For a moment, we look at each other. Two men in a small white room covered in blood, with boxes full of bloody limbs in the corner. Keeping an eye on him, I find a relatively clean spot and sit on the floor, resting my back against the wall.

And then I just sit there.

The man's eyes are calm, and yet they have a weird shine to them. They are not the eyes of an animal backed into a corner, tired and threatening. They are more like the eyes of someone who’s given up.

“You are not one of them,” his voice is quiet and rough as if he is not used to talking.

“I’m just passing by,” I reply.

“Just passing by,” he repeats.

“Yes. By the way, do you know anything about the Veil, the Mirror, the Valley, Pairing, war, monsters, or Veil Guardian?”

He seems to be taken aback and chuckles. Even that chuckle sounds weak and forced. It sounds like he’s laughing at himself.

“You are not going to ask about...” he gestures at the room.

“Is there any need to? Locals seem to have… an interesting diet. That's it. They likely forced you into this. At least I don't think anyone would go along with this willingly, and the collar around your neck confirms it.”

Another chuckle, “You’re wrong.”

“Am I?”

He brushes the hair from his face, his deep eyes staring into mine, “Fuck knows how long ago I agreed to this,” the man says to my surprise.

“In the beginning, it was simple, really. They needed food and I wanted to help. Probably out of regret or maybe I felt like I owed these people something.”

“You seem to have changed your mind halfway through,” I gesture at his neck where the collar is.

His smile shows his teeth, it feels almost threatening, “Do you know how it feels to have your legs and arms sawn off day after day for decades? To know what they are doing with them? It doesn't matter how much you want to help, after enough time you can’t take anymore. So get off your fucking high horse, you brat.”

I ignore the last sentence, “So, you want to get out?”

For the first time, he hesitates, almost like pure panic appearing on his face, “A lot of them would die without…” the man still says, his eyes changing, a hint of craziness surfacing.

He pulls his knees higher and hides his face, “Kids, men, and women. Innocent people, my skill isn't good enough at regenerating others to do it with someone else or an animal,” he wobbles from side to side, his voice even weaker than before.

I give him time and gradually he calms down enough to look at me, changing the subject, “The Veil was our biggest hope, even I contributed, everyone did. But none of us knew much. The Enchanter Guild were the main organizers and they were very secretive about their greatest creation. The most brilliant minds on our planet. People treated them like gods.”

Some sanity returns to his eyes, “Oh, how beautiful their promises were. Every single city, protected by a Veil encompassing the entire planet. A construct so perfect it would run on its own following a set of rules overseen by a coalition of all the world’s kingdoms.”

Out of nowhere, he starts laughing, “Pairing, we’ve experienced it twice now. Either we were unlucky or we did something wrong. Who the fuck would know for sure, what with the system being so cryptic all the time.” Once again, he laughs like he just told a great joke.

His eyes meet mine again, and this time they are calm, sane, and clear. “Now fuck off. I'm tired of your face. Leave me alone. You can take some and snack on it later,” he points at the box full of limbs, a cruel expression on his face.

I give him one more look, then activate one of my anchors and reappear inside the city, on top of one of the skyscrapers. To be sure, I check the anchor I left near Vega and send my senses through. I get a little bit of feedback, but everything seems fine.

Three orbs form next to me, and I start feeding them: one with kinetic energy, another with thermal, and the last one with mana. Dark blue, golden, and pale blue to the point of transparency, the orbs follow me as I jump off the building and boost myself towards the granny. For a short moment, I enjoy the feeling of wind on my face as I'm flying through the air until I reach the cottage at the top of the skyscraper. I pass through the field which sends her a signal before entering the house.

“What, did you come to break more of my pots you brat? Don't tell me the kid that was following you died. Where is she?” The Vitalist inquires.

“She is fine. Safe and currently training. I have a question for you if you don't mind.”

“No gifts, you still owe me, and you come here asking for more. So typical of the current generation,” she grumbles, but I notice a hint of curiosity in her eyes. I think she must be bored, being here alone most of the time.

“How old are you?” I ask.

That makes her cackle, and she doesn't answer.

“Are you from before the war?”

“Why would I tell you?”

“What is Veil?”

“Don't be annoying,” she snorts.

“Do you know a man with the class Lifebloom Weaver?”

“Stop asking…” she freezes in the middle of the sentence. Her expression changes and turns dark. I [Focus] and try to read her mood as much as possible. I observe the movements of her body, her face. I even listen to the sound of her heart as it beats, each one creating the tiniest bit of kinetic energy I can feel as well as her movements.

“Friend?”

She doesn't say anything.Stolen novel; please report.

“Husband?”

Nothing.

“Family?”

Her heartbeat speeds up, a slight twitch across her face.

“Son? Father?”

“Listen here. Do not even dare speak of this in front of me, or I will never heal that brat of yours again. How dare you…”

“He is tied up there, did Darren tell you?” my words silence her, “I spoke with him and he said at first he did it because he wanted to. But now they use some collar to keep him there.”

She falls silent, and the pause stretches so long that I'm tempted to leave when she finally whispers, "One hundred twenty-seven."

“Yes?”

“That's how many kids younger than ten there are in the Sanctuary. One hundred twenty-seven.”

“Do they all know?”

She just shakes her head.

What a fucked-up situation.

"Leave." That word is barely a whisper, more a plea than a threat.

And I do just that. I activate one of my anchors and appear near the city's center. I sit on a rooftop with my legs hanging over the edge and continue to fill the orbs next to me while spinning them around.

The thing, the weird invisible lines of mana covering the sky and probably the entire planet, is probably the Veil, or at least a part of it. I tried to touch it shortly after starting the 5th floor. That's also when the Veil Guardian appeared, likely summoned by the attempt. The monster's name makes a lot more sense now.

So what is the Veil? A construct covering the entire planet? I heard a lot of praise for the Enchanter Guild from Darren and Nina, though I’ve mostly dismissed it as a legend. But maybe I was wrong. My current skill makes it hard to even imagine how something like that would work.

What powers it? What keeps it there? What stops anyone else from messing with it? How was it created? And then there are the obvious questions, why was it used against humans and why did it cause so much more damage than the monsters brought over by the Pairing?

As for Pairing, the man said it was the second and I would like to know about that. What are the causes of a Pairing and how is it decided.

Another question, were they paired with a planet of monsters or was another race using them for war? Like Lynthari on the 4th floor with the Living Tree and the Colony.

The more time passes, the more questions I have and the much shorter this floor feels.

Taking a bag off my back, I take out a brush and a container with mana conductive paint. I start drawing inscriptions on the roof after clearing it. While doing so, I check the inscriptions painted on my body and there seems to be no change from before.

Once again, I check the anchor near my disciple, and, making sure everything ok, I start using more of my mana to feed the orbs. My heart beats, and working as a medium, it turns mana into the two Primordial energies I possess.

I let two hours pass like that and then I stop feeding the orb. Instead, I create a javelin over my shoulder. Having created it with [Regalia] it’s already tougher than it used to be, but I can’t stop there. I make it denser, which increases its weight, either because of the skill or the properties of mana changing. I don’t use [Infusion] to keep feeding the javelin with my energies or skills. No, I just make it as dense, heavy, and tough as possible. Focusing on doing that, I'm able to stop it from exploding. Thanks to my improved mastery and skill.

Feeling ready, I breathe in and out.

[Focus]

The world loses some of its color and the skill filters out some of the noises. In addition to the three orbs floating beside me, another takes form. This one is smaller and quickly fed by my focused mana as it turns black, while I keep it under control with [Mana Domain], [Mana Manipulation], and [Resonance].

Then I activate my trait, a golden circle appearing around my pupils, while I channel mana into the inscriptions I’ve painted on the ground and get ready.

Moving the javelin a bit further away, I look at the sky and [Focus]. Knowing better what to look for, I identify the lines I noticed the first time. The lines of mana that likely encompass the entire planet.

The Veil.

I touch them, I examine them, trying to collect as much information as possible, already feeling the strain my trait is putting on my body.

And as expected, the monster appears.

[Veil Guardian - lvl ??]

It stands on the rooftop of the building opposite mine. Its red eyes glow with hate, and a deep growl reverberates through the air, breaking the remains of glass in the windows. The blades it has in place of its arms have a blue shine to them, and I feel its senses touch me.

Not giving it a chance, I nearly deplete the kinetic energy from the orb I created, and the javelin shoots at the guardian, boosted by all that force. A sonic boom threatens to deafen me as the javelin breaks the sound barrier and disappears from its place beside me.

It pierces through the monster's chest, barely missing the heart, and continues to fly much further, piercing through everything in its way. The javelin doesn't slow at all, the sheer density, weight, and amount of kinetic energy I used turning it into a terrifying weapon.

The Veil Guardian wobbles on its legs, and red blood seeps onto its gray skin. It roars, and the blue veins on its body expand. A gravity field encompasses me and immediately starts pushing me down to my knees with a force that tears at my body.

I fail to disrupt the effect even with my eyes activated, I’ve expected this ever since I first saw the monster use the skill.

Not hesitating and according to my plan, I let the black mana seep into my body, the inscriptions covering me activate and help alleviate some of the pressure. The effect of the monster's skill gets overpowered by the sheer power of black mana strengthening my body, and I watch the monster jump from the roof, heading towards me.

I send mana mixed with kinetic energy into the inscriptions on the floor, and they resonate, shooting all that energy through the skyscraper I'm standing on.

The building starts crumbling when the energy pierces through it in its entirety. One of the tallest buildings in the city starts falling to the side.

At the same time, the Veil Guardian avoids golden flames infused with disrupting mana, and it disrupts the anchors I placed all around the place.

It crashes against my barrier and breaks it, welcomed by another one which also breaks. I set barrier after barrier, slowing the monster down. Then my mana flows and surges from my body.

[Redistribution] activates, and I absorb all the kinetic energy from the falling building. Gradually, the broken skyscraper slows its fall, and things become eerily quiet as the pieces of the building slowly continue to fall.

[Redistribution - lvl 41 > Redistribution - lvl 42]

I compress thermal energy inside of the orb even more, and a stream of thermal energy shoots off like a laser.

The guardian avoids it, but it cuts another skyscraper in half, which also slows as it falls.

[Redistribution - lvl 42 > Redistribution - lvl 43]

This time I dash at the monster, using bits of that energy to strengthen my body in the way symbiotic transference used to do.

The air itself around the monster reverberates with high-pitched sounds. Wound after wound appears on the monster's skin, the kinetic energy threatening to tear apart the extremely durable monster. The sound rises pitch and volume, as its wounds deepen, and the guardian uses its arms to cover its chest and head.

Finally, the attack pierces its guard, and the right arm of the monster explodes at the shoulder, falling to the ground.