The first thing I had to consider, as soon as I walked out of the home I'd known my whole life, leaving my parents behind forever, was what to do with the War Points I had now.

I had 8000 War Points, earned from forcing Helena to retreat. Honestly, I hadn't expected a reward at all. I'd failed to kill her, and the System didn't seem like the kind to hand out participation trophies. But there it was, free points. I wasn't about to complain. I'd take what I could get, especially since Helena was likely licking her wounds somewhere, plotting her next move. There was no question that she'd be gunning for me. Probably soon. Probably pissed.

Still, she was wounded. I wasn't. Not fully, anyway – or, at least, not nearly as much as she was, because I certainly don't remember getting blasted by a concentrated blast of alien plasma. That gave me a small window to work with.

The first thought that came to mind was to buy another [Culexus Assassin]. Crentist had been a game-changer, but now he was bound to his lifelong mission of protecting my parents. I couldn't call him to my side anymore. Another Crentist would fill the gap. Another unstoppable anti-magic juggernaut to help me fend off Helena or whatever other nightmares were coming my way.

But I hesitated. The idea was tempting, sure, but it wasn't optimal.

Crentist's absence during the fight with Helena had made something painfully clear: I was the weak link. Even with my [Blank] aura, I wasn't durable enough. Her magic still got through. My aura could slow it, dull its edge, but it didn't stop the damage. Not yet. That was the problem I needed to solve first. Another Crentist wouldn't fix that.

Upgrading [Blank] was the real solution. If I could push it to the next level, I'd be closer to Crentist's level of magic nullification. Maybe even beyond it someday. If I could reach a point where magic couldn't hurt me at all, that would be a game-changer. No more dodging or scrambling for cover. I could stand my ground.

I pulled up the System.

[Blank] Upgrade Cost: 11,000 War Points

A little steep. I had 8000. That left me 3000 short. My fingers flexed at my sides, tapping against the smooth barrel of the [Tau Rail Rifle] as I walked – I was keeping it on me whenever there weren't a lot of people, because I wasn't taking any risks to my safety, plus the basic [Blank] aura made me extremely difficult to perceive anyway. Still, I'd need a bunch more War Points to get to the next level. I'd get there, no question. The question was how fast I could earn those points without risking my neck.

I still hurt from the fight, my body aching with every step. My clothes were new, but I could already see a few flecks of blood, from wounds reopening, staining the fabric. Honestly, if my VIT stat was not as high as it was – at an inhuman 37 – then I'd probably already be dead. The internal and external injuries I'd sustained during that fight were certainly enough to kill anyone else.

Then it hit me. I already had a solution for this, and I'd completely ignored it during the fight like an idiot. My jaw tightened as I pulled up my list of skills and found it.

[Isha's Mercy] Level 2 – Touch a wounded target to accelerate their natural regeneration. Current rate of enhanced regeneration is 600% faster than natural. (Use for a total of 90 Seconds to Level Up.)

The timer at the bottom caught my attention. Ninety seconds of use would level it up. How had I forgotten this? It wasn't just a useful healing ability. It could make me near-unkillable if I pushed it far enough. The faster I healed, the more I could endure. Helena wouldn't get the chance to overwhelm me.

I sat on a nearby bench, ignoring the slight groan of the wood beneath my weight. I pressed a hand to my arm and activated the skill. A soft, green glow emanated from my palm, faint and warm. The stiffness in my shoulder began to ease. The throbbing dulled. But, honestly, I couldn't expect much of it for now. A 600% increase in natural healing was nothing, especially with the skill's inherent limitations. All it meant was that the amount of recovery I'd get within six seconds would now be reduced to one second.

I let the skill run for a few seconds before deactivating it – a total of thirty seconds, to be exact. I could feel the drain on my stamina, but it was manageable. My VIT]stat – 37 now – made sure of that. Without it, I'd probably be passed out on the ground from overuse, like the first few times I tried to use this ability.

The more I thought about it, the clearer my plan became. [Isha's Mercy] wasn't just something to level up for convenience. It was a priority. If I could push it to the point where my regeneration outpaced most attacks, I'd have a much better chance against Helena or anyone else who came after me.

But leveling it would take time. And time was something I didn't have.

Or did I?

I glanced at the System's dungeon list. The [Nurglite Dungeon] was still grayed out, its timer reading one day and a half. That was out. The only available option was the [Slaaneshi Dungeon], the one with the bright red skull icon practically screaming "certain death."

I frowned, my finger hovering over it.

The danger didn't matter. I wasn't planning to fight the mobs. Not yet. My plan was simple. Go in, find a place to hide, and grind [Isha's Mercy]. I could spend hours – days, even – leveling it up in the safety of an Instant Dungeon. Time didn't move outside. I'd come out stronger without wasting a second in the real world.

It was risky, sure. But it wasn't like I had better options.

Helena might be out there, but for now, she'd have to wait. Not like she could chase me into a dungeon anyway.

I opened the System menu again and tapped the icon for the [Slaaneshi Dungeon].

Warning: This dungeon is rated significantly above your current level. Entering is not recommended. However, entering a dungeon that is significantly above your current level will double the rarity and worth of the rewards.

A confirmation prompt appeared. I took a moment to read, my brows rising at the double reward thing, before hitting "Yes" without hesitation.

The world around me twisted, colors bleeding together as the System transported me. A faint ringing filled my ears, growing louder until it cut off abruptly. When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a new world.

The air here was heavy, cloying, filled with a strange, sweet scent. The ground was soft beneath my boots, like moss, but it shifted unnervingly underfoot. Strange, twisted shapes loomed in the distance, their outlines shimmering. And, everywhere I looked, I saw massive crags and caves and jagged and twisted rocks, reaching for the heavens. The sky was a swirling mass of pinks and purples, broken only by the occasional jagged streak of lightning.

Unlike the Nurglite Dungeon, this one was not a replica of any city that I knew of. In fact, nothing here was remotely close to familiar – an alien landscape, vast beyond my imagination. I tightened my grip on the [Tau Rail Rifle], scanning the area. My instincts screamed at me to move, to find cover.

Whatever lived here, it wasn't friendly. And the fact that I definitely was not prepared for this dungeon, something the System saw fit to remind me, meant that I needed to find cover as soon as possible. I found a cluster of warped, jagged rocks nearby and slipped behind them, crouching low. And, underneath it was a section that looked just about spacious enough for me to crawl into and back out again with a bit of effort. Good thing I wasn't claustrophobic or this would've been really difficult.

It... was as good a place as any, I figured. So, time to get to grinding. I pressed a hand to my chest, activating [Isha's Mercy] again. This was going to be a pretty long grind.

I did not know how much time I actually spent trying to heal my own injuries. Time was not an easily measured thing when I did not have a watch and could not see the sky, though the weird sky here definitely wouldn't help anyway. I heard footsteps and other strange sounds from outside every so often, the mobs of enemies likely searching for me, but failing quite splendidly. I didn't care about them. As long as they couldn't see me, then I was going to grind. I kept going. Plus, it helped that I actually felt my body gradually mending.

Time lost its meaning. And then...

Skill Evolution!
You have reached the maximum level of [Isha's Mercy]. The skill has evolved into a higher form, [Isha's Favor].
[Isha's Favor] – Touch a wounded or injured target to begin healing their wounds or injuries. Rate of healing is dependent on your VIT. No longer drains stamina. Cannot replace lost body parts.

The first thing I noted was the lack of hard numbers. Nothing about it told me about its rate of healing, aside from the fact that it was tied to my VIT. It couldn't restore lost body parts, but I already expected that. This was, after all, the evolution of the first skill I ever gained – for free, at that. However, that it no longer drained my stamina was a freaking huge boon, because that meant I could just keep it on with no real consequence, which would essentially grant me regeneration. That said, it wasn't a skill that I could toggle on or off, like [Blank], so I had to consciously keep it on, which I could do with some practice. First things first, however; I needed to test it. So, I scraped my hand against a particularly sharp bit of rock and drew a tiny bit of blood. And then, I activated the skill and look on as the tiny cut sealed shut in less than a second.

And I didn't even feel tired.

Great.

Fucking awesome, in fact.

There didn't seem to be a mechanic to level it up, however, which probably meant the mechanic was hidden or it simply did not exist, which was fine by me.

Now, the only problem left was the dungeon itself. I couldn't get out, after all, unless I cleared the damn place. So, very slowly, I crawled out of the hole I'd crawled into and took out the [Tau Rail Rifle] from my [Inventory]. I glanced around. No enemies, thus far. And, if my memory was correct, then it'd been several hours since I last heard the sound of footsteps. I had no idea what sort of enemies I'd be facing, but they definitely wouldn't be zombies, like in the last dungeon. I was torn between trying to traverse this place alone and just summoning my whole army for safety reasons. The twenty [Cadian Shock Trooper]s that I had certainly hadn't made themselves useful just yet – not that they could've done much against Helena, to be honest.

However, summoning all my forces right now would mean revealing my position to the enemy. I couldn't risk it – not yet, at least.

What I needed were a few extra pair of eyes.

So, I summoned 3 Cadians, enough to form a rudimentary squad, enough eyes to cover every angle. Three of them appeared before me, two dudes and one girl, all in the same uniform and all armed with the same weapon – they were all the same height too, which was odd. My [Tempestus Scions Training] kicked in immediately. "Wedge Formation. Keep your eyes peeled."

The Cadians saluted and immediately got into formation. "We're moving out."

AN: Chapter 28 is out on (Pat)reon!