The Last Primal

With his mind made up, Aiden turned towards the left, taking his time to scan as much of his surroundings as he could with the usage of his [Dark Sense] ability.

As the energy waves were sent out, a long and winding cavern tunnel was slowly revealed in front of him. Smaller side rooms, caves sometimes with one or multiple life signs whilst for most with no souls in them at all were drawn up by his system map. 

Yet, like in some cases before, at some point the tunnels that spread out, slowly revealing the beginnings of what looked more like a maze, a labyrinth than anything else, his abilities were blocked. 

From what seemed more like a start point that could potentially take him to a long exploration, he was forced to take it on whilst being kept in the dark. 

Aiden frowned at this revelation, not sure if that would be the best course of action. On the other hand, the sight was actually quite puzzling as well. Why… or even better, how is it that such a cavern system, such a deathly maze was laid down just a bit further down this hall. What's the deal about it?

'Could it be that they made their base deliberately at a place like this and tunnel into the 'outside', knowing that when they would be eventually attacked by the High Priest's Temple Guardians, they would need an escape route? 

If so, shouldn't he have some more knowledge about the place beyond? Why is it that even after absorbing the archbishop his knowledge was severely limited?

'[Aiden, you worry too much. The knowledge you absorbed was just a small part of the full memories you could attain. Still, your proficiency, your mastery over abilities are still fairly low, thus there are some losses during the process. If you want, you will need to increase your level with your skills.]' Enya's light voice sounded inside Aiden's head in the next moment, catching him off guard.

'Hmm? What do you mean? Which skills, and how much? I do have some points I can use, as I recall…' Aiden asked, quickly opening up his system's menu and bringing up his Status Screen.

[ *Status* | Lab | Domain |  Activities ]

[—Status Screen — ]

[ *Main* | Skills | Analysis | Inventory ]

[Name: Aiden Vordragon

Race: Primal (Evolver)

Current Form: Draconic Skink (Clean - Tier 1+)

Level: 15

Condition: 100%

Resource: Soul Power (Level 2) : 1250 SP / 1250 SP

System Points: 18700 EXP

******

Attributes:

Might: 40

Agility: 39

Spirit: 45

******

Note: For quicker, faster navigation please use the keywords in the following order: "Status", "Main".]

Aiden liked to store away most of the experience he gained after completing the quests back with the guild, or what he gained during battles, or whenever he gained a reward. Situations like these were exactly the occasions he had reached the quite astonishing amount of 18700 points, after adding the 250 he got from last night.

'[You should first focus on your most important ability, the [Primal Absorb]. Currently, it is at the 3rd level. Each increase will provide you with a better grasp of how this baseline ability of yours works. Also, as it reaches higher levels, you may gain more than you would expect.]' Enya replied with a slightly annoyed sounding tone. Still, she seemed to fix it as she spoke up next, asking the question:

'[Would you like me to invest your points to increase its level to 4? After checking its current progress, it would leave you with 16200 points after it.]' 

Aiden was surprised at how much this skill would cost him. Still, he couldn'T help but ask.

'But that would still not let me regain the lost memories, right? If so… is there a point to forcefully leveling it right now?'

'[AS I SAID just before…]' Once more, Enya responded with a raised, annoyed tone, clearly irked by Aiden's lack of understanding of the matter's importance. '[If you focus your pool of experience and increase it to higher levels, you will fare better the next time you use the skill. Also, as you gain important insights towards understanding the secrets of your origins, the Primals, you may gain more than what you would expect.]'

She said, repeating her previous statement. From the way she spoke, it seemed that she just cannot reveal more, the constraints and limitations placed on her wouldn't allow her to spill and reveal more than what was accepted.

'Fine…' Aiden sighed, agreeing after a few seconds of thinking. He hoped that she was right. That by increasing the system's skill level and then monitoring how it is put into action, he would learn more and would be able to keep raising his knowledge himself. 

After all that happened to him over the years, he wanted to be less and less reliant on this curse, this blasted System. He was forced to abide by its rules, and play to the tune of its whims more than once already.

Even if he couldn't remove it completely anytime soon, secretly, he had already made up his mind to one day he would set himself free. 

'…Raising it one level only, would that be enough?' He asked. 'Or do I need to do more?' 

Thinking about it for a bit, he clenched his fists, making up his mind on the matter. 'How much can I increase the skill with the number of points I have?'

'[You can raise it all the way up to level 6, Aiden. That would leave you with 1200 points after that. Although, if you want to hear my suggestion, level it one by one, and carefully read through the updates you gain for each increase, rather than hastily dumping the years of effort in one go.]' Almost instantly, as if already expecting the question Enya replied. Her tone was 'matter-of-factly', speaking like a teacher, a mother to her student, her child.

'I see…' Aiden pondered at the meaning behind her words. Giving it a moment, he nodded, his expression turned stern. 'I guess I should take my time with this first. I can ask the little girl about the tunnels later…'

With that, he turned around, and walked back to his room, leaving it open, and walked over to the nest at the far corner. 

He sat down, with his usual meditative pose, albeit he wasn't about to do a session. Instead, as he closed his eyes, he gave the mental command. 

'Okay… let's get to it then.' He ordered mentally. 'Enya, please use my points and increase the [Primal Absorb] to level 4!'

'[As you wish, Aiden.]' Enya spoke, her voice carrying a tint of familial warmth. In the next moment, Aiden felt the rush of energy surging inside…

Suddenly, new, shocking images appeared inside his mind taking his consciousness to yet another, unexpected ride…

---

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