From Player To Npc

Syra explained a bit about her world and some stories about the past Omni Mages and that there hadn't been one alive for about 2000 years.

She and Shingi discussed the differences in how magic worked, and there were a few fundamental differences.

First, they didn't have a Mana Tree. Syra and the rest of the people from her world had a Mana Pool of different sizes for each person but no Mana Tree, Mana Seeds, or Mana Fruits. Shingi guided her to access her Mana Tree, but she was unsuccessful, like not having it, even if she had a Mana Pool.

Shingi, in all his years playing the game, never encountered something like that. Of course, there were instances of opening on even different dimensions, but they followed the same principle, maybe with a few slight differences. But in Syra's case, there were more than subtle differences.

She finally told them that while she talked with a friend of hers, a door appeared and sucked her in while she noticed Annoue getting towards the way she came from.

"So, do you have any idea what that was? And more important, how can I get back?" [Syra]

Shingi gave it some thought, and a couple of minutes passed as everyone waited for his answer. Since the beginning, he played the game and even was part of the team who created it. So if someone knew what happened to Syra, he should be the one. Or so his Player students thought.

"This is above my knowledge." [Shingi]

It surprised his students, as until now, he knew everything they had encountered.

"I am sure I have seen the Door you are speaking about, but I am uncertain of its exact whereabouts, other than it is higher in the Tower. We aren't even halfway to it, for that, I am sure. I can check on Annoue, but it seems since she isn't in this dimension anymore, I can only hear what happens around her, and there is a chance of not connecting at all. I can try this once per day and can't communicate with her or others, but we may learn something." [Shingi]

"What about the door? Do you know how to use it?" [Syra]

"This probably is the easiest part as its owner won't be so cooperative to use it. And we aren't anywhere near strong enough to face him." [Shingi]

Shingi explained to her how he met Mikhail and what he knew about her and what Protectors were.

"Wait, a minute. You said before you were navigating through the tower, but I noticed you were surprised and curious about the Gate. How did you get down here if you were up to where the door was?" [Shingi]

"I… I traveled through the Tower." [Syra]

Everyone got confused by that response.

"When I got out of the door, it threw me into one of the walls of the room it was in, which was a wall of the Tower. It was like I was underwater, but I wasn't drowning, and instead of water, there was Spirit Mana and something else all over the place. Some routes could follow, but no sign of where they led. When I reached its end, I was in a unique environment, which means it was a different floor. It hasn't been that long, maybe a few days, since I first saw you, probably the event that the boy there mentioned of me spying on you." [Syra]

"I have a name, you know." [Mizuneko]

"I name that I have heard by Shingi shouting commands at you, not by you introducing yourself." [Syra]

It was true that nobody but Shingi had introduced himself or herself to Syra. Finally, everyone officially introduced themselves, and Shingi called An to join them again since they ended the conversation she wasn't supposed to hear.

"I meant to ask who that girl is. She looks exactly like the girl I saw but feels somewhat different." [Syra]

"My name is An. Nice meeting you." [An]

She gave a slight bow of respect while everyone, except Syra, looked towards her with eyes full of confusion.

"You… you can speak? Why didn't to do it sooner?" [Wil Tycoon]

"Didn't have something to say." [An]

"What about when we were asking you questions back when we first met?" [Wild Tycoon]

"I couldn't speak then." [An]

Tycoon was ready to charge at her, but Little Phoenix held her back and took her in a corner for her to calm down.

"You said your name is An. Is it your actual name or because I gave it to you." [Shingi]

"Master gave me a name. An have only that name." [An]

This response confused him even more.

"Do you now remember anything about the time before we had found you?" [Shingi]

"An only remember things after you woke her, nothing more." [An]

"Then why couldn't you speak before? And how long can you speak?" [Shingi]

"A few days after we got in the Tower was when I could speak, and about why I couldn't before, I do not know of the reason." [An]

A few days after they got in the Tower fit the time of when Annoue disappeared, and Syra gave into this world.

'Could it be just a coincidence? Or could she not speak because Annoue was in this dimension?' [Shingi]

Shingi had encountered many mysteries through his time as an NPC, and some he had found their answer and some he hadn't.

He knew Mikhail could use Spirit Mana, and the move Shingi used to break his Seal actually made him manipulating surrounded Spirit Mana, which back then couldn't notice.

When he destroyed the Craft Seal of the Mine where he met Anna, he also used the power of the Spirit Hammer, which was Spirit Mana.

This meant that they made the Craft Seal with Spirit Mana, and that was why they got weaker after they used it and maybe even die. They were using their Spirit's Energy to turn it into Mana since they didn't have access to normal Spirit Mana.

But the mystery of Syra's appearance and her world was the biggest mystery he had encountered until now. He wished he could communicate with Night Wind or Ardent Scythe to ask if they knew anything, but he could communicate only with the person who had recruited him and his or her party through the System.

He could send a message to Aella, but she knew nothing about her father, so he doubted she would know what he worked on, and her knowledge about other dimensions didn't have a high chance. She didn't even try to remember the different realms of this dimension.

He told Hineko to send a message to Price to ask Night Wind at the next delivery if he knew something about Syra's world. Unfortunately, there weren't many things left from what Shingi had asked him to find, even if Volig was adding a few items now and then, and he was sure Night Wind wouldn't stay around. As for asking Ardent Scythe, the chances of knowing something were also too low, as she was interested in completing guests for the thrill of them and not for the lore.

"Let's rest a bit and then progress. Syra, I do not know about the door, but I know someone who has a significant chance to know what it is. You are welcome to join us, which will be something I am sure everyone would appreciate. There were some close calls last battle, and we may not be here without you." [Shingi]

There were some close calls, mainly because they were willing to take some risks, as they had a healer. Wild Tycoon, who was the one who most needed healing, could fight more carefully, but it would affect her damage output, making the battle last even longer. But, of course, they didn't know the limits of Syra's healing abilities, so there were changes in the risks that could take as they were testing the water.

"It isn't like I have many choices. You seem to know what you are doing, so following you is the best choice. But don't expect me to work for you like that. I am not your nurse. I will heal you but only if necessary." [Syra]

"Understandable." [Shingi]

Well, they had started this with no healer at all, and even if now they had one with conditions, it was better than nothing. Shingi could learn from her and already had some understanding after seeing her casting Spirit Healing Spells during the last battle.

"So this is another floor we need to defeat the boss. It has at its disposal an item that we need to use with the Lava Dragon's Core. But we should be ready as this battle going to be trickier than the last one." [Shingi]

"Is the Boss here that much stronger?" [Wild Tycoon]

"Power-wise, it would be considered weaker, but this one had high INT minion to protect it, unlike the Lava Dragon, which was alone. But its abilities are the tricky part, but I have a plan for them. It would be best if you guys only focused on the minions. I and An will take the Boss down." [Shingi]

"Just the two of you? Are you sure about that?" [Wild Tycoon]

"The boss is around our Level, normally meaning a party of five of that level would be needed to face it. It is weaker physically than a typical Boss would be, but its INT grows its danger. But that's if you don't know what you deal with. It could have evolved, but since it has such high INT already, so if it had evolved, it would typically start its way down instead of staying in this dead land." [Shingi]

The Boss of the Floor was a Necromancer who was responsible for creating the undead of this floor. This was one of the few floors that the boss was producing the minion and not the floor itself. This made it difficult, as the Necromancer has his memories for each of his battles and learned from its mistakes, making each fight harder, but he had some weak points he couldn't fix.

Each time the floor reset, the amount of the different types of undead were different, as the Necromancer tried a new tactic each time. Shingi knew that because the Necromancer was closer to what a human created by the Tower existed, his chance to Evolve like the rest of the monster bosses was smaller to possibly nonexistent, since he kept his memories from each time he died.

As for the item Shingi needed, it was actually a black crystal that the Boss was creating and had it on its staff to help him focus his powers and control his undead.