Chapter 390: The Egg

The Guildmaster regarded him for another moment, apparently deciding whether any of the warning had survived contact with Kael’s personality. He eventually sighed and drew the black egg closer.

"Familiars generally hatch after exposure to something connected to their natural affinity. That may be an element, a specific environment, a form of Mana, or material taken from creatures related to their species. Some require food. Others respond to the owner’s energy or growth. There is no universal method."

He described a Blue Rose member who possessed a wind-attuned Dire Wolf familiar. Its egg had remained dormant until she carried it into one of the high-wind regions on Floor Sixteen and camped there for several days. The shell gradually absorbed Wind Mana from the environment before finally breaking open.

Kael studied the faint purple veins beneath his egg’s shell. "If Dark Beasts possess a Darkness affinity, I should be able to reproduce the same conditions without finding a specialized Floor."

"Possibly, but placing it in an unlit room will accomplish nothing. Darkness as an element is not the absence of visible light. It is a magical property with its own Mana and behaviors."

"I understand that part...."

"Then you already know Darkness can express itself through shadow, concealment, suppression, erosion, decay, and even spatial distortion. Two abilities may both carry a Darkness classification while producing entirely different results. Your egg may only respond to one of those expressions."

Kael glanced toward the shell. "Leaving it inside my inventory has done nothing, so at least I can rule that out."

"You cannot rule out anything from that. An inventory may appear dark from your perspective, but it is an isolated storage space rather than a natural Darkness environment. The egg may not experience light, temperature, Mana, or time the way it would outside."

"That would explain why it has done nothing since yesterday."

"It might also be waiting for something unrelated to Darkness." The Guildmaster pointed toward the status window still hovering above the table. "The word ’mutated’ is the problem. Even if ordinary Dark Beast familiars might hatch after exposure to Darkness Mana, this one may possess another affinity or require a condition unique to the mutation."

Kael considered the Rune socketed into his coat. It could produce controlled Darkness energy without requiring him to search the Tower for an appropriate environment.

"What if I expose the egg to my Darkness Rune?"

The Guildmaster looked from Kael to the egg, then back again. "That is a terrible idea for several reasons."

"I only need to know whether any of those reasons involve the egg exploding."

"The familiar is unknown, the mutation is unknown, and the Rune’s specific expression of Darkness may be incompatible with whatever is developing inside. An uncontrolled transfer could damage the familiar, force it to hatch prematurely, or provoke a reaction neither of us can predict."

"So I use a low output and watch what happens."

"That addresses one concern. It does nothing about the fact that Runes themselves are a terrible foundation for long-term growth."

Kael recognized the familiar contempt in the old man’s voice.

"I noticed," Kael lied. He in fact had no reason to explain that the concern the Guildmaster is speaking of only relates to other people who used runes as a shortcut only to end up needing to remove the whole thing altogether to regain their mana. Kael had the Rune of Anchor. That made him different.

The Guildmaster stopped speaking. His eyes narrowed as he considered the answer, then traveled over Kael’s equipment: the black coat, the Malachor gauntlets, the belt, and finally the helmet concealing most of his face.

"But... you’re proving an awful lot of contradiction with the established understanding of runes."

Kael realized what he had revealed, but denying it now would only confirm that the subject mattered So, he did the best thing, he shrugged. "I guess."

The Guildmaster leaned back as a new suspicion took shape. "You have been using Runes for much longer than your equipment suggests."

Kael smiled without offering an answer. No Runic channels glowed across his gear, and nothing visible proved he possessed more than the Darkness Rune in his coat, but the Guildmaster no longer needed proof.

"Around a year ago, the Sun Clan began searching the lower Floors for an unidentified Rune user," the old man said. "Reports described someone combining Rune effects in unusual ways and breaking records with abilities that did not match standard magical signatures. The Clan sent people through several Floors asking questions."

Kael remembered the Sun Clan’s interest during his earlier climb. He had never known how much information they had gathered or how long they continued searching.

"What happened to their investigation?"

"They eventually lost interest because everyone understood how the story would end. A Rune user can advance quickly at first, especially if they acquire rare combinations, but the damage accumulates. Mana is deprived, magic becomes harder, growth slows, and eventually the Climber reaches a Floor where Rune utility cannot compensate for ruined Mana channels."

The Guildmaster watched him closely. "Whoever the Sun Clan was tracking should have reached that wall by now. Judging from your records, you have not."

Kael kept his expression neutral. The Nine Yang Destruction Body had changed the foundation everyone expected him to use. His Mana channels could no longer limit a future built upon internal energy, and Anchor allowed his equipment to support Runes in ways ordinary users could not reproduce. The weakness that condemned every other Rune specialist had become largely irrelevant to him.

None of that belonged in the Guildmaster’s hands.

"How are you avoiding the damage?" the old man asked. "Is it a Class feature, an item, or something your master taught you?"

"Who said I was avoiding it?"

"Your progress does. You also admitted that you understand the problem very well, which means you either found a solution or built your growth around something that makes Mana-channel damage irrelevant."

"Understanding a problem does not mean I intend to explain it."

The Guildmaster waited, but Kael allowed the silence to answer for him. Eventually, a broad smile crossed the old man’s face, followed by a genuine laugh.

"Good. I would have thought less of you if you had told me."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "That is a strange response after asking for the answer."

"The question was also a test. I have given you useful information and brought you into a secure part of my guild, but neither of those things entitles me to every secret you possess. If mild pressure from a friendly Guildmaster were enough to make you explain your greatest advantage, you would never survive attention from someone less patient."

"You could have warned me that the conversation was an interrogation."

"That would have reduced its usefulness." The Guildmaster’s amusement faded as he nodded toward Kael’s equipment. "Keep your Rune use hidden for as long as possible. Your master may know, and Andre has probably learned enough from handling your equipment to reach his own conclusions. Everyone else should continue believing the usual limitations apply to you."

Kael agreed. An enemy who believed his Mana channels were gradually collapsing would prepare for a very different fight than one who understood his actual foundation.

The Guildmaster returned his attention to the egg. "As for the Darkness Rune, I still consider the experiment dangerous. I also cannot identify any reason it definitely would not work."

"That is practically an endorsement."

"It is an admission of incomplete knowledge. Do not confuse the two."

The old man instructed Kael to begin with the lowest stable output the Rune could produce. He should keep the egg away from the source at first, allow only a trace of Darkness energy to reach it, and reduce the distance gradually. The shell’s color, temperature, pulse, and movement all needed to be watched. Any sudden change meant the Rune should be deactivated immediately.

"If the veins brighten, the shell moves, or the status changes, stop adding energy and use Inspect again," the Guildmaster said. "You are trying to discover whether it responds to Darkness, not force enough power into it that something has to happen."

Kael nodded while committing the instructions to memory. "Lowest output, gradual exposure, and no direct contact. If it reacts, I stop and inspect before continuing."

"Correct. You should also perform the experiment somewhere capable of surviving the result. Do not press the Rune against the shell, flood it with energy, and then act surprised when the familiar emerges angry or malformed."

Kael’s silence lasted slightly too long.

The Guildmaster narrowed his eyes. "That was close to your original plan."

"I intended to be gentler than that."

"How much gentler?"

"Enough that I would have moved my face away first."

The old man sighed and pushed the egg back across the table. "Follow the instructions I gave you. Your instincts are useful in combat and deeply concerning everywhere else."

Kael returned the egg to his inventory and stood. He finally had a method to test, even if the method consisted largely of exposing an unknown creature to a dangerous element and watching for signs of disaster.

When he turned toward the reinforced door, it remained firmly locked. "Are you coming, or does the invisible doorman eventually decide I have learned enough to leave?"

"You entered through the secure route. Guests leave another way."

A section of wall behind the Guildmaster slid open, revealing a narrow passage that had been completely invisible moments earlier. Kael studied the seams and found none, even with the doorway exposed.

"That was not there when I entered."

"It was. You simply failed to notice it."

"You constructed an entire guild headquarters around irritating visitors."

"Security becomes more enjoyable when it serves multiple purposes."

Kael started toward the passage, but the Guildmaster called his name before he reached it. The humor had disappeared from the old man’s voice.

"Do not underestimate what it means for Ulsal to remember you. A divine being’s attention does not need to remain constant to be dangerous. He may ignore you for several Floors and interfere again when you have finally convinced yourself the problem is over."

"I understand. I will keep the information contained and avoid giving him another reason to interfere."

"You understood the lesson inside his Trial and ignored it because the rewards looked attractive. I need you to do more than understand this warning in theory."

Kael considered promising that he would never antagonize another divine being. Given the way his climb had progressed so far, that seemed unnecessarily ambitious.

"I will try not to collect a second divine enemy."

"That answer inspires very little confidence, but it may be the best I am getting." The Guildmaster gestured toward the passage. "Go experiment with your egg somewhere far from my tavern. If it explodes, I do not want the remains brought upstairs for examination."

Kael paused inside the doorway. "What if it hatches normally?"

"That depends on whether it tries to eat my customers. Dark Beasts have aggressive instincts, and yours comes with an unknown mutation."

The hidden wall began closing before Kael could answer. He continued toward the stairs with the egg safely stored and a workable plan for one of his problems. Ulsal remained the greater concern, but Kael preferred dealing with the mystery that might merely hatch teeth.