Topsoil was a lot softer than hardwood, which was... Well, it was something, at least.

Whatever knocked him over was also a lot weaker than Kirase, which was both a blessing and an insult. At the very least, it wasn't heavy enough to stop him from moving out from under it and standing up.

From the humanoid suit it wore to the very natural way it rubbed at the side of its neck with one hand... Definitely a person, if not necessarily human.

"Sorry about that," it said, voice slightly muffled by the concealing helmet. "The visor on this thing sucks."

Draga's gaze moved to the red strip of glass where its eyes would have been, noting how small it was. Probably a matter of protection, since the sleak metal the rest of its armor was made of looked a lot tougher. Then again, it didn't have any plates or gaps, meaning it also had to move with it.

Couldn't be too hard a material if it bent that much, right?

Regardless, they weren't being threatening, which was a huge plus. Draga looked above its head, to where one of the game's constructs floated. It had writing on it and moved with the person's head.

[LVL24]
Alexander 'Xander' Grimguard, The Technocyte

"Just-"

"Sheesh, Xander," another voice admonished from behind him. This one was far deeper- though not quite to the level of Alvadeer- and had an almost bored tone even as he teased. "Your clumsiness knows no bounds."

Draga spun, expecting his comrade to look similar, and was only slightly surprised to find that false. Of course, the ridiculous extent to which he was wrong was kind of jarring.

[LVL?]
Caelem Argenti, The Pale Rider

He stood nearly seven feet tall, even before his spiky white hair was added in. He was broad shouldered and muscled, which was obvious through his complete lack of shirt or jacket. Caelem was, thankfully, wearing a pair of white dress pants which rustled slightly in the wind.

The wind generated by his twelve angelic wings which he was currently using to stay airborne.

Somehow, that seemed at least slightly more important than everything else, but it just didn't click right away. Even after noticing them, they seemed kind of... Transparent, as though they were only there temporarily and could vanish on a whim.

Through special action, the skill [Observe] has been created!

Okay...

Nothing extra seemed to happen when he unlocked it, and he didn't magically gain any insight into what the hell was happening, so Draga returned to the matter at hand.

Namely, the archangel currently glaring down at him with piercing blue eyes. Strange that such a normally peaceful color would be so terrifying on a holy being.

Then again, the angels where he came from weren't all that nice either, so maybe that was the norm elsewhere too.

"H-hi?" Draga managed before a sense of calm washed over him. Gamer's Mind, probably.

"Hello," Caelem returned easily, his attention drifting back to his ally. "Come on, Xander. We have a job to do. If he made it this far into the cave, he can make his own way out."

Draga winced, which only got the archangels attention back.

"What is it, human?"

"I, uh..." How would someone even answer that? He teleported in, basically, and had no idea where he was. Wait... "I got teleported in here and have no idea where I am."

Caelem closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh. "Xander." The man in a robotic suit perked up, turning to him. "I have no patience to deal with this child. You deal with him."

Draga's left eye twitched. "I am no child, Caelem. I'm twenty-two."

"And I'm older than the rocks you're standing on," he returned, deadpan. "Do not presume to understand me, mort..." A look of realization came over him, but was quickly replaced by a suspicious glare. Caelem's blue eyes turned red, the very air around him vibrating as heat poured off of him. "How do you know my name?"

Reflexively, Draga's gaze rose to the words above his head, which seemed to calm him down for some reason. Caelem glanced toward Xander briefly, as though to say something, but just groaned as he turned back.

"You're a Gamer, aren't you?"

A nod.

"Great..." One of the angels hands fell across his face, sliding unceremoniously down. "Another one of you..."

Another one...? That wouldn't refer to himself, so Draga instead turned to his ally. No amount of time watching him revealed anything out of place- besides the high tech battle-suit, obviously. Then again, to an outside observer, there wouldn't be much odd about him either. Huh.

"Can you show off your game somehow?" If he could, this meeting would be a godsend. Probably literal, in this case, since it would be just like Tet to drop him right next to another player. Did that make Caelem an NPC? Something to look into.

Whatever the answer to his question had been, Draga missed it amidst his thoughts, but it seemed unlikely for it to have been no, so he watched Xander carefully as he drew his arms to the side as if gripping a weapon. His metal arms were in empty air, meaning he was probably reaching into his Inventory- apparently a hammerspace- to take something out.

Draga watched intently, curious what someone at his level would have. His arms swung back around, crashing his weapon into the ground with enough force to send a ripple moving along the topsoil.

It was a hammer.

Dammit, Tet. This has your work all over it.

Giant electrified warhammer inside a hammerspace. Brilliant- for a dad joke. Actually, was that an insult to dad jokes?

Sighing, Draga turned to Xander's visor. It was impossible to read his expression through the helmet; his entire face was covered by almost an inch of metal while the red glass blocked his eyes from view. Still, he seemed at least a little disappointed at the reaction to his weapon, if the slight slump to his head was anything to go by.

There was no denying the impressiveness of the hammer itself. Around six feet long, counting the impale-a-man sized spike at the base of the handle, and with a head nearly the size of a person's torso- such a thing would be enough to be dangerous on its own. On top of that, though, bright yellow circuitry ran along the outside of it, and likely the inside as well, and left the tool humming with energy. What that would actually do wasn't clear, but it would be wise for him not to find out first hand.

The excitement just wasn't there, though. Perhaps the weapon was too mundane, for a fantasy world? Langit- one of the aforementioned angel people- had a spear that could call down beams of light to smite her enemies, and even that was considered typical. There was just so much you could do with magic.

Which, he needed to remind himself, I still can't actually use, despite having MP.

Actually... Draga closed his eyes, making a mockery of meditation as he breathed in and out. If he had magic, he should be able to use it. It was all a matter of creating and unlocking skills, right? He'd never had access to the arcane before, so he only had Kirase's explanation of it to work with, but that would hopefully be enough.

His concentration turned inwards- trying to visualize the power within himself. He was predisposed towards it being in his stomach, because of how most fantasy novels or games described it, but that hopefully wouldn't make a difference in the end.

A blue light appeared in his vision, which didn't make much sense when his eyes were closed, but he figured it out pretty quickly. He was seeing the reflection of the light in his eyes.

He'd... Found it? There wasn't any sensation of power or warmth, like Kirase had explained, but that magic system could easily be different from this one.

When his eyes opened again, it was to see Caelem and Xander both staring at him intently. It was easy to see why, when his entire body had the dimmest of blue lights radiating from it.

Draga strode forward purposefully, ignoring Caelem- and probably Xander's- watchful gaze. It was an experiment, but with The Game in place over him, it wouldn't be one where he should die. At worst, it would hurt. A lot.

His hand stretched out, tentatively approaching the circuitry carved into the metal. It glowed with energy, and Xander tensed up when it sparked as if to protect him, but Draga continued unabated.

The instant his hand made contact, a shock ran up his arm, but it stopped there. Draga watched as the electricity flowed out of his flesh, the initial sensation leaving with it, and the blue light around him to come alive with the flow of energy.

Lightning coursed over the limb, the effect spreading over his body until it surrounded him entirely. Then, in a fraction of a second too small for him to recognize, it dissipated.

Through special action, the skill [Lightning] has been created!

Much like the electricity itself a moment earlier, the skill brought with it a moment of shock, though a little less literal. The world seemed sharper, more defined, and he could feel... something in the air around him. The sensation was stronger towards Xander- a lot stronger- and that alone clued him in.

He was feeling the presence of electricity itself.

Draga's hand came up again, and- at his command- his palm sparked. It was small, probably as weak as the static shock one received would sometimes receive when touching a doorknob, but it was still something.

Like all skills, it would grow over time, and that was with only the newest and least refined of possible abilities.

Whatever else he'd gotten up to was cut short as Caelem cleared his throat. "Are you done? Me and Xander have a cave to clear, and as interesting as your presence isn't, I'm not gonna wait around all day."

Ah, that... As much as he'd love to spend the next hour or more unlocking new skills and acquiring all the elements, his best bet at surviving this place would leave him behind. He also didn't know if he needed food or water, neither of which he could get here.

"Lead the way," Draga remarked, gesturing in... No particular direction, since the map never indicated an exit.

"Actually, we can't," Xander stated in an apologetic tone. "Each floor of this cave has a unique challenge to complete which, according to the bartender up above- don't ask- changes every once in a while. We're supposed to complete it before we continue to the next."

That made sense, and was definitely a game thing. "My map said there was a fourth thing here. An enemy we have to kill?"

"Sounds like the obvious thing. I don't have a map myself, so... Point the way?"

Draga's eyes flicked over to the open menu, which showed the fourth red dot not too far away. Now that he had the two for Caelem in Xander for scale, it was only about twenty meters away- North if it was angled properly.

He was saved from answering when the creature made itself known, however. A shame it did that by deafening the party with its horrifically loud screech.