'Dungeons are quite the creature…' Ebony looked at the dilapidated and uneven flooring he was standing on. Half of the frozen ocean had been defrosted and transported into his plum bombs, he was on his…thirteenth thousand-two hundred and seventy-third fully saturated plum bomb.

His sore brain might just be able to sleep naturally for once instead of having to knock parts of his mind to sleep while the others operated normally. Insomnia wasn't fun when your body and mind were constantly exhausted but you couldn't fall into deep sleep.

Firing what he simulated to be the last one to seal the deal, the last bits of the ground fell apart. He aimed at a dark, black nothingness that was the dungeon's real walls. The portal had been something he chose not to aim at, in case he couldn't get out without it and it surprisingly held up better than anything around. Perhaps completely unaffected by the flames of frost or any mana he was in control of.

'Ting' 'You have killed [Bedrock Aqua Essence Parasite Lvl 1000]'

'Ting' 'You are inflicted by Bedrock Aqua Essence, Your base Strength is reduced by 40%, base Agility is increased by 10%, base Constitution is increased by 20% and Intelligence is increased by 20%. Your base life force regeneration is reduced to 5%.'

"Since when did Dungeons themselves have levels?'" Ebony felt his blood stifle as there was close to no life force being moved around his body all of a sudden.

His legs lost strength, but his mind felt an obvious sharpen in its processing capabilities.

Immediately, he tested his skills to check what was inflicting him and how it affected him.

It instantly stood out to him how all his spells just gained power. Augmentation got a large boost but it also destroyed his body even more effectively even with the Constitution increase. The boost was significant.

"You destroyed a dungeon?" Hex disrupted him, probably because he spoke aloud.

"Mmm, do you know how long this affliction lasts?"

"Normally for Ancient ranked Dungeons, a couple of millennia."

"What?" Ebony did not like the sound of that.

"Only if you don't use the energy. You can remove it. We're also bringing this up because we, Eidolon purchase these Essences. We pay rather high in both money and reputation, giving you discounts for Eidolon branded transport as well. If your reputation is high enough, we might open access to further regions and approve direct transport from those areas."

"What is the usual procedure for these services?"

"You can either go to the station where we have the relevant professionals or we can send one to you at your cost. The extraction costs are also deducted but for an Ancient ranked dungeon, the extraction fee is almost negligible in comparison. The second option is to purchase the Dungeon Essence Bottler, just plug the needle in you and it's done after some time."

"Does it do the same if I'm inflicted with multiple such Essences?"

"They mix, so yes, it would work."

"Then I'll buy a couple dozen." Ebony bulk purchased for the foreseeable future. Bulk purchases made the delivery fee more worthwhile in his defence. There weren't that many Ancient ranked Dungeons on Elcra.

"That's the issue. The technology doesn't exist in the Hex Region or our neighboring Regions."

"You're just telling me to hire someone or go to the Sector Station."

"Oh we weren't clear there, we meant the Regional Station, not the Sector Station where Hydra is in charge. If you're not satisfied with either method we have another suggestion."

"That is?"

"Just ask your clan."

"Right." He shouldn't and wasn't surprised at the logical suggestion. "What do you do with this essence?"

"Purify them and use them to make potions, you must have heard of them. They are always in demand and there's never enough supply. The Evolution Potion."

"Yes, and they are also monopolized by not only the rich but also those with enough reputation." There was no way he hadn't heard of those potions. The potion that Shi Tao suggested him drink, with the materials Xin and he got from Cinderash and Teheil was supposed to be made into these potions. From the looks of it, one of the ingredients of this potion was the essence of a dungeon.

"Availability is a problem for the powerful too, they would require exceedingly specific essences for every individual. Even purified, how many people do you think can use an element-specific dungeon's essence? We also sell essences by itself, if you are willing to share the effects of the essence, we can help you find a buyer and take a fee for helping you complete the transaction, along with the extraction fee while the other individual will pay for the transplantation fee."

"Interesting, can I buy one with my reputation?"

"You can, there aren't many Evolution potions but there are vast amounts of Dungeon Essence for sale. Just to be clear, they are not the power-up you're looking for, transplanted essences don't last longer than a month even with our best professionals. And Hex doesn't have the best."

"Yet the one in me can last thousands of years?"

"It is extinguished faster from person to person, and we were saying if the essence was left alone. Dormant. It's not the near-infinite energy you are thinking about, In fact, keep your training up and you will exhaust it in a few weeks. So, if you're going to sell, be quick or stop training and exhausting the precious thing right now."

Bummer.

Ning Xin would have been able to read his emotions of sulking if she had been around.

Ebony obediently returned to Sky's Edge to try sleeping, if he still failed he would have to ask for help since normal sleeping pills didn't work.

"Welcome back Uncle!" Shi Ling invited him in the side door, skipping the obstacle course.

"I'm back."

"The Ning Clan sent you a letter."

"Thanks." Ebony accepted the letter Shi Ling rushed to get.

It was a simple message.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

His wedding would be in a month since they sent this letter. He expected it to be within 3 years but not even a full year passed since he came out of the Xeng exclusive dungeon.

It was in two days.

He was supposed to get months of advanced notice.

But this was fine.

Going to his parent's home, he saw Quasar standing tall behind his mother's tombstone as usual.

Getting all Numbers on deck to prepare what they've prepared for, he let his body fall.

He took the sofa in their home, his Will cutting off from Dusk and the Numbers the moment the doors were closed.

Dreamland was closer than he'd imagined as he fell asleep rather easily.

Ebony didn't feel all that refreshed after waking up but he was feeling much better than before. The murmuring from the young moons and stars informed him of the time. He had plenty.

Walking to the backyard mountain with Infinite Variations in it, he found a small creek with an elevated platform and stripped before sitting under the water and washing himself. He could use the bath in the house, but the water here had healing and anti-bacterial properties. It was also Quasar's favourite spot that it visited once in a while.

A pigeon silently landed on a branch nearby, it cooed listlessly.

Preparations were complete, he was the only one missing now.

A couple more Pigeons flew in from a distance, struggling to carry his suit. The Nings prepared his suit while the Shis prepare Xin's wedding dress.

There was nothing special about the suit and dress other than being made of high-quality materials. It was surprisingly modern and nothing like what he expected. It was pretty much a western suit and there was nothing traditional about it.

It did make him wonder what Xin would be wearing.

He wondered how she was feeling right now but he never imagined whether she was having second thoughts. That was unthinkable.

'She's probably thinking about what to cook or eat.' Using the water as a mirror, he put the suit on and combed his hair back.

'No injuries check. Mana chassis fully healed check. Haven't been in complete condition for a while.' Fortunately his mana and Will were fully charged up too. He'd never been in better condition.

It was almost time for him to pick her up at her maiden home in Xienor.

The guests were already waiting, sitting out in the garden of his new home. All the second generation of the Xeng clans that were able to make it back showed up, they were here not because of him but because of the Shi Clan, Ebony understood that much. Except the missing Wen Clan ancestor.

Some clans had a few other members of another generation but only the Shi and Ning were in as complete attendance as they could.

Navin the Barrier Lord was under a lot of pressure right now, he invited himself to watch nearby but Ebony directly invited him and his family. Oplot was also sitting with Navin and the Lord family. They didn't bring many people, basically only Navin and Yvette along with Mallory and Hector and a few that Ebony wasn't personally acquainted with but he knew they were Mallory's parents and grandparents.

They were there to pacify and observe the Xengs more so than there as guests but Ebony was fine with that, in any case, they were friendly acquaintances and family of his few friends.

Oplot's Guardian Knights and two disciples were stationed across the perimeter along with the Imperial Army's best soldiers but Ebony and the Shi just let them be. If something happened with the current guest list, the knights wouldn't make a difference and they weren't disturbing the event anyway.

The whispers about the sudden deployment only came from a scant few Imperial Mages.

The stalwart Guardian Knights were stoic and silently stood there as they were ordered to. Most of them didn't know what the Royal Family was out to do or who they were visiting at the moment. More well-informed people or those who had relations with the district's Noble in charge knew who owned the lands here.

They might not all know his name but all of them knew him to some extent as the one who provided millions of their army with mana and stamina regeneration boost during the time against the Tetramyth. Many of them personally received the same boost after all. Other than that, they didn't know much about him except that Navin and the Royal family seemed to have quite a bit of contact with him.

The Shi helped him with preparations and most that were present the day he met them were here, there were even a few Shi Clan members that made it back to Elcra in the past few months.

None of the Nings were present. They should be with Xin in Xienor right about now.

His Will Relay Buffers were hopelessly stifled around Xienor so he didn't know the situation over there.

Kong Jing was being berated as silently as the space mages could while she shot Mark at a different table with an aggrieved look.

Mark sat at the table with Athena, old man Wilson founder of Bludgeon Academy and Sophia. Muse was also sent an invite since she was his music teacher but she was unable to attend, stuck on a mission visiting the Elven Forest.

The Frost Elves were seated beside the Yu and Xu clan, a few of them seemed to know each other. He invited the Thoyas and left the invitation open to those who wanted to come. Perhaps to show goodwill, Koawe and Nutash were present as representatives. Koawe was also familiar with Navin so they weren't out of place. After all, the Thoyas would've been extremely nervous if they didn't have some sort of defender of the same race. But, they were rather well received because the Xengs generally liked children and they had a common dislike for Elves with the Frost Elves.

Nutash was surprisingly able to converse with the Xengs, the Shui Clan couple.

He wanted to have his Numbers help with the food or handling the affairs but it wouldn't bear well on him so the Shi handled the services by catering some professional help.

The unknown waiters, chefs and entertainers were of mysterious race and origin. Although they looked human, everything about their aura was far from human and more Alien than any creature he had faced. He couldn't find anything about them on Hex either. But the guests were extremely satisfied with the food and the dancers and musicians were keeping all the guests' undivided attention.

Well…they were even keeping all of Dusk and the Numbers' attention. Who would've thought there would be a team of several dozen Saint-ranked dancers and musicians entertaining at an event of his?

Saints happily entertained the 'Lower' life forms might be something he wouldn't get to see for a long time.

Worse, every one of them seems to have a purer and more terrifying aura than Gearhart. If they hadn't suppressed greatly by the Xengs present, the entire Capital City might have been planted into the ground through sheer presence. The overflowing essence from them didn't even need to work.

While Dusk and the Numbers were entranced with what seemed like dance above and beyond Tier 5 masteries, Ebony made his descent towards Xienor.

No sign of nervousness or excitement in him while he readied himself for one of his greatest trials.

Snatching his partner from their Clan and bringing her home was not going to be easy even if they all were forced to be suppressed to the same level.

The moment he touched the ground with Xienor in sight, he snapped Dusk and the Numbers back to attention. He's going to need all their help.

Dusk was immobile at home but if he used the Numbers as the Relay Buffers, he may just have sufficient flow of Will and mana from them without them breaking like the fragile Will Relay Buffers. The Numbers teleported themselves from Tidal to Xienor and set themselves as a Buffer with lumps of crystals inside them. They were not quite done with the crystal experiments but they could use the raw crystals for now.

"Finally here, Sonny boy. Was almost tired of waiting. Didn't get cold feet did you?" Veronica cracked her neck. The Divination mage landed in front of him like a meteor. It reminded him of how she first kidnapped him and jumped from mountain to mountain using pure muscular strength.

That feat seemed simple enough now.

"Grandmother, I always wanted to ask."

"Grandmother? You're getting ahead of yourself, you haven't even got past me much less the rest of us…ask away."

"You are aware of my answers and what would happen so why ask?"

"Hahaha, I wasn't expecting this talk. The future always changes. Ironically, no matter what I say or do now, it won't change the future I see."

"Even if, say you tried to kill me now?"

"Hehe…want me to test that out?" Veronica grinned before slipping her starry mask on. "HAHAHAHA, I don't see what little Xin sees in you. You're quite the boring man."

Ebony's fingers twitched, even during their festival the Xengs never used their mask against each other.

Veronica hopped back to Xienor and he Flickered after her.

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