I stood on the shore with two enchantment rods in my belt pouch. One I had filled with ropes, grapples and four of the collapsible lances. The other was filled with glow rods, ration cubes, energy pouches, and a couple of communication rods, leaving one receiver and one communicator with the Unalarans.

Satisfied that if anything unexpected should happen I'd be alright, I waded into the water to acclimatize myself to the cold, before walking back onto the shore.

"Change your mind already?" Oro asked.

"No. I just wanted to try something."

Without further explanation, I clamped my Glow Rod between my teeth and created a Spirit Hand platform above the water's edge. It would be invisible to my two watchers, so there was a little gasp as I jumped onto it.

"Nice!" Enil cheered.

I couldn't respond, such was the concentration I needed to get it moving across the surface of the water. It was slow at first, but I managed to speed up a little before the familiar fatigue clawed at the periphery of my senses.

All told I'd held it for about fifteen seconds and had travelled about twenty-five yards before I let it go, diving into the water at the same instant.

When I resurfaced a few yards further on, it was to thunderous applause and Oro's booming voice. "Very good Adam!"

I waved back, but with rod clamped in teeth and a point to prove, I didn't answer, focusing instead on swimming as smoothly and as confidently as I could.

When I reached the point where the cavern funneled into tunnel, I pulled myself up onto a rocky ledge. I wanted a light source here for future travels, so I slotted my glow rod into a nook, and removed another from storage.

That done, I slipped back into the water.

"GOOD THINKING," came the shout from the shore. I allowed myself a small smile at the compliment before pushing off the cavern wall to continue my journey.

The tunnel went on for approximately a half mile before the roof dipped down into the water leaving a dead end. I'd placed glow rods at equal distances along the route to keep constant light to swim by. Though that might be a waste of time if this turned out to be a dead end.

Before I gave up, I ducked under the surface, light in hand, to check what happened to the water now.

To my grim delight I discovered the tunnel continued under water.

There was a slight drag to the water, which suggested there was a definite flow to somewhere.

That didn't mean I could get to wherever it went but it was still something to consider.

I resurfaced and wedged my arm around a rock on the tunnel wall while I thought through my next moves. Going back and talking out what I'd seen was the most sensible option.

So why I began removing a coil of rope and a grappling hook from my second rod was a mystery even to me.

I hooked the grapple to the rock I rested against, then tested it for strength. Once I was satisfied it would hold my weight easily, I removed another coil of rope, and tied it to the end of the length I'd secured. If I was going under, I wanted to make sure I had a good run at this.

My stomach churned as I thought about how stupid this was, but I couldn't swim away. I needed to know. I needed to try.

Once I'd cemented the decision in my mind, I took an almighty breath, clamped the glow rod back in my teeth and dove down into the underwater tunnel.

The slight current helped my speed and the light was strong enough to show any dangers in the tunnel, but after thirty yards and no sign of let up, the panic rose in my chest.

The tunnel was going deeper and deeper and while my capacity to hold my breath was much improved from my level growth, it wasn't infinite.

I was about to turn back when the tunnel leveled out and my hands broke the water's surface.

I carefully followed with my head, popping up right next to the cave ceiling, but with the glow rod I could see the space opened up into a tunnel like the first one I'd traveled along. The air had a slight metallic tang, but it was breathable, and rich enough in oxygen to cause me no problems. I wedged the glow rod into a crack in the ceiling and removed another one from my rod. Then kept on swimming, noting cracks in the ceiling above, but not seeing anything that looked remotely like an escape route yet.

I found a ledge a hundred yards on, and pushed myself up onto it to take a breather.

It seemed like a good place to drop another light, affix more rope and communicate with Oro and Enil.

Pulling out the communicator rods, I spoke. "Hey guys, Just a quick check in. I'm doing okay."

"Adam," Oro's voice came back. "We were about to come looking for you. We've been trying to contact you for the last ten minutes."

"You'll have to accept my apologies then. The communication rods were in storage while I swam."

"The tunnel must go a long way?"

"You could say that. I had to dip under for a bit. If this leads out, I hope you're not claustrophobic."

"Not especially," he replied.

"Okay, I'm going to continue. I'll contact you again once I know more."

"Be careful." His voice was heavy and serious.

"Of course I will. See you both soon."

Then I replaced them into my storage rod, slurped an energy pouch and set myself some more ropes up for the next leg of my journey.

When the tunnel dropped back underwater, that familiar feeling of dread washed over me again. Somehow it was worse than before. The pull of the water seemed a little stronger, the tunnel a little narrower, and the memory of the oxygen strain in the last stretch had me queasy.

I placed another glow rod, grimaced at the water, then dove again before my over active imagination had a chance to paralyze me.

The panic grew, and grew. When the cave dipped down, and the pull became more insistent, my resolve finally cracked.

I began hauling ass back along the rope to the tunnel, lungs burning, not quick enough.

I fired a small Spirit Blast behind me to speed things up. The blast propelled me like a bullet. I traveled so fast and with so little control that I could hardly acknowledge that my lungs weren't straining anymore.

I smashed into the ceiling, almost took in a lungful of water, before I half bounced, half swam back into the safe part of the tunnel.

Gasping and spluttering I splashed over to the first ledge I could find. "Urgh, that's it. I'm going back," I heaved out, once I was secure.

Oro and Enil would probably have better lungs for the journey, anyway.

I hung there for a few long minutes to gather my wits and as my racing heart calmed, I began to see things a little differently.

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Using that tiny Spirit Blast had got me back along the tunnel ten times faster than it took me to get to my point of panic. And while I didn't exactly feel like blasting myself down unknown tunnels, especially after my collision with the ceiling, the fact that using the power underwater had removed the urgent need for oxygen couldn't be ignored.

In fact, now I could process the information calmy, that was quite profound. It was as if using Spirit power had somehow replaced the need. I didn't have a huge amount of mana left, but I wanted to test the theory out.

Once I'd fully calmed, I ducked under the surface of the water and waited until my lungs began to strain. Then I summoned a very small ball of Spirit. The pressure on my lungs relieved immediately. It was a revelation. I reabsorbed the Spirit energy, and stayed under until my lungs began to strain again. I repeated the pattern and once again I'd defeated the need to breathe.

I resurfaced a moment later, no gasping or spluttering and utterly amazed at what I'd just discovered.

The realization came with a point in Mental Acuity and better still; a deeper understanding of what had happened. I knew instantly that summoning a Spirit Blast to achieve the desired result was inefficient.

There had to be another way to get the benefits without creating an attack. I focused on the mana in my core, using the same principle as channeling Spirit for an attack, only this time I used it in the same way I would use healing and allowed it to circulate around my body. It came willingly, coursing through my veins just like healing, though without the intent.

It worked! The drain on my mana wasn't nearly as heavy as any of my other powers either and it came with the knowledge I'd learned another skill.

I checked my Ascended stats:

Spell Name: Spirit Fortification. (Buff)

Tier: 2

Class Requirement: Mage

Prerequisites: Aetheric – Spirit. Harmony Level 20+

Description: Harnessing the essence of Spirit energy within the caster's own body, raw Spirit energy reinforces biological tissues and enhances cellular function.

While active, the caster does not require air, food, or water, and develops resistance to environmental hazards such as temperature extremes, toxic exposure, and exhaustion.

Note: While this spell can negate the symptoms of any present injuries, such as bleeding, confusion, dizziness, and weakness, for the duration of the effect, this is not a healing power, and these debuffs will return once the power is inactive.

Mana Drain: 4% of Mana Pool per minute (sustained).

Cooldown Note:

Spirit Fortification may be activated and deactivated at will, allowing the caster to "flare" the power as needed. The total active duration cannot exceed 10 minutes per use. Once the cumulative limit is reached—regardless of whether it was used continuously or intermittently—the spell enters a 30-minute cooldown period, during which it cannot be reactivated.

As if that wasn't enough, the new spell came with a complimentary level in Harmony, an overall Level of 25, and a few more levels in my Mage Class, which bagged me yet another bonus:

Name: Adam Henshaw

Title: Squire of House Garazal

Level: 25

Class: Warrior/Mage

Stats:

Toughness: 28 + 5 Durability

Mental Acuity: 22: +5 Reaction Speed

Harmony: 25 +5 Aetheric Connection +

Total: 75

Progress in Class:

Warrior, Level 21: 80/210

Level 10 Boon: +5 in Durability - Toughness.

Level 20 Boon: +5 in Reaction speed - Mental Acuity.

Tradesman, Level 0: 0/10

Mage, Level 20: 10/200

Level 10 Boon: +5 in Aetheric Connection - Harmony.

Level 20 Boon: 10% Increase to Mana Regeneration.

Mage Skills:

Enchant Item Level: 4

Regenerate (Personal) Level: 3

Spirit Burst (AoE) Level: 3

Spirit Blast (Projectile) Level: 3

Spirit Hand (Levitation) Level: 2

Spirit Strike (Melee) Level: 2 (Tier 2)

Spirit Fortification (Buff) Level 1 (Tier 2)

Flame Blast (Projectile) Level: 2

Flame Burst (AoE) Level 2

Water Blast (Projectile): Level 2

Water Burst (AoE): Level 1

For the first time since I'd been swept into the mountain tomb, I didn't feel terrified. The Spirit Fortification combined with the increase in Harmony and in Mana regeneration were incredible. Not only that, I felt a notable boost to my available Mana.

Gone was the peripheral hint of Mana fatigue. Gone was my trepidation about heading into the tunnel again for another look. Pushing myself down here had been a hell of a risk, but it had set off a cascade of growth I might not have gotten any other way.

Sure, I could have died, but now I was much better placed to survive this hell hole. And let's face it, when had I not walked a knifes edge between reward and death?

I dove again and pushed off the ledge, this time determined to either find a dead end, or more breathing space.

With Spirit Fortification active, when I found the next air pocket I was disappointed. It wasn't large and the air was thin and unpleasant. Luckily, I wasn't relying on it to survive.

I found a gap to wedge another glow rod, tied a knot in the rope to mark the air pocket, then I swam on, trying to keep track of the time it took me and the distances. Just because I didn't need to breathe any more, Oro and Enil still would.

The next air pocket I found was a thing of beauty. A massive cavern bigger than the one we'd fallen into. The best thing about it was the solid beam of gray daylight from the ceiling, which illuminated most of the cavern.

Despite its location high on the ceiling, it looked accessible from the cave wall.

Dangerous, awkward, but very possible.

I tied the rope off where I'd come out, then cast a Flame Blast to illuminate the place more clearly. After throwing a couple, I found a narrow shore. This was smaller than in the last cavern and lacking the huge mound of bat shit and bugs, which I was truly heartbroken about as I swam over.

Once ashore, I lay back on the rocky ground for a few minutes to recover before I pulled out the communication rods.

"Hey fellas?"

I waited a beat.

"Fellas?"

Oro's voice came loud and clear. "You left it long enough didn't you?"

"Yeah. It's been a journey and a half. The tunnel went under water a few times. I've explored it, and found another cavern. That's where I am now. There's a crack high on the ceiling with light coming through, but it's close to the wall.

"Easier to exit?"

"Definitely easier."

"What if it brings us out far away from the portal and there are Xeo around?"

"Then we should probably look for another way out or run like hell," I replied, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice and failing. "I've left lights along the route and I've roped the tunnel with knots to show where there are air pockets. If you guys wanna head over here and check this out, we can always go back if you're not happy."

"Tell me there's a bug banquet for us, Adam."

I chuckled. "You know what, Oro? I wondered what kept pushing me down the dark, confined under-water tunnels. I thought it was just my Warrior's spirit, but I think you just came up with the real answer."

He barked out an infectious laugh. "So what you're saying is that I need to bring bugs."

"I can't stop you."

"No, you can't. Now talk me through this route. Anything else I need to know?"

"Yes. The first stretch under water isn't too bad. Use the rope and get along it fast. Maybe two minutes under water for that one. Then you'll hit another breathable tunnel. That bit's easy. The next stretch is bad. It's a long stretch with only one small air pocket and the air wasn't great. I didn't need it because of a power I had active. I don't know what your breath holding abilities are like, but I recommend for that last stretch moving as smoothly and as swiftly as possible."

"How poor quality was the air there?"

"I honestly can't say for certain. I probably should have checked with my power deactivated, but I was eager to get through."

The communication went silent and I got the impression he was thinking. "How long under water without the air pocket?"

"If you pull steady, I'd say seven minutes. Maybe a little longer, I had to swim so again, it's hard to say."

"That's okay. We can do seven minutes. We'll avoid the air pocket if possible."

"If you can, it's not a bad idea."

"We've both been working hard on our little fortress here and as the route sounds arduous, I think it might be best if we both rest before following along. Do you feel safe there alone?"

"I do. And I'm not particularly tired." I realized that was most likely on account of Spirit Fortification. "You guys rest, and take the time you need."

After speaking to Oro, I rested a little longer, then I wandered the small shore, placing a few of the remaining glow rods in the dark spots.

I discovered another outlet from the cave going deeper underground, but I had no interest in exploring further.

After my inspection, boredom set in quickly. I wanted to see if I could push Spirit any further and develop new skills that might help us, but I refrained. Once Oro and Enil arrived, I wanted to head straight up to the surface, and for that I was going to need my full Mana pool.

With nothing else for it, I pulled out my sword and started working through the forms I liked the most. A combination from my various teachers at first, though I ended up focusing on the training I received from Ressa. Mostly because I could hear her voice and almost see her face as I practiced.

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