3 individuals stand in a 50 meter wide dome of shimmering glass. The glass is covered in glowing runes. I can see that the runes absolutely radiate spatial mana. The person doing this had to be tier 3, possibly with B or A rank mastery of space mana. The three individuals in the center of the dome are obviously myself, Snowstorm and Evelyn. All human, obviously.

  “Are we good to go?” I ask the mage. The mage, a tall, old high elf who seems to be balding, nods.

  “Just a minute now.” He responds, his staff pressed against Evelyn’s forehead. Apparently since Evelyn is the only one who has been to Camica, he was using her to pinpoint where to teleport us. I had asked her if they could have brought her to whatever base they were in, but she said it was likely abandoned at this point. Disassembly drones and the like would have deconstructed the place to its basest materials for reuse.

  “I am now ready.” The old mage said, taking a step back out of the center of the circle. I turn to Evelyn.

  “Ready?” I ask her. She fidgets a little in her spot as she nods.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “You’ll be our map. We need to find darkness and get out as quickly as possible. Then we will likely have to flee on our own without the help of any space mage.” Snowstorm explains. On his hands are 2 pristine icy gauntlets. All 3 of us wear white t-shirts and jeans, which are apparently regular, unassuming clothing for those in the capital, which happens to be where we are going. The experiments happen in a large laboratory 50 kilometers east of the central city, with no residential areas nearby. It would not take long for reinforcements to arrive if they needed it, so we need to be fast and stealthy. Me and Evelyn will likely be doing more than Snowstorm as we both had Dark affinity and good stealth skills. I’ve debated trying to get a stealth skill, but I decided to hold off until after this. Besides, I don’t have the essence to purchase anything better than a cheap common skill.

  “Prepare yourselves, it will be a rough ride.” Is all we hear as we all grasp each others hands, and space distorts and tears around us. In a flash of golden light we are suddenly somewhere else.

  All around us are rocky mountains with sparse yet present trees and greenery. To one direction is an endless valley of mountains, some with visible craters, while to the other is the most technologically advanced and large city I have ever seen. The city is as much vertical as horizontal. Skyscrapers, floating islands, small scale portals, flying vehicles, the works. It must be 50 kilometers wide and just as tall. Judging by the many square shaped holes downward, it must go down too.

  “Holy whoa…” I mutter, looking around with surprise.

  “Big, right?” Evelyn mutters, her voice barely a whisper. I turn to see her sad, almost scared expression. Trying to remember how humans comfort each other, I place a hand on her shoulder and give it a soft squeeze.

  “Don’t worry.” I say with a small smirk. “You have 2 big mindless lizards on your side, remember? I bet I could absolutely wreck that Jensen guy in a fight as I am now.”

  “I… believe you.” She says, the ghost of a smile forming from her lips. “I just… I don’t know. It’s been a few months since I've been back from being deployed. I assume my dad thinks I’m dead, and I have nobody else I care about here. I just… I prefer the great tree to here…”

  “What’s the name of this city?” I ask.

  “True Prairie.” She responds. “Before the 2 earths collided, this place was a small city in Canada with a similar name. It was one of very few cities to remain almost completely intact.”

  “That’s interesting.” Snowstorm comments. “I didn’t think any cities, human or dragon, were so intact after the event.”

  “A few were. The only big city I know of to remain intact was Los Vegas, now known as Debauchity. It's basically a hub for questionable activities. Besides that, it's the small cities and towns that survived. Less surface area or something.” I nod. Makes sense, though I feel there is something else to it.

  “Was it size, or maybe population density?” I ask curiously.

  “could be either, but size makes more sense. Population density would imply someone or something did it on purpose.”

  “That’s true.” I nod. “So…”

  “We go in.” Snowstorm nods. “Abhor, can you take us through the shadows with you?”

  “No, my skill only transports myself.” I say and sigh. “Human forms it is then.” I chuckle, adjusting my shirt.

  “We need to be inconspicuous. I know some places where none of the police drones go, and a few spots without cameras.” Evelyn says, beginning to move towards the city. I keep up with her easily. My eyes are sharp, even for my species and level. Sharp to the point I think it's not normal. Just how high is my perception substat?

  Anyways, it doesn't take long to approach the outskirts of the city. There is no wall keeping anyone out. In fact, roads jut out of the city in all directions, including up. We simply slide into the crowd of one of the sidewalks. And what a crowd it is. There must be 5 times the population of the great tree's canopy here. By the way, the literal name of the city was “Great Tree's Canopy” for anyone wondering.

  The first thing I notice is there are literally 0 dragons. Anywhere. The second thing I notice is that the only species I notice besides humans are elves and dwarves. No beastfolk races or the like.

  [Are the people here racist or something?] A voice appears in my head and I nearly jump in surprise. It's Snowstorm.

  [How are you talking in my head?] I try sending back. I feel a little invisible tether of pink mana attached to my brain and focus on that when I think.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  [Mind magic affinity. I purchased it from the store. I plan to evolve it into Soul mana affinity in the future, then to let it be absorbed into my Knowledge mana affinity to improve it. Soul and mind magic are offshoots of knowledge mana.]

  [ok, makes sense.] I nod.

  [Um… about the racist thing… kind of?] Evelyn responds through the link. Having a conversation without having to move my mouth is wonky, but surprisingly natural for me.

  [Elaborate.] Snowstorm sends when Evelyn doesn't respond.

  [Well… there are certain objects around the city that wall off some evolutions, allowing only the most humanoid of evolutions. And even so, the non-human races are treated as lesser, despite dwarves being stronger and elves being more beautiful.]

  [hm… that sounds really dumb.] I think flatly.

  [Racism doesn't really make sense anymore since you can change your race.] Snowstorm points out.

  [Did racism actually ever make sense?] I point out.

  [True enough. Racism is stupid, lets leave it at that.] Snowstorm nods.

  [Some variant species are superior to others though, from a power standpoint.] I point out.

  [I… shut up.] Snowstorm frowns. [Evelyn, how far until we reach the lab?]

  [We will turn right out of the residential areas and into the industrial areas. It's a large complex and we will need to sneak in.] She responds.

  And she was correct. Eventually we find ourselves in a large multi-mile long area with various areas for everything you can think of. Our main focus is in front of us. A large, mile-wide sphere that looks to open up at the top. The place doesn't seem very guarded, which makes sense, due to the wall. A large, 5 foot thick steel wall lined with runes of all sorts. Nobody could get in here. Well, nobody unless you have shadow warp.

  [Can you both get in on your own?] I send to them.

  [I can. I unlocked shadow warp with my class.] Evelyn says with a nod.

  [I can as well, though It'll cost a lot of mana.] Snowstorm says. [I picked up a second skill for specifically this.]

  [What skill?] I ask.

  [Heat shift. It turns my body into pure heat energy for 5 seconds, letting my seep through pretty much anything undetected. I can see little holes in the wall I can go through. Now go.]

  I nod and look around. There, a nice shadow cast by the wall. The shadows darken to absolute blackness and I hop inside, Evelyn following with me. We pop out against the wall on the other side. We hide behind some crates which block their sights of us. Moments later I feel a chill against my back, and a white haired human pops into existence beside me.

  [Miss me?] Snowstorm smirks.

  [I was thankful for every moment you were gone.] I reply cheekily, my shit-eating grin never-ending.

  [Come on you guys, lets go.] Evelyn urges. With a nod I cast an illusion spell.

  Cloak

  Illusion mana settles around me and they huddle close. The spell makes it look like nothing is here. It was how I snuck up on Snowstorm in the practice.

  Slowly we move forward towards the dome, the few guards on top of the wall none the wiser. The dome seems to have an entrance on all 4 sides. The dome is made of solid rune-enforced steel, to the point I think only Aftermath could break the thing.

  [Entering might be a problem.] I say, gesturing to the door. A large door with a scanner to open. We need keycards.

  [How about them?] Snowstorm says, pointing. Just entering the area are 3 scientists, 2 men and a woman. In just a moment they will be in a guards blindspot due to the dome…

  [Bingo.]

  <{(0)}>

  “Did we really need the coat's too?” snowstorm mutters as we walk through the long white hallways, feeling comfortable not to need to use mental magic. It was a drain on his mana anyway.

  “Yes. They're stylish and help us blend in.” I say with a wise nod.

  “You just like how they look, don't you?”

  “... Maybe?”

  “Be more serious.”

  “Guys, we are getting close to the experimentation area.” Evelyn comments, snapping us out of out banter. Immediately all our faces become blank masks. It's time to be serious. Now we need to save Darkness… if he is still alive. We still have some days before he is supposed to be slated for execution, but… will he be the same?

  No. I doubt he will. But I don’t care. We will get there, and we will get him out if it's the last thing I do.

  Soon we reach the end of the hallway, where there are 3 doors. One left, one right, one forward. Each labeled CHE, EXP, and EXE.

  “Which way?” I ask.

  “EXP. It's the experiment room.”

  “What about-”

  “Chemical tests and executions.” Evelyn responds coldly.

  “Oh.”

  I reach to open the door.

  “Wait, Abhor, can you change my appearance with illusion mana?” Evelyn asks. “In case someone like the commander is here.” I nod and cast an illusion. I make her face a little chubbier and change her eye color. Now it's time to open the door.

  Inside we find another, shorter hallway to the center of the dome. Lining the walls are glass windows. Each window a few meters wide and a meter tall. Each window has a different, large room inside. We start checking every window we can, casual as possible. The people who work here pass by occasionally, but we just nod to them and they pass by. The inside of the cells though…

  In one cell, what once was a rabbit, mutilated and mutated almost beyond recognition into a horrific amalgamation of flesh, bone and ears. In another cage what once was a human turned into a beserk, 3 legged 7 armed monstrosity of red scales and too many eyes. And in the second to last cell we see an experimentation going on… an experimentation on a black dragon. Darkness.

  He is missing an arm, replaced by a foreign mechanical thing. A slit on his neck makes me think they must have removed his vocal chords or something. Darkness did have a stun skill with his roar, so that makes a horrific sense. His wings and tail are both gone, replaced by stumps. He looks half beast, half mechanical. His right eye is gone, replaced by a sheet of metal covering half his face and some of his snout, forming a screen he seems to be able t0 see from. He looks… in pain.

  Thump-thump.

  I can feel my blood boiling, hear my heart beating. The mana both inside and outside of my body is agitated. Snowstorm is keeping it cool better than I can. Still, I see him looking ready to jump in there. Only logic keeps him back. I don't have much logic in my mind.

  Thump-thump.

  Then one of the 3 scientists, a tall woman with blonde hair tied in a ponytail, stabbed a needle into his neck. Darkness lets out what should have been a wail, but comes out as a weak moan. The only good eye he has is glassy, like he is barely lucid.

  Thump-thump

  At this moment… I lost it.

  Demishift

  SMASH!

  Rubble and glass fly everywhere. Before I even know it, a scales hand closed around one of the scientists heads, and I squeeze. It doesn't take much force to cave his skull in. Blood and brain matter splatter everywhere as if I just crushed a watermelon. I just killed a person. Yet… I don't care. They'll all die.

  {You have killed Human, level 47}

  “I'll kill… all of you.” I growl out. The scientists scream, trying to run for the exit, but ice seals the exit shut. Snowstorm looks down at them with eyes colder than his mana.

  Ice spear

  A bolt of ice penetrates the farthest scientist, a thin human man with a pale complexions head, right between the eyes and through the brain.

  Thump-thump

  “2 down.”

  The third scientist, a short man with grey hair and deep blue eyes, tries to beg. He falls to his knees. I crouch down in front of him and rest a hand on his head. I whisper into his ear.

  “3 down.”

  Then I crush his skull in.

  {You have killed High human, level 52}