The statue rushed toward me as I began my experiment. I formed another set of spatial blades and shot them at the statue. They forced the statue back a few feet so I could focus on my experiment. I recalled the scene in Chimeric Forest where space broke and tried to cause it again. only this time I wanted to control it. I felt space shrinking but it wasn't the same feeling as back then. This felt like I was squishing a rubber band.

  No matter how hard I tried I couldn't rip space. It was like it was made out of rubber. When the statue crossed half the distance I was forced to abandon my practice and slam another set of blades into the statue. This time it stumbled back a few steps. Next, I reached out with psychokinesis and tried to rip the hammer from its hands. As soon as I did its finger melded together with the hammer. Suddenly I was trying to rip the entire statue apart. Something that might as well have been impossible.

  I shifted to a different idea. I tried to form a ball of compressed space in the palm of my hand. Only this time the goal wasn't to make a ball of energy, it was to create a small hole. I wasn't sure what would happen if I formed what would amount to a small black hole but I figured it couldn't be as bad as the big one. Especially if I could control it. After three failed attempts I was forced to avoid a swing from the giant statue.

  I ducked the first one and was in the middle of retreating when my danger sense screamed. I activated Psychic Aegis and condensed my Tao field just before the ground exploded upwards. Two twelve-foot-long stone spikes shot up. I barely had enough time to leap away before Aegis collapsed and my Tao field was destroyed. "Well damn." I grinned and formed another set of spatial blades and launched them at the statue. This time I aimed at the thing's neck.

  Three blades dug into its neck but it wasn't quite enough. The statue stood up and raised its hammer. Energy from its array circulated like blood as it chased me. I narrowly ducked a swipe with its hammer when my danger sense screamed. This time I was ready and launched myself backwards. I unleashed a wave of spatial attack before landing. The golem used its hammer to shatter most but a few more slipped its guard.

  The golem tried to get back into the fight but its wounds were causing it to slow down. I retreated another ten or so feet and unleashed another set of spatial attacks. I wanted to remove the things head and finish it cleanly but it was smart enough to defend that. Instead, I took its right leg below the knee. The array that animated it was beyond impressive. As soon as the limb was lost the array attempted to restore it.

  The process was too slow to make a difference in this fight but it was still impressive. If anything it made me want the array more. If I could figure out how to make these things I could create a self-healing army. Of course, I didn't have access to this level of stone. I unleashed another set of spatial attacks. Half were aimed at the arm wielding the hammer the other at the neck. The golem defended itself the best it could but it was nowhere near enough. It took only a few seconds for its head to fall off. I placed the pieces into my ring and checked on the others.

  Xerxes had reduced his statue to a pile of burned rubble. The Qilin sported a few bruised scales and a bit of blood dripped down his right leg but he was triumphant. I tossed him a healing pill and went to check on the other two. Their golem was still going at it. They had scored several good hits against it but they weren't enough. Between the self-healing and their current damage output, they would be forced to fight for several more hours. I formed a pair of spatial blades and aimed them at the weak spot behind the things right and left knees.

  I had to resist the urge to shout timber as it fell forward. It struggled to get back to repair the damage while Aaliyah and Trey doubled their efforts. I decided to let them have it. I walked over and sat against the wall to regain a bit of my energy. Unfortunately, I didn't have any stones or crystals that helped with psychic energy. On the bright side, it wasn't hard to recover. I just needed rest and relaxation something that would be easy to get in a lost mysterious building filled with enemies.

  The others joined me when they finished their enemies and we decided to wait for around twenty minutes. After that, I hopped up and we continued. I tried to spread my soul sense through the ground or the ceiling but I couldn't penetrate thanks to yet another array. "Looks like I won't be able to see anything in the walls. Stay close I don't want anyone getting separated or lost in here."

  We fell into speculation about the point of this place until we came across a "T" intersection. "What are we thinking? Left or Right?"

  "Well, I think we should go right. Right is always right." Trey said with a grin.

  I rolled my eyes but no one offered a better answer so we headed right. We came across another pair of statues. This time Xerxes fought with the duo and we finished them up without too much trouble. The lack of kill energy made the situation annoying. We continued onward until we found a room filled with art and furniture. Everything was massive so it wasn't useful to us but I figured we might be able to sell it. "I am thinking that house or castle is winning out." I grinned and picked up a painting of a warrior. The figure wore armor that covered most of his body and held a plated shield in one hand. "I am going to take this."

  "I didn't know you were a patron of the arts," Aaliyah asked as she grabbed a plate that was the size of her head. "Are you taking it because you care about the person or because it looks expensive?"

  I shrugged. "A bit of column A and a bit of column B. I do love good art. I remember when the orphanage took us on a tour of one of the museums. I felt like I could stare at the paintings for hours if not days. The amount of effort that went into making something like that. I don't know who made these but it's nice that someone still looks at them."

  "Assuming that none of this is cursed or something," Trey added as he picked a pair of chairs and placed them into his spatial item. "These things take up a lot of space so we can't collect too much."

  I nodded and made a note to come back for the rest of the stuff. "We will have people come in and collect it later. With any luck, Azariah would be able to find someone who knows what this place is. Either that or they could find someone that wants most of it."

  We continued back down the hall until we came across a massive set of stairs. I couldn't help but feel like a medieval knight as we ascended the rounded staircase. A part of me felt like we should be more worried about being attacked but I ignored that part. That part wasn't any fun. We got to the top of the staircase and found ourselves in a massive hallway. The hallway went in both directions which meant we had another choice. We decided to go right and were about to start exploring when we heard a familiar sound. The wall to our right opened a metal giant stepped through.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The giant was similar to the stones and likely came from the same "mold". Those were the full extent of the similarities. This statue was on a whole different level than the last one. I had to open the Eye of Heaven and push more spiritual energy into it to see the array inside. Even then it was more of a hazy outline than what I was used to seeing. The statue didn't wait for me to finish my analysis. It drew a straight sword from the sheathe that came out of its right leg. My danger sense screamed and I activated Psychic Aegis as fast as I could.

  The wall had just formed when the statue slammed its sword straight through. The barrier shattered as we scattered for safety. I formed six spatial blades and shot them at the statue. All six shattered against its body without leaving so much as a scratch. The statue reorientated on me. The distance between us disappeared almost instantly. I brought up both arms and imbued them with spiritual energy before they slammed a boot into me. I was launched through the air. It felt like I had been hit by a runaway freight train.

  I conjured and fired another set of spatial blades but they fared no better than the last. A flare of red and then a fireball slammed into the statue's back indicating Xerxes had joined the battle. I leaped up and pushed spiritual energy into the sigil for Inverted Dimension just as the statue turned the others. Geometric patterns washed over the hallway as my spell took over the area. The statue froze like a doll that had its strings cut. I formed another set of blades just in case my hunch was wrong. When the statue hadn't moved for several seconds I laughed. The others looked at me like I was crazy and I briefly considered not explaining what had happened.

  "This is technically a different space the array in the puppet can't connect to the building so it doesn't know what to do. Now help me deal with it before it wakes up or something else happens." I launched attacks at the statues but my real attention was on Trey and Aaliyah. I hadn't released them from the spell's effect so this should be a good way to test how quickly a person could adapt to it. Especially someone who already knew what to expect.

  The results were a mixed bag. They knew what they wanted to do but they had to concentrate to attack where they wanted. That was made much harder when it came to movement abilities. I had Aaliyah test hers a couple of times. She basically couldn't guarantee where should would end up. It wasn't until she imbued it with the Tao of shadows that changed. Even with it though it was hard to do. If I assumed stronger people would adapt faster it would mean I would be safe in most fights. Especially since I would add in Realm of Consciousness. My only fear was someone like me. Someone with strong mental defenses.

  That was a concern for future me though. I turned my attention to the battle if it could still be called that. The metallic warrior had started to move again but it was a bit like it had lag issues. Its attacks were slower and much more predictable. It took us all working together but we managed to take it down. When we did I ended my spell and we returned to the hallway.

  "How long have you had that one? It seems a lot stronger than mine." Aaliyah asked.

  "I got it from a quest. It's peak quality so it's nice but you should be able to get something nice. I have a different spell that I got from my class that works kind of similarly to yours."

  She nodded and looked down at the ruined statue warrior. "Is there a way to get better skills? Outside of classes and quests? Mine give middle and high-quality skills."

  I shrugged. "Desbera mentioned that there were places you could buy them though they wouldn't be cheap. You could also grab stuff from the System though I am told that those aren't the best things to use."

  "Azariah said that they were trash and not worth buying," Trey replied a bit too eagerly.

  I glanced over at him and shook my head. "Not helping. From what I've seen opportunities build on one another which is why the tutorial was so important. From now I will focus on unlocking the rest of your class stuff. You might be able to make your own skills and if you do well enough there you could get rid of all the old stuff. Once you evolve your class you get the chance to get rid of the ones you don't need by combining them with others."

  "Is that what you do with arrays?" She asked as I gestured for everyone to follow.

  "They aren't the same but they are similar. From what I read improving or changing your sigils is about mental energy, energy control, and understanding of sigils."

  She nodded. "So it means that I need to study if I want to get the good stuff?"

  I grinned. "Get to reading. Now though focus on what's in front of you. We might find information stones and crystals in this place. I imagine if this place stores valuables then what could be more valuable than skills and spells?" After that, we settled into a steady silence. My mind drifted to the beautiful fading architecture around us and I couldn't help but wonder who made this place. I was pretty sure this was more a castle than a tomb. It made me feel like a dignitary would round a corner or step out of a side room but nothing happened.

  The rooms we entered were beautiful but that was it. Furniture, decorations, and even clothes were present. All were sized for giants which increased my disappointment. I was worried that we would only encounter the powerful statues on this level but that wasn't the case. We faced off against more of the stone statues which allowed the others to get more practice.

  We continued like this until we came across a cultivation chamber. The room was connected to a large bedroom and was as big as a high school gymnasium. A massive array was carved into the stone floor that reminded me of ritual circles in movies. There were five outer circles where I assumed you would place treasures. It was the fifth of these circles, the one furthest away that drew my attention. There was a treasure inside. The treasure didn't call to me but the energy inside was pretty good. Probably the middle condensation realm. The treasure looked a bit like the core of a star. Or a compressed ball of liquid fire.

  "Can I have that?" Trey asked. His mouth practically salivated as he looked at it.

  I checked with everyone else but no one was interested in the item so I shrugged and let him take it. I tossed him a scripted box and he stored it inside. Part of me wanted to take the floor with us. This array was of higher quality than the ones in Amara. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible. I could tell that anything I did to break up the pieces would destroy the array. "Alright, let's get a move on." We headed back down the hall and started down the other side of the hall. This side was similar to the last down the cultivation chamber. Only there were no treasures.

  If I had to guess this floor was likely for either lesser important royals or maybe important guards? There was no throne room or anything that made me think of a royal family.

  "I think this might be for visitors," Aaliyah stated. "Maybe where visitors or dignitaries would stay in the castle. Assuming that this is indeed a castle."

  I considered it for a moment and it made a lot of sense. "If that's the case then are the pictures supposed to impress people or are they supposed to intimidate them?"

  "It could be both depending on who is using the room."

  I shrugged. "Either way it doesn't matter now. Does anyone want to retreat?" When no one said anything I gestured for them to follow. We made our way back to the staircase and continued up. The next few floors were much the same. More stone statues attacked and we were getting much faster at dealing with them. When we worked together we could kill them in less than fifteen minutes. It wasn't until we had gone up five floors did we came across something different. We were attempting to leave this section of the building for a different one when we came across a collapsed staircase. The staircase was covered in stones but there was a path that led outside. A path that let us see where we were. There was a literal battlefield worth of corpses. The smallest amongst them were six or seven feet tall while the biggest were closer to fifteen.

  Most of them were nothing more than skeletons but a few weren't. A few were strangely preserved almost like someone had turned them into mummies. The grandeur of the scene was only rivaled by its solemnity. The strangest part of the situation was the barriers. In the far distance, the world just ended. It was kind of like we were in a video game and that was the end of the level. Only that end was less of a wall and more of a dome. It extends all around us. "I guess that is where the demi plane ends?"