by the noises of our quiet steps on the cobbled streets and the soft wind that blows into us.

It's hard to describe, but even just a city, without any monsters around, feels creepy. Rows after rows of empty buildings in a city too massive to make any sense to exist.

When we reach the place I pointed to, I boost my body with mana and with one kick destroy the locked door of one of the houses. My [Perception] continues to watch a weak presence under one of the floors while I stop right over it. Only Cipher is looking around curiously, some mana in his eyes as he looks around.

"This room is weird," he says shortly, probably catching some details I can't see. But it doesn't matter, I don't need to know much.

Slowly, carefully I create a sword made of mana, a bit paler than usual, and then I stab it into the floor, sending a bit of oscillating mana through the blade and cutting through a hinge hidden under the carpet.

A small door falls into the room under the floor and a few short screams sound from beneath us.

Human voices.

[Initiate Ranger - lvl 12]

[Storm Hunter - lvl 29]

[Disciple of Elements - lvl 34]

Man, a woman, and a level 12 girl that seems to be their daughter.

I step back watching as Cipher and Goldie deal with them. The man is careful, trying to get as much information as he can from them while carefully watching his behavior and his smart eyes seem as if trying to look right through them. Goldie is here, awkwardly trying to make some funny faces to make the girl stop sobbing and in the process calm down her parents.

After a while, when they are not getting anywhere, I just poke Isabella and nod towards the other girl, "Why don't you try to make a friend with her?"

The girl, probably bored as well, just nods and runs there on her short legs while smiling brightly and immediately hugging the other girl who freezes, and then Isabella starts chirping away.

A bit more time passes and the girl and her parents calm down enough to give more information to Cipher who is asking the right questions.

They got split from their group because of monsters while they were scavenging around, checking the houses for useful stuff.

They are careful not to tell us how big the group is or where it is, also asking us where we are from, to which Cipher without hesitation says that we are also in a similar situation, but already on our own for a few weeks, our group killed by Alghouls.

The lie is pretty believable and he lies easily. Yet, even though the parents didn't notice it, I see some smile in his eyes, as if he is making fun of the people, laughing at their situation and their naivety.