The Information Crystal was a pale blue sphere that fit easily into my hand.  When I tried to activate it, a screen popped up asking for authentication.


    It was a disappointment, but in retrospect it made sense.  I shrugged, put the crystal in my Interdimensional Pouch, and continued looting the room.


    I swapped out my magician’s robes for the D-rank robes that the Werecat had been wearing, trying to process everything that had happened so far.


    Frankly, I was still processing the power that was literally at my fingertips.


    Does this mean that with enough Mana Crystals I could take on an army of soldiers under level 150?


    <You are still focusing too much on levels,> Samantha said. <Levels don’t tell you nearly as much as ranks.  So far, you are only fighting people who started at E-rank around level 1, and then advanced to D-rank at level 50, and C-rank at level 100.  Both of the C-rank opponents you fought against had only recently passed the level 100 mark, and neither of them had a focus in Physical Defense.   So, to answer your question, everything depends on the target. Your mana cannon is not a one-hit kill guarantee under level 150.  Anyway, spending a million coins per shot is normally a huge waste of resources.>


    <Now, it’s time to get out of here. Hm, let me update the mini-map for you.>


    I saw the map expand, to show what looked like a city grid, with dozens more black dots and hundreds of red dots completely encircling the building I was in.


    <These people aren’t just guards for a research facility,> Samantha said.  <They are the Metan Army. They are armed to the teeth, and they likely have a few Mana Cannons, Mana Tanks, and Void Rifles pointed towards this building.>


    Alright, so, what’s the plan?


    As I watched the mini-map, I saw several black and red dots breach the entrance to the research facility I was in.


    And they seemed to be heading directly towards the room I was in.


    <There is one bright side to fighting proper soldiers, this time,> Samantha said. <They are very well equipped, and most likely, there will be a few soldiers with Invisibility Cloaks entering the building.  And with C-rank Mana Sensing, you can see through D-rank Invisibility Cloaks.>


    Hearing it said out loud once again reinforced how powerful the C-rank skill was.  A C-rank perception skill meant that D-rank Invisibility Cloaks were useless against me…


    I followed Samantha’s combat shadow as she continued explaining the game plan. We left the room that held the Information Crystal, descended a floor, and moved towards the stairwell.


    <Killing the cloaked Metans wouldn’t be difficult,> Samantha continued, <Except that we need at least one Invisibility Cloak unscratched. That means we can’t rely on our Mana Cannon. With their Agility, they could likely dodge precision shots.>


    So what’s the plan? I asked, again. I had the growing sense of unease that I wasn’t going to like this plan.


    <We should use Soul Explosion,> Samantha said. <Against opponents that aren’t focused on Physical Defense, and since you can get so close to them using Spiritual Traveler, we have a good chance at killing them in a single blow, without damaging their equipment.>


    A chance? I asked, following Samantha’s combat shadow into an empty office room and closing the door behind me.


    <A small chance,> Samantha said. <To be honest, it’s not that great.  We will probably need to use Soul Explosion twice in order to kill one of them.>Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    I frowned, thinking about the cost of this plan.  Do we really need to sacrifice 40 Stat Points in order to kill one soldier?


    Samantha sighed. <Yes. Don’t get cocky because you were able to kill some guards.  These soldiers are well-trained and well-equipped.  Now, last time you used Soul Explosion, you kind of… zoned out.  We don’t have any time for that. With your permission, I’ll take control of your body if that happens, because once the explosion goes off, someone will notice, and time will be of the essence.>


    Samantha’s combat shadow had led me into a supply closet, and I soon found myself in the dark, lying on the ground.


    So that’s your game, I thought back. You just want to control my body.  Think of another plan.


    <There isn’t another plan,> Samantha said. <This is the only way out. If you try to leave without an Invisibility Cloak, then you’ll get sniped the moment you leave the building.  And fighting these Metan Soldiers who are over fifty levels higher than you would be suicide.  I’d say we could turn our Mana Crystals into bombs, but we don’t have much time, and that would destroy their cloaks. Every other method would damage a cloak, except for Cursed Lightning, but the soldiers could dodge it, and it requires proximity.  If you don’t want me to take control, then prove that you can handle the pain.>


    Fine.


    I activated Spiritual Traveler, and set my soul through several walls, and down a floor, and then I had it wait, next to the stairwell.


    I could sense someone approaching, a faint amount of mana, but it was there.


    The interesting thing was that, with only Mana Sensing, I couldn’t tell that this person was under an invisibility cloak.  I could just see that their presence seemed muted, somehow.


    This person moved so quickly they were a blur.


    But even stealthed Metans needed to open a door.


    Samantha had once again predicted the enemy’s trajectory perfectly.


    The moment the Metan stopped by the door, I activated Soul Explosion.


    I was immediately submerged in a world of pain.


    Again!


    I couldn’t think, I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t breathe, I felt like someone had injected lava into my veins and I was burning from the inside out.


    Jarek! Activate it again!


    Then I felt a second explosion inside the very core of my being.  It was the feeling of losing a core part of yourself.  I tried to scream, but I didn’t have a voice.


    Everything went black.


    <hr>


    I came to consciousness with the sound of sirens, and the feeling you get when you accelerate into a turn—like my stomach was flipping inside my chest.


    I was sitting inside what looked like a futuristic, flying vehicle.


    The seat I was in seemed like it was real leather—there was still plenty of fur attached to it. There were curved windows all around me almost making me feel as though I were inside a snow globe the size of a Smart car.  There was a second seat next to me, which was currently empty.


    Looking out the windows, I could see that I was flying through a vast, metropolitan, Schema-approved City.


    And this was proper flying. Not just flying, racing. This car/plane, whatever it was, was probably moving at over 200 miles an hour, zipping around incredibly tight corners.   Instead of wings on the outside of this snow-globe vehicle, there was a rim of flat metal that gave our flying vehicle the appearance of a spinning top.


    I could see Mana Shields surrounding sky scrapers, and there were dozens of other similar flying contraptions in the sky that I should sense, although many of them were slowing down and pulling over.


    Most of the fast, flying things seemed to be chasing me.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the control panels in front of me.


    I suddenly realized how incredibly simple driving a car was.


    You had, what. A wheel and two petals, and a stick to shift to drive. Easy.


    I watched in shock as my own fingers slid up and down a control panel with amazing precision.


    There were knobs, levers, and sliders, and every one of my fingers moved with a precision and confidence that I had never seen or felt in myself.


    I felt my neck turn, and I glanced back, watching a dense pulse of mana that flew from my flying vehicle towards a pursing vehicle.


    I watched in shock as the pursuers, unable to dodge in time, collided head on with a Void Beam, falling hundreds of feet to the ground.


    As I gradually regained my thoughts, ignoring the lingering pain in my soul, I started to piece together what had happened.


    Two Soul Explosions had knocked me out, and Samantha had taken over, breaking free from the research facility, stealing what seemed to be a flying tank, and wreaking havoc throughout the city, judging from the flames going up in various locations around me.


    I felt anger rising up in me at the thought of Samantha controlling my body, but I quickly clamped down on it.


    What did I really know about Samantha?


    The answer was, obviously, very little.


    This was the second time Samantha had taken control of my body.  The first time, she had tried to kill Petra.


    I could already imagine the conversation that would take place if I spoke to her. I would be outraged, she would say, “Well, do you want to try to fly this thing?”


    I would maybe give it a shot, and fail, and then she would take over, again.


    Or, I could sit here, letting her think I was still out of the picture, and finally get to see who exactly Samantha was.


    I realized, suddenly, that I was smiling. That Samantha was smiling.


    This high-speed chase through the city—Samantha was enjoying it.