Vol 3 Chapter 18 (2/2)

A third, glowing Life Orb appeared, s.h.i.+ning dimly in his room .

Micheal smiled as he saw this . The feeling of something about to bloom, about to sprout, vanished . Micheal a.s.sumed this was the daily process of growing a Life Orb, some mystical part of his soul creating it through magical means he didn't understand .

'I've hit the maximum limit of Life Orbs I can currently carry . ' As the third Life Orb was borne into existence, Micheal could also feel a very faint level of pressure settle upon his soul . While these three orbs provided him with a feeling of refreshment, they also required a certain level of power to maintain .

'With my average Soul stat, I can have 3 Life Orbs present . That means I can die 3 times and still survive . ' His eyes flashed as he considered this . The fact that he could literally have 3 extra lives… it was incredible .

He would've killed for an Ability like this on the 6th or 7th Layer .

While the Ability didn't increase his Strength or give much offensive power, and even had the negative aspect of not allowing a Type, it was so incredibly useful an Ability that he couldn't pa.s.s it up . It was also one of the rare Limited Abilities that could be purchased from the Shop . That meant if he hadn't picked it up when he had, it was likely he never would've gotten the chance to snag it .

”Ouch!” As he was considering the Ability, he winced out loud . He quickly stretched his arm as a cramp appeared .

”I'm not in nearly as good a shape as I used to be . ” He ruefully muttered as he began to stretch . His entire body was aching, sore from all the exertion of yesterday . Even his increased Recovery wasn't able to fully fix him up .

His body simply wasn't used to all of his rapid movements and attacks . It would take some time for his physique to adapt to how it used to be, let alone gain anywhere near its previous strength .

”Still, I have that time to spare . I can't leave this Cl.u.s.ter till the Great Bridge appears in a month . ” He nodded sharply .

”Should I break one of the Orbs? If it will bring me back to life, does that mean it will heal all my injuries?” He rubbed his chin .

Soreness like his was caused, in part, by micro-tears in the muscles of one's body from using them in ways they weren't used to . Micheal had learned this, and as much information as he could about developing himself, years ago in the middle of the 7 Layers when he was desperately trying to catch up to the First Wavers . These tears would eventually heal and the muscles would become stronger than before, but that took time .

”Maybe I should test it…” He thought it over and then shook his head .

”No, I'm currently too weak . I need every advantage I can get, including the full 3 lives . I'll wait till tomorrow, I'll just have to suffer through the soreness for now . ” He made his mind up .

After reaching that conclusion, he stood up and began to leave .

When he opened his door, he opened it very carefully, removing the doorstop . He listened to the sounds of the world around him, putting his ears near the ground, where a tiny slit was open between the door and floor .

He heard nothing .

While it might seem overkill, especially with his level of skill, Micheal didn't make it through the 7 Layers all the way to the end by being careless .

He quickly moved through the hallway, not seeing or hearing anyone else . His footsteps were quiet and confident .

In no time at all, he made it to the stairwell . Just as he was about to open the door to go up, he froze .

Faintly, he could hear voices drifting down .

”…It's bulls.h.i.+t, Merkel should've gotten the Points for it . We clearly had it at the edge…”

”…Tommy I know, but the Points go to the person that hits it last, that's just how it is…”

”…it's not fair . We woke up early just to find…”

Micheal could hear a pair of male voices arguing . Two men that had just hunted a Morenkai and apparently had the kill stolen from them, or one of their allies, were complaining as they moved to their floor .

Eventually, the voices faded away as they entered a floor that was several ones above Micheal's .

'So there are other people in this skysc.r.a.per . ' He frowned . It couldn't be helped, there were only so many skysc.r.a.pers in the Cl.u.s.ter, and many more people .

'Still, they sound like a small group . At the least, they don't sound like they are part of any major power . I highly doubt they have this skysc.r.a.per locked down . ' While the big groups would often lock down entire sectors, the smaller groups or forces that lived in the dangerous central area were less territorial .

Part of it was a manpower issue . They simply couldn't afford to waste time blocking off areas, especially when Morenkai would appear frequently .

Micheal entered the stairwell .

Everything was quiet, for now, anyway . He quickly clambered up the stairs, taking quick steps to get the blood flowing in his sore legs . After a few moments, he breathed out lightly as he reached the top .

He frowned slightly as he saw a small spot of red .

'They must've been injured . ' It was blood .

He shook his head . He could remember his own dangerous trials when he was here the first time around .

He put his ear to the door for a moment and then opened it up fully, his eyes cool .

It was the start of his second day here .

'I have 150 Points now after buying breakfast… By the end of today, I want to have 4,000 . '

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