Once the Crystal Coffin of the Earth Elemental was restored, Merrick scrolled through his system notifications before logging out. They were mostly dealing with the protection that the Pure Earth Elemental had mentioned. However there was one that caught his eye, the last one.
**SAFE AREA ENTERED**
Due to the influence of the Pure Earth Elemental, the Earth Platform will grant the following benefits: While on the Earth Platform, no aggressive or harmful skills or actions can be used.
Additionally, beings that are deemed friendly will receive a 50% boost in health and stamina regeneration. Adventurers may use the Earth Platform as a respawn point as well as a safe place to rest if they wish.
--SYSTEM NOTIFICATION--
Due to repeated contact with Elementals of extreme potency, new pathways of spellcraft have been opened up. The following pathways are now available: Sorcery, Summoning, and Thaumaturgy. As a Mage, these pathways can be accessed from any neutral Library once the current dungeon has been cleared.
--Knowledge Archive has been updated with more information about Elementals--
Merrick could hazard a guess as to the nature of Sorcery and Summoning. If this was anything like the ages of roleplaying, sword and sorcery experience that the world held to be cannon, he had already been using them. Sorcery was quick magic, like the lightning bolt. Summoning was… well it was how he had earned his first companion, Crudle. As he closed the last notification, Merrick wondered what Thaumaturgy would entail.
He could hazard guesses but now was the time for a break. There was a timer showing how long it would take for the path upward to be restored. Until then, Merrick logged out and returned back to the real world.
As soon as the VR Headset came off, Merrick realized how stiff his limbs were. It felt more like he'd been stationary for hours than he'd been delving around a dungeon. After grabbing a snack, he left his apartment for a walk.
There were sirens as soon as he opened his door. A few blocks away, moving quickly, and coming in his direction. By the time Merrick reached the lobby of his apartment building, the police had the building across the street surrounded.
An officer stopped Merrick as soon as he opened the lobby door, "Police business. Head back inside if you can."
Merrick pointed away from the surrounded building toward a nearby park, "I'm just going that way."
"Where to?"
"The park."
"When will you be back?" The police officer continued to ask questions.
Merrick continued to answer, "More than an hour from now but before dark."
The police officer nodded, "We'll be done by then. Get out of here."
It was a raid. Merrick realized that as he walked away. It was a quick one too, the officer seemed sure they would be done within an hour. As he grew closer to the park, Merrick wondered if this had anything to do with his tip. Was this related to information that he'd gained from that hacker?
The park was eerily quiet. The nearby police sirens disturbed the usual life. There were no children playing on the swings. There was no one walking the footpath around the edge of the park except for Merrick. There were a few adults sitting next to the basketball court, but they had their heads turned in the direction of the sirens and had long since stopped their game.
On the outer rim of the park, where it transitioned from a planned recreational area and into a sloping mess of grass, Merrick sat on one of the park's benches. The city stretched out before him.
The towers of the Financial District seemed so far away. The hill that all the locals used as a landmark from the Old Quarter tried to loom nearby but it was daunted by something hovering in the sky. It was a mass of floating earth, wires, and metal. Merrick always thought it fit in more with the scenery of a game or a novel, not his hometown.
The floating district, out over the bay, was the sole property of one of the city's many mega corporations. It had been an experiment related to something called a "Space Elevator" but just like more major works in the city, it had been canceled before completion. Merrick did not understand the science, all he knew was that it filled him with unease.
If he were in a video game, he would have said the unease symbolized massive amounts of magical energy coming off the floating district. In reality though, he thought he was just being childish. It had been floating there safely for as long as he could remember.
There was no danger of it falling down to the bay or crashing into the city. It had been floating for as long as he, and anyone he asked about it, could remember. Since it was the project and property of a mega corporation, most people treated it like Merrick did. They noticed it every once in a while, but other than that, their eyes glossed over it as if it blended into the sky.
Merrick's mental clock ticked off and he got up from the bench. Enough time had passed, he could return to his apartment and check out of reality for another few hours. Since his limbs were still stiff, he took the long way around the park and arrived back at his building to find that only one police car was left.
As soon as he logged back in, the Earth Elemental let out a bellowing greeting.
--HELLO! THE PATH HAS BEEN COMPLETED!--
"Thank you."
There was a rough landslide of sound, Merrick figured that the Elemental was clearing its throat before it continued speaking in a more restrained manner.
--As a last gift, would you like me to empower my descendant that you had been traveling with or would you like me to grant you the power to summon two descendants at the same time?--
Descendants… Merrick thought for a second until the Vassal of Fire floated into his vision. The mephits. It was an easy choice, "Empower your descendant, empower Crudle."
--Wise. Considering your foe.--
There was a flash of light, Merrick felt a surge of power, and then a system notification popped up. It showed a tremendous rise in Crudle's stats as well as some automated combat skills that the Mephit learned. The Vassal of Fire silently disappeared into a wisp of smoke.
--Is there anything else?--
"Will I have to fight your next brother before reaching the Warden?"
--No. We explained the situation to our Brother of Water. You may simply pass by his platform. In fact, I would recommend it. Since if you wake him, he is quite frightful and you may find yourself in an unnecessary fight to calm him down.--
Merrick nodded.
A short uphill climb later, Merrick found himself back at the beginning. He chuckled as a system notification popped up. Before he even read it, he looked upward to see that the path leading to the last platform had been fixed. Merrick let out a sigh and said, "How souls-like."
He then turned his attention to the notification:
--System Notification--
You have returned to the entrance to the dungeon. If you wish, you can leave the dungeon to gather resources or items. Be warned that the Warden has alerted the guards to your presence. All other prisoners have been returned to their cells and any wandering prisoners are being treated with extreme prejudice.
--Respawn Location has returned to the Old Library--