21

He headed back to their house, Aziva riding on his shoulders and one hand holding Sarai's. They made their way through the crowd, laughing. Jace was at ease, he had grown to like this odd world. The people in it felt so much realer to him than they had back home, maybe it was the threat of death hanging over them that caused them to be so forward. He liked it, it was extremely refreshing. Once they arrived in the street and made their way towards their house he saw the rest of his team hanging around the front porch. He waved at them and they waved back. He grinned and put Aziva down who rushed over to go bother Plip, who she had started to treat as her older brother. Plip fussed over her, despite his normal stoic self he was much more animated around the girl. The young archer picked her up and spun her around, much to Aziva's pleasure.

Jace invited them in and they gathered around the dinner table, he had bought a bigger one so everyone could fit around it. Sarai kissed him on the cheek and headed into the kitchen to make dinner. The rest greeted her, a wave here, a nod of the head there. They settled around the table and Jace sat at the head and relaxed in his new favourite chair. The others glanced at him and Jerard leaned forward and spole up, "So what the hell did you do this morning, you seem different. There is this edge to your presence that wasn't there before."

Jace grinned at them, "I broke into the master tier for my shield mastery."

Their eyes widened and they looked at him confused, Weira frowned and gestured. "Yea I was on expert four this morning, I haven't been lying to you. I met this woman at the training hall, we sparred and everything just started to click. Things made sense when I used my shield, I used it to attack, to defend, to run interference and block of paths of attacks. I fell into the zone and both me and the woman broke through."

Aziva bounced on Plip's lap. "It was amazing they went like zooom." She swung her hand through the air and then looked from one to the other with a radiant grin. "They were so fast, even the bigger taller people were quiet and amazed when they watched. It was like magic!"

Jace laughed, "There you have it, I made some unexpected progress. That is not all, for I am now an oracle! The future is open to me!"

The group stared at him with clear doubt in their eyes, he heard Floris mutter something from the other side of the table. "More like a prophet for the gods of chaos."

Jace chuckled, "While that sounds like it could be fun that's not what happened. I received a new skill called Foresight. Which let me look in the future slightly during combat or when I focus."

The rest gaped at him, "Did you UNLOCK a skill!?" Qyra stood up so fast her chair fell backward.

Jace looked at her and shrugged, "I guess so? I'm still level zero so I haven't been handed any skills from class or proffession."

Floris shook his head, "That is gonna make you much stronger, the more I try to catch up the further I fall behind." He sagged back into his chair, "That's it, I give up on trying to match you."

Jace chuckled and patted his shoulder, "Not to worry Floris, I'm still nearly eight years older than you after all. I'd have to be worried if I wasn't keeping ahead. I'm pretty sure in eight years time you will be a lot stronger than I am now."

Floris paused, "I actually forgot you're so much older." He laughed to himself, "Perhaps chasing you is not as impossible as I thought after all."

Jace grinned and sat back in his chair, "About the detection skills. Have you guys figured anything out yet?"

Weira waved and started gesturing, the rest leaned forward and payed attention. To sum it up she had set up a field created from glyphs that would alert her upon intrusion. She could make and sustain several layers so she could somewhat accurately see where the opponent was. Qyra had simply created rings of mana on the floor around her that released particles into the air, she would notice whenever someone stepped over one of the rings. Although her detection was not as good against attacks from above. Floris and Jerard just shrugged, they had no real progress both has come up with a system of periodically releasing mana particles into the air in a burst around them to find the opponent. They did not have the mana reserves or control for much else.

Plip was the only one who did not take the path of outside mana manipulation for his detection. He forced mana into his various senses, he could now see well in the dark with his eyes. He could hear a lot more than he could before and even his sense of smell could be improved if he channeled mana into his nose. They each now had their own methods of dealing with the shadowy assassin creature on the hundredth floor. They would give the floor another attempt tomorrow.

Sarai joined them with a steaming pot of dinner and Aziva decked the table and everyone ate together. Laughing and joking around with each other. The next day they entered the dungeon. They checked their gear carefully as usual and entered. The smaller of the creatures was no issue. With Jace's new detection net combined with foresight, he could see the things moving in the dark without much issue. He cut them down before they could complete their pounce. Once in a while an arrow would zip over his shoulder and take one of the things down in mid air. It did not take them long to reach the boss, they readied themselves and tightened their formation. The various detecting methods interfered with each other if used simultaneously. Jace kept his up as did Weira, both of them worked on different concepts and would not interfere with each other. Plip simply kept an eye out and an arrow ready.

Something moved and punched from the shadows to the right, Jace knew where it was coming from even before his web detected it. He thrust forward heard a squelch and the darkness receded all of the sudden. He stared down at the creature that was stuck to his blade, the tip piercing right through its skull. "Well that was anti climatic…" Jace muttered.

The rest stared at him then burst into laughter, despite their new detection methods they had been nervous and on high alert. Only for the creature to be dismantled before they could even react. The rest shook their heads and relaxed. Qyra got the drops and skinned the creature, something apparently called a Nightgrawler. They joked with each other as they left their dungeon, they sold their loot for a good bit of money and started making their way back to the inn. Jace looked over at Weira and scratched his chin, "By the way Weira, isn't it about time that you got your voice fixed?"

Weira froze and stared at him then started turning red. Jace burst out in laughter and the rest stared at the two of them in confusion. "I can't believe you forgot you could fix it." He tried to catch his breath but was bent over double from laughter. Weira's face was growing increasingly red as she avoided eye contact. Jace pulled himself together long enough to talk, "Well lets get your voice fixed, there should be a place not far from here."

The group headed to the doctor while making fun of Weira who studiously ignored the bunch of them. They would be quiet for a while before one of them would start chuckling again and make the rest burst into laughter. It wasn't even that funny but it still caused them to almost collapse from the laughter. Jace was wiping tears from his eyes as he slung an arm around Weira. "Can't wait to hear what you sound like, I bet it's a really seductive voice. Like a succubus."

"I bet she's more like a siren, a song doom!" Floris added.

Qyra sniffed and stared at them with disdain, "She obviously has the voice of an angel, I will not settle for anything less."

Jerard suddenly paused, "What if she has a voice like a man."

The rest stared at him then at Weira then back at him. Jace stroked his beard, "That would be quiet the plot twist."

The rest looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged, "It means it would be a surprise."

The rest nodded as they debated what Weira would sound like, Weira made a sound that sounded a lot like a sigh of exasperation. Jace grinned and patted her shoulder. He looked her in the eyes, "Don't worry, no matter what you sound like. None of us will love you any less."

A chorus of here here's sounded behind him as the rest agreed. Jace smiled at her and winked. They stood in front of the doctor's building and knocked. A voice called them in and they explained their problem to the man. He was a gnome of some sort, short and dark skinned with light blue hair. The doc told them it wouldn't be a problem and he would be done within a few minutes. He motioned Weira into one of the rooms and a few minutes later she left the room and stood in front of them, clearly nervous.

She opened her mouth and a soft, gentle voice came out. "Hi…" They stared at her with slack jaws. What was that mousey soft voice full of tenderness. Jace froze and motioned with his hand for her to say something else. Weira blushed and the large muscular warrior shrunk in on herself in an uncharacteristic show of vulnerability. "You're just going to have to get used to it." She muttered.

Jace got over himself and coughed, "You sound so uhhh, feminine and well, dainty." The rest nodded their agreement.

Plip opened his mouth and for once spoke up without being prodded, "I expected a voice with more power. Something commanding attention. You sound like… well a girl."

Weira frowned at him, "I am a girl though."

The rest nodded and a few muttered fair enough beneath their breaths. Jace shook his head and payed the doc. They headed back to the inn trying their best to get Weira to talk more, she told them she had to get used to her voice and the fact that she could talk now. It would probably take some time before she would talk as much as the others did. After having been a mute for all her life it was going to take some getting used to the fact that she could in fact talk now a days.

They headed back to the inn and asked Mili for a feast because they had reason to celebrate. They had beaten the hundredth floor and would soon be putting themselves on the path of mastery once more. The difference in difficulty should remain roughly the same till they hit the next barrier at level two hundred. Mili brought them a ton of new dishes that she had been experimenting on. The inn had become something of a home for the group. They had been living in it for nearly eight months. They treated the Frank and Mili more like old friends than anything else.

They were treated the same in turn. Eventually the party got out of hand when the other regulars were invited to join in and the feast spread, Jace in another bout of randomness decided to pay for everyone and they dragged their table's to the center in one big group. The waitresses worked overtime as they tried to make sure everyone had enough to eat and drink. Once everyone had had their fill even the waitresses, Frak and Mili joined in on the conversation and the party. Alcohol made its way around and everyone drank their fill, Jace refrained from alcohol, he wasn't a fan. A tall glass of milk was what it was all about! Eventually Sarai and Aziva joined in and the party lasted until well into the night.