Overall, Percy and Noland’s setup was quite simple. That didn’t make it any less effective, however. Using the pure mana to defend themselves, and the gravity mana solely to quickly deliver the explosive crystals to their opponents, they relied exclusively on the bombstones to take out the golems.


    Naturally, the constructs grew stronger with each wave. Getting slightly larger and sporting an extra pair of detachable legs each time, there was no doubt in Percy’s mind that they would have made for tough opponents had they faced them normally. Luckily, none of them survived their opening blow, though the third one managed to leap out of the way in time.


    Not wanting to risk their life in the fourth wave, they decided to take a break from the ‘gauntlet’ challenge at that point, to give the ‘swarm’ challenge a try. Suffice to say, the golems were even weaker there, the explosions often taking several of them out at once. Still, their sheer numbers had made it a little difficult for Percy and Noland to hold their ground. Not to mention the strain they’d put on their limited supplies. By the time they cleared the third wave, their sack was already empty, finally putting an end to their cheating spree.


    Of course, the results were more than worth it…


    “Congratulations! Wave 3 has been cleared! Calculating rewards…”


    Percy’s only regret was his inability to bring the bombstones back home. A couple of those would have made for an excellent trump card. Sadly, this was just the nature of his clones.


    “Awarded credits: 300. Current balance: 1729.”


    “Wow! Words cannot express how glorious this is!” Percy’s mood instantly took a turn for the better, some tears welling up in his eyes.


    None of his previous visits to the Vault had gone nearly this smoothly. Not only had he accomplished all his goals with time to spare, he even managed it without getting his body battered in the process.


    Suffice to say, it was with great glee that he finally purchased the rune index he’d been ogling for years, spending the next day studying it – much to his host’s dismay. And he didn’t stop there, also buying a book on shape runes for Nesha. By themselves, these runes could force a material to take on a fixed shape – in this case a cube. Combining them with the pocket, stability and control runes, his girlfriend would have everything she needed to craft her first prototype of a spatial amulet after some practice.


    At any rate, it only took him another couple of days to memorize the new rune. This one didn’t space mana – even though he’d picked a variant that worked better with it. Percy could have easily learned to activate it too, using his pure mana, though he didn’t bother to do that. He didn’t personally have a use for it, so he only needed to relay the symbol and the instructions to Nesha, and let her take it from there.


    About halfway through Percy’s last week in the Vault, he had already accomplished everything he’d set out to do, even having a little over 1500 credits left to spend.


    he decided.


    Up until now, he hadn’t really had the option of branching out much. Other than the time he’d purchased the mana conversion spell, Percy had been forced to funnel all his funds into reading material to progress through the challenges. This was his first time having saved up a sizeable sum.


    Besides, there was another reason he couldn’t stay here any longer. Noland’s food was nearly exhausted, so Percy would have to start spending credits on that. His only option was to leave and dump the responsibility on Metatron.


    Noland asked.


    Percy shrugged.


    Either way, he had one final stop before bidding him farewell. While he wasn’t particularly worried about all the beasts he’d brought to the Vault, Noland was a sapient host. Even though their current arrangement was the result of a mutually beneficial transaction, Percy couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy over leaving his new pal alone in this place.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Consequently, he’d already decided to introduce him to Gabe. Not only would he catch up with his old pal in the process, but Gabe and Noland would have each other to discuss their shared circumstances.


    ***


    “Percy? Is that you?” Gabe asked upon opening his door.


    “How can you tell?”


    Gabe shrugged.


    “Who else would visit me? Besides, you’re the only one bringing random creatures here. Also, nobody else needs a translation device… Need I go on?”


    “Fair enough.” Percy replied, extending his hand. “This is Noland. I found him stuck in an underground tunnel and offered to shine some light on his miserable existence.”


    Noland groaned internally over the joke, though he still took control of his body for long enough to shake Gabe’s hand.


    “I’m actually on my way out of the Vault, but I figured I’d bring him here first. I’m hoping you could spend a couple of weeks teaching him the language, since he won’t have the translation device after I’m gone.” Percy added a second later.


    Gabe didn’t seem particularly happy about it, though he ultimately agreed. At least, the system hadn’t threatened them with a penalty this time. Apparently, the Vault’s language wasn’t considered a restricted resource. This was probably because all the kids here learned it for free before they were even old enough to be subjected to the Vault’s brutal economy.


    Percy thought. He’d slacked a little on it, preferring to focus on his other studies during the past couple of trips.


    Next, he proceeded to brief Gabe on Noland’s details, getting some information back from him in return. Apparently, his former host had made some progress of his own on magiscript. In fact, he was a little further along than even Percy, largely due to devoting all of his free time on the subject. Sure, his missing eyes made it a little tougher, but Gabe had still made it work through Mana Sense alone.


    “Are you going to try the challenge?” Percy asked.


    Unless Metatron woke up feeling particularly generous one day, Gabe’s only option was to get to the sixth wave of the magiscript challenge and ask for life mana to restore his eyes. A rather ambitious project…


    “Not yet. I think I could get through the first wave if I got lucky, but that’s about it. The Green level is much tougher than the ones you’ve tried, and it’s not like I’m in need of credits just yet.” he explained.


    Percy nodded in understanding. Logically, Gabe’s current funds should last him long enough for his second core to reach Green, and then at least another decade past that. Hopefully, that would be enough for him to fix his eyes. He’d need them before he could resume the combat challenges, and he’d need those to make it to Blue.


    Admittedly, the idea of handing the callous titan something precious made him sick to his stomach, but he wouldn’t allow his friend to starve to death if he could prevent it. Normally, the titan shouldn’t let his most precious test subject to die like that, but he might be willing to do it if it meant putting more pressure on Percy to accept his terms.


    Either way, bringing another person here might have not been Percy’s wisest move. His new buddy had grown on him, giving the powerful god another thing to blackmail him with.


    Noland said, Percy’s thoughts having inadvertently spilled through their connection.


    Percy sighed. He knew his host was right, but he couldn’t absolve himself of all the responsibility. Then again, he couldn’t afford to let such valuable opportunities pass. Had he brought a different Orange host here, chances are he wouldn’t have earned nearly as many credits this time.


    Percy replied, before elaborating.


    He doubted Metatron gave the beasts much of a choice in the matter, but perhaps he’d make an exception for Noland. Rather than placing him in a cage and experimenting on him directly, the titan might be open to letting him live like Gabe, as a regular resident of the Vault, completing challenges and earning his own credits. Then again, it was debatable whether that would be better, considering the man’s lower grade. Either way, this was for Noland and Metatron to discuss…


    Bidding both men farewell, Percy stored the device before removing his soul from his host’s wounds, allowing them to resume their recovery unobstructed. The pull from his main body instantly yanked him out of the Vault in a familiar manner, having already grown rather powerful over the last couple of months.


    Drifting through the infinite darkness, Percy couldn’t help but go over his latest gains, as well as the questionable price he’d paid for them. Eventually, he would have to make this right. Frankly, he’d already grown sick of having to tiptoe around the powerful, subjected to their whims – whether that was Metatron, or the Divine Order.


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