Ren didn't expect to give a detailed report either, but he just did. Perhaps it was the Gamer in him, not the power but what he did for a hobby, that liked to give such detailed reports on bosses. It was quite the thrilling fight after all, deep down, and all of this was quite exciting, despite the fact that people died, but Ren hid his excitement with incredible skill to the point where he sounded bored.

"Its just a Spell I learned. Turns out actual spells are different than the Skills we know..." Ren looked at the book that Sasha handed to him, attempting to learn it, but no luck. He shook his head. "Nope, I only meet the WIS requirement..." Ren handed the book back to Sasha. "If you feel that you can eventually learn it though, try to do so. Spatial Magic is what a mage we fought in here in a previous room used on us, and that stuff was indeed incredibly powerful. I think that Blank Mage copied and used the same thing..." Ren continued looking at books, before finding one that he thought suited him, so he pulled it out.

He tried to learn it, but to no avail, so he just stuck it in his inventory, not really caring if anyone noticed or not. They hadn't found what they initially came for yet, so Ren figured might as well try to benefit from all of this somehow.

With the Observe data, and Henry's reaction to them, Mike was more then willing to close the crate back up. That done, he decided to check out the other crates, now feeling more confident in his ability to open them after the first one. He was also planing to use Observe on everything he found. "So...who exactly was Erica?" Mike asked "I know that I hadn't met her before tonight"

Silas was glad that everyone was still alive, he didn't want to have another casualty. He wondered if Keiko already told about Erica being killed in the dungeon, she probably didn't care that much for it, although he had a feeling they would be mad at them for following her. However they did help kill the enemy, and what a powerful attack was that. Silas immediately got several windows popped up in front of his face, scanning through them, reading the standard information. In his opinion he did great.

The only thing that bothered him at the moment were the last words of Taichi. He didn't care that he had become a killer, it was something that he could easily live with. Especially if his life was on the line. But he supposedly was very strong, as it took a sheer amount of time to beat him. As he overheard Ren and Sasha the mage had a ridiculous amount of HP and MP. And then with the thought stronger predators would be coming kinda scared him. He didn't want to get so much involved with the Abyss, but somehow it is pulling him in again. As if his powers were a metal and the Abyss a magnet. In any case he couldn't die duo to this, and also couldn't get Tomoyo involved. He didn't want her to get hurt.

He thought all this while he was casually leaning against the nearest wall with his eyes closed. He could hear the conversations of the others in the distance but didn't pay too much attention to it. He also wasn't in the mood to search for stuff. What he did realize is that he had to become stronger, he was too deep in this shit to go back now. So the only way is to get incredibly strong. Maybe he could develop a new technique to extend the range of his sword with energy, make multiple other swords out of energy and who knows what. But for that to happen he had to get stronger, get more skilled and have lots and lots more of mana.

"Well this is an interesting find, a bunch of Mana pots, but they can do a bit more than restore mana, but also heal spirits." Lucian's explination was more for Henry, as the rest of the gamers would easily be able to just observe it and know what it was fully as well, though in hindsight, it could be that Henry would be familiar enough with potions to know it just by seeing it as well.

"So aside from the crystals that Mike found, anyone else find anything special?" Lucian looked around the room to see the others all searching in their respective areas. "Clearly the crystals were going to be used for something, or on someone." He looked back at the crate he found, filled with mana pottions, "And maybe the mana potions were to counter act the crystals so that the user wouldn't run dry while doing whatever it was that they had intended to do." He shrugged, "but this is all just speculation till we find more clues."

The other crates would soon be searched, Observe being used on their contents. In the third searched crate there would be several large cases all stacked atop one another. Unfortunately they were locked, and Observe data on them would just display that they were cases that were locked with both a very strong, built in lock and some magic. The fourth box held eight staves. Simple in design, wooden, three feet long, with a small gem imbued in the end. They were more like scepters than staves. Regardless, their Observe Data was nice.



The fifth and sixth crates were empty, unfortunately. The seventh crate was filled with a large quantity of runestones. Observation data revealed that they were all Blank High Quality Runestones, there being more than fifty in there. These crates just seemed to be filled with various random supplies, the only special things of note so far being the Antinite Crystals and those locked cases. The eighth crate contained what appeared to be eight large stones held in strange, orb-like containers. There were runic markings all along them and the stones inside gave off a strange glow, the stones suspended in mid-air inside of the containers, the containers around the size of basketballs and the stones taking up about 40% of the space inside. The Observe Data revealed the following.



The ninth crate was revealed to be large bags, four of them. Inside of each bag was a strange, orange powder and each bag weighed about five or so pounds, or so one could gauge with just a rough estimate. The Observe Skill revealed the following.



The tenth crate was a bit harder to open than the others. In fact, with just brute strength it was an impossible task. It was sealed tightly, magic symbols on the lid, so it was probably sealed with magic, as an Observe on the crate would also dictate. Luckily Henry was here, and noticing their trouble with that crate he put down the file he was currently reading, Henry having accumulated a nice large pile of files that he had already read. He was quite the swift reader. "Lets see what we have here..." He walked over to the sealed crate, put his hand on it, and for a moment his eyes shone in that strange way as he used his Wizard's Sight. After a moment he took his hand off the crate, shaking his head.

"Keep this one shut... trust me, you'll be safer that way". He didn't say anything else, but as one who seemed to know what he was doing, perhaps keeping the sealed box shut was a good idea, unless any of the Gamers wanted to go against that advice and try another way to force the crate open. After giving his piece, he returned back to reading the files from the filing cabinet, already halfway done going through them all.

The eleventh crate, when opened, revealed a large number of what appeared to be mats with magical circles on them. The crate was filled to the top with a giant stack of them, and would be quite similar to the circles that Sasha and Silas had seen in the hallway where Erica had died. Observe data revealed the following.



The twelfth and final crate was a much more interesting find than just the crates of magical supplies that they had been finding so far. There were five gems, each all glowing lightly. They looked quite pretty. Henry walked over by this point, having decided to take a break from reading the files for now and see what they had found. Observe Data on them would reveal the following.



"Familiar Gems huh... to think that people like these could get something like this... seems to me like these guys were stockpiling for something, and judging by the files, it probably wasn't all that good". Henry looked at the sealed box and the box with the Antinite in it. "Alot of the files is just information on various new Ability Users. Probably targets for kidnapping most likely. Other files contain inventory reports, old experiment data, and other stuff that was probably just thrown in here to save space. Nothing much of use in terms of your purpose here".

"Those two boxes, however; are much more interesting to me..." He, again, gestured to the box with the Antinite and the sealed one. "Antinite may not be entirely rare, but it isn't easy to get and requires training and knowledge to know how to handle it and use it properly. And the other box... well... lets just say it explains alot, but again, nothing relevant as to why the Void Wizard would send you here. Its unusual, yes, but nothing incredible..." He stopped for a moment, placing a finger to his temple as he gave a few nods.

"Its Sayo. Now that there aren't anymore enemies, she was able to scry this place alot more freely. We should head to the first floor, central room. Finish up here with whatever you need to do and then head there, or go home, whichever you prefer". He went to walk out of the room, but before he did he turned to face the Gamers. "Oh, and I recommend you all take those Familiar Gems and whatever else you need, as a sort of reward or something... but leave the two sealed boxes alone. Trust me... that's for your own good that you don't touch them".

By two sealed boxes, he was talking about the box he sealed, the one with the Antinite, and the other sealed box. "Other than that, everything else in the room is free game for you five, call it... spoils of victory or whatever, although...ill ask that you leave some of those potions for Keiko. Those seem quite useful for a Medium like her if they can help spirits... other than that... have fun. There are no more enemies, so feel free to do whatever. I think there is another locked room like this on the other side of the building, the route Keiko came up, so you should check that out as well". With that, he left, deciding to head to the first floor and leave the Gamers to their own devices.

Lucian was really pleased with all that they found, sure they still had not really found out why they had come...but the loot. A part of him felt a bit strange at the idea of just taking the stuff in a magical tower, after they had just beat up and killed the owner, and his men, But truly, hadn't he done this many times before in games? it really did put it into perspective though actually being the one to fight, and loot afterwards.

"Well, then, no qualms with that." Lucian, chose to follow the sound advice and leave the two boxes alone, though he felt the crystals could probably sell for a good value, it also could be more hassle than it was worth, and same with the unknown box. "Well then, here comes the dividing of the spoils, between five of us, how do we wish to go ahead? I know that I certainly want at least a Familiar Gem, and with five of them we should each get one. Also, if anyone does not want theirs, I would gladly trade for it." He pushed up his glasses and eyed up the rest of the goods that had been found, and more or less given to them, "I also agree with giving the enforcers some of of the potions, as a good will sort of thing, other than that, I would be fine with taking a stave or two, a psuedo stone or two, a bag of the orange magic dust, and a few of those instant magic circles. I have no use for Runes, so no real interest there for me." He glanced over at Ren after that one, knowing that he used them. "Any one else prefer certain loot?" he looked over the others.

The sound of wood breaking attracted Sasha's attention, and she went to investigate, taking the book with her. Lucian and Mike were going through the crates at the side of the room. Sasha's eyes lit up at the sight of the various items.

"I think I'll forgive that dude for not dropping any loot now. This is a treasure trove! God, I want everything." Giving the spoils a cursory inspection, she mulled about her decision. Obviously she couldn't horde everything to herself when this was a team effort. While she was usually self-centered, she knew to at least obey some basic social rules- like not pissing off your allies.

"The Familial Gem, of course. The staff... I can use. I've been dabbling in Arcane Magic, and enchantments, so I really want that dust too. I'd take one pseudospace stone and one Antinite crystal if possible, just to experiment with them. In any case, we should take them all- the staves would sell for a lot on the market even if we don't use them." Sasha was almost drooling when she finished her sentence. She was almost horrified at the sudden realization that she really loved getting money. The things this whole incident is teaching me... and I'm now a murderer.

"Silas, don't be such a cold fish. Come over here!" Sasha yelled at the silent figure at the doorway. Sasha wasn't sure why he was acting this way- could Erica's death hit him harder than she thought? "You okay?"

Mike was really disappointed "man, nothing in here looks good to me. I'm starting to think that I would have been better of not coming at all. So far, all I have to show for this is 3 lost stat points. This is by far the worst dungeon run ever...of all time. Everything here is just vender trash to me. Jeez, all I was hoping for was at least one good accessory, and I didn't even get that much. maybe that mage guy had something good on him. I think I'll go check his body to see if he's got anything good on him" he said before leaving to go check the Blank Mage's corpse

"W-wait!" Sasha called after Mike, who grumbled about the lack of good items. He seemed to be in a bad mood. "There's a bookshelf over there. Where Ren is? There might be some skill books you could use."

If Sasha kept chasing after Mike when he went to go check on the corpse, a startling discovery would be made on the corpse itself. The fact that the corpse was actually not even there. All that was left of the Blank Mage that had nearly killed them was a large bloodstain. The person had definitely died, there was no doubt about that. Even the Enforcers had attested to that. The corpse was just... gone though. Whether it was taken by the enforcers or someone else was hard to say, but regardless of Mike's desire to search the corpse of the Blank Mage he would be unable to, due to the fact that it was gone.

Back in the storage room, however; Ren was going to go ahead and collect his share of the goods. He collected a single Staff, two books from the shelves; as there wasn't much else he could use and he had enough to focus on already, a Familiar Gem, three of the Spirit Restoratives, and about 22 of those Blank Runes, leaving the rest for the Enforcers. "I think we should just leave the box with the locked boxes in them and the two sealed boxes alone, especially with the fact that we don't even know how to use them. And its proper game etiquette to leave some loot for the others, so lets leave some potions for the Enforcers. That's just my opinion though, you guys can do whatever you want".

Ren voiced his opinion and put his loot into his inventory. He didn't know what this Familiar Gem would do exactly, so he figured he would wait before using his. He didn't even know if he could use it, as apparently not many people are able to. "I'm going to search that other room that we were told about. Perhaps our Quest Objective is in there..." Ren held up the key, before pocketing it and going on his way to the next room, not really caring about Mike's complaining about loot or Sasha's attempt to appease his sour mood. They were here for a reason, and Ren wanted to see that quest completed, so there was no time to deal with shit like that.

"Well that sucks. So much for looting the body" Mike complained. With that option gone, he decided to go with Sasha's suggestion "guess I might as well check for a good skill book. Not sure if I'm going to find one worthwhile though. I've already got more skills then I can grind already, so unless I find a good passive skill book, I think I'm going home less then empty handed"

Silas heard Sasha's voice in the background calling him over. With a sigh he pushed himself off the wall and slowly walked towards Sasha. Silas held his index finger and thumb against his forehead, indicating he was either annoyed, frustrated or something similar. "Don't worry about me Sasha, there's nothing wrong. I just am thinking about the future and stuff." he looked around a bit. "Anyway, is there even something useful in the loot for me? Seeing as he was a powerful mage and I doubt he has anything for a warrior type like me." he said. Hopefully he would draw away her concern about him by asking about the loot.

"Well, with no objections, I am going to be taking what I want." With that, Lucian filled his inventory as he saw fit, taking a staff, two psuedo stones, a bag of the orange magic dust, and a three instant magic circles. He had also heard Mikes complaints, and a part of him wanted to simply smack the kid. Most gamers know that not every run will turn out in there favour with the loot, and seeing as this was actually a life or death game, he should really just be happy to be alive. The last crate that Lucian went to was the one with Familiar Gems in it, he put one into his inventory and grabbed a second one in his hand, walking over to Mike.

"Hey, at the very least you can get yourself a nice little pet, made specifically for you, by you, and if you don't want it, I know someone who will gladly pay or trade for such an item. So stop whining and take your share, or I could just pocket a second gem for myself." Lucian held the gem out to Mike, and he was very serious about it all. Even keeping the gem if Mike didn't take it.

Sasha frowned for a brief moment. Silas seemed to be bothered by something.

"I'm pretty sure those potions would come in handy even for you," Sasha said as she took four bottles herself. There was still plenty in the box. Next, she grabbed a staff, a pseudospace stone, and one Antinite crystal. She swept up the remainder of the orange dust too, since no one else needed it.

"And this," she said, holding a palm-sized gemstone between her fingers. "Just check it out and you'll see why you would probably want one." Sasha tossed the stone at him, then took another one for herself. Her ears perked up when she overheard Lucian talking to Mike.

"Hey, if he's not having it, I want the stone too... unless, hmm, you let me have the rest of the staves," the girl asked coyly. In any case, she would take anything leftover to sell on the Abyss market.

Silas didn't respond back to Sasha but just listened. He followed her advice and also took 4 potions out of the box and placed them in his inventory. There probably were still some potions left in there, but he didn't bother to take more. He didn't know if others wanted some too. Silas watched as Sasha collected more loot from the mage, the things seemed to fit a magic orientated character more. However Sasha continued talking to him, this time throwing a gemstone towards him. Silas caught it with one hand and stared at it as it was resting in the palm of his hands. I'll probably see why I want one? Silas wondered what it could be.

Silas overheard the others earlier, calling the item a Familiar Gem. If he was correct it should summon some kind of creature, at least that is what he expected. It would certainly be useful to have a summon at his side, but if he had one he would want one that really fits him. One that also has the potential to become a friend, and is easy to summon. It didn't really matter what kind of power it possessed, he just wanted a companion, a soul mate in the form of a summon. All these thoughts already going through his head, but he had not even test the gem out yet. Silas put the gem in his inventory and then said something to all the people in the room. "Eey, what are we going to do after this?" having no idea if some sort of plan had formed.

After a whole lot of looking, Mike hadn't found a single book that looked like it would be useful. 'I can't believe this! I was prepared to leave here without anything new, sometimes the loot you want just doesn't drop. However I was not prepared to lose stat points! In fact, because of how Zandaka works, that one missing STR point hurts me a lot more then it should. Coming here made me significantly weaker! I should at least be able to find something to make up for that!' Mike fumed to himself. He was brought out of his mental ranting by Lucian's voice, who for some reason was sounding a little upset 'must be because of Erica' he thought to himself. "Thanks" he said as he took the familiar gem and placed it in his inventory. While he had no plans for it at all, he felt that he should tread lightly around someone grieving over the loss of someone else.

Lucian placed the gem in Mikes hand, then turned to Sasha, "Don't get too greedy now Sasha." Lucian shook his head and left the room to follow after Ren. He couldn't believe the gamer ability really, they should be at a loss, feel sick with themselves, should feel some form of mental anguish or distress, but nothing! They had killed, not one, but two people! not only that, but that had someone who was with them die! Yet, the way they all went along happily looting, it was like nothing ever happened. Technically their looting could even be labelled as stealing, but with the whole Gamer mind set, it was all theirs now. Such a horrific power indeed.

Since they had all taken a bit to deal with Mike's complaints and discuss loot, Ren was already in the other room on the other side of the building, or more accurately finished with that room. By the time Lucian had gotten there, Ren closed the door, sighing heavily, and when he saw Lucian, and anyone else who followed him, walk up he shook his head. "Nothing really good in there. Just an empty room with a bunch of empty boxes". Whether or not Ren was lying was something Lucian could decide, but he seemed genuinely disappointed by the lack of loot in this other room, so he was probably telling the truth.

"Anyway... lets head to the first floor. Maybe those Enforcers found something..." Ren began to head down the stairs now, not really caring if the others chose to continue staying in that room or not or follow them down to the first floor.

This building was pretty big, probably the same size as the high school it occupied. When the Gamers got down to the first floor the Enforcers would be there, including Sayo, all of them having just walked up from a large door that lead deeper into the base.

"I take it your search went well? Or perhaps you didn't find what you came here for, which is the more understandable answer, as I believe that we may have found a possible reason as to why the Void Wizard sent you here". Henry spoke now, a red file held in his hands.

"We wouldn't have known to look for it if you all hadn't come here with your request from the Void Wizard, so for that, we thank you". Keiichi gave a small nod of respect, before nodding to Henry, who began to speak.

"They have all sorts of data on all six... er... five of you". Henry knew that all of the Gamers knew about Erica's death, but it was still something anyone would avoid talking about directly. "They were very interested in your ability, but this place was not just targeting you, but many different Ability Users as well. That... is not the unusual part though". Henry opened up the file now, reading from it while he spoke. "It appears that this group was researching something. The exact nature of which, I do not know. We would need more time to analyze the data. A guess is that it has to do with dimension gates, something that you would indeed need land like this for, but..." he closed the file now, tucking it beneath his arm, Nero speaking up now, this black garbed man getting rather to the point.

"They know a bit about your ability, and that four people getting it at the same time after one person had it for a month is no coincidence. Perhaps you could call it... being chosen". Nero just shook his head though, giving a small chuckle as it was clear that he found the notion both truthful, yet incredibly childish and stupid.

Henry just gave a nod, before resuming his talking. "They probably wanted to capture you to study this, as not only do you all have a unique ability, but four people got it the same day. What they were researching is probably much more than I can assume and may even connect to this, but we would need more time to analyze the data... all I can say is... something big is going on and the people here were mere pawns of someone else judging from the other files I found. While we don't know what it is... all I can say is that you five can no longer turn back... you either need to get stronger, or pray that they decide to leave you alone if you discontinue your abyssal activities".

Keiichi stepped forward now, handing Silas a card since he appeared to be the oldest of the group, and looked more like the leader type. "Give us a call if you need anything. You helped us out, and we're thankful for that as your being here has helped us find some more answers. We will contact you if we obtain any more info, but for now, all of you should head home".

After the conversation was over, a window would suddenly appear.



At this moment, Ren leveled up to Level 21 as all of the Gamers obtained 15 XP for the completion of the Quest. Sasha also leveled up to Level 16. Silas to Level 13, and Mike to Level 14. All of the Gamers leveled up once tonight, Lucian having leveled up after that fight with the Blank Mage. So they all got a Level out of this as well, which was indeed nice.

"Anyway, I expect to see both of you in school tomorrow" Keiichi now switched to his Moral Committee Chairman mode as he looked at Mike and Ren, but this comment was mainly directed at Ren, who had been playing Truant for the past week, and Ren just responded by rolling his eyes, something that Keiichi did not respond too kindly to as he directed a glare towards Ren.

"Your uncle will be informed of your Truancy, and a smart kid like you should know the consequences of such. Now then... please come to school tomorrow, as in light of the recent circumstances I will not be pressing for disciplinary action, but you should try to live a normal, healthy school life to the best of your ability".

Again, Ren sighed heavily in a apathetic manner. "Yea, whatever..." There was nothing else to do here, and Ren had some Stat Points to assign and some anime to watch, plus it was already around 2:00 AM, so he was a bit tired. "Well... we got what we came here for... i'm heading home..." With that, Ren began to walk out. Unless the Gamers had questions for the Enforcers or wanted to search the base more, they would all need to go home as well as it was quite late.

Well that was a disappointing quest. Oh well, at least he got a level up out of it to fix his stats. "Note to self; target the Necromancer first...always." Looking back, Mike felt really stupid for not taking the Necromancer out first. Him bringing the other mage back was something that he really should have seen coming. Such a noob mistake left him feeling pretty crappy. On the bright side though; his Zandaka was back up to full strength now (ha! meta pun). It was right after he finished applying his level up that something that Keiichi said suddenly hit him "wait...you've been skipping school Ren!?" It wasn't like the idea was unfathomable, he had seen it happen on TV shows..but that was TV! A lot of things that happen in TV shows are only good ideas in TV shows "...why?" his voice sounding a little hurt

Ren was about to leave, deciding to leave all of the leveling and inventory management for tomorrow when he got home from school, as he figured now he had no choice. What stopped him from leaving was Mike's question, Ren just turning to face Mike and raising an eyebrow. Mike sounded upset by this fact, and Ren had no idea why. "One, because of all of this training. I think becoming stronger to survive had a bit higher priority than school did". That was the obvious one, and then Ren stated the even more obvious one. "And two, because school is boring". The way Ren was speaking made it sound like both answers were obvious and that only dumb people would question them.

Keiichi could not stand idly by during this conversation. "I can understand the first reason. Even I have had to miss days regrettably for the sake of training or work, but your hatred of school is unjustified and immoral. You cannot skip school, a major part of your life, just because you find it boring. Regardless, you will be going to school tomorrow, as it is your duty and obligation as a student and a child of this country to do so, and you will be penalized if you do not".

Ren sighed heavily, scratching his head. He was excited about completing a dungeon and a quest like this in real life, and these two school lovers had to ruin it for him. "Don't see why you're so upset about me skipping school. Alot of people do".

"He has all the right to be upset, even I am upset because skipping is wrong, regardless of your excuse as an excuse is not a reason, it is just an excuse. Your first example was a justified reason, although even Mike still found time to go to school and train, something I believe that could have been accomplished with your intelligence".

Keiichi was in agreement with Mike here, but Ren seemed to not give any fucks about any of this school talk as for now, during that time Keiichi was speaking, he looked quite bored and had a cold, distant look on his face, that same chill and distance being present in his voice during this time as well.