After the rescue mission, the only one thing was on Silver's mind: training. Recalling his fight with the Gobhorn, he trained like a maniac, sharpening his combat skills and trying to unlock his Mana's color.
But no matter how hard he tried, it simply wouldn't appear. He felt frustrated, but everyone else told him that it didn't appear just like that; it was a long process.
After spending a few hours punching and kicking a sandbag at the gym, he goes back and tries to meditate to improve his Mana Manipulation but, as soon as he closes his eyes, he starts to feel lightly sick.
For a few days now, he was feeling like he could feel the world spinning around him as soon as he closed his eyes. He tries to ignore it and continues to work on his Mana but the sensation starts to get worse. He finally opens his eyes and stands up, only for him to fall back, having lost his balance.
"The hell's going on ?" he asks himself out loud. "Everyone looked at me weirdly when I asked about it."
He eventually manages to get up and grab a glass of water. As he drinks it, his phone starts to ring.
"Yes ?" he says as he answers.
"Hey, it's me." responds Armando on the other side. "I've found a mission that seems interesting; we should all meet up."
"Ok, sure, but why did you call me ? A text would have been enough."
"I'm calling you because I've sent you a text and you didn't even open it."
Silver looks at his phone; he actually had received a text.
"Ok, fair. So, when ?"
"Tommorow at 9, let's meet at the Bureau."
"I'll be there. Bye"
"Ok. Oh, and I've looked about what you were talking about last time, about the whole spinning and what not, but I've got nothing. My bad."
"Nah, don't worry. Probably a me problem."
"Sure. See you tomorrow."
Armando hangs up. Silver sighs; even though he is excited for a mission, he still would have wanted to have his color before going.
He closes his eyes for a moment, only for the spinning sensation to come back. The night's gonna be long.
***
The following morning, the Team meets in front of the Bureau.
"You don't look good, man." remarks Lin while looking at Silver.
"Rough night. So, Armando, what's that mission ?" responds Silver with bags under his eyes.
"I'll show you. Come." Says Armando as he gets inside.
The group quickly follows him and groups around a screen.
"Here, look at that." points Armando.
They all take a look at the screen; on it is a briefing for a delivery mission for the 9th floor.
"Wow, a 9th floor one ?" asks Sarah, surprised.
The 9th floor is the absolute limit the Team can go to, all only being D ranks. The 10th floor and beyond are the territories of the C ranks.
"Yes, I know; crazy, right ?" says Armando, excited. "Apparently, a shift occurred on the floor, and a new staircase opened. Our mission is to bring scientific equipment and rations to the Team positioned there. Maybe we'll even get exclusive info about this new Zone !"
Armando is beaming; the idea of being able to learn something new about the Dungeon was extremely exciting for him.
"I think we should absolutely take it." adds V, hardly containing her own excitement.
"9th floor, huh ? I wonder what kind of monster we'll face there." wonders Lin, seemingly also sold on the mission.
"It's not everyday that we can be a part of a discovery in the Dungeon. We should absolutely go." exclaims Sarah.
The group turns in unison towards Silver, lost in thoughts. This mission sounds really exciting and interesting, but does he has the level to be a part of it ? Won't he be a weight for the Team ?
He is taken back to reality by a tap on the shoulder. He looks up to see Armando looking at him with a smile.
"What, is our Gobhorn slayer getting cold feet ?" he asks sarcastically.
"Shut up." responds Silver. "Of course not; this shit sounds awesome."
"Good, then let's accept it."
As he says that, Armando clicks on the screen, accepting the mission. All of the members phones receive a notification, explaining in more detail the content of the mission and a departure date: in a days.
"It feels a bit anticlamatic." says Sarah. "Getting all hyped up only for the mission to not be today."
The rest of the group laughs, agreeing with her feeling. What a letdown.
"Well, that's good; I have things to do today," says Lin as he starts to walk out. "See y'all tomorrow."
"Well, let's meet tomorrow, again." says Armando with a big smile. "It's good to go out and breathe some fresh air anyway."
Shortly, the group disbands. Silver gets back home and sits on his bed, thinking about the mission. Then it hits him: he still hasn't applied the enchantment that Miller gave him.
Taking the piece of paper, he places it on the table. He then grabs a pair of pants, his shoes, the shirt Miller also gave him, and his gloves.
First, he applies the paper to the shirt. He then starts to concentrate his Mana in his hands as he approaches them from the paper. He starts to feel a tingling as he gets closer, almost as if his Mana was sucked out of him.
He tries his best to not have everything taken out of him as he continues to pour Mana into the paper until it feels "full".
Although it seems to have worked, he has nothing to test it with; tearing the shirt would yield nothing; it is just too difficult. He takes a look at the paper, noticing that a part of the writing on it has disappeared.
The amount of uses is most likely limited, but he has no idea how many more enchantments he has. Well, anyway, onto the next thing.
He puts the paper on his pants and goes through the same process, this time much faster. When it ends, he grabs his pants and rips them.
At first nothing happens, making him wonder if he did something wrong, but as he recalls what Miller told him, he puts some Mana into them, only to see the rip immediately closing, his pants as good as new.
Genuinely surprised it actually works, he continues with his shoes and his gloves. They now all feel like they are linked to him, kind of like a part of his body.
Looking at the paper, Silver notices that almost everything is gone; he probably only has one dose left. Should he conserve it or use it now ? As he asks himself that he looks around his room before his gaze stops on his white leather jacket.
He gets up and grabs it. It was the first thing he had brought that wasn't a necessity after arriving on the island; his most prized possession.
A smile creeps on his face; what's the point of having something that automatically repairs things if he didn't apply it to the thing he cheriches most ?
After doing so, the paper desintegrates in the air, having exhausted all of it's use. Silver sits, happy with his choices, before something hits him: would it have worked with his phone ? Shit, it would have probably had.
Silver takes a look at his smartphone; it's several generations old, the screen is broken in multiple spots, and it barely charges.
You know what ? Fuck it. Now he has money; let's go buy a new one.
Silver bolts up and goes out. After a short walk, he arrives at Karcerinsulo's biggest commercial area, filled with all kinds of stores. He walks a bit aimlessly; he never really cared about technology. As he wanders around, a familiar voice calls out to him.
"Oh, SIlver."
He turns around to see Sarah waving at him. He goes over to her.
"What are you here for ?" she asks.
"I need a new phone, but I've got no idea where to go." he answers, a little bashful. He should have done some research before going out.
"That's perfect; I'll show you the perfect place. Follow me." she says.
Silver follows her for a bit before they arrive at a big store. She goes in, but a bouncer stops Silver.
"ID please."
What the hell is this place ?
"Oh, my bad. I should have told you, it's a place only for Awakeners."
Silver almost walks away hearing that, but then his brain registers: he can be here ! He shows the bouncer his ID and he lets him in.
As he walks inside, he is struck by the sheer size of the place. He walks close to Sarah, fearing getting lost if he is left alone. After a short while, they arrive at a display with all kinds of phones and electronic gadgets.
"Everything's here is made from things from the Dungeon, so they're extremely durable AND can be charged with Mana, so convenient."
Looking at the display, Silver realizes that his impulse transformed into a way more serious mission.