I open my eyes, but I can't see anything. How long have I been sleeping? I cannot tell. I try to move, but it only makes me realize how much pressure is currently forcing me to stay down.
Right, a whole underground complex collapsed on me.
I expand my sensing range and find a large number of people quite high above me. The rescue team, maybe?
I haven't fully recovered my energy from this little nap, but I probably have enough now to get out of here. I can't just cause any kind of large movement of the rubble, that would put the lives of those on top of it in danger. I'm not strong enough to just gently lift everything above me either, and my control over my power isn't good enough to dig a hole up by warping space around this much debris.
So what options do I have left? They probably have machines that detect heat, so I could warm myself up a lot to improve the chance that they'll find me, but it could still take them days to dig this deep.
That beam attack used by the armored canine-feline monster... It would probably pierce a nice, clean hole through everything above me. Unfortunately, I'm used to channeling it through my hands, and I'm not exactly in a good position for that right now. If I had some kind of external... thing floating around me that I could cast spells through, it might make things a bit easier. I wonder if that's something I can create...
I can make crystalline projectiles. Those are very small and don't really conduct magic, but they're a somewhat physical item I can manifest. Of course, they vanish when I'm done with them, but that's a desirable behavior to have for my spellcasting extensions too. So, using this very instinctive spell, making it bigger, and... Ah, I'm really not sure how to connect it to the flow of magic in my body. If I want it to float around me, it'll need some kind of wireless connection. Magic Bluetooth, if you will.
I know that's possible to do, since that's effectively the basis for healing magic. We send energy into the injured body, then manipulate it to speed up the healing process or repair fatal damage. This is going to limit the distance at which I can use my extension, but I might be able to mitigate that by getting stronger and practicing.
So I need to create a crystal similar to my projectiles, but bigger, and that's capable of receiving my magical energy so I can cast spells through it. Better make it so it rejects anyone else's magic as a safety measure.
I now have a clear idea of the structure of the spell. Using magic strands, I find a pocket in the debris that's large enough to fit the crystal I have in mind, so I cast the spell there. I can't see what's happening, but I feel my energy take the shape of an item floating in that space, pointing upwards. I then send magic into it, which I can tell it absorbs easily. Now I simply need to cast a spell through the crystal, which is probably going to be the hardest part.
First, I make sure there's no one right above it. I wouldn't want to blast a beam up and have it kill a rescue worker. Then, I take over the power in the crystal and use that to cast my beam spell. As expected, the beam starts charging within it, and eventually shoots straight up. It is very narrow at first, but I progressively send more and more energy into the crystal to make it grow wider. On the surface, they probably saw a small red pillar rise from the rubble before getting larger and larger, slowly disintegrating everything on its path.
I stop sending energy into the crystal, so it runs out and vanishes. Looks like the experiment was a success. I'll have to train to make optimal use of this new tool, but there's good potential there. I might even be able to prepare spells into crystals ahead of time to cast them without even needing to concentrate on them. If this works out the way I expect it to, it could allow me to cast multiple spells at once.
The hole I pierced allows me to see the bright light of the day, way up. I fold space around the rubble directly on my body to give myself some room to move and get up in the newly dug tunnel. I soon hear a voice calling from way up there:
"Hello? Is someone down there?"
"I am! Can you get me up?"
"One moment, I'll see what we can do."
From this distance, the hole looks like a bright point of light, so I couldn't see who talked to me, but I assume it was a rescue worker. I wait for a few minutes, keeping track of the faraway dots of magical energy scrambling on the surface.
After a while, I hear:
"We're going to throw a rope down. Let us know if it reaches you."
I hear a thud next to me. When I grab it, I can tell it's some kind of solid rope, with large knots to hold on to.
"I got it!"
"Okay! We're going to start pulling, make sure to hold on tight. Use your legs to walk on the wall to stabilize yourself as much as possible."
I follow their instructions, and quickly find myself dragged towards the surface. I use the walls to guide myself, sometimes having to avoid pockets left behind by the uneven debris, but I eventually make it out of the hole.
The sun shines brightly high up in the sky. I know I haven't been buried for very long, but I still find myself relieved and incredibly happy to feel the wind in my hair and the sun on my skin. One of the rescue workers approaches and asks:
"Are you Matt?"
I nod.
"Ah, thank goodness! The NAA really wanted us to find you alive. Do you know if there's anyone else stuck in there?"
"I can't sense anyone, so it seems unlikely."
"Thank you. We'll still complete a thorough search, but it's a load off our minds to know that no one else is down there. There's an ambulance on standby, will you accept to go to the hospital to be checked?"
What a pain, I just want to go home and sleep non-stop for the next 48 to 72 hours. I guess there's no harm in getting checked though. They might even be able to tell me what level I am after having killed two level 100 adventurers, assuming they have a machine that calculates monster power.
"I'll go. But first, I need to do this..."
I grab the beads containing the adventurers I fought in the arena and undo the threads holding them together. The now freed prisoners look really surprised to have been transported outside, so I take a few minutes to explain how my power works and answer their questions. Once they're satisfied, they start walking away, so I grab Francis' girlfriend by the shoulder.
"By the way, your boyfriend was really worried about you. Make sure to call him as soon as you can."
She blushes and grabs her phone.
"He was...? I can't leave him in that state, now, can I? Thanks for letting me know."
I follow the worker and get in the ambulance, where they do a quick check on our way to the hospital but reach the conclusion that I'm fine.
During the ride, I wonder what happened to the Architect's brands on everyone else. Did they vanish when he died? Are they still there but dormant? Are they still actively controlling the thoughts of their hosts? Mine is gone because I transformed into Aurora, so I can't just check my own body to know, and I don't detect any branded people nearby.
At the hospital, the aetherologist looks at my file in confusion and asks:
"So... ordinary machines can't detect your magic level?"
"That's right. My power is read as a monster's, so machines calibrated to work with humans can't detect it."
"That's quite inconvenient, but we do have a machine we can use for this. It's going to give us a level range, however, so I hope you don't mind me putting the lowest level of that range in your file, for safety reasons."
"Please do."
He places my file down on his desk and goes to a different room. After a while, he comes back with a different machine, which he places next to me.
The nurse grabs the single band from that machine and straps it around my arm. After making strange noises for almost a minute, a large number appears on the screen. That's an improvement compared to the "0" of last time.
The doctor grabs a calculator, does a few manipulations, then drops his pencil in astonishment. The nurse and I both look at him, waiting for a verdict. With a trembling voice, he simply says:
"According to the machine... You're at least level 103."
The nurse gasps in surprise, but I nod. This is what I expected, after all. Well, truth be told, I expected that I would either be level 100 if my level was capped like with everyone else, or be slightly above that if Witches have uncapped power. Looks like the latter hypothesis was correct, but the steepness of that curve really shows itself when you consider that killing two level 100s only got me up to level 103. Fortunately, there are monsters out there that are above level 100.
The aetherologist mutters to himself:
"Are we going to need to rethink the entire scale again? But it had been so long since someone got past level 100, this is going to be such a hassle..."
"It's probably better to keep the scale as it is. My power isn't normal, and that's probably why I can go above level 100. Unless more people start showing up who need machines like this one for their level to be read, the current scale should remain adequate."
"Well, that's still up to the International Adventuring Committee to decide. I'll make sure to add your comment to my report to the NAA, and they'll take the decisions from there. No matter what, however, you can expect to be at the center of a lot of noise if this story becomes public."
"Then I'll just hope the NAA isn't too loud about this."
On my way back to the dormitory, I take a look at my virtual profile and see that my level was updated to 100. Since this is public information that can be accessed by almost anyone, I assume they don't want to reveal to the world that I'm actually above the max level for now. Works in my favor, so I have no complaints.
I also realize that I haven't eaten in a while. I'll celebrate my victory over the Architect by treating my roommates to a feast today! I made plenty of money from all the dungeons I cleared over the past two weeks to afford it.
When I enter the dormitory, I'm greeted by Andrew and Cal. The first one is very emotional:
"Maaaaaatt! Where were you all night? We thought something happened to you!"
While Cal calmly says:
"You should have let us known you were going to spend the night out. While this guy's reaction is a bit exaggerated, we really were wondering where you were."
"Aaaah... Sorry about that, I didn't expect to sleep where I ended up sleeping. Lots of stuff happened, and I couldn't make it back here. I'll try to let you know next time."
Why are they so worried about me, anyway? Sure, they had to bring me clothes to the hospital once, and I came back almost naked with small burns when I met the wyvern for the first time, but I'm still an adventurer, I can handle myself.
As I start walking towards my room, I see that the news on the TV are talking about the collapsed building... and there's footage of me getting dragged out of the hole and getting in the ambulance. I haven't had a chance to look at myself in a mirror yet, but I really do look terrible with all that dust covering me.
"You know, if you want us to believe that everything is fine, don't show up in that state after making national news."
Cal is smiling smugly. I guess it was inevitable that they'd learn about this. I should probably be a bit more upfront and let them know what to expect going forward. I'd rather not find myself entangled in another situation like the one with the Architect, but I am a level 103 adventurer. There's no telling what the future holds for me.
"I'll go take a shower, then I'll treat you all to some food as an apology."
"Sounds good."
The water turns grey as it flows over my body. My hair is in an especially pitiful state, and I'll probably have to spend a lot of time rinsing it to get everything out of it.
As I'm rubbing my body to dislodge as much cement dust as possible, I notice that it feels a bit different from usual. I had gotten used to my muscles being gone, but now the sensation changed again. Everything's a lot softer than before. My arms, my thighs, even my torso, everywhere seems like it has an extra layer of fat right under the skin.
What game is the attunement process playing? How is this supposed to make me more attractive? The more time passes, the more confused I am as to what changes to expect.
I grab some body wash to help remove the remaining dust. I rub my face thoroughly, paying extra attention to my eyebrows since dust definitely stuck to them. I then move down to my neck, where I find myself lingering on the area where my brand used to be. I can't detect any trace of it now, thankfully. Next up are my shoulders, then my upper chest...
Ouch!
I can't stop myself from wincing in pain as I hit one of my nipples a bit too forcefully. Now, I know that part of the body is sensitive for everyone, but that pain felt like it was a bit too much to be normal. I gently rub it in an attempt to calm it down, but I instead find something extremely disturbing: a hard bump behind it.
In a panic, I bring my other hand to my other nipple. I gently press down on it, making it clear that this one also has something hard behind it now.
I can't stay up. I slump on the floor of the shower, and let the water fall on me, dazed.
I think back and remember when I realized that letting my magic flow out of my body gave me a feminine appearance. How the Witches were surprised to see that I was a man. How Evelyn said that this power might be meant to be used by women.
I think back on the changes that have happened so far to my body: less muscle mass, smaller genitals, more subcutaneous fat, and sensitive nipples with hard bumps behind them. An absolutely horrifying idea dawns on me. I'm too scared to seriously consider it, I want to just ignore it and hope that it goes away, hope that I was wrong, but I can't deny that everything points in this direction.
Am I... turning into a girl?
