Utopian System

"Interesting," he murmured, watching how the calcium responded to his presence. "It's not just about breaking through... it's about disrupting the regeneration process itself."

Layer after layer fell to their advance, each barrier teaching them more about how calcium behaved, how it could be manipulated, how it interacted with other elements under their control.

By the time they reached the central chamber, Elio had already formulated several strategies for the coming battle.

The chamber itself was a vast arena, its walls lined with calcium deposits that seemed to breathe with potential energy. And there, filling every available space, were the crabs, a million armored warriors moving with unsettling coordination.

"Remember," Dionz's voice echoed in his mind, "they'll adapt to your tactics. One million minds working together, learning from each failure, strengthening their defenses..."

Elio surveyed the seething mass of shells and claws before him. Each creature individually was formidable, with regenerative capabilities that made them nearly indestructible. Together, they could form defensive formations that would shrug off normal attacks like rain.

But he wasn't limited to normal attacks anymore.

As the first wave of creatures advanced, their shells already beginning to link together into a living fortress, Elio felt a smile touch his lips.

The real challenge wouldn't be defeating them.

"We begin," he whispered, and the chamber erupted into controlled chaos as their first experimental combination of elements met the advancing wall of living calcium.

The battle for mastery over yet another fundamental element had begun.

♢♢♢♢

The first transfer of consciousness felt like drowning in reverse.

One moment Lila was focused on her connection to Gorgita, her salamander ajolote familiar, the next she was seeing through compound eyes, feeling things she'd never possessed, experiencing the world from an entirely new perspective.

'It worked,' the thought came with a surge of elation as she tested her familiar's wings. The sensation was bizarre, she could still vaguely feel her physical body, but it felt distant, unimportant compared to the freedom of flight.

Without hesitation, she launched herself skyward. The city fell away beneath her as Gorgita's body carried her. The barrier between rings approached rapidly, its translucent surface shimmering with forbidden potential.

'I'm coming, Elio,' she thought, pushing through the barrier with a tingling sensation that almost broke her concentration.

The first wave of level two monsters noticed her immediately. Flying beasts with razor wings and chitinous armor dove at her from multiple directions. But Gorgita's natural agility, combined with Lila's determination, allowed them to weave through the attacks.

'Too slow,' she thought triumphantly as another monster's claws missed them by inches. The second ring's barrier approached, its surface darker than the first.

The passage through burned, like diving through static electricity. On the other side, level three monsters awaited, faster, stronger, more coordinated than their predecessors. A formation moved to intercept her, their patterns clearly designed to trap aerial targets.

Lila pushed Gorgita's wings harder, attempting to climb above their range. But the serpents anticipated this, their coils creating a three-dimensional net of scales and fangs.
Read exclusive chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

'No,' she gritted mentally as one caught Gorgita. The impact sent them spinning, but she managed to recover, diving beneath another attack.

The fourth ring's barrier loomed ahead.

She held on through sheer willpower, only to find herself in the middle of a level four monster swarm. These creatures moved with impossible speed, their attacks perfectly synchronized. A barbed tail caught Gorgita's side before Lila could react.

The pain was intense but distant, felt through the familiar bond rather than directly. She tried to compensate, but another monster was already there, its claws raking across Gorgita's body.

The world spun as they fell. Lila caught glimpses of the fifth ring's barrier, still impossibly far away. Then something with too many teeth closed its jaws around them, and everything went black.

Lila gasped as her consciousness slammed back into her physical body. Her heart was racing, but her body was unharmed. Gorgita rematerialized beside her, equally unscathed.

'Of course,' she realized. 'The familiar are made of mana. When Gorgita dies, she just reforms...'

A smile spread across her face. This wasn't a setback, it was confirmation that her plan could work. Even failure wouldn't risk permanent damage to either of them.

Without bothering to report to Lucien, she closed her eyes and focused on the familiar bond again. The sensation of transfer was easier this time, more natural.

Her second attempt made it halfway through the fourth ring before a particularly clever monster formation caught them. The third attempt ended in the third ring when she tried a new evasion pattern that proved less effective than expected.

But each failure taught her something. About how the monsters moved, about how to better control Gorgita's unique abilities, about the subtle patterns of attack that distinguished each ring's defenders.

Her fourth attempt reached the fifth ring's barrier. Only to find herself facing creatures that moved so fast they seemed to teleport.

Death came almost instantly that time, but Lila wasn't discouraged. Each attempt got her further, taught her more. The sixth ring's barrier was visible now, a goal to strive for.

Hours passed as she made attempt after attempt. Her physical body began to show signs of mental fatigue, but she ignored it. What was exhaustion compared to the chance of reaching him?

'Just a little further,' became her mantra. 'Just a little better each time.'

Some attempts ended quickly, a missed dodge, a poorly timed climb. Others lasted longer, teaching her valuable lessons about conserving Gorgita's energy, about using the monsters' patterns against them.

She learned to ride the air currents between monster waves, to anticipate attack formations before they fully formed, to use the brief disorganization when transitioning between rings to gain precious distance.

Her twentieth attempt reached the sixth ring. The barrier crossing left her mentally reeling, her connection to Gorgita flickering dangerously. But they made it through, only to face monsters that seemed to bend space itself with their movements.

That death was particularly spectacular, but Lila barely paused before beginning attempt twenty-one.