ã€ŠObsidian Titanã€‹


 Chapter 1. A Country Boy Can Survive.

    When the system world-consolidation hit I was just a redneck diesel mechanic and backyard tinkerer from Tennessee relaxin'' after a hard day''s work, sippin'' a beer on my porch with my coon dog Rufus and suddenly a screen pops up in my face like some sort of VR hologram shit, tellin¡¯ me the world¡¯s population was about to be merged onto a greater plane with other intelligent beings. I done seen movies and books like this so the first thing I did was run inside the house and get my shotgun, a duffel bag that I filled with 100 rounds of high brass OO-Buckshot, and the venison jerky I¡¯d made yesterday. I threw in a cold six pack from my cooler on the porch just for good measure. Just in time too, I was reachin'' down to pet my dog when the world shifted, makin'' me nauseous, everythin'' went bright, and I found myself in a white room with an angel hoverin'' in front of me in some sort of nearly see-through dress. Huge ass titties like some kind of flyin mermaid, but without the fins for legs. She just had some damn fine titties. She didn''t say anything, just smiled the best smile I ever seen, serene is the word for it I think. Rememberin¡¯ Rufus, I looked around but I couldn''t find him. Still had my shotgun, bag of ammo, jerky, and beer though, so I was half good.

    [System initializing¡­]

    [Choose your starting template.]

    A system window popped up in front of me with a doll-like depiction of myself on it. To the side there was a bunch of sliders for height, weight, hair color etc etc. Like a video game. I figured this was the part where I choose my new body. I kind of liked my old one but at almost 30 and with my beer gut only gettin'' bigger.. might as well upgrade.

    ¡°Hey system, which one of these here sliders is for my pecker. If I get to change my body I want a huge upgrade. When I whip it out I want the lady¡¯s jaw to drop and eyes widen in fear! They ain''t goin'' to walk straight for a week.¡±

    [Unknown parameters. Please select from the options in front of you. Narrow your search by focusing on what you desire.]

    Well shit, that didn''t work. I gave the menu in front of me another glance and randomly swiped around a bit. I''d always wondered what I would do if I could create my own body. I¡¯d thought about various superpowers I¡¯d want and funny things I could do. Like attach a penis on my forehead or somethin'' and tell everybody my name¡¯s pecker-head. Stupid I know, but funny, to me at least.

    [Random boon has been cast, interrupting character creation. Obsidian Titan has overridden Human as your race. Random appearance gained]

    ______________

    [Obsidian Titan.

    A race thought long extinct. Obsidian Titans were engineered for war. With bones of ancient nanotech strong enough to be considered unbreakable. This race takes life from their foes and empowers themselves with it in various ways. Your soul has been scanned and deemed compatible with this race.]

    I was hooked when I first seen it. It reminded me of Wolverine and I''m a big fan. And the best part is, judgin¡¯ by the picture, my new race looked basically human except for the horns comin'' out of their head like a crown. I just hoped this race didn¡¯t have a micro-penis, or in an innie, like a lizard or somethin''. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense, this race probably did have an innie, nobody wants to get in a sword fight with their pecker swingin'' around and it gets chopped off. Whoever made these guys probably designed it to hide away, turtle up to protect the goods. It might not be a bad thing though, horses had innies and look what they grow into. But shit, I''m goin'' to be like Wolverine, so I''ll take the bad with the good.

    [Obsidian Titan is not eligible for a class. Skipping class selection. Choose your weapon to be transferred to the trial area.]

    What the hell? System? No class? Classes are the bread and butter of these stories. Those Titan race perks better be good, else I¡¯m screwed. Another system menu appeared, this time showin'' a bunch of animated weapon icons. Varieties of swords, bows, knives and weapons I¡¯d have no name for without the handy tags above them. I could even go sword and board if I wanted to, but that was borin''. I wanted somethin'' that packed a wallop and offered defense too, like a two-handed sword or maybe even an axe or great hammer if the handles were reinforced, not somethin'' that would break if I needed to block an enemy''s weapon. Rememberin'' my favorite one-eyed anime hero, I focused on greatswords and the list narrowed down to one option. Its appearance was simple, without ornamentation, engravings or gemstones, but it was huge, durable and badass. I selected it without a second thought.

    [Competitors spawn in a random location on the assimilated world of Terra. Competitors will be placed in 5.6 million clusters of 1000 competitors each. Some areas will be more neutral towards competitors than others. Good luck! System note: If you have any children or pets, they have been placed in stasis and will be returned if your cluster establishes a permanent foothold on Terra. Those humans deemed too old and decrepit as well as all invalids were deemed wasteful to restore to functional status and have been painlessly eradicated.]

    Damn, killin'' off grandpas, grandmas and gimps; this system¡¯s a real asshole. Darkness crept in on my vision before I lost consciousness.

    I woke up in a daze, somehow standin'' up, held in place by some sort of energy field which released as soon as I could stand on my own. Looking around, I found myself in a strange forest surrounded by giant mushrooms that towered above me, their caps flarin¡¯ like umbrellas, some wide enough to shade houses. I felt the weight of my new sword on my back, but my gun was gone and the ammo from the pack. Luckily, I still had the jerky and beer in a new pack, a newer, thin leather replacement. I guess technology wasn¡¯t allowed durin'' the transfer or teleportation or whatever happened. Back to the practical stuff though. People often don''t suspect this of me, but I am a reader, I know how stories like this go; there were monsters somewhere in these here woods. Glancin'' down, I noticed my favorite t-shirt and jeans and work boots had been exchanged with crude leather armor coverin'' my torso and legs with rough linen clothin'' underneath and a pair of leather boots. On the positive side, I still had my grandpa¡¯s hand-me-down fixed-blade belt knife. I never went anywhere without Old Trusty strapped to my waist, I guess it didn''t count as higher technology. I decided to search the area, get the lay of the land. I walked as softly as I could, as a hunter this came naturally. I didn''t get far before I noticed people appearin¡¯ out of thin air, lookin'' around scared half to death, eyes big as saucers. I was about to be friendly and go talk to some of them when the floodgates opened and a shit-ton of people started appearin''. When the flood ebbed, another system message appeared.

    [Your thousand have gathered, now is the time to familiarize yourself with the system menus and your various abilities. This area will be a safe zone for the next 24 hours. After this period ends, be prepared for hostilities. It is suggested that competitors fortify themselves and their locations. To access the system menu, say the words ¡®System Menu¡¯ out loud or in your mind. Other intuitive commands exist so be sure to explore the system menu thoroughly.]

    Followin'' the instructions, the menu appeared. It was standard stuff: tabs for character stats, inventory, racial skills, minions, general skills, currency(empty), and surprisin''ly, even a shop tab. My survival depended on my racial abilities, so I selected that first and holy shit I was blown away.

    [Name: Bud McLain. Bronze Rank F. Height: 6¡¯6¡±. Weight: 380 Lbs. Pale-blonde hair. Blue eyes.

    Race: Obsidian Titan. Description: A race of being thought long extinct. This race was engineered for war. With bones of ancient nanotech strong enough to be considered unbreakable. This race takes life from their foes and empowers themselves with it in various ways. Your soul has been scanned and deemed compatible with this race. Titans currently active on Terra: 1.

    Racial Traits.

    Life Steal, passive ability: 1 percent of slain enemies¡¯ life is absorbed into your Bone Vault. Prolonging your life as well as fueling your abilities. Percentage increases as your proficiency at manipulating life-energy rises.

    Bone Vault: A vast spatial storage space within your bones for storing and processing the harvested life essence of defeated foes. Compatible biomass can be harvested at will outside of combat and stored in the vault. These materials can be used to restore lost flesh and blood at a significant cost of stored life. Clones are created and stored in this space and can be healed here.

    Personal Dimensional Space, P.D.S.: Essentially a pocket dimension that grows according to the stored life within your invulnerable black bones. Growth rate: 5 cubic meters per 1000 years in Bone Vault. Can be modified as you wish. Modes: Some or all of the storage space can be set to stasis or returned to the natural passage of time. Current capacity: 5 cubic meters.

    Level One Forever: Bad news; you don¡¯t start out with Godlike Superman powers or level up as if in a game. Good news; for every 1000 years of life you store, you gain +10 in every stat. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    Bone Walk: In the case of loss of most, or all, of your flesh and muscle, the nanotubes and nano muscles connecting all your bones can be utilized to continue locomotion at a cost of 20 percent of remaining stored life per hour.

    Predatory Slumber, Bone Walk secondary passive trait: While Bone Walk is active The Titan can enter a dormant state, conserving energy while remaining aware of their surroundings. While the Titan is in hibernation, nano-tentacles automatically attack and siphon nearby sources of life and biomass. This ability can be refined and controlled with experience and power growth. Tentacle Range is 10 meters initially, increasing by 1-meter per 1000-years stored life. Control is initially automatic but can be manually controlled with practice. Siphoned materials can be used to replenish stored life. While in hibernation, the Titan¡¯s body slowly regenerates lost flesh and muscle, using available resources and stored life energy. While Predatory Slumber is active the Titan¡¯s presence is harder to detect by enemies, as their life signs are minimal. Cost: 1 percent of remaining stored life per week.

    Battle Form: Battle Form is a powerful transformation ability that allows a Titan to double their stats and manipulate their invulnerable black bones to create various enhancements and weapons such as claws, bladed elbows, additional height, or other skeletal enhancements. This form is a last-resort option due to its high life energy cost. Lasts as long as the Titan can sustain the life energy cost. Life Energy Base Cost: 5 years of stored life per minute. Significant additional skeletal changes increase the life energy cost proportionally. Caution: transformations may cause intense pain.

    Blood Clone: Blood Clone allows the Titan to create and summon clones from corpses or stored blood and genetic material. Corpse-Based Clones requires a fresh corpse to infuse in the Bone Vault, absorbing one year of stored life energy. These clones retain the skills, spells, and traits they had in life, making them formidable allies in battle. Clones consume their infused life energy to use skills, spells, and traits. Blood-Based Clones, created from blood and genetic materials stored in the Bone Vault, also require one year of stored life energy. Compatible abilities from enemies in stasis or Bone Vault can be mixed and matched, creating unique clones. The number of abilities per blood clone is capped by Rank. Rank F clones can contain 3 abilities and each rank above that gains +1 ability slot per rank. Clones retain 50 percent of their original stats and gain 50 percent of the Titan¡¯s base stats, and stat boosts from buffs or abilities. Final stats are rounded up to the nearest tenth digit. Clones can be equipped and gain full stats and use of equipped items. Clones grow alongside the Titan as they would naturally when alive, via feasting on enemies, gaining experience and leveling up, etc. Clones can be overcharged with additional life energy to extend their operational time and gain a 20% of base stat bonus. Clone kills grant the character stored life at half the rate of the Titan¡¯s current highest achieved Life Steal percentage. Maximum of 2 stored clones per 1000 years of stored life. Maximum of 1 summonable clone per 1000 years of stored life. The Titan can synchronize with the clones, allowing for coordinated attacks and strategies. This synchronization improves with practice and experience. Upon reabsorption, clones transfer their recent battle experiences and memories to the character, providing valuable insights and potentially unlocking new abilities or upgrades. If a clone is not reabsorbed or recharged in time, it will decay, losing effectiveness and eventually disintegrating.

    Harvest Potential: You can harvest one ability permanently from a slain enemy per 1000 years of stored life. Abilities can also be harvested from Blood Clones, leaving them weaker but operational. Abilities can be discarded or upgraded at will. Maximum of 10 harvested abilities per 100,000 years.

    Sense Life: You can sense the life around you. You can also see people¡¯s Aura and sense if they harbor ill intent towards you.

    Diamond Mind: Diamond Mind grants the Titan additional facets, or lines of thought, for enhanced multitasking capabilities. As the Titan stores more life force, they unlock more facets, allowing them to process multiple streams of information simultaneously and perform complex tasks with ease. Additionally, it grants resistance to mind-altering and mind-control effects. The Titan gains 1 facet for every 1,000 years of stored life force. Each facet allows the Titan to focus on an additional task without any decrease in efficiency or performance. Enhanced Cognition: With each facet, the Titan¡¯s cognitive abilities, such as memory, problem-solving, and strategic planning, are significantly enhanced, adding +10 to mind, intelligence and perception per active facet above base.

    Titan¡¯s Growth: Titans grow as they store more lifeforce. For every 1000 years you store you gain one inch in height. Additionally, you can alter your height from base to maximum at will by shifting mass either to or from your Bone Vault.

    Ancestral Memories: Titans were produced with the aid of ancient, long forgotten nanotech. The nanotech stores information and learned languages that can be accessed by progeny down their line.

    Titan Progenitor: As the only living Titan on Terra, you are the Progenitor of the race. At the cost of 5000 years of stored life, you can upgrade a person¡¯s race to Titan. Note: this will remove any classes and abilities from the person upgraded.

    Next, I checked my character stats tab.

    Base Stats:

    Strength:   20.

    Constitution:   10.

    Agility:   10.

    Dexterity:   10.

    Perception:  10.

    Willpower:  10.

    Intelligence:  10.

    Soul:   10.

    Fantasy:   10.

    Charisma:  10.

    Luck:   10.

    Health:   110.

    Mana:    110.

    Life Stored:  1000 years.

    I kind of expected higher base stats, but I¡¯d grow vastly stronger over time. My strength was lookin'' sharp, but then again, I weighed 380lbs, I probably needed that boost just to get around without a struggle. Scannin'' my body, I didn¡¯t look like I weighed 380lbs, more like 180 to 200, I guessed my bones weighed me down.

    Next on my list, I checked the general skills tab. Two lonely-lookin'' skills awaited me. Greatsword and Identify, both at skill rank 1. I wanted to check the Shop tab but it was gettin'' noisy around me; people were talkin'' and yellin'', others cryin'' out about their children and where they were. Needin'' a distraction from the chaos and jibber-jabberin'', I reached back over my right shoulder, grabbin'' my sword''s handle. It took a minute to figure out how to unsheathe it quickly, it was nearly as long as my height, but feelin'' along the scabbard, I noticed it had an open groove along its upper edge allowin'' for a one-handed release once I learned the trick of it. I walked a fair distance away and started practicin'' with my sword. It felt goofy, clunky and kind of heavy, but I continued while imaginin'' various types of enemies and how I would need to swing the blade to land a significant blow against them. As a connoisseur of action, sci-fi, and well, movies in general, I was a bit of an armchair warrior at heart. There was a flow to battle; attack, defend, attack, defend, occasionally you might get an opportunity to unleash a combination of strikes, but defense should always be a simple well-practiced movement away. As I practiced, I gave my mental opponents weapons and imagined how they would attack, then altered my attacks to block theirs. I lost myself in the movements and the imagery. Sometime later I was shaken from my trance by a loud voice callin'' out to me. I stopped mid swing, sweat drippin'' down my brow, I turned and found a bulky man observin'' me with friendly, yet sharp eyes. He had a handlebar-mustache and a curly mullet, makin'' him look like how I¡¯d imagine an Australian pornstar looked. The mullet was majestic, nearly a rival to my old self¡¯s. I took a moment to check a blinkin'' notification.

    [Your skill with greatswords has increased from 1 to 6. You have gained +5 Freepoints]

    The man walked up to me, holdin'' out a hand. ¡°Hey stranger,¡± he said, grinnin''. ¡°Seems like you know what you¡¯re about with that thing.¡± He pointed at my sword as I struggled to find the scabbard¡¯s open groove to sheath it.

    I belly laughed, shakin'' his hand firmly. ¡°Ha! Never held a sword before in my life. I¡¯m just wingin it. Name¡¯s Bud. How about you?¡± The man had chosen a huge badass two-handed double-sided weapon, one side a hammer for smashin'', the other side a wicked half-moon axeblade. If I had noticed it in the menu I might¡¯ve chosen it for its versatility.

    ¡°You gotta be shittin'' me,¡± the man said, a disbelievin'' look on his face. ¡°My name¡¯s Bud too! Bud Wiesner.¡±

    ¡°Well how about that, bet the kids had fun with your name in school. Bud Wiesner, Ha!¡± I said, scratchin'' my chin. ¡°What do you say to us partnerin'' up? Seems like it might get crazy here.¡±

    ¡°My grandfather was from Germany and my father ¡®thought¡¯ he had a good sense of humor. I caught a bit of hell until my would-be bullies¡¯ chins caught my fist. As to partnerin'' up, that¡¯s what I was thinkin'' soon as I saw you whippin'' that sword around. I wasn¡¯t sure if you knew what you were doin'' or if you were about to lop off a limb.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit I forgot! Innie check!¡± I said, turnin'' away from Bud and the mass of people. Pullin'' the waistband of my trousers and hardened-leather leggings out, I checked out my new rig. I had been wrong... it was an outie after all and above average for sure. I whistled in admiration, not bad, not bad. Then I remembered the crown of horns on the picture of the Titan and reached up, feelin'' my scalp. I felt two small horn tips hidin'' in my hair a few inches above my ears. Maybe the horns were like a buck¡¯s horns, growin'' to full for matin'' season and then fallin'' off afterwards? Time would tell.

    ¡°What the hell are you doin''?¡± Bud asked, chucklin''.

    ¡°Somethin'' happened durin'' character creation. I got turned into an alien.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Yep, somethin'' called an Obsidian Titan. I was just makin'' sure my pecker wasn¡¯t weird or anythin''. One of those innies.¡±

    The other Bud shivered, ¡°That would be weird.¡±

    A thought occurred to me, ¡°How bout we use our last names? It¡¯s gonna get confusin'' if people call out ¡®Bud¡¯.¡±

    Wiesner shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m used to that already, I went by Wiesner back in the Army. You didn¡¯t tell me yours though.¡±

    ¡°McLain,¡± I replied. ¡°I have a feelin'' we¡¯re goin'' to be the best Buds in this crazy mess.¡± I opened my bag and pulled out two still-chilled beers, handin'' Wiesner one. ¡°I came prepared.¡±

    ¡°Now we¡¯re talkin¡¯! To the best Buds!¡± Wiesner cheered, openin'' his beer with obvious delight.

    ¡°The best Buds!¡± I replied, poppin'' the cap on mine and tappin'' it into Wiesner¡¯s can.

 Chapter 2. Preparations.

    We finished our beer and decided to go around and search for other worthy allies. After lookin'' for a while, we noticed that people were mostly just panicked messes. Not people I''d want havin'' my back. It seemed useless to try to find allies at this point, but it was still early days, once the shit hits the fan we¡¯d see who had grit. The system didn''t seem kind enough to provide food or shelter; me and Wiesner could be useful right now, like huntin'' for food. These people would be starvin'' before long.

    ¡°A good hot meal might calm these people down,¡± I said. ¡°What do you say to a bit of huntin''?¡±

    Wiesner nodded, unsheathin'' his axe-hammer and glancin'' fondly at it, ¡°Let''s do it. I can''t wait to test out¡­, shit, I''ve got to come up with a good name for my weapon.¡±

    Every good weapon deserved a name I figured. ¡°I''ll put on my thinkin'' cap. Gotta come up with somethin'' for mine too.¡±

    Me and Wiesner legged it away from the crowd deeper into the forest. Rememberin'' my skills I activated Sense Life and the forest came to life around me, glowin'' softly with a variety of hues. After 5 minutes or so we got a system message warnin'' us that we were leavin'' the safe zone. We ignored it, continuin'' on. Here and there smaller clusters of mushrooms at the edges of the giant mushroom forest looked like they could be used as steps to access the larger network of shroom caps. I figured from up there we might be able to get the drop on prey more easily so I suggested it. Wiesner agreed and we jumped up the stair steppin'', ascendin'' mushrooms until we were on top of the canopy. The caps were tough and hard as a pine-knot and often connected at their edges. We continued on for a while, occasionally peakin'' over the edges until I spotted a huge, bright source of life. It was hidden in the bushes, slowly makin'' its way through. Not very quietly I might add. As it exited the bushes my mouth started salivatin''. It was a giant boar the size of a Volkswagen. Two sets of tusks jutted out from its mouth and it had six eyes. But pig was pig and we were about to grill that bitch. Wiesner noticed it almost as quickly as I did even without my special sight. We talked and came up with a strategy. Pretty simple really, jump from the top of the canopy, 75 ft up, attack the hell out of it until it died. I knew my bones would hold up, but I was worried about Wiesner¡¯s safety, so I whispered my concern to him. He shrugged and assured me he''d be fine with his skills. I¡¯d have to ask him about his class when I got a chance.

    We stalked slowly towards the edge of a cap along the boar''s path and waited for it to approach. I quietly unsheathed my greatsword. The moment it was below us I didn''t hesitate, I plotted my trajectory and stepped off the edge, plungin'' towards its neck, aimin'' to lop its head off. Wiesner was fallin'' right beside me, weapon in hand, axe side facin'' down. It seemed he was aimin'' for its torso near the heart and lungs. I fell short by a bit, I felt the greatsword nick the spine, and I sliced through half the boar¡¯s neck before I slammed into the ground and rolled under its neck, endin'' up stoppin'' my roll with my face in the dirt. I wish I could say the roll was on purpose, but nope, it just happened that way. I avoided most of the pig¡¯s arterial spray though, so I was happy about that. Climbin'' to my feet, I spun around. Wiesner was on the beast¡¯s back, clingin'' onto its bristled-fur with one hand and doin'' his best to hammer its skull into a different shape.

    Despite the boar¡¯s neck wound releasin'' gouts of blood with every heartbeat and whatever wound Wiesner had initially inflicted, it still had some fight left. It spun around, tryin'' to buck Wiesner off. When it eyed me, it stopped spinnin'' and charged. I dashed behind the nearest shroom trunk, it was twice as thick as my body but the boar blasted through it like it was cardboard and continued after me unfazed, it lowered its tusks to gore me just before reachin'' me. I jumped. I didn¡¯t expect to jump so high, doubly so when takin'' into account my 380 lb body. I soared over the boar, ten-feet high in the air. My landin'' behind the beast wasn¡¯t graceful, but I kept my feet. I lunged and scored a deep wound on its hindleg before it could turn for another charge. I noticed it was weakenin'' and slowin'' down. A crimson glow sprung up around the boar, its speed picked up and I noticed the wound wasn''t bleedin'' as fast. It must have been some kind of berserk ability, a healin'' ability or a combination of the two. We needed to end this fast. I ran up with my sword angled to slide through its ribs and stabbed it with all my might. My great sword penetrated up to the hilt. Certain I hit either the lungs or heart I jerked it out and backed off quickly as the boar spun to face me. Wiesner gave up on knockin'' the hard-headed thing out and started choppin'' at its neck. That seemed to be more successful as the blood loss picked up significantly. It started runnin'' after me, this time much slower. I was able to bob and weave around the mushroom trunks to avoid it. As soon as the crimson glow around the boar faded the beast collapsed. I noticed a couple notifications pop up. I checked the first one out.

    [Silver Rank F Crimson Boar has been slain. 1 year, 4 months life force gained. Current life force: 1,001 years 4 months.]

    These pigs lived for a good while if that was 1% of their lifespan. It was still goin'' to take a damn long time to build up life force at this rate though. I needed to figure out how to get more life out of these beasties. My skill said that it was possible. The second notification did not disappoint me.

    [Harvest Potential has detected 2 abilities that can be harvested. If you harvest an ability from a corpse you can still create a blood clone out of it, however, your clone will no longer have access to it.]

    Furious Dash: You charge ahead regardless of what stands in front of you, be it a dozen men, a wall, tree or a mountain. Making it through these obstacles is another matter. Boosts your maximum running speed by 300% for 10 seconds or until you reach your target, whichever is shorter. Cooldown: 20 seconds after effect ends.

    Crimson Rage: You enter a berserk fury, increasing strength by 50% and health regeneration doubles. Pain tolerance is vastly increased. Duration: 1 minute. Cooldown: 59 minutes.

    Would you like to harvest one of these abilities? Yes/No.]

    As I already had Battle Form as a berserk ability, even though it was costly in life, I ruled out Crimson Rage. Furious Dash had more utility. 20 seconds out of every minute I could be runnin'' at 300% speed. I was never a math whiz but I was pretty sure overall that was somethin'' like a 100% speed boost if I needed to travel distances fast. I selected it mentally and clicked yes.

    [Ability gained: Furious Dash.]

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± Wiesner exclaimed. ¡° I just gained three levels off that.¡±

    ¡°Nice man. How many stats per level?¡±

    ¡°Five to Strength and Constitution, three to Dexterity, Agility, Willpower and Perception.¡±

    I mentally sighed, that likely put him well ahead of me in physical stats and Perception. But I would figure out how to suck these beasties dry, err, that didn''t sound quite right in my head. I¡¯d figure out how to fully drain these beasties of Life Force and my stats would skyrocket. Thinkin'' back to when the boar died, I noticed its once bright life force slowly floatin'' away. Perhaps if I could somehow trap it I could keep more of it.

    ¡°One of the drawbacks of being an alien is I don''t have access to a class. My racial abilities are powerful, but I need to kill beasties in order to harvest their life force. The more life I harvest, the more powerful I get. One of my abilities lets me do this.¡± I grinned and reached over to touch the beast. It disappeared into my storage.

    Wiesner gawked at me for a second. ¡°I was wonderin'' how we''re goin'' to get this big bastard back to camp. I have an inventory but it''s limited to 10 items of a weight that I could carry myself. Well, thirteen now that I gained three levels..¡±

    ¡°Better than a backpack.¡± I replied. I remembered my blood clone ability. The boar would make a good meat-shield clone. If we could find more edible critters then I could use this body for a clone. I swapped the corpse over from my P.D.S. to my Bone Vault where it would be preserved for that purpose. I decided to go ahead and infuse it with my energy so it would be ready to summon. I could sense that it would require right at an hour to infuse. ¡°Let''s keep goin''. A lot of mouths to feed. One pig ain''t goin'' to cut it.¡±

    Wiesner nodded. We returned to the shroom canopy and continued huntin''. We ran across two more boars and took them down. I took the head clean off of one with a canopy dive. The second one was a bit messier but faster than our first kill. Returnin'' to the canopy, it was an hour before we ran into our next potential menu item. It was almost invisible when motionless in the sunny meadow below a gap in the canopy, its chameleon-like scales reflected the colors around it, causin'' it to blend in. It blazed with life to my Sense Life ability. The sight of this creature sent fingers of chilled fear runnin'' down my spine. Its eyes were closed, it appeared to be dozin'' in the sun. Rememberin'' my general skill inspect, I used it on the creature.

    [Gold Rank D Miniboss: Opalescent Forest Drake.]

    The beastie was huge, at least 40 ft long nose-to-tail with huge wings tucked against its sides. I looked over at Wiesner, he was lookin'' over at me with a reluctant expression on his face. I had a feelin'' I could take this bastard down on my own if I dug into my toolkit deep enough. ¡°How about you let me take care of this one?¡± I asked, hopin'' to keep Wiesner safe.

    ¡°We should go back,¡± Wiesner said. ¡°Fairly sure this monster is meant to be attacked by a group or our whole force in order to kill it. We''re nowhere near ready to take this thing on.¡±

    ¡°I don''t know how to show you my skills. But I''m damn near unkillable. I think I can take this bastard down. I want to give it a shot at least. If I get ate I''ll just cut my way out of its stomach and run to the safe zone.¡± A thought occurred to me as I finished speakin'', perhaps the best way to kill such a large creature would be from the inside. ¡°Look, I''ve got a plan. I just need you to stay up here safe and sound while I take down this beastie.¡±

    Wiesner didn''t look convinced. ¡°You sure about this?¡±

    I nodded confidently. ¡°If things go south just run to the safe zone.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t lie to myself, I felt like I could accidentally soil my pants at any moment as I stalked around the edge of the canopy of shrooms to get closer to the drake. The closest edge was 30 feet away from it. The shroom cap was roughly 65 feet high, even without a runnin'' start I could easily jump and arc down to the beast. Before I jumped I opened up the stats tab and pumped my 5 free points into agility, I needed all the speed I could get. I activated Battle Form before makin'' my leap, energy surged into my body, I gripped my greataxe with redoubled strength, time seemed to slow and I processed my fall and trajectory with greater clarity. The miniboss must¡¯ve sensed me as I neared, it jerked awake, lookin'' up at me in alarm. I still scored a solid hit on its neck but the scales were tough as hell, I didn¡¯t even scratch them. The drake¡¯s head would dwarf a refrigerator. It turned, snappin'' at me, jaws lined with dagger-length black teeth. I activated Furious Dash and ran in front of the monster, stoppin'' just outside its reach. Its head tracked my movements, glarin'' at me with eyes full of rage. It took in a huge breath and released a jet of liquid flame. I dodged right and ran at the drake, as its jet ceased its mouth slowly closed. I jumped inside just in time and dove for its throat. The lingerin'' heat scorched my flesh anywhere I touched the drake. It tried spittin'' me out, shovin'' me with its tongue. I clung on to the tongue, fightin'' my way to the back of its throat. My leg got bit once, huge teeth grindin¡¯ on my calf bones, but my bones endured the miniboss¡¯s incredible bite-force. I¡¯d dropped my sword before jumpin'' so I used Battle Form¡¯s bone morph function, focusin'' on growin'' sword-like projections of obsidian-hued bone out of my spine, elbows and fingers to lodge me in place and hopefully pierce its brain. It happened easier than I thought it would, but the pain was immense. The blades I shot out of my spine were the longest and dug into the drake¡¯s soft palate. Hot blood splashed down on me. The beast thrashed and inhaled as if to release more fire. I willed the blades to grow and dig deeper. Finally I pierced some barrier, diggin'' into the brain. I branched the tip of the swords out like the roots of a tree and then slowly stirred. The miniboss thrashed a bit more, then stilled. I willed the blades to reabsorb into my body, then struggled to free myself from the beast¡¯s maw. I was covered in steamin'' blood, sensin'' its compatibility, I cleansed myself by pullin'' it into my Bone Vault. Battle Form was nearly at its end, the remainder of the life energy it had drawn healed the bone-deep bite wound in my calf and my various burns. Thinkin'' of the huge amount of life force that must have powered this miniboss, I quickly came up with an idea. I pushed life force out of my bone vault, fillin'' my body. I sent it out of my body and tried to form a huge energetic net around the drake. My grasp on the energy was tenuous once outside of my body, but I held on with an iron will. Sensin'' the drake¡¯s energy startin'' to disperse, I tried to grab hold of it, pullin'' it into myself like a conveyor belt. The foreign energy seemed to have a will of its own, I fought it with every scrap of my Willpower. Slowly I reeled it in, much was lost but as I pulled the last of the energy into me I knew I had accomplished somethin'' significant.

    [Gold Rank D Miniboss: Opalescent Forest Drake, has been slain. 300 years, 8 months life force gained with an efficiency of 10 percent Life Drain. Current life force: 1,305 years 10 months.]

    It took a second for the math to add up, but then I saw the notifications from the other two slain boars and I nodded. I immediately pulled the boar I¡¯d placed in my Bone Vault out and replaced it with the drake. It was goin'' to be a badass clone once I boosted my stats. A loot-chest spawned in front of me, made out of some sort of black wood tinged with ornate silver accents. A system notification popped up.

    [Harvest Potential has detected five abilities that can be harvested. If you harvest an ability from a corpse you can still create a blood clone out of it, however, your clone will no longer have access to it.]

    The message continued, listin'' Fire Affinity, Drake¡¯s Breath, Tail-Whip, Talon Strike and Dragon¡¯s Pounce. Besides Fire Affinity, which greatly intrigued me, none of the options seemed an upgrade to Furious Dash. Plus, I¡¯d still be benefitin'' from them via my clone and takin'' Fire Affinity would hamstring it.

    Weisner dropped down from the canopy, an ethereal shield surroundin'' him popped as he landed with a slight stumble, , absorbin'' damage I supposed. He whistled at the chest and then laughed at me, ¡°I thought you were a goner for a minute you crazy bastard.¡±

    Laughin'' with him released some of the tension from the fight. ¡°I expected gettin'' chewed on a bit maybe, but not the burns. That was the worst. All good now though. How about we check out this loot.¡±

    [For defeating a miniboss well above your rank, rewards have been boosted. For defeating a miniboss solo, rewards have been boosted. For being the first person from your world to kill a miniboss, rewards have been boosted.]

    I opened the chest. Five coins floated inside, slowly spinnin''. In the bottom of the chest lay a bag of coins from the look of it. I grabbed the first floatin'' coin, it looked like a hologram with a 3D image of a black sword inside it.

    [Loot-coin. Can be unpacked to receive the full item. Unpacking cannot be reversed.]

    [Blackened Greatsword of the Opalescent Drake.

    Item grade: Epic. Rank D. Evolving. Bindable.

    Item description: A sword constructed from the still-living horn of an ancient drake. Its soul was sealed within, making this weapon extremely durable with the ability to regenerate itself when fed life force from enemies or the owner. The sword feasts on your slain enemies, gaining power to fuel its evolution. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Item stats: +10 to Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Willpower and Soul. +10% to total Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Willpower and Soul. +10% to Physical and Magical protection.

    Ability: Opalescent Aura: The scales of an Opalescent Drake shimmer around you, blending you into your surroundings for a short while, allowing you to strike from an unseen angle or flee should the battle not be going in your favor. Camouflage duration: 10 seconds. Cooldown: 20 seconds after effect ends.

    Passive Ability: Desperate Hunger: This weapon has a 10%(+1% per 10 Fantasy stat the wielder has) chance on a successful strike to grant the wielder the Desperate Hunger of a starving Drake, boosting all damage by +30% for 6 seconds.

    Passive Ability: Blackened Strike: This weapon has a 10%(+1% per 10 Fantasy stat the wielder has) chance on a successful strike to channel the death energy of the greatsword, unleashing a devastating strike that deals death and gravity damage equal to the wielder¡¯s current Strength multiplied by their Fantasy stat. Enemies hit by this attack are also afflicted with a curse, reducing their defense and lowering their damage by 25% for 10 seconds.]

    I unpacked it, eager to get a look at it. The coin poofed, the greatsword appearin¡¯ in its place, hoverin'' in midair. I grabbed its handle, pullin'' it free from its scale-patterned sheath. The blade was bone-white, easily six-feet in length and as wide as my hands'' length, its twin edges lined with razor-sharp, blackened serrations. The black-bone crossguard looked thick and sturdy. Givin'' it a few test swings, I was surprised to find it heavier than my metal greatsword. I figured bone would be lighter. I slung the sheaths¡¯ leather shoulder strap over my head and arm before sheathin'' the blade. It was time for more loot. A feverish glint of excitement entered my features as I eyed the next closest loot-coin.

    [Portable Dungeon: Drake Nesting Grounds.

    Item Grade: Mythic. Rank SS. Bindable.

    Item description: The Portable Dungeon: Drake Nesting Grounds is a Mythic artifact, coveted by adventurers and dungeon masters alike. This mystical item allows the user to summon a portal to a fully-fledged dungeon environment, teeming with drakes and their treasures. The dungeon is a sprawling network of caverns, lava flows, and ancient ruins, providing both a formidable challenge and unparalleled rewards.

    Item Stats: Binding this item to your soul adds the following stats: +20% to all stats. +20% to all resistances.

    Activation: A drop of the user¡¯s blood binds the item to their soul. Another drop summons a portal to the dungeon. This item drops after permanent death. Dungeon difficulty can be set from rank F to SS with rewards that scale with difficulty. You respawn after death in this dungeon, so challenge yourself, but choose wisely as you only get one chance for you and your allies per week.

    Duration: 24 hours or until the dungeon is cleared.

    Cooldown: 7 days from moment of activation. Cooldown can be reduced via an injection of lifeforce.

    Environment: Volcanic caverns with lava rivers, obsidian formations, and drake nests.

    Enemies: Various drake species (Fire Drakes, Lava Drakes, and Elder Drakes).

    Boss: Ancient Drake Matriarch.

    Special Features:

    Dynamic Terrain: Shifting lava flows and collapsing tunnels.

    Environmental Hazards: Lava geysers, falling stalactites, and toxic fumes.

    Hidden Chambers: Secret rooms with additional loot and lore.

    Loot Table:

    Item Tiers. Items.         Drop Rate.

    Common:  Drake Scales, Obsidian Shards, Minor Healing Potions  50%

    Uncommon: Drake Claws, Fire Resistance Potions, Lesser Mana Crystals  30%

    Rare:  Drakebone Armor, Lava-forged Weapons, Greater Healing Potions 15%

    Epic:  Drakefire Amulet, Volcanic Ring, Elder Drake¡¯s Fang   4%

    Legendary: Matriarch¡¯s Heart, Lava Drake¡¯s Egg, Obsidian Greatsword  0.9%

    Mythic: Heart of the Ancient Drake, Eternal Flame Core, Drake Matriarch¡¯s Crown            0.1%]

    I hurriedly unpacked the item, it turned into a small idol in the shape of a stout drake, sittin'' with its tail curled tightly around it. ¡°Holy shit, we¡¯ve hit the motherlode,¡± I said, holdin'' out the item to Weisner to inspect. I nicked the back of my hand with my knife and let a drop of blood touch the idol. My stats surged after I got a notification of a successful bind.

    Weisner whistled, ¡°No death in the dungeon is great. Gotta wonder if permanent dungeons are like that.¡±

    I gave a noncommittal shrug, ¡°Guess we¡¯ll find out one day.¡± A blinkin'' notification from earlier caught my eye.

    [Title gained: Punching Above Your Weight. Effects: +2 to all stats. +2% to all stats with a minimum gain of +1 at 1%+. For each rank a soloed slain boss or miniboss was above you, this title gains +1 and +1% to all stats. Solo further bosses or minibosses above your rank to increase the stat gains. Title maximum: +25 to all stats, +25% to all stats.]

    The title boosts were minor now, but would be huge in the long run. As much as I was enjoyin'' fightin'' with Weisner by my side, I¡¯d have to go huntin'' on my own at times to max it out. Movin'' on to the third loot-coin, a giddy chuckle escaped me.

    [Opalescent Forest Drake Hooded Cloak.

    Item Grade: Epic. Bindable.

    Item Description: The Opalescent Drake¡¯s Wing Hooded Cloak is a magnificent piece of equipment crafted from the wings of the Opalescent Forest Drake. The cloak shimmers with an iridescent glow, reflecting the colors of the forest and the drake¡¯s natural habitat. Lightweight yet incredibly durable, it offers both protection and utility to its wearer.

    Item Stats: +10 to Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Willpower and Fantasy.

    Ability: Glide: The cloak can be infused with mana or life force, causing it to cling to the wearer¡¯s back, arms and legs, expanding out and lending the cloak the appearance of drake wings and a limited flight ability, allowing you to glide through the air, reducing fall damage and allowing for strategic positioning in combat or exploration. Effect duration: Channeled. Mana or life cost: 3 units per second.

    Passive Ability: Camouflage: When motionless, the cloak adapts to the surrounding environment, providing enhanced stealth.]

    Unpackin'' it, I tried it on. It shimmered dimly with the various colors of the forest around me like leaves on a tree blown by the wind. The cloak had a silver clasp I secured on my chest, holdin'' it in place. A hood lay folded back on my shoulders. My stats climbed again. Between the stats and percentages added from the greatsword, dungeon idol and the cloak I felt a massive difference in power. As happy as I was to be gearin'' up, I kind of hoped somethin'' I didn¡¯t need dropped so I could pass it to boost Weisner. I snagged the fourth loot-coin and inspected it. A wide grin stretched my face.

    [Dragon Maw Halberd.

    Item Grade: Epic. Grade D. Nigh-Indestructible. Evolving. Bindable.

    Item Description: The Dragon Maw Halberd is a fearsome weapon, crafted from the bones, scales and jawbones of an ancient dragon. Its blade is etched with the image of a hellish maw of a dragon. The shaft is reinforced with dragon sinew, making it both flexible and incredibly strong.

    Item Stats: +10 to Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Willpower and Fantasy. +10% to total Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Willpower and Fantasy.

    Passive Ability: Desperate Hunger: This weapon has a 10%(+1% per 10 Fantasy stat the wielder has) chance on a successful strike to grant the wielder the Desperate Hunger of a starving Drake, boosting all damage by +30% for 6 seconds.

    Passive Ability: Mystic Dragon Scales: Activation grants the wielder a layered shield that absorbs 5 attacks or spells for 1 minute. Cooldown: 4 minutes.

    Passive Ability: Maw of Destruction: Every strike has a 10%(+1% per 10 current Fantasy the wielder has) chance to summon a Phantom Dragon Skull, the phantom bites the target, dealing damage equal to the wielder''s Strength multiplied by their Fantasy stat and reduces the enemy¡¯s actionspeed and defense by 30% for 12 seconds.

    Passive Ability: Dragon¡¯s Fury: When the wielder¡¯s health drops below 40%, the halberd¡¯s power surges, adding 25% more damage dealt and reducing damage taken by 75% for 10 seconds. Charges: 2. Gains 1 charge per 10 minutes.]

    I tossed the loot-coin to Wiesner. His eyes grew big as saucers.

    ¡°You sure man?¡± Wiesner asked, unpackin'' the weapon and holdin'' it reverently before I could reply. ¡°This thing is insane. The defensive abilities will damn near turn me into a tank class for a bit.¡±

    ¡°If we''re goin'' to survive this we need to get powerful as fast as we can, any way we can. The next miniboss or boss might not allow for any cheese-mechanics with my OP toolkit.¡± I turned and grabbed the last loot-coin.

    [Tier 1 Town Building Plan.

    Item Grade: Common(Upgraded to Epic). Consumable.

    Item Description: This consumable item allows you to choose a site for a town, the system will build common grade housing and utility buildings(upgraded to Epic due to your heroic deeds in the miniboss encounter) using locally sourced materials.

    Town Size: Ideal for populations of up to 2000 people. Upgradable with Champion points.

    Included structures: Fortified perimeter wall. Lord''s Manor. Barracks. Town Hall. Adventurer¡¯s Guild Hall. Auction House. Teleportation Hall. Arena/Outdoor Theater. Marketplace. Communal housing units (20x units, 100 citizen capacity for each unit). Communal feasting lodge 1x. Communal bathhouse 10x. Water will be supplied from local sources.

    Construction time: 12 hours. System construction generates a dense mana-field which may draw in beasts and monsters that feed on mana. Town must be defended during the building process.

    Ownership: The person who places this town will own it and receive a 5% tax for all goods purchased or sold within its walls. Housing units can be rented or sold. Lots for shops and vendor stalls can also be rented or sold.]

    I tossed the loot-coin into my P.D.S.. That¡¯d be handy real soon. I also grabbed the sack of coins from the loot chest and the chest disappeared. Turns out the sack could be unpacked as well so I did.

    [You gained 10,000 Champion Points. You gained 1000 gold.]

    I checked my currency tab, both were listed. I focused on Champion Points, hopin'' for more info.

    [Champion points are a special system currency used to build or upgrade housing units as well as purchase items from the system shop.]

    ¡°Pretty good haul so far,¡± I said. ¡°How about we circle back and see how folks are doin''? Wouldn¡¯t hurt to look for a place to drop this town on the way back. Ideally near a natural water source.¡±

    ¡°I thought I heard runnin'' water on the way here.¡±

    I checked on my marinatin'' drake clone, Damnit, still needed forty-minutes or so until I could summon it. Would¡¯ve been badass to fly back to the group mounted on its back, scare the shit out of them. Ha! I¡¯d make time for that. Flyin'' would make findin'' an ideal spot for the town much easier too. If we didn¡¯t have any luck on the walk back, we¡¯d try flyin'' later.

    On the return journey we paused where Wiesner thought he previously heard water. Sure enough we heard a trickle off to the right. Turned out to be a river, kinda on the smallish side, but it had good flow, sections of rapids and plenty of deep pockets where bigger fish often enjoyed hangin out. I¡¯d have to see if the system shop had a fishin'' pole, if not, I¡¯d make one somehow. Craftin'' bone fishin'' hooks might be doable in my Bone Vault. I¡¯d have to experiment and see what was possible. We drank our fill at the river''s edge. I reached a hand into its cool surface and sucked about two thousand gallons into my inventory. Tryin'' to think ahead, we collected a huge amount of firewood on our way back to the group as well as a huge boulder that I altered in my Bone Vault. The spatial storage didn¡¯t seem to want to allow it in as it wasn¡¯t genetically compatible, but I willed it inside and the space obeyed. It was difficult to alter the stone accordin'' to my will, but it did work, slowly formin'' a hole in the top that I whittled into a cavity until the boulder was hollowed out and shaped like a crude, squat, ten-feet wide stone gourd that stood eight-feet high at the top. Wiesner waited patiently after I explained what I was doin''. I left the walls of the boulder-gourd a foot thick on all sides, I drilled four pinky-sized holes near the bottom before movin'' the giant construct over to my P.D.S.. I ejected the excavated stone powder into a massive pile beside us. All-in-all, the process took about half an hour.

    It appeared that most, if not all of the thousand people had assembled when we got back. They were listenin'' to a man standin'' on a fifteen-feet tall shroom cap. He looked like the grandstandin'' political type. He must¡¯ve been usin'' a voice amplifyin'' ability because his voice easily drowned out the mumblings of the crowd. "We need to organize and assign tasks to those who are qualified to do them. We need food, water, shelter! We need fighters to join into a unified force! The system said we have 24 hours. That¡¯s not enough time to build solid fortifications, but we have to do what we can, while we can.¡± The speaker noticed us returnin'' from the forest and paused his speech. ¡°You two! Have you come back from beyond the safe zone?¡±

    I looked over at Wiesner, he looked at me with a raised brow. ¡°Uh, yeah!¡± I hollered back to the man.

    ¡°What¡¯s it like out there? A couple other groups went out to hunt and ¡®level up¡¯. They aren¡¯t back yet.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t much for public speakin'' so I kept it short, ¡°Well, we killed some thousand pound pigs and a big ass lizard. That¡¯s all we saw besides forest and a river. I have water if anyone needs it, and food!¡± Excited voices rang out in the crowd, eager for some semblance of normalcy.

    I immediately dropped a large amount of firewood and used my new greatsword¡¯s Drake¡¯s Breath ability, channelin'' a trickle of mana into it, thinkin'' it¡¯d be just enough to start the wood on fire. A mini-flamethrower jet of liquid fire shot out of the sword tip, causin'' a gout of flame to erupt skywards as it hit the woodpile. ¡°Also,¡± I yelled, feelin'' like I had to so everyone could hear me. ¡°We¡¯re about to cook up some pigs! If anyone wants to help, feel free!¡±

    ¡°Let''s help these two get some food cooked so everybody can eat folks!¡± the speaker shouted. ¡°Everything we need to do will be easier with a full belly.¡±

    Butcherin'' a boar in my Bone Vault was a piece of cake after alterin'' the boulder. I shoved a boar in and focused on guttin'' it. Its belly split open, spillin'' the innards out. I kept the good organ meats(offal), as well as the skin, meat and bones. The discarded bits such as the stomach, intestines, bladder and other odds and ends I set my Bone Vault to automatically convert into fully compatible biomass in case I needed to heal myself or a clone. I finished butcherin'' the beast within minutes, even breakin'' the meat down into individual flintstones-sized pork chops and ribs, bacon strips the size of the paddle my dad used to whoop my ass with, massive tenderloins and ground meat usin'' the tougher portions from the body. I saved all the fat, it could be used for many things like cookin'' grease, candles, lubricant, boilin'' oil pots to dump on enemies in a battle, etc.

    Over a dozen people wandered over wantin'' to help. Me and Wiesner started four more fires, dumpin'' a bunch of firewood nearby to be used as needed and passed out tons of meat. More people came to help and soon we had racks of meat roastin'' near the flame. Skewers of varyin'' cuts of meat were propped up or being held over the fire. Someone fashioned a huge rotisserie over one fire and I managed to get a whole boar onto it. It was nearly impossible to turn though, so I ended up takin'' it down and butcherin'' it like I did the first.

    An older gentle-natured lady asked me where the water was. I¡¯d all but forgotten about it. I asked her to follow me. I looked around and found a three-feet high rocky bump on the ground and placed the stone water gourd on top, it wasn¡¯t perfectly level or evenly supported but I was mostly certain it wouldn¡¯t roll away and kill someone. Next, I found a small saplin'' and made four plugs for the holes in the boulder and then filled it up. The plugs leaked a bit, but held. I pulled one free, drinkin'' a bit before repluggin'' it. The plugs would need to be replaced periodically, but all this was temporary. We¡¯d have a functional town soon.

    Two hours later everyone was fed, watered, and I still had one boar left. I was itchin'' to summon my drake clone, but after everyone had calmed down from a full stomach I really didn''t want to freak them out just yet. For now it might be best that they not know what was out there. Soon though, reality would have to slap them in the face.

    The speaker from earlier eventually made his way over with a skewer of meat in his hand, he looked a bit nervous for some reason. He walked up to me and Wiesner and cleared his throat uncomfortably, ¡°Hello gentlemen. I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Wallace Bingham, former mayor of a small town in Oklahoma you''ve probably never heard of.¡± Wallace held out his hand in greetin¡¯.

    We introduced ourselves, returnin'' his firm handshake with one of our own.

    ¡°So tell me fellas,¡± Wallace said. ¡°How bad is it out there, really?¡±

    ¡°Well, we killed a forty foot long drake miniboss earlier. Now it''s fightin'' on our side as a blood clone so that''s good. Also, we looted an item that allows us to build a fortified town anywhere suitable. That should help us out if we can find a strategic placement for it. Me and Wiesner were thinkin'' about takin'' my drake clone for a quick flight to find an ideal spot for it.¡±

    Wallace''s expression grew excited, appearin'' to consider the new information carefully. ¡°Mind if I come with you two? I''m not fond of heights but I know quite a bit about town and city planning. I won''t tell you what to do with the item you earned, but if you''re open to suggestions I''d love to help.¡±

    This Wallace character didn''t seem too bad, for a politician. Me and Wiesner glanced at each other, he shrugged. I shrugged in return, ¡°I reckon that''ll be fine. I haven''t flown on my clone yet. So I can''t guarantee you a comfortable or safe ride. So heads up. Hold on tight.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go talk to a couple people that I think are capable of holding things down while we¡¯re gone,¡± Wallace stated. I grunted and he walked off.

 Chapter 3. Game Changer.

    Thirty minutes later, Wallace returned, ready to leave. I suggested he warn the crowd before I summoned the blood clone. He used his megaphone-like ability to get everyone¡¯s attention and told them what I was about to do and not to panic as it would be harmless. The crowd backed up, a mix of fear and excitement on their faces.

    While sittin'' around and waitin'' I¡¯d figured out how to modify my UI a bit, it was fairly intuitive. Summonin'' the clone was as easy as mentally selectin'' the tiny icon at the bottom of my vision with the image of my drake¡¯s face on it. The air next to me rushed out in all directions, displaced by the huge drake. Cries of alarm rang out in the crowd. I mentally prodded the drake to extend its wings and unleash a bestial roar. A dick move I know, but I just had to. Even I was surprised by the volume, the roar vibrated the ground, the organs in my chest, hell, I felt it in my balls. It was a sound designed by god or nature to induce fear in its enemies. Some of the crowd fled briefly, calmin'' only when they looked back and saw the huge beast hadn''t moved from its original position. I struggled to hold my laughter in. It was time to get to business, so I scanned the drake''s spiny back. I couldn''t see us sittin'' there without receivin'' a wound to a sensitive area. Lookin'' around I found a small cluster of white mushrooms with red polka dots on the caps about the size of a barstool seat. I whipped out my new sword and prodded the caps, they had some give to them but they felt sturdy enough to sit on. I chopped off six just below the cap, throwin'' the extras into storage, carryin'' the rest over to my clone. I climbed up my drake¡¯s shoulder and shoved three mushroom caps soft-side down onto the central spines just behind its neck, spaced out a bit to give us some elbow room. I tested the front one out. It wouldn¡¯t hold up long term but it would do for a quick flight. I''d have to figure out how to make a couple or three saddles out of boar hide at some point. My clone somehow seemed even bigger from up here, sittin'' on its back ten-feet or more above the crowd around us.

    ¡°Ready to go whenever you are Mr. Mayor,¡± I said, grinnin''.

    Wallace¡¯s complexion had paled, a sheen of sweat beaded on his face. ¡°Just Wallace will do. I left the mayor¡¯s office behind years ago.¡± The gray-headed man looked like he was probably fit at one point in his life but had gone soft with age. Still, he managed to climb up and take the middle seat. Wiesner took the last seat and I mentally commanded my drake to take off as gently as it could. It took several runnin'' leaps forward, flappin'' its huge, powerful wings. Wallace grabbed hold of my cloak to maintain his balance. We picked up elevation just in time to miss the closest towerin'' shroom caps. Soon we were well above the colorful polka-dotted mushroom forest. Beyond the mushrooms lay more familiar lookin'' forests of trees, even if the trees were unknown to me. Here and there godlike trees towered over everything, some rising a mile or more in height, the roots at the bases of their trunks spread out like mountain ranges. We seemed to be in a wide valley between one of these ragged mountain ranges, far in the distance on our other side a massive volcano emittin'' a plume of black smoke was surrounded by smaller mountain peaks. Wiesner reached forward to tap my shoulder and pointed in the direction of one of the ragged peaks, a river ran down its slopes and occasionally pooled into clear blue lakes. I noticed somethin'' in the far distance in the direction of the settin'' sun, so far I almost didn''t see it, but it must be huge to be visible from here. It looked like a black string connectin'' Terra to the Heavens. Decidin'' to investigate I mentally nudged the drake towards it.

    In the back of my mind I could feel the drain flyin'' put on my blood clone, hours of life force were being'' consumed per minute. I originally infused the clone with one year of my life force, it being a creature much larger than me it made sense it would burn energy more rapidly. Overall the cost was minor though. I¡¯d just have to reinfuse it periodically and kill more beasties if I got low, which didn¡¯t seem likely.

    The strange object grew more impressive the closer we got. It had appeared like a tiny thing on the horizon when I first saw it. After flyin'' towards it for about five hours at a speed I guessed to be forty or fifty miles-per-hour the object now appeared to pierce the clouds like a pitch-black space elevator with the circumference of a football stadium. As we neared it, I nudged my clone to descend. The area surroundin'' the base of the object was barren soil, stones and scattered piles of bones for a mile in all directions. Our landin'' was a bit rough, Wallace damn near fell off, grabbin'' my shoulders at the last second to avoid it. Finally on the ground, we walked over to the tower. There were no doors, windows or any discernible features that I could see. Up close it did have some kind of pattern in its pitch black surface, remindin'' me of carbon fiber but not as distinct. The pattern occasionally shifted, as if tiny, ghostly runes were being reordered on or in its surface. It gave off a feelin'' that it was alive, sentient. I walked up and put my hand on it before thinkin''. After the fact, I realized it could¡¯ve killed me, but luckily it didn''t. I did get a system message though.

    [Do you wish to enter the Millenium Tower of Ascension? Please note that death in this dungeon is final. Each level is designed to be more difficult than the last. After defeating a level you will be presented with the option to leave. If you return, you can start at the bottom or continue where you left off and ascend further up the dungeon tower. Once challenged, the tower must be challenged periodically until completion. If a new level is not defeated once per month, the denizens of the lowest floor will be released upon the surrounding area and each level will marginally increase in difficulty. Reaching the top will grant significant boons to those who defeat the tower, as well as the option to reset the tower difficulty.]

    ¡°A dungeon!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°The Millenium Tower of Ascension. I think we should put our town right by it. Eventually it could grow into a city surroundin'' it. People might teleport here from all over to climb the tower and we would control access.¡±

    Wallace seemed disconcerted, ¡°What about our people? We have less than a day left until the safe zone drops. There¡¯s no way you can fly a thousand people here in that time.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°I agree with McLain,¡± Weisner stated. ¡°This could set us up for the long term. We¡¯ll just have to fight our way from there to here.¡±

    Wallace grimaced, but gave a reluctant nod, ¡°That makes sense. It seems likely we¡¯ll be fighting either way. I would have preferred being dropped near a friendly native town. I suppose we¡¯ll just have to make the best of it.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll bunker down at night and travel durin'' the day,¡± I suggested. ¡°Should be easy enough to make temporary walls out of the shroom caps.¡±

    ¡°What if we just sleep on the mushroom canopy? Away from the forest floor.¡± Wallace suggested.

    ¡°We hunted earlier from the canopy,¡± Wiesner said. ¡°Makes sense that other predators would too. McLain killed that drake miniboss fairly easily, but if another one, or hell, several attacked at night from the canopy or sky¡­ we¡¯d be sittin'' ducks. We¡¯ve no clue what¡¯ll come out at night or where they¡¯ll come from. For all we know, the ground we sleep on might not be safe.¡±

    Wallace held up his hands in mock surrender, ¡°I¡¯m convinced. Let¡¯s head back and try to get the others onboard.¡±

    The flight back felt relatively quick but nightfall was fast approachin¡¯. We found our group without an issue; from the sky a thousand people clustered together stuck out like a sore thumb even with the partial coverage provided by the shrooms. After landin'', Wallace returned to his stage, the mushroom cap, and explained the situation. Many people wanted to use my town buildin'' plan right here while the safe zone was up. Wallace simply explained that the town buildin'' plan was mine and the decision was ultimately mine. Some idiot yelled out that they should just take it from me and build it. My response, after I laughed heartily, was to prod my blood clone to release a massive gout of liquid fire onto the stalk of a huge nearby shroom, engulfin'' it, topplin'' the cap and turnin'' it all into cinders over about five minutes. Durin'' that time no further comments were made about takin'' my loot. The end result was obvious; we would leave, but in the mornin''. Nightfall was an hour away I guessed. The safe zone would drop sometime in the mornin'' so tonight we could sleep without fear. Some crafty individuals fashioned lean-to shelters usin'' small shroom caps propped up with wooden poles, providin'' decent protection from possible rain or wind. Me and Wiesner made ourselves busy by headin'' into the forest collectin'' firewood for the night. A couple dozen people followed us and helped out. I told them to just make a big piles out in the forest and I¡¯d tote it back. Once back at camp we made a huge bonfire with a stack of wood next to it standin'' two-men high. I went ahead and butchered our last boar, roastin'' and sharin'' it out. I only had four beers left, wantin'' to make them last I shared one with Wiesner.

    Nothin'' of note occurred until the sun was settin''; three bleedin'' and bedraggled individuals wandered back into camp, one missin'' an arm, well, he was holdin'' it in his other hand, but ya know¡­ Various people ran over to them to help. Curious of what they¡¯d encountered out there, I went over as well. Someone had tourniqueted the man¡¯s stump a while ago, but it was leakin'' and he looked pale.

    ¡°Can anyone help him?¡± one of the three newcomers asked.

    ¡°My skills can¡¯t save the arm,¡± an older, gentle-seemin'' man stated. ¡°I can stop the bleeding and seal the wound though.¡±

    Another lady was shakin'' her head, ¡°Neither can I.¡±

    I activated Sense Life, it was difficult to maintain in a crowd for longer than a bit, too many swirlin'' colors and emotions. Immediately I noticed that the arm was still glowin'' with life. I hadn''t had a chance to attempt to heal anyone yet so I figured now or never. I walked up and unarmed the wounded man. I seeped my own energy into the arm, inspectin'' it fully. An image formed in my mind in 3D, showin'' me what was healthy and otherwise. The arm was fully viable, I just needed to figure out how to attach it. Next I checked his bleedin'' stump. Closin'' my eyes gave me a better mental image, I intuitively knew how to close off the leakin'' blood vessels, caught up in the moment I didn¡¯t try to think about how I knew--I just focused on the task at hand. Linin'' up the arm with his stump was the most difficult part, after that I infused my energy into both stumps and used that energy to manipulate, line up and reattach the bone, muscle, skin, blood vessels and nerves. When a bit of flesh or somethin'' was missin'' I added more life energy and stimulated the cells to multiply and fill in the gaps. Overall, it was a very intuitive process. Openin'' my eyes, I found a whole arm, nearly scarfree. I¡¯d even cleaned the blood off the man¡¯s body and clothes, sendin'' it to my Bone Vault without intendin'' to. A crowd had formed around us in however long it had taken me to accomplish the healin''. The man I¡¯d healed moved his arm around experimentally, lookin'' at it in wonder and grinnin''.

    From behind me an Australian lady yelled, ¡°It¡¯s a bloody miracle! The Second Coming is upon us! He has returned as promised!¡±

    Whispers of shock and disbelief started up around me. I figured I needed to nip that shit in the bud real quick so I shouted at the lady, ¡°Quit talkin'' nonsense! I reckon all of y''all got some kinda magic now. Y''all just gotta level up and get stronger.¡± I might¡¯ve gone a bit heavy on the southern accent, I could speak cleanly when I wanted to, other times it just slips out, but I was okay with my message overall.

    ¡°Thank you sir!¡± the healed man said. ¡°Name¡¯s Darren. You?¡±

    ¡°Bud McLain. Just call me McLain. Tell me Darren. What did yall see out there? Boar and drakes is all I¡¯ve seen so far.¡±

    ¡°We killed two boar before the wurm hit us from below.¡± Darren had a way of gesturin'' theatrically as he spoke. ¡°We felt a vibration in our feet and then Bam, some kind of huge stone worm as big around as a minivan exploded out of the ground, took my arm off before I knew it. Luckily it went after a bigger bite and dropped my arm, I managed to dodge the next attack and Mat here was able to grab my arm off the ground before we took off.¡± He pointed at a twenty-somethin'' year old ginger beside him.

    ¡°Did y¡¯all happen to identify the worm?¡± The trio shook their heads. ¡°Bummer. Anyways, sounds like y''all might¡¯ve worked up an appetite. There¡¯s some boar left over by the fire. Tuck in.¡± Timothy, the last unknown of the brave trio, introduced himself before they all thanked me and left to get food. Rememberin'' the other group Wallace said went out I halted them long enough to ask about them. Unfortunately, they hadn¡¯t seen anyone else until their return.

 Chapter 4. Clearin a Path.

    Night fell across the sky and conversations turned to whispers as frightened people huddled as close as they could to one of the many fires scattered about, listenin'' to the soundscape of an alien planet. Weisner was sawin'' logs, apparently able to sleep anywhere, anytime, and yet wake up at the drop of a hat if needed. I¡¯d heard that was often the case with ex-military types. I was wound up tight as a bowstring, there was no way in hell I was goin'' to be able to sleep tonight. I decided to experiment a bit and hunt through my blood clone. That way I¡¯d be here in case anythin'' crazy happened. I hadn¡¯t noticed anyone lookin'' the psycho murderin'' type, but they¡¯re often experts at blendin'' in. I walked just beyond the safe zone, in the direction of the dungeon tower, well out of sight of camp and overcharged my drake with thirty years of life force. It seemed infusions after creatin'' a clone were near instant. I summoned it and sent it out to commit mass slaughter, hopin'' the twenty percent stat boost from overchargin'' would keep it alive. As long as the clone didn¡¯t run into a bigger boss it should be okay, or able to fly away at the least.

    An hour later, I found myself sittin'' by the fire, grinnin'' like a cheshire cat and watchin'' the life-gain messages scroll by in a shrunken system window. Lookin'' through my clone''s eyes with Sense Life granted my clone the same sense. Findin'' boars was child¡¯s play, here and there I¡¯d find one, motionless on the forest floor, hidin'' in thickets, asleep I figured. Occasionally I spotted a female with offspring sprawled out near her. I left these alone. As tough as the boars were, they couldn¡¯t survive even a single Drake¡¯s Breath attack from my clone. I was shootin'' ducks in a barrel basically. It must¡¯ve rained recently as my drake¡¯s fiery attacks failed to light the whole forest aflame, or perhaps dragon magic was at work. Occasionally a loot box would spawn by a corpse and I learned I could loot remotely through my clones. My clone had to touch the chests for me to pull the items into my P.D.S.. Sometimes I had to land the drake if the canopy was too thick for a swoopin'' talon grab or a quick tail touch, slowin'' down my killin'' speed but I couldn¡¯t just let the shinies lay there. If the carcasses were too crispy I converted them into biomass, if not I preserved them in my Bone Vault for food. The loot chests were all common except for a single blue rare chest. I left them in storage for now, focusin'' instead on the slaughter I was committin''. It was so easy I felt bad, like I was clubbin'' baby seals or somethin''. I was gettin'' ten-percent life steal from my minion even though it was easier than a solo kill like the drake where I¡¯d had to encapsulate its body with life force to achieve that ten-percent. I wasn¡¯t about to complain though. Each boar gave me roughly ten years of life force. If I could kill seventy five or so I¡¯d hit the two-thousand mark and gain several racial trait boosts: +10 to my stats, a second facet from Diamond Mind, another summonable clone and +5 cubic meters to my P.D.S. size.

    Twenty boars and two hours later I ran across another miniboss.

    [Gold Rank D Mini-boss: Ancient Forest Troll.]

    It was difficult to judge from the sky but I figured this troll was fifteen feet tall. Trolls were generally weak to fire in books and games, but that may not be the case here. This could be a difficult fight for my clone, it¡¯s stats weren¡¯t quite what they had been when it was livin¡¯. My half of its stats was its weak point currently. Perhaps with overcharge¡¯s twenty percent boost it was close though. I figured I¡¯d test the waters by hitting the troll with a few Drake''s Breaths from the sky and see what happened. Unless the troll had some means to ground my clone it wouldn''t be in danger. My clone was silently circlin¡¯ in the sky awaitin¡¯ an order. I sent it in at an angle so its jet of flame would hit the troll directly in the back. Drake''s breath splashed on the troll, completely engulfin¡¯ it. It rose up from its crouched position roarin'' in rage and agony. The troll was covered in what looked like vines and moss. By the time the flames went out my clone''s cooldown was almost finished and all the vines and moss had been burned away. Another blast hit the troll from behind. It spun around quickly but my clone was long gone. The troll''s flesh started droopin¡¯, it activated an ability causin¡¯ it to glow with a green light. Its flesh tried to heal but couldn''t fully while consumed by fire. As soon as the flames dropped its skin rapidly recovered. Despite the pain the troll was endurin¡¯, it picked up a nearby weapon that looked like a tree trunk with a handle carved into it and swung it around in the air threateningly. This¡¯d be a battle of attrition between my clone¡¯s fire and the troll¡¯s healin''. My Drake swooped by from its blind side, usin¡¯ the shroom caps for cover and blasted it again, makin'' sure to sweep the jet of flame to hit the troll''s weapon as well. With its weapon on fire the troll decided to throw the small tree at my clone, strikin'' it on the back. It must have used some ability because my clone was momentarily stunned, almost crashin'' into the shroom caps before it caught the air with its wings and ascended again. It was probably some skill with a retarded name like Trolls Rebuke! Or Stunnin'' Throw! or somethin''. However, the troll wasn''t entirely stupid. Missin'' its weapon and seein'' the fight wasn''t goin'' its way, the troll started climbin'' up a nearby stair steppin'' cluster of mushrooms, stoppin'' on the tallest one nearby. From here it could more easily watch out for my drake in all directions. The troll activated a new ability, causin'' its fingertips to grow into sword like protrusions, it''s torso slimmed down, sendin'' mass out to lengthen its legs and arms until I was certain it would stand near twenty feet tall if it wasn''t hunched over like it was waitin'' to pounce. The beast wasn''t lighter but I imagined it would be more agile and have greater reach. Thinkin'' I could keep my clone out of its reach, I used taller shrooms to block the troll¡¯s sight and tried to get behind it. The troll must have heard my clone as it spun around just in time to take a jet of flame to the face. It still leapt towards my clone tryin'' to tackle it to the ground but a swift, perfectly timed Talon-Strike sent the monster crashin'' back down to the earth. The beast had managed to strike my clone''s arm but the scales held up with nothin'' more than bruised muscles to show for it. The troll laid there stunned momentarily. Tryin'' to take advantage of the situation I steered my Drake around and slapped the troll with a Tail-Whip. The bastard was still glowin'' green. The troll either had massive quantities of mana to keep its healin'' ability active or it was a permanent passive ability that activated upon injury. Either way it was a pain in the ass. I decided to go for broke and directed my clone to dive bomb the troll in the chest with all four limbs worth of claws extended, stabbin'' deeply into the beast. With a powerful flap of its wings my clone backed off just far enough to land and then activate Dragon''s Pounce, sendin'' it flyin'' right back onto the troll''s chest and head with doubled weight and stats for ten seconds. Just as the troll was regainin'' consciousness Drake''s Breath came off its cooldown so I unleashed it directly onto the troll''s face and torso. I ordered my clone to bite and claw into the troll''s chest, searchin'' for the beast core. The troll, desperate and furious, tried diggin'' its sword like fingers up under my drake''s insanely durable scales. When that barely worked it grabbed my Drake''s neck and tried to pull it down to bite it. I had my Drake pause its efforts to get at the core long enough to savage the troll''s face with its teeth, blindin'' it in the process. The troll was dead within a minute after that. My clone finally found the core and ripped it out, swallowin'' it in the process. I hadn''t instructed it to do that. No doubt that core was worth a pretty penny. I was puzzled until I saw the next system notification. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    [Your clone has consumed a beast core containing sufficient energy to rank up. Would you like to rank up your clone from Peak D rank to Low C rank? Yes/No.]

    What a stupid question! Of course I do. The system didn''t seem to be listenin'' so I mentally selected yes. Energy filled my clone to burstin'', slowly increasin'' its size, stats and even gainin'' a new ability called Dragon''s Spite. Lookin'' at my minion tab I looked for the new ability and selected it to get a peek at its details.

    [Dragon¡¯s Spite: Dragons are prideful creatures and hate to lose. Before that happens they would rather spend their life to gain a temporary boost if it would mean victory. Although dragons are very long lived, some living for tens of thousands of years or more, dragons have been known to burn thousands of years in one battle just to save face. This ability allows a dragon or drake to consume their own life force in order to boost their stats and abilities. For the cost of 100 years of life they are fully healed and gain 5 minutes of doubled stats. This effect can stack up to 5 times, requiring 5x the life cost per 5 minutes.]

    Damn that was better than my Battle Form. I could probably take it from my clone but its life-farmin'' capabilities were just too good for me to handicap it like that. If I ran across a boss it might be the decidin'' factor for a victory. I would have to massively overcharge it for the clone to be able to use that ability though. Perhaps when I built up a massive surplus I would do so. I wasn¡¯t certain I could use the troll boss corpse as a bloodclone without its core, but storin'' the troll in my Bone Vault gave me the option so I started the life infusion. I pulled the loot-chest into my P.D.S., another Obsidian ranked chest made of black wood with silver inlaid accents. I figured I¡¯d check all the chests later. Right now, I was more curious about the notifications blinkin'' in my peripheral vision.

    [Gold Rank D Mini-boss: Ancient Forest Troll has been slain. 196 years, 3 months life force gained with an efficiency of 10 percent Life Drain. Current life force: 1,781 years, 7 months.]

    [For defeating a miniboss well above your rank, rewards have been boosted. For defeating a miniboss solo, rewards have been boosted. For being the first person from your world to kill a second miniboss, rewards have been boosted.]

    [Title: Punching Above Your Weight, has increased. Effects: +4 to all stats. +4% to all stats with a minimum gain of +1 at 1%+. For each rank a soloed slain boss or miniboss was above you, this title gains +1 and +1% to all stats. Solo further bosses or minibosses above your rank to increase the stat gains. Title maximum: +25 to all stats, +25% to all stats.]

    Twenty-two more boars and I¡¯d hit the stored-life threshold. I continued my mass genocide of boars. Unfortunately, I failed to find any more minibosses, but just as the sun was risin'' I killed the last boar I needed and a rush of power spread throughout my body. I checked my stat menu and was pleased to +10 had been added to all my stats. My stats had skyrocketed. With Battle Form activated I¡¯d be +6x my original base stats on my lowest stats, +7x on strength and 11x on others. I couldn¡¯t wait to see what kind of damage that would translate into in an actual fight. A little quick math put my swords Blackened Strike ability at over 10,000 damage and a 17% proc chance with Battle Form on. That¡¯s 5,400ish without and a 13% proc chance. My health pool was as big as a gnat''s knee compared to that. It was hard to say just how much damage that proc would do to an enemy, but I had a feelin'' it was gonna be a whole lot. The only way these numbers made sense was if Fantasy was a stat that was harder to raise than a mule was to get movin¡¯, and I would get +10 Fantasy every 1000 years of stored life.

    Beyond drained, I directed my clone to find the troll miniboss¡¯s weapon it had thrown durin'' the fight and then fly back to me at camp. I needed a quick nap before we headed out. I felt my second facet in the back of my mind, ready to activate, but I was too worn out to play with my new toy. Most everyone was asleep at camp. I¡¯d been so engrossed in my mission to hit 2k I¡¯d lost all awareness of my body as I commanded my clone. Now, with a second facet I might be able to fight and command a clone. The thought of puppeteerin'' a clone while fightin'' was exhilaratin''. I envisioned myself weavin'' through the battlefield, my clone actin'' as a meat-shield, absorbin'' attacks while I focused on offense. A grin spread across my face as I drifted towards sleep. The soft chirpin'' of crickets and the distant howl of a wolf lullin'' me towards a peaceful slumber.

    Weisner snorted beside me, ¡°You finally back?¡±

    I jerked upright and looked over at him with a satisfied grin, ¡°Finally hit 2k stored life. Got me a new pet too. I think I¡¯m gonna name him Freddy. It¡¯s still bakin'' in the oven but I¡¯ll show him to you after I wake up. Hollar at me when it¡¯s time to leave.¡±

    ¡°Will do,¡± he said, noddin¡¯ and watchin¡¯ the surroundin''s vigilantly.

 Chapter 5. Headinâ€™ to the Tower of Power

    Weisner woke me up sometime later. It was full light out and most everyone was ready, if not eager, to leave the safe zone. ¡°Mornin bud.¡± Weisner said. ¡°Been itchin'' to see this new ¡®pet¡¯ of yours.¡±

    ¡°You got it. Let me just warn these folks first,¡± I said, before yellin'', ¡°I¡¯m about to summon another clone! Don¡¯t freak out!¡± My drake clone was already in my Bone Vault. I couldn''t remember doin'' that, but maybe it automatically entered when it got close, or it touched me while I slept. Either way it was back. My new clone was fully healed and had reverted back to its original appearance. I summoned it ten feet from us with its massive, knobby tree-club.

    Wiesner stared up at it slack-jawed. ¡°Why doesn''t it stink? Trolls are supposed to stink.¡± He said kind of offhandedly.

    ¡°Dunno. It''s been in my Bone Vault. I guess it got cleaned as it was healed and infused.¡±

    ¡°What kind of abilities does it have?¡±

    ¡°I ain''t checked yet.¡± I noticed a blinkin'' notification that answered his question.

    [Harvest Potential has detected six compatible abilities from a recently slain enemy. Do you wish to harvest one of these abilities?

    Earth Affinity: Grants 50% of the slain creature¡¯s Earth Affinity(Can be increased by killing more lifeforms with Earth Affinity).

    Reaper Morph: Redistributes your mass, lengthening your limbs, turning your hands into blades. Increases Strength, Dexterity and Agility by 100% for 5 minutes. 20 minute cooldown.

    Earthquake: Grants the ability to channel Earth Essence into an attack generating a localized earthquake. Damage scales via Earth affinity and Fantasy stat. Cooldown: 1 minute.

    Life Surge: Converts 20% of your mana pool into Health Regeneration. Increasing Health Regeneration rate by 500% for 1 minute.

    Troll Smash: Smash a foe with +300% Strength. 10% chance to stun target for 3 seconds. +10% chance to stun per 10 Fantasy stat. 20 second cooldown.-1 second of cooldown per 5 Fantasy. Capped at 10 seconds of reduction.]

    Passive Ability: Ancient Troll Physique: Grants a superior, durable body that is in tune with nature. +25% to all physical stats. +30% resistance to physical damage. Grants immunity to most diseases and poisons. +50% to pain tolerance. Wounds heal 300% faster and healing consumes 20% less energy in the process.

    So many abilities I wanted for myself, but right now I needed another OP clone more than another ability. I shared a brief description of the troll''s abilities with Wiesner.

    Wiesner guffawed, eyebrows peakin'', ¡°Gettin¡¯ to the dungeon tower is gonna be like followin'' a parade.¡±

    ¡°Let''s hope so. I cleared towards that direction but there ain¡¯t no tellin¡¯ how it works in this crazy place. The beasties might¡¯ve repawned, or a nearby dungeon overflowed, sendin'' waves of ''em out.¡±

    I pulled out a large handful of venison jerky and split it with Wiesner. We wandered over to the waterin'' bowl and drank our fill. It was only half full so I decided to head to the river quick-like and grab some extra. Wiesner wasn''t too keen on leavin'' the safe zone in case it dropped so I left alone. I took off at a jog, slowly pickin¡¯ up the pace. I used to be fast as a youngster, but this was somethin¡¯ else, my legs turned into pistons, pumpin'' me forward like a runaway train. Dodgin'' shroom stems, leapin'' over logs, and slippin'' through underbrush and such, I was a blur of motion, faster than a greased pig at the county fair. I felt like a damned superhero. I didn¡¯t spot any beasties on my way and filled up with twice the water I got my first time since I hadn¡¯t noticed any water sources on the way to the tower.

    The safezone dropped minutes after I got back to camp. I summoned both clones straight away. Most folks were lookin'' like a lost puppy in a hail storm, but I could tell they had somethin'' simmerin'' beneath all that fear; determination. They finally got the hang of this whole ¡®life or death¡¯ situation. Wallace and a few others had organized our group into a big circle, fighters on the perimeter defendin¡¯ the support, ranged attackers, healers and otherwise in the middle, ready to sling spells, heal the wounded and whatnot. Wallace asked me to take the front, I didn¡¯t mind so I did. I brought my drake with me and sent my troll to follow behind. Wiesner took the right flank, shorin¡¯ up defenses there. I activated my Diamond Mind¡¯s second facet and kept watch through the troll¡¯s eyes. Usin¡¯ a second facet kinda felt like havin'' another whole me in my brain, processin¡¯ things. Managin¡¯ two things at once was effortless.

    I made sure we didn''t forget our waterin'' bowl, and off we went, just like that. I grabbed a fresh shroom-cap seat and rode atop my drake''s shoulders, keepin'' an eye on the whole gang. Wallace had wanted to travel up on the canopy above but there were too many points where it didn¡¯t connect to further clusters and we¡¯d have to descend and reascend. Even though I cleared many beasties along our path I kinda expected a flood to hit us, but we only ran into lone boars or sows a few times an hour, sometimes more. Using my Sense Life ability, I was often able to point out the beasties before they charged out of the surrounding undergrowth. They seemed mighty pissed we was encroachin'' on their turf. I let the others fight ''em when they came to their side. They needed to get stronger too. When a beastie came at our front, a simple Talon-Strike from my drake took ''em down. Drake''s Breath was flashier, but it took a bit for the flames to die down and we''d have to navigate around it. Many of the fighters took wounds, some lethal without healin'', but the healers patched ''em right back up. We didn''t have any casualties until a small herd of six sows and near twenty half-grown piglets smashed into our weakest side, crumplin'' our defenses there. I sent my troll runnin'' around the perimeter with Reaper Form on. I had it drop its club, it was too big to use in a crowd. Nearin'' the piglets, I saw they was still in that cute stage. I felt bad doin'' it, but I took out half the herd, piglets and all, in less than a minute, carefully usin'' my troll''s sword-like fingertips to stab downwards, pinnin'' two or three at a time to the ground. The fighters weren''t slackin'' neither, takin'' out their fair share. A cheer rose as the last sow died. People talked excited-like about the levels and new abilities they gained. I looted the pig corpses, revealin'' a grizzly truth. Twelve of our thousand lay lifeless. With my Sense Life on, I could tell there was no savin'' them unless a healer had a resurrection spell of some sort. Lookin'' around I didn''t see anyone with hopeful expressions on their faces. It was temptin'' to take them into my Bone Vault. I didn¡¯t wanna seem like a heartless bastard but I might be able to harvest some abilities from ¡®em, not to forget the biomass, I¡¯m certain I¡¯d be needin¡¯ that one day soonish. I couldn''t just let that chance slip on by. Figurin¡¯ it better to ask forgiveness than permission, I spoke through my troll, voice deep and gravelly like a rumble in the earth, tellin'' the folks around me that I''d make sure and take care of the dead when we stopped for the day. Hey, I didn¡¯t lie to ¡®em. Then I looted ''em into my Bone Vault and set ''em to preserve mode. My Reaper Form was still hummin'', nobody dared question my clone, the form made Freddy Krueger look like a cute lil¡¯ puppy. Since nothin'' had bothered attackin'' us from the back I kept the troll on the left side of our gang. Wiesner was the cornerstone helpin¡¯ hold up the right side and nothin¡¯ besides a boss, miniboss or an army had any chance of gettin¡¯ through the front. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    We got moving again and rather than annihilate the pigs coming at our front I started pinning them to the ground under my clone¡¯s talons and letting fighters around me attack them for the experience. It was enough participation that I still gained life.

    I was gettin'' bored up on my drake so I started openin¡¯ loot chests, startin¡¯ with the common ones. Each common chest granted 100 champion coins and a currency bag with varyin¡¯ amounts of silver. More often than not I got minor health and mana potions, one to three each chest. Floatin¡¯ above those I''d find two or three loot coins for generic, random single stat weapons, jewelry and armor. Iron Dagger of Strength, Bracer of Dexterity, Ring of Intelligence etc etc. The stat boost was between 5 and 10 per item, but never more than one stat per item. Occasionally I received a stat-less item with a single ability, one was a Ring of Shadows, allowin¡¯ invisibility for a minute with a ten-minute cooldown. Better than our stat-less startin¡¯ equipment but nothin¡¯ like the epic, legendary and mythic items I''d gained. Things got a lot more interestin¡¯ after the 18th and last common chest. I had two rare chests, glowin¡¯ blue. The first only had two loot coins, 1000 champion coins, a bag with 50 gold in it, two greater healin'' potions and two greater mana potions. Usin'' identify on the first loot coin I got this.

    [Wizard¡¯s Staff of the Elements:

    Item Tags: Rare, Rank D. 2h Staff. Droppable.

    Item stats: +10 to Intelligence, Soul and Fantasy. +25% to all elemental damage. Every spell landed has a +1% chance to shock, ignite, chill or bleed your target(depending upon element and ability used) per 2 Fantasy stat. Caps at +50% chance.

    Ability: Elemental Roulette: Channel mana into the staff and release it to randomly cast one of four elemental spells. Lightning Bolt. Beam of Fire. Icicle Blast. Earthen Spiked Chastity Ring. All spells scale by dealing damage equal to the energy units channeled into the staff multiplied by the wielder''s Fantasy stat. Maximum channeled mana or life units: 100.

    Self-repairs when fed mana if at least 70% of the item remains.]

    It was odd to get a caster weapon from a trash melee mob, but I wasn''t goin'' to complain. The item looked kind of fun, I¡¯d always wanted to have magic. I''d be keepin¡¯ it for sure. I moved on to the last coin.

    [Tusker¡¯s Exaggerated Codpiece:

    Item Tags: Rare, Rank D. Overwear. Droppable.

    Item Stats: +5 to Strength, +15 to Constitution and +5 to Fantasy. +1 to Luck and Charisma for every 2 Fantasy stat. Caps at +50 Luck and Charisma.

    Ability: Endless Seed of Conquest: Once per day you can completely restore your body from all forms of exhaustion.

    Passive Ability: Unerring Thrust(because accuracy is overrated, right?): Let''s be honest, sometimes the best way to find your target is to just go for it, blindly. With Unerring Thrust, you''ll find that even if your initial aim is off, you''ve got a knack for finding your way back on track. Think of it as a second chance, or maybe even a third, depending on how many Fantasy stats you''ve got. Because let''s face it, sometimes the thrill of the chase is all the reward you need. Effect: +5% chance to hit your target per 5 Fantasy stat. Caps at +50% chance to score a hit.

    Passive Ability: Voodoo Jewel Barrier: Any damage directed to the wearer¡¯s groin is negated and reflected back to the enemy¡¯s groin, potentially causing damage equal to 50% of damage received plus 500% of the wearer¡¯s Luck stat.

    Self-repairs when fed mana if at least 70% of the item remains.

    Note from Burguis, the item¡¯s crafter: Tusker the orc was cursed with massive balls, making them a frequent target in combat so he commissioned this item as revenge.]

    Odd item and abilities, but the stats were decent and the clicky effect might come in clutch in a protracted battle or to stay awake for days. Unpackin¡¯ the loot-coin, an item appeared resemblin¡¯ Conan the Barbarian¡¯s leather undies, with a much bigger bulge and a dozen evenly spaced boar tusks attached around the front and sides of the waistline, points facing out. The dang codpiece was so big I could stuff four or five cucumbers in there. Whoever that Tusker fella was, he sure was packin¡¯. I couldn¡¯t figure if I was supposed to wear it on the inside or outside. On second thought, outside for sure, them tusks was sharp, they¡¯d tear right through my pants. The outerwear looked too big for me around the waist and leg holes but after I sent them to my P.D.S. and summoned them out over my trousers and leather armor they had resized and fit like a glove, except for the bulge. Lookin'' down, I had to admit it looked kinda badass. And all the better if the ladies thought I could actually fill the cavernous codpiece; they¡¯d find out the truth in the bedroom and be satisfied enough. Wonderin¡¯ how hard the thing was, I gave it a hard punch, yep, tough. Luckily I didn¡¯t get hit by the reflect passive.

    Moving on, I opened the second Rare chest. A new potion dropped, Potion of Speed, increasin¡¯ action-speed by 25% for 1 minute. 1000 Champion Coins, 50 gold. A weapon dropped but it was a one-handed sword named Whispering Shadow Blade. Not my style, but gainin¡¯ weapon skills granted me stat points I could assign anywhere so it was worth practicin¡¯ with.

    [Whispering Shadow Blade:

    Item Tags: Rare, Rank F. 1h Sword. Droppable.

    Item Stats: +5 to Strength, Dexterity and Fantasy.

    Passive Ability: Bloodlust: Increases attack and movement speed by 5% for 1 minute after every kill while wielding this blade. Effect stacks, capping at 50%.

    Passive Ability: Whisper of Death: You hear the promise of death on the winds of fate as your opponent approaches their imminent demise; you deal an additional 10% damage to enemies with health below 30%. +10% additional damage per 3 Fantasy stat. Caps at 300%.

    Passive Ability: Shadow¡¯s Grace: Grants a 10% chance to teleport to a safe area up to 5 meters away before being struck by a lethal attack. If no safe area exists within 5 meters, the range is infinite. +10% chance per 5 Fantasy Stat. Caps at 50%.]

    The second item was a huge upgrade to the Chain Hauberk of Agility I got from a common chest that I¡¯d already equipped.

    [Obsidian Spiked-Plate Shroud:

    Item Tags: Rare, Rank E. Nano-Chestplate. Bindable.

    Physical: +10 Strength, +10 Constitution and +10 Agility.

    Ability: Shadow Retreat: By vanishing into a shadowy form the wearer can teleport to any position within 300 yards of their current position they can see or have seen within the last 24 hours. Cooldown: 3 hours.

    Ability: Obsidian Barrage: The wearer unleashes a wave of hardened shadow-shards from the voidstone adorning the chestplate of this armor that deals significant damage to enemies in a cone in front of them. Each shard deals damage equal to 50% of the wearer¡¯s second lowest stat multiplied by their Fantasy stat. Cooldown: 1 hour.

    Passive Ability: Shadow Resistance: The wearer gains +30% resistance to shadow-based attacks and spells.]

 Chapter 6. A Boss emerges!

    I felt another surge of power enter me as I sent my old armor into my P.D.S. and equipped the Obsidian Spiked-Plate Shroud over my linen shirt. Just as I was about to open the final Obsidian rank chest my unpacking spree was interrupted by a rumbling in the earth. I remembered the underground worm that had taken off Darren¡¯s arm, this was likely it. Scanning around, my Sense Life revealed no sign of it, but the ability didn¡¯t allow me to see underground. The rumblin¡¯ grew stronger. A glance at our group¡¯s formation and it was clear an attack from the worm would be disastrous. We were packed together like canned sardines. Focusin¡¯ on my Sense Life with all my power, I sensed it below us, risin¡¯ through the earth like a fish through water. The worm was huge, prolly fifty to sixty feet long. Its aura brimmin¡¯ with a dark and oppressive hunger, a hunger that could not be satiated. The beastie would eat and eat until it either exploded, fell unconscious or ran out of food.

    Judgin¡¯ where the creature would surface I shouted with all my might and pointed at the general area, ¡°Yall over there! It¡¯s surfacing! Scatter!¡±

    It seemed my higher stats increased my volume because they heard me all right. They started runnin¡¯, some in a better direction, others in a worse one.

    I spun the drake and troll in the direction of the danger, activatin¡¯ Reaper Form and Dragon¡¯s Pounce hopin¡¯ to intercept it as it surfaced and not a moment too soon. The worm¡¯s bulk emerged from the earth at about ten feet-per-second without displacin¡¯ the earth at all, as if the earth was phased into another dimension or somethin¡¯. The worm had no eyes that I could see. Its thick, stony spiked-plates looked more befittin¡¯ of a tank or a castle wall.

    My troll struggled to get through the crowd without killing anyone and failed to arrive in time to land an attack. Dragon¡¯s Pouce allowed me to soar over people and glide to the worm. The beastie caught two people in its odd mouth as it emerged, a mouth that looked like an extendable and prehensile anal prolapse with four beak-like teeth spread out around the opening that clamped down on the two people, pulling them into its gullet. The worm was archin¡¯ back down to reenter the earth when my drake¡¯s talons latched onto it somewhere about its middle, clingin¡¯ on, slowin¡¯ its¡¯ momentum and knockin¡¯ it off course.

    I activated Battle Form and time seemed to slow. I jumped off my drake and analyzed the situation. We¡¯d have little hope if the worm was allowed to dive in and out of the ground, snatching up a person or two every time. I aimed to prevent it by holdin¡¯ it above ground with my drake¡¯s bulk. Luckily it wasn¡¯t an issue as I heard someone yell ¡®Spatial Freeze!¡¯ and the worm¡¯s head smacked hard into the ground. Maybe some of these people were more competent and useful than I¡¯d been thinkin¡¯.

    With a third of its tail spatially locked in the ground, the beastie whipped its torso around like an escaped firehose. Every time it slammed into the ground a small earthquake went off, knockin¡¯ people off their feet, breakin¡¯ up the ground and makin¡¯ footing trickier. Others weren¡¯t as lucky, turnin¡¯ into meat-paste beneath the worm¡¯s bulk.

    When my troll arrived, along with Wiesner and many other brave souls, the worm was still thrashin¡¯ about in a maddened frenzy, makin¡¯ attackin¡¯ it up close a challenge.

    My troll had so much regen I didn¡¯t need to worry much about its safety so I went on a rampage usin¡¯ the huge tree-club with Troll-Smash every time it popped off cooldown.

    Ranged attackers began their assault, pickin¡¯ their shots carefully to avoid friendly fire; arrows and elemental spells rained down on the beastie like a firework show.

    After about ten seconds the fireworks slowed and I knew we were in for a rough fight. An immense aura flared out from the worm, grippin¡¯ at me like fist tightenin¡¯ around my heart. From the pained grunts and winces of others around me, they felt it too.

    My stored life was being slowly drained away, maybe 1% per second or so. The worm¡¯s aura was drainin¡¯ everyone near it over time and while the amount wasn¡¯t a lot from one person, tapping hundreds of people would net the creature a massive amount of regeneration.

    If we didn¡¯t kill this thing fast there was a chance its regeneration would outpace the damage we inflicted upon it. And currently even my blood clones weren¡¯t even scratchin¡¯ the damned thing.

    The wurm paused its erratic movement long enough to emit a cone of shimmerin¡¯ energy from its mouth. To my horror those caught in the effect seemed to age decades a second until their flesh turned to dust, leavin¡¯ skeletons fallin¡¯ to the ground. Time acceleration?

    Perhaps with some levels under their belt they might¡¯ve had a long enough lifespan to endure the boss¡¯s ability, as it was¡­ they were holdin¡¯ up like cotton candy in the rain. Wonderin¡¯ why the beastie was so damned strong I used Inspect on it.

    [Gold Rank C Boss: Trojanus: Aeon Wurm of Endless Hunger.]

    Shit! A boss. And possibly stronger than both my clones combined. I ordered my drake to quit uselessly biting the boss and use Drake¡¯s Breath, but for all the boss seemed affected it must take its baths in lava.

    Judgin¡¯ the fight so far, the boss had insanely high physical and elemental resistances. We needed another damage type. Rememberin¡¯ my new sword¡¯s death and gravity based proc I unsheathed it, readying for an attack.

    Wiesner jumped forward just as I did and we both landed solid hits. Weisner darted back to safety, waitin¡¯ for safe opportunities to attack. I waded in, unleashin¡¯ a series of attacks. My first proc went off on the third strike, causin¡¯ a void-like line of energy to explode out of the blade, hittin¡¯ the worm¡¯s, (or wurm¡¯s, as the system message said), neck where I¡¯d struck it. The upper third of the wurm¡¯s long body was blasted away from me by the gravity portion of the proc, makin¡¯ it difficult to judge any damage the death portion might¡¯ve caused.

    The wurm crushed some people before its momentum ceased. Wiesner¡¯s leapt forward, his next strike summonin¡¯ a Phantom Dragon Skull that appeared above the wurm, racin¡¯ towards it with jaws wide, lined with clear, crystalline teeth long as my forearm. The phantom managed to bite a few spiked-plates off the wurm, causin¡¯ the boss to bleed a bit and its movement slowed due to the proc debuff. The damage wasn¡¯t life threatenin¡¯ but it was an openin¡¯ for other attacks to get through. I searched again for any damage my Darkened Strike proc inflicted and noticed a row of cracked spiked-plates seeping with darkened blood.

    ¡°Thirty seconds left on Spatial Lock!¡± a female shouted.

    "Damnit!" I cursed under my breath, adrenaline coursin¡¯ through my veins. We were on borrowed time, the spell''s duration dwindlin¡¯ with each passing second. There was no room for hesitation. With a roar, I charged forward, unleashin¡¯ a whirlwind of attacks, my blade a blur of steel against the monstrous wurm¡¯s stoney exterior.

    I paused only when the boss focused on me, dodgin¡¯ back to avoid its massive beak-teeth snappin¡¯ shut with a deafenin¡¯ clang just inches from my face. Sensin¡¯ I was the greatest danger to its survival, it focused its attacks on me, aiming to crush me under its immense weight and/or catch me in its puckered mouth. I continued dodgin¡¯ it until its frustration boiled over. Focusin¡¯ its eyeless gaze on me, a wave of energy, cold and chillin¡¯, washed over me. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, the world around me distorted into a blurry canvas. I could see, I could hear, but I was frozen, unable to move or even breathe. My heart stopped hammerin¡¯ against my ribs. The wurm followed up with a different ability crackling with an ominous, ancient power, it formed in its mouth, building in moments, aimed directly at me; the death, or aging beam. Unable to dodge, my mind raced, desperately searching for a solution. And then, a flicker of hope; the Whispering Shadow Blade¡¯s passive effect Shadow¡¯s Grace came to mind, I used my P.D.S. to swap my greatsword for it just before the death beam struck me. The weapon''s passive effect failed to protect me. Darkness blotted out my vision, dense and suffocating. In moments I felt my body age and die, then watched as my flesh shriveled, cracked and fell in dusty chunks. My obsidian skeleton collapsed to the ground as whatever ability that had frozen me finally released me.

    [Your health has been reduced to zero. Your body is incapacitated. Bone Walk Activated.]

    I felt a significant portion of my stored life exit my Bone Vault and infuse my bones. It took awhile for me to get to my feet, locomotion in Bone Walk felt different, more like puppeteerin¡¯ my body than controllin¡¯ it from within. Lookin¡¯ down, I was all gleamin¡¯ black bones.

    The boss¡¯s ability had zeroed out my health pool. Perhaps someone of equal or greater tier could survive it but on someone much below its rank it was no doubt an insta-kill. I¡¯d be dead without my racial abilities.

    Spottin¡¯ my sword lying nearby, I retrieved it to continue the battle. Oddly, I could feel the sword handle through the bones of my hands, but I didn¡¯t have time for idle musings. If my understandin¡¯ of the Bone Walk ability was accurate I had five hours until my stored life zeroed out, permanently killin¡¯ me unless I went into a Predatory Slumber before that point.

    The boss hissed when it saw me rise to my feet. Aimin¡¯ to end the fight, it rose up like a cobra and struck at me. Its grotesque mouth gaped open, beak-teeth ready to latch onto me and haul me into its foul depths. Activation¡¯ Furious Dash, I darted to the side moments before the boss cratered the ground behind me. I jumped to avoid the shockwaves cascadin¡¯ out around the crater and continued attackin¡¯ as soon as I landed. Nearly every fifth attack of mine procced Blackened Strike. Every now and then I¡¯d get lucky and two or three strikes in a row unleashed the passive effect, makin¡¯ me chase the boss¡¯s torso as it was flung about.

    The wurm roared in pain, its protections weakened, body crisscrossed with blackened wounds leakin¡¯ dark ooze. Its attacks became more frantic, desperate. It snatched up several of our allies in its maw, swallowing them whole. With each human consumed, the wurm''s wounds seemed to heal slightly, a cruel twist of fate.

    Even so, the damage was mountin¡¯, Wiesner, my troll in its Reaper Form and the others attacked the damaged areas. The missin¡¯ armor plates allowed Wiesner¡¯s phantom procs to inflict massive damage, tearing chunks out of the wurm''s body. The death energy from my Blackened Strike procs spread out from the wounds, seepin¡¯ into the wurm''s flesh, darkenin¡¯ it with a sickly hue. I thought about divin¡¯ into the wurm''s mouth, porcupinin¡¯ it to death from within like I¡¯d done with the drake, but I had no idea where a wurm''s brain was located. It was a gamble I couldn''t afford to take.

    With less than ten-seconds left on the lady¡¯s spell I realized we wouldn¡¯t lop it in two before it ended. Just then, the boss activated an ability, possibly two: energy shimmered like a mirage in the air around it and all of a sudden the boss seemed to speed up while I felt as if I was movin¡¯ through molasses. Another time based ability? From beneath the boss''s spiked plates, foot-long, writhin¡¯ maggots emerged. Their bodies wriggled and pulsed, segmented bodies oozing with a sickenin¡¯, pulsatin¡¯ life. How they could jump, I had no idea, but jump they did, launching themselves towards our ranks with a horrifying, almost mechanical precision. Every time they damaged someone from our group the boss healed a bit more. Some of the larvae burrowed into the bodies of our wounded and killed them from the inside, with each death, the boss wurm was healed by a greater amount. Luckily the parasitic larva were easy to dispatch. Less than a dozen of our cluster lost their lives to ¡®em.

    Thinkin¡¯ furiously on how I could increase my damage, an image of Wolverine popped into my head, giving me an idea. I focused on growin¡¯ claws as thin as possible to increase cuttin¡¯ power; my bones were ¡®nigh¡¯ indestructible accordin¡¯ to the ability description so the claws shouldn¡¯t need thickness to be durable. Bones in my hands extended from between the knuckles of my closed fists, creating footlong claws that were thinner than paper. The transformation lacked any pain, mirrorin¡¯ my lack of flesh. From the side the claws were pitch black, from the top they were near invisible. Pleased with my work, I bolted towards the boss and started carvin¡¯ into a weakened section.

    Chunks of boss meat went flyin¡¯ all around me. As long as I kept the cuttin¡¯ angle right the claws cut the boss¡¯s unarmored flesh like it was a particularly hardened chunk of cheese. I was half way through its body when ¡®Spatial Lock¡¯ ran out and the boss started tryin¡¯ to flee underground. I sent bone spikes out from my body, rammin¡¯ them into the flesh of the boss, lockin¡¯ myself into the cavity I¡¯d carved and continuin¡¯ my assault. The boss unleashed an earth-rendin¡¯ shriek, crackin¡¯ and upheavin¡¯ the ground around us for twenty-meters, sendin¡¯ huge chunks of earth, rocks and nearby humans into the air. Through my link with my drake clone I knew it¡¯d lost its grip on the wurm as the boss started headin¡¯ underground. Somehow the boss¡¯s earth phase ability had included me within the field and we started movin¡¯ down through the earth. I sliced and diced like a pro prep chef, with thirty-seconds left on Battle Form I made my final cut and the front third of the boss was severed from the rest of its body. Unfortunately, the wurm didn¡¯t die. I was dislodged from it as it escaped into the earth at greater speed. I found myself still pinned to the still phased and twitchin¡¯ rear section by my bone spines.

    I almost instinctively pulled the boss¡¯s left behind section into my Bone Vault, but a scary thought stopped me¡­ Was me being pinned to its body was the only thing keepin¡¯ me phased? What would happen if I got locked in the soil? Would my bones fuse to the dirt and rock around me? Rememberin¡¯ my breastplate¡¯s Shadow Retreat ability, I figured it was worth a shot. Decidin¡¯ that now wasn¡¯t a good time to hold back, I renewed Battle Form for another five minutes. The boss¡¯s twitchin¡¯ left behind section was slowly regeneratin¡¯. I didn''t sense any mind behind it though, perhaps it needed to grow a new head first and then two identical bosses would exist? I couldn''t let that happen. Reachin¡¯ out with my life force, I wrapped the mindless boss up and pulled on its life with all of my will. An ancient and stubborn subconscious willpower fought against me but to no avail. I ripped it out and shoved the life into my Bone Vault.

    [You have successfully drained 100% of the life force from Trojanus¡¯s Doppelganger Clone. Life gained: 3012 years. Current life force: 4816 years.]

    I simultaneously pulled the corpse into my Bone Vault and cast Shadow Retreat, teleportin¡¯ to the spot I''d been sittin¡¯ on my drake clone when the wurm emerged. I saw blackness like a void for an instant before appearin¡¯ fifteen feet in the air and fallin¡¯ to the ground. I felt like an overstuffed pillow as energy spread out in my body, my bones grew, slowly raising my height to nearly seven-feet and increasin¡¯ all my body¡¯s parameters by twenty base stat points. Two new facets bloomed in my mind; four facets would make me a multitaskin¡¯ freak. Checking the boss¡¯s remains in my Bone Vault, I sensed that it could be used as a clone, but I would need a vast quantity of biomass to restore it to wholeness; its body had been huge and its density was higher due to it being a C Rank. Unsure if it was worth it, I checked the notification of Harvestable abilities and holy shit there was a lot.

    [Earth Affinity: Peak.

    Time Affinity: Moderate.

    Space Affinity: Low.

    Seismic Roar: Trojanus lets out a powerful roar that causes the ground and everything around it to shake violently, dealing area-of-effect damage and potentially stunning enemies caught in the tremors.

    Harmonic Passage: Trojanus phases into harmony with the earth around it, allowing it to burrow underground with minimal disturbance to the ground.

    Temporal Domain: Trojanus surrounds itself with a domain of time, slowing down the movement and perception of time of all enemies within its radius while negating any detrimental time-based effects on itself.

    Chrono Shift: Trojanus can momentarily shift its position in time and space, allowing it to dodge incoming attacks or reposition itself strategically in battle.

    Time Lock: Trojanus can lock a single enemy in a time stasis, rendering them immobile and unable to act for a few seconds. When the stasis ends, the enemy takes additional damage based on the duration of the lock.

    Aeon Pulse: Trojanus releases a pulse of temporal energy, dealing time damage to all enemies in a narrow cone in front of it and causing a time dilation effect that slows their actions.

    Eternal Hunger: Trojanus taps into its endless hunger, draining the life force of nearby enemies over time and converting it into health for itself. This ability also has a chance to reset the cooldowns of its other abilities.

    Parasitic Larvae: Trojanus periodically releases parasitic larvae in combat that seek out enemies, burrowing into them and feasting on their health, draining a small amount to grow stronger and sending the vast majority back to Trojanus to replenish the behemoth''s health.

    Mana to Flesh: Trojanus fuels its body''s regeneration by converting its own earth mana and the earth mana around it into flesh.

    Doppelganger Ascendency: Trojanus has tremendous regenerative properties, when sliced in two, both halves will regrow using Mana to Flesh and whichever half is strongest at the end of a month will survive. The weaker is absorbed by the dominant half via soul-link as there can only be one Aeon of Endless Hunger.

    Stone-Spiked Carapace, Passive: Trojanus scales are hardened by mana into a nearly impenetrable stone-like armor, significantly reducing incoming elemental and physical damage, inflicting a large portion of the damage on the boss¡¯s vast stores of earth mana instead.

    Earthquake, Passive: By slamming its massive body into the ground, Trojanus creates a devastating localized earthquake that fractures the terrain, causing damage and creating difficult footing for enemies.]

    So, Mana to Flesh allowed the boss to regenerate its own flesh using Earth mana, hopefully alleviatin¡¯ the need for me to farm biomass. Although my blood clones were supposed to consume life force for their abilities, mana to flesh specifically stated it could draw on the earth Mana around it to fuel the ability, so that is what I would need to experiment with if I chose to make it a blood clone, makin¡¯ sure it wasn''t going to drain me dry of life force or biomass while trying to heal itself. On the flipside, I could gut the boss and take two of the abilities I wanted, five in particular interested me: Temporal Domain, Aeon Pulse, Eternal Hunger, Mana to Flesh, and Chrono Shift, but it would be a tyrannical powerhouse of a blood clone if I left it with all its abilities. One thing worried me though; the Doppelganger Ascendancy mentioned that only one of the two halves could survive after a month. I was fairly sure I¡¯d killed this half by suckin¡¯ the life out of it, but what if makin¡¯ it a blood clone somehow registered as it still being alive to its other half? Would it still share a soul-link and if so would the strongest absorb the weakest at the end of a month? It was worth it even if I only got a month of insane life-farmin¡¯ out of it, but if it disappeared I¡¯d lose a clone and all those OP abilities. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    I''d have to do my best to make sure it was stronger than the other half by the end of that time. If I wasn¡¯t confident that was the case I¡¯d gut it of the abilities I wanted before it was time for one of the halves to absorb the other. Decision made, I started the one hour infusion process to make it my clone. Once that was finished I could summon it and it''s Mana to Flesh ability would return it to its full form in time. Looking again at the boss''s skills, I realized just how lucky we were that the lady had the spatial freeze ability; two of the skills, Chrono Shift and Harmonic Passage would have been difficult to deal with and must have been grayed out and unusable during that time.

    I¡¯d been so caught up in my own thoughts I''d ignored the chaos of our cluster. People were panickin¡¯, terrified the wurm would return. Thinkin¡¯ I¡¯d calm them down, I tried to use my loudest voice and shout, letting them know the boss was gone for now and they could calm down. No words came out¡­ I had no lungs to push air, no trachea to channel it, no vocal cords, tongue or lips to help form the words. On top of that, I was slowly bleedin¡¯ life from my bones. In another fifty minutes or so another huge chunk of life would be gone. I needed to regenerate my body, fast.

    Closin¡¯ my eyes, I focused of the biomass in my Bone Vault and and drew it forth. It oozed out of my obsidian bones like a living mass, wigglin¡¯ and squirmin¡¯ as it spread out to cover me in a cocoon with a hardened shell. Within this cocoon, muscle, tendons, nerves, veins and skin formed and connected. My awareness of the outside world faded as the entirety of my mind focused on what was occurrin¡¯ with my body. The last thing to form was my guts and organs as they needed a framework to hold them in place. That done, the excess biomass retreated to my Bone Vault. The hardened shell of the cocoon crumbled and fell and I exited the trance-like state. Openin¡¯ my eyes I found myself surrounded by a crowd of gawkin¡¯, stupefied onlookers, Wallace, Sally and Wiesner were amongst them.

    ¡°You good there buddy?¡± Wiesner said, with more than a hint of worry in his voice. He pointed at my head, grinnin¡¯, ¡°I think you forgot to grow your hair back. Also, you have horns now.¡¯¡±

    I reached up instinctively to feel my head. Yep. Bald. And my horns had grown; instead of nubs hidin¡¯ within my hair, they rose an inch and a half out of my skin, curvin¡¯ to point straight up from a point above my temples. Behind these horns, I felt the nubs of another set under my skin, too small to be visible but big enough to feel.

    ¡°All good now,¡± I replied. ¡°The Wurm isn¡¯t dead, but it took off with its tail between its legs. It shouldn¡¯t be back anytime soon.¡± I made sure to speak loud enough for my word to spread.

    A collective sigh of relief washed over the crowd. Cheers of joy erupted, the sound of hope replacing fearful whispers. Wiesner came ove, givin¡¯ me a hearty slap on the shoulder. ¡°Had me worried there for a bit when I saw the boss drag you underground. Should¡¯ve known you wouldn''t go down that easy.¡±

    ¡°Eh, had myself worried too, haha!" I responded, a nervous laugh escaping my lips. The shock of the battle was still coursin¡¯ through my mind and I needed to be doin¡¯ somethin¡¯ as a distraction. ¡°We should recover the dead and move on. We¡¯re burnin¡¯ daylight and I¡¯m definitely not sleepin¡¯ here.¡±

    I collected the dead through my troll clone, nearly two-hundred in all. Another loot chest appeared, somehow delayed. This chest was different, constructed of a silver or platinum metal and some sort of dark wood that looked as if it¡¯d been seared by fire.

    [Platinum Ranked loot-chest.]

    I had notifications waiting but I ignored them for now, choosin¡¯ to open¡¯ the chest first. Scannin¡¯ the loot coins, one in particular caught my eye as only I could use it.

    [A.I. Blood Fairy: (Titan Race Only):

    Item Tags: Mythical, Gold Rank C. Evolving. Soulbindable. Familiar.

    Item Description: A sentient A.I. in the form of a mischievous blood fairy, capable of enhancing the Titan¡¯s abilities. The Blood Fairy can commandeer one of the Titan¡¯s Blood Clones allowing it to autonomously battle alongside the Titan. The Blood Fairy is summoned with 50% of the Titan¡¯s base stats. If the Blood Fairy¡¯s body is dispersed it will reassemble over time.

    Item stats: +15% to all stats. +15% to all resistances. Health Regeneration: +20% total health over 10 minutes. Mana Regeneration: +30% total mana over 10 minutes.

    Activatable Abilities:

    Fairy Frenzy: Temporarily boosts the Titan¡¯s Perception and action speed by 50% and boosts item proc chance by +20% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

    Blood Pact: The Titan can call upon the Blood Fairy to cast a Blood Pact on them, sacrificing 30% of the Titan¡¯s maximum health to create a shield that absorbs 50% of incoming damage for 15 seconds. No cooldown.

    Crimson Binding Aura: The Blood Fairy binds the blood of enemies within a 5-meter radius, reducing their attack speed by 30% and movement speed by 25% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 45 seconds.

    Life Drain: The Blood Fairy channels a beam of dark energy at a target, draining 5% of their health per second for 5 seconds and sharing the health between itself and the Titan. Cooldown: 3 minutes

    Fairy Guardian: Summons an ethereal protective fairy for 1 minute that follows the Titan, providing a 10% damage reduction aura and healing allies for 10% of their maximum health every 10 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

    Passive Abilities:

    Blood Bond: Transfers 10% of damage taken by the Titan to the Blood Fairy, the Fairy heals by withdrawing biomass from the Titan¡¯s Bone Vault.

    Vampiric Aura: Allies within a 10-meter radius of the Blood Fairy gain +2% lifesteal.

    Flesh Melding: The Blood Fairy can mold flesh to its will, allowing it to freely alter its appearance and to a lesser extent any Blood Clone it controls.]

    Upackin¡¯ the loot-coin for the A.I. Blood Fairy, I received a small idol in the shape of a typical fantasy female fairy, it was nearly a foot tall and the color of dried blood, its feel and heft was that of metal. Battle Form had faded so I reactivated it heedless of the cost. Extendin¡¯ a bone blade out of the tip of my pointin¡¯ finger, I let a drop of blood flow out of the wound and drip onto the idol. Now bound to me, I watched the idol appear to come to life on my palm.

    The little fairy turned to me, stompin¡¯ her foot angrily. ¡°Master! I¡¯ve been waiting forever for you! Not you specifically, anyone would do, but it turned out to be you and you made me wait! Do you know what it¡¯s like to be stuck in partial hibernation? Stuck with nothing except your own thoughts for what felt like ages?¡±

    If the fairy had a human-sized body her beauty would rival that Angel with the mermaid tits I¡¯d seen before arrivin¡¯ here. ¡°Sorry to make ya wait little lady. Name¡¯s McLain and my buddy here is Weisner. What should I call you?¡±

    The fairy blinked, her scowl turning contemplative. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t have a name.¡± Suddenly she perked up, ¡°Master, I want you to name me!¡±

    ¡°First off, don¡¯t call me Master. McLain will do.¡±

    ¡°Got it Master McLain!¡± the fairy chirped happily. ¡°Now, what¡¯s my name?¡±

    Shakin¡¯ my head, I wondered how I ended up with an idiot for an A.I.. Hopefully she''ll get smarter over time, or perhaps her ditziness will grow on me. ¡°I¡¯ll have to get to know you and then I¡¯ll name you. Right now we have bigger fish to fry. We¡¯re headed to the Millenium Tower of Ascension and we¡¯re gettin¡¯ attacked left and right.¡±

    ¡°You can count on me to protect you Master! Just let me use a blood clone and I¡¯ll sweep these forests clean of vermin!¡± The little fairy¡¯s eyes gleamed with a zealous light as she shook her fist vehemently at the sky as if she was about to summon Divine Judgement down upon these ¡®vermin¡¯.

    Thinking it wasn¡¯t such a bad idea, I told her she could use the Troll clone. She scowled, complainin¡¯ that it was ugly and smelly, but she zipped over to it, meldin¡¯ into its torso and then takin¡¯ off into the surroundings runnin¡¯ like an oversized and pissed off gorilla carrying a tree-club. Too late, I realized I¡¯d forgotten to tell her to loot everything, but it hadn''t been necessary. Minutes later I received two system notifications and the corpse of a new beastie, a storm wolf, entered my Bone Vault. One notification was a life-gain message, the second was a list of abilities I could absorb with Harvest Potential, none immediately useful to me besides a short range lightning teleport with basically no cooldown.

    [Lightning Rail: Instantly transform into a bolt of lightning, teleporting through enemies or electrically conductive objects in a straight line to a target location, causing electrifying damage to each enemy passed through. Heals Allies in path for a minor amount. Cost: 50 mana or life units. Distance: 50 yards unless overcharged; every 10 yards over 50 adds 15 units of energy cost. Enemies shocked by the lightning decrease distance traveled by 2 yards per enemy unless ability is overcharged. 1 second cooldown.]

    Seeing as I had three open ability slots I went ahead and slotted it. Eager to try it, I targeted a shroom-cap thirty-yards away and activated the ability. It was louder than expected, like firin¡¯ off an AR15 only with a fizzlin¡¯, electric pop. One second I was standin¡¯ by Weisner, the next I was on the cap. I turned around wearin¡¯ a big goofy grin and teleported back.

    ¡°Nifty,¡± Wiesner said. ¡°Got 6 levels off the wurm. Level 15 now.¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± I said, grinnin¡¯ like a shark. ¡°Let¡¯s see what else we have here.¡± I grabbed the remaining four loot coins. The items were extremely nice, and even though me and Wiesner did the majority of the damage to the wurm and there wouldn¡¯t even be any loot without us I felt it might be best for me to spread the love to others that had proved instrumental to our partial victory. Besides the Blood Fairy A.I., the only item I kept was a badass circlet that boosted summoned minions by a substantial amount among other things.

    [Crown of Aeonic Dominion:

    Item Tags: Legendary. Gold Rank C. Evolving. Head Slot. Soulbindable.

    Item Stats: +30 to all stats excluding Fantasy. Fantasy +20. +10% to all resistances.

    Active Abilities:

    Void Command: Summons 1 random void creature of equal rank to the caster to fight for you, +1 void creature per 100 Fantasy stat. Duration: 60 seconds, +1 second per 2 Fantasy stat. Energy Cost: 50 units. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

    Dominion Pulse: Unleashes a burst of psychic energy that damages and confuses all nearby enemies. Duration: 10 seconds. Energy Cost: 40 units. Cooldown: 3 minutes.

    Phantom Doppelganger: Creates a spectral copy of yourself that mimics your actions, confusing enemies and doubling your offensive capabilities. Duration: 30 seconds. +1 Doppelganger summoned per 100 Fantasy. +1 second to duration per 5 Fantasy stat. Energy Cost: 100 units. Cooldown: 10 minutes.

    Passive Abilities:

    Psychic Dominance: Increases control over summoned minions and enhances their physical and magical damage. +10% minion Physical and Magical damage. Grants minions a flat 10% damage reduction that stacks with all other forms of mitigation.

    Mind Shield: Grants a passive shield that negates 20% of incoming psychic damage. Grants a 5% chance to completely resist psychic damage that increases as reality loosens its hold on you, +1% resist chance per 10 Fantasy stat.

    Aura of Subjugation: Weakens the will of nearby enemies, reducing their statistics and defenses by 10% while boosting you and your allies by the same amount. Aura Range: 10 meter radius. +1 meter radius per 5 Fantasy.]

    ¡°Who cast the Spatial Freeze ability?¡± I yelled.

    ¡°I saw her during the battle. She¡¯s right over there,¡± Wiesner stated, pointin¡¯ to a lady appearin¡¯ to be in her early twenties. Her looks were on the cuter side of average, with captivating light-blue eyes and wavy brown hair hangin¡¯ just past her shoulders. Of course, she wore the same basic leather armor we all had spawned here with. She flinched as she noticed me approaching her. A crowd gathered as I reached out my hand to shake hers, she returned the gesture. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m McLain. Just wanted to let you know we would¡¯ve been in a rough spot without you. We wounded the critter, but I got a feelin¡¯ it''s not done with us yet, so we need you to be strong if that happens. Gonna give you two items from the boss and some other gear once I figure out what ya need.¡±

    ¡°Sally,¡± the lady said shyly. ¡°It was no problem.¡±

    ¡°Good to meet ya. Which stats benefit your class the most?¡± I asked.

    Sally didn¡¯t require any time to process my question. ¡°Intelligence. Willpower is a close second, the boss almost broke my hold on Spatial Freeze due to our rank and Willpower differences. And Fantasy of course, every class needs it from what I gather.¡±

    I passed her all the loot-coins I¡¯d gathered for single stat gear with Intelligence and Soul on them, a person could only wear two rings per hand and one earring per ear with stats, the item names weren¡¯t very imaginative: two Rings of Intellect(the only two I¡¯d received from the loot-chests), two Earrings of Willpower, Gloves of Intellect, Slippers of Willpower and Linen Breeches of Intellect. And two loot-coins from the boss.

    [Tome of Eternal Hunger:

    Item Tags: Epic. Gold Rank C. Evolving. Soulbindable. Primary or Offhand Slot.

    Item Stats: Constitution +25, Perception +30, Willpower +40, Intelligence +50, Soul +40, Fantasy +15. +10% to all elemental resistances.

    Active Abilities:

    Forbidden Knowledge: Tap into the memory of the cosmos, unleashing a random powerful spell that is a tier above the caster¡¯s tier, that will either aid you and your allies or hurt your enemies. Caster will gain a glimpse of the spell before casting it and they have a chance to retain a fraction of the gifted knowledge, potentially allowing them to reconstruct the spell and learn it. Energy cost: 100 units. Charges: 2. Item gains 1 charge per 10 minutes. Once the caster activates the ability and gains a glimpse of the spell they have 15 seconds to cast it or the spell charge is lost.

    Arcane Surge: Temporarily boosts all spellcasting abilities, reducing mana cost and increasing spell power for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

    Passive Ability:

    Arcane Mastery: Enhances all spellcasting abilities, reducing mana cost, increasing spell damage and increasing mana regeneration rate. Caster gains -1% mana cost and +3% spell damage per 3 Fantasy stat. Increases mana regeneration rate by 1% per 2 Fantasy stat. Mana cost reduction caps at -50%. Increased spell damage caps at +200%. Increased mana regeneration caps at +100%.]

    Sally¡¯s eyes widened as she inspected the item. She unpacked the Tome and pricked her finger on a hairpin to bind the item to her soul. Her cheeks flushed as her stats soared and her lips opened with a wide smile showing perfect teeth. Giddy with joy, she unpacked the second loot-coin containing an item I¡¯d been tempted to keep for myself, but then again, like a dragon I wanted to hoard the shinies.

    [Amulet of the Starry Void:

    Item Tags: Legendary. Peak C Rank. Evolving. Soulbindable. Amulet.

    Item Stats: +25 to all stats excluding Fantasy, +15 to Fantasy. +10% to all resistances.

    Active Abilities:

    Nullification Sphere: Absorbs and negates all magical attacks up to one tier above the item''s current rank within 3 yards of the caster for 10 seconds, converting a portion of the magical energies into mana for the user. Energy cost: 75 units. Cooldown: 1 minute.

    Abyssal Grasp: Creates a gravity vortex of void energy that pulls enemies in, dealing continuous damage over 15 seconds. Energy cost: 50 units. Cooldown: 2 minutes.

    Void Eruption: Unleashes a burst of void energy in all directions at a location of the wearer''s choosing, damaging and pushing back enemies. Energy cost: 50 units. Cooldown: 2 minutes.

    Passive Abilities:

    Dimensional Drift: Grants a chance to phase out of reality when struck by an attack, avoiding all damage for a brief moment. +10% base phase chance. +2% chance per 5 Fantasy stat, capped at 50% chance. You will remain phased but able to move if an enemy¡¯s body or weapon occupies the user''s bodily space at a 1% cost of your lowest energy resource per second: mana, health or life.

    Dark Empowerment: Increases all void and spatial-based damage by 20% and reduces the cooldown of void and spatial abilities by 10%. +2% void and spatial-based damage per 5 Fantasy stat, capped at +100% damage. +1% cooldown reduction per 5 Fantasy stat, capped at +50% reduction.

    Eternal Hunger: Converts a portion of damage dealt to enemies into health, providing sustained healing during combat. +1% lifesteal per 20 Fantasy stat. Capped at 10% lifesteal.]

    The silver amulet clasped a dark crystal glitterin¡¯ with tiny pinpricks of light. Sally bound the item and slipped the dark metal chain it hung from over her head. Smiling broadly, she stepped closer to me and pulled me into a brief hug, quietly saying, ¡°Thank you McLain! I feel a bit more hopeful about seeing my little sister again.¡±

    Startled by the unexpected closeness, I awkwardly patted her shoulders and nodded sagely. The top of her head only came up to my lower chest, the minty scent of her hair wafted up, smellin¡¯ real nice. I fully understood her pain; I¡¯d been missin¡¯ Rufus awful bad, the aliens, system or whatever had him held hostage as well. Hopefully the system message about kids and pets being held in stasis was true and he wouldn¡¯t even remember being away from me.

    A big burly fellow lookin¡¯ to be in his early twenties sauntered over to us lookin¡¯ mighty pissed. ¡°Who the hell do you think you are?¡± he shouted at me. ¡°You can¡¯t take all the loot and hand it out as you please. We need a fair system.¡±

    I stared at him for a while, figurin¡¯ how I should handle this. Wallace had wandered over, observin¡¯ the situation. I hadn¡¯t seen this young man join in on the battle with the wurm. Inspection¡¯ him showed he¡¯d been fightin¡¯, his leather armor was scraped up and he was missing a leather sleeve. ¡°Level 11 berserker. Looks like you been pullin¡¯ yer weight. I got some things for you too. Let me guess, you need Strength, Constitution, Dexterity and Agility?¡±

    He seemed taken aback, ¡°Uh, yeah.¡±

    I passed him the loot-coins for basically a full set of melee armor(minus a bracer and a few jewelry slots), a two-handed battle-hammer, overall boosting each stat by 10 to 20 points. He stripped to his briefs, tossin¡¯ his stat-less leather armor to the ground before unpacking the gear and equippin¡¯ each piece. I looted the old gear as someone might need it at some point. The man was smiling, obviously mollified.

    ¡°Name¡¯s Brett Till. Seems I was wrong about you. Sorry for being a dick.¡±

    ¡°McLain. And no worries. We all need to be stronger if we¡¯re goin¡¯ to get the town built with the rest of our cluster intact. I¡¯ll spread the remainder of the gear I have out as well. Actually, I¡¯ll let you do it. When we stop for the night, bring me two or three people that you¡¯ve seen givin¡¯ it their all and I¡¯ll gear them up with what I have left.¡±

    Brett nodded and headed off to the disorganized right flank he¡¯d come from as if he knew just the right people. The last two loot-coins from the wurm boss were for epic items and I slipped them to Wiesner.

    [Gauntlets of the Abyssal Wurm:

    Item Tags: Epic. Peak C Rank. Evolving. Soulbindable. Gauntlets.

    Item Stats: Strength, +20. Constitution, +40. Agility: +15. Dexterity, +15. Willpower, +20. Fantasy, +10. +5% to all resistances.

    Active Abilities:

    Earthen Dome: Raises a protective dome of earth 5 yards in diameter that blocks attacks and provides cover. Base energy Cost is 60 energy units. Ability can be overcharged to increase the dome size with a compounding increased energy cost that doubles for every 5 extra yards.

    Passive Abilities:

    Seismic Life Tap: Unarmed attacks have a chance to unleash incredible vibrational force, creating shockwaves that damage and disorient an enemy, shaking loose the enemies hold on its health and converting 10% of the damage into health regeneration for the wearer over 5 seconds. Regen effect stacks up to 5 times. 5% base proc chance. +1% proc chance per 10 Fantasy stat. Damage is calculated by the wearer¡¯s Luck multiplied by their Fantasy.

    Temporal Surge: Provides a 5% chance to instantly reset the cooldown of an active ability after use and sets the skill¡¯s next activation cost to zero. +1% chance to reset per 10 Fantasy stat.

    Earth''s Embrace: Increases the wearer''s Constitution by 15% and mitigates physical, disease and poison damage by 20% when standing on natural ground.

    Life Leech: Grants a 1% lifesteal on all melee attacks.

    Rock Solid: Reduces the duration of stuns and knockdowns by 50%.

    Armor of Infinite Resolve:

    Item Tags: Epic. Gold C Rank. Evolving. Soulbindable. Scalemail.

    Item Stats: Strength: +35. Constitution +40. Willpower +45. Soul +50. Fantasy +10. +15% to all resistances.

    Passive Abilities:

    Stalwart Fortress: Gradually restores 5% of maximum health every 15 seconds and provides a 30% mitigation to physical attacks.

    Titan''s Power: Increases the wearer''s strength by an additional 20% during combat.

    Resolute Will: Reduces debilitating effects by 30% and grants immunity to stun effects.

    Unyielding Spirit: When health drops below 30%, instantly heals 50% of maximum health and grants invulnerability for 3 seconds (can trigger once every 3 minutes).

    Earthbound Endurance: Infuses the wielder with earth essence, reducing fatigue effects by 20%.

    Guardian¡¯s Aura: Provides a passive shield to you and allies within 10 yards that absorbs damage equal to the sum total of the wearer¡¯s stats, renewing every 15 seconds. Allies receive a third of the shielding. Killing anything that grants experience refreshes the aura¡¯s shield.]

    Wiesner slapped my shoulder good-naturedly, ¡°Thanks Bud. You know I got your back.¡±

    I nodded and turned to Sally and said, ¡°Follow me if you want to live.¡± Channeling my inner nerd, and usin¡¯ my best Terminator accent. Cringin¡¯ on the inside, I couldn¡¯t help chuckling, Sally rolled her eyes, grinnin¡¯, then nodded and followed me towards the front of the cluster. Wallace was tryin¡¯ to get everyone movin¡¯ again. I placed a shroom-cap behind me on my drake, looking at Sally standing below me on the ground, I patted the seat behind me. She hesitantly clambered up and joined me.

 Chapter 7. Unusual Transportation.

    The rest of the day went by smoothly with only normal beasties attackin¡¯ us here and there as we made slow progress towards the tower. I helped out when needed and left any low-tier loot-chests for others to deal with. That led to a few squabbles, but again I stayed out of it. I regularly received life-gained messages from my A.I. Assistant; turns out she¡¯s a battle junkie. I checked in on her periodically by connectin¡¯ a Facet to the troll clone. I could sense the blood fairy¡¯s joy through our link as she chased her prey, taunting them using the trolls rumbling voice and cackling with mad laughter as she pummeled and sliced her prey into pieces. Occasionally a wolf or other beast would have the common sense to flee, but Reaper Form allowed her to keep up with them more often than not. If she caught them, they didn¡¯t stand a chance. I felt kinda bad for them but I didn¡¯t stop her efforts to depopulate the forest, err, clear the path. She returned to me after two hours, the clone was runnin¡¯ low on lifeforce. I overcharged the troll with half of the two-thousand years of life she¡¯d farmed for me, leaving me with nearly six-thousand in the vault.

    I made an effort along the journey to get to know Sally; she was 24, from Arizona. Six years ago her parents died in a car crash. Lacking any close extended family she dropped out of college to become the guardian of her thirteen year-old sister Alice. She worked 16 hours a day, 6 days a week across two jobs to provide for them; one as a waitress at a truckstop, the other an assembly line position in a tupperware factory. Sally talked alot about her sister; gushin¡¯ with praise for her sister¡¯s budding artistic skills. Apparently Alice was aiming to start her own art studio one day. Perhaps she¡¯d find an opportunity for that even here in this savage new world. I shared a bit of my life with her, nearly had an eye leak when I brought up Rufus, so I switched subjects and jawed about diesel mechanicin¡¯ awhile and the Hayabusa powered off road buggy I¡¯d been buildin¡¯ in my garage which would never get finished now.

    Our journey continued until several hours lay between us and nightfall when Wallace called for a halt so we could fortify our position and hunker down for the night. This bein¡¯ our first time buildin¡¯ a perimeter wall we weren¡¯t certain how long it would take. We began by cuttin'' down all the large shrooms in the vicinity.

    Anyone with skills or the physical ability to chop was tasked with cuttin'' down the surroundin'' mushrooms. I helped usin'' my new sword and my clone''s powerful Tail-Whip and Talon-Strike abilities which both had 20 second cooldowns. The caps were sturdily attached to the stems and most survived the falls intact. Once felled, I connected the stems to my drake clone usin'' a thick chain purchased from the system store for 100 Champion Points, and aided by rows of us doin'' the same with rope, we pulled them into place, formin'' a large circle with the cap-stems facin'' inwards.

    It wasn¡¯t perfect, small gaps we plugged with either stems or smaller caps. It would at least keep out larger beasties that couldn¡¯t dig, climb, jump high or fly.

    Those of us unsuited to these tasks collected firewood, beddin'' materials and various herbs and berries deemed safe to use or eat via class skills. Occasionally the basic system inspect skill revealed enough information to do the same.

    This world was savage, but beautiful too; a stunning¡¯ neon ochre and purple sunset spread out on the horizon as Wiesner, Sally, myself and about a dozen others built several bonfires, cookin¡¯ up ample boar meat to share out.

    The blood fairy was content continuin¡¯ her slaughter, but she wanted to swap out the troll for the drake. I didn¡¯t mind. I ordered her to periodically circle our perimeter and alert me if she located any mini-bosses or bosses, then overcharged the drake with half the life she¡¯d gathered, leavin¡¯ me with almost seven-thousand years in my Bone Vault. Infusion¡¯ the clone caused my stats to take a hit, but I felt certain I was growin¡¯ faster than the people around me. It wouldn¡¯t take long at this rate before all my base stats broke a hundred and I already felt I could run straight through a tree like a damned superhero, leavin¡¯ it in splinters. I wasn¡¯t eager to try it however as it was bound to hurt after all.

    Since I now had six facets from Diamond Mind I figured I should try to maximise my gains. So I sent the troll clone out on patrol as well, controllin¡¯ it with a facet, hopin¡¯ to run across a beast or monster worth turnin¡¯ into another clone as I had twice as many facets as clones. Thinkin¡¯ of that reminded me of the Trojanus clone, injured but summonable. I walked away from the others to the shroom-cap wall and summoned the clone along the edge. Tail-to-bloody stump it was just over thirty-feet long. I guess the other contenders were too tired from walkin¡¯ all day to care, or had become accustomed to my clone antics as no one made a fuss. I activated the clone¡¯s Mana-to-Flesh ability, payin¡¯ attention to my energy and biomass reserves. I felt no drain even as I walked to the clone¡¯s bloody stump and witnessed the wurm very slowly regenerate, flesh wrigglin¡¯ like it had worms under its skin. I sensed earth essence being drawn in from our surroundings, disappearin¡¯ into the Wurm like it had a void within it. The healin¡¯ was so slow that it might take several nights to complete. Still, Mana-to-Flesh was incredible, makin¡¯ this an excellent meat-shield clone. If my drake were to lose a wing or a large portion of its body it would require significant biomass and possibly life reserves to restore it.

    I left the clone to slowly heal, returnin¡¯ to the cookfires, a question circlin¡¯ in my brain. Was the Wurm edible? Tasty even? I might have a source of endless meat on my hands. Perhaps I could set up a BBQ joint in the new town¡­ but we¡¯d have to get there first and ensure a successful build, so it was a problem for another day.

    The sun set, leavin¡¯ us with next to no visibility until the crescent of a pale green quarter-moon arose, castin¡¯ a dim light. A variety of odd animal calls sounded out occasionally, some familiar, some not. Folk were startled, causin¡¯ ''em to huddle around the many campfires spread out within our fortified encampment. Wallace had set up a nightwatch rotation earlier, changin¡¯ every four hours. I wasn¡¯t feelin¡¯ tired so I signed on for an all-nighter. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    Brett eventually brought three people by for the promised loot. Two men, one woman. I ended up handin¡¯ the remainder of the single stat gear off to Brett for him to distribute.

    Around midnight Sally wanted to retire so I activated my P.D.S. and opened the door for her and anyone else that could fit to sleep inside. With my current stats the space was 35 meters wide by 35 meters tall. The floor, walls and ceilin¡¯ were all a dark, glowin¡¯ and shiftin¡¯ purple. Through some quick trial and error I found I could change the interdimensional space in various ways. I flattened the square into a rectangle 105 meters long, 35 meters wide and nearly 12 meters tall. I imagined the interior ceilin¡¯ sparkin¡¯ with stars like Earth¡¯s night sky and my P.D.S. obeyed my wishes, providing enough visibility to see by. I softened the floor until it felt like a yoga or camping foam-mat. Temperature wise, the space felt like a root cellar, 55 degrees Fahrenheit or so. I bumped that up until the chill was knocked off. I felt like I was lucid dreamin¡¯ or the God of this small space. Perhaps I was. When I was done there was enough room to allow everyone to sleep inside if they didn¡¯t mind sleepin¡¯ within arms reach of each other.

    Sally entered reluctantly at first, eyes dartin¡¯ about like she was enterin¡¯ the belly of a beast or somethin¡¯ but soon she was oohin¡¯ and ahhin¡¯ at the starry ceilin¡¯ and soft, smooth floors.

    ¡°Beats sleeping outside on that root-infested dirt,¡± she said cheerily. ¡°Can you keep the door open? How does that work? Does it consume mana or? Just wondering in case I need to pee or anything.¡±

    Sensin¡¯ the drain, I estimated that leavin¡¯ the P.D.S. activated and open cost somewhere in the neighborhood of several months life force per night but one monster kill would restore months of constant P.D.S. usage. ¡°It¡¯s a light drain on my reserves, nothin¡¯ to worry about,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Damn, I don¡¯t know what your class or level is but I¡¯m primarily a space-focused wizard. When do I get one of these bad boys?¡± Sally said, pouting momentarily before a grin split her face. ¡°I¡¯m just glad one of us has it. But what happens if we are inside and you get gobbled up out there?¡±

    Guffawin¡¯ at her remark, I reassured her I wouldn¡¯t be easy to kill and I¡¯d give notice to those inside if significant danger presented itself.

    Her playful gaze turned serious. I thought she might say something else, but she just gave me the cutest wink before saunterin¡¯ off.

    I watched her leave, enjoyin¡¯ the view.

    Several hundred slept in the P.D.S. that first night, includin¡¯ Wiesner and Wallace. The rest eyed it skeptically before walkin¡¯ back to their spots by the fires.The night passed relatively peacefully. Once, a flyin¡¯ creature swooped down and tried haulin¡¯ a woman off but it got mobbed before it could lift off with her. The mob drug the creature to the ground and killed it before I could even get there. The creature¡¯s head and torso appeared alien yet humanoid, with legs like a bird of prey similar to a harpy in movies and stuff but without the human-like tits. I snagged it for use as a blood clone, it¡¯d make a good aerial scout. I had the drake but it was too large for stealth.

    Three days passed with no sign of Trojanus. We continued travelin¡¯ durin¡¯ the day and fortifyin¡¯ our position at night. More people slept in my P.D.S. each night as no one had been harmed by it yet. After enterin¡¯ to check on those within it on the third night, I left and accidentally dismissed the dimensional doorway as I exited. Panickin¡¯, I reactivated it to make sure I hadn¡¯t instantly killed everyone inside, but they were fine. This accident led me to a realization; I could haul everyone to the new town in one go, savin'' several days of travel time.

    The next day I discussed the idea with Wallace, Wiesner and Sally and they agreed to my plan. Assumin¡¯ the rest of our cluster was up for it. A brief meetin¡¯ was called. Less than one-hundred were opposed to the plan. Wallace did his best to change their minds but most refused, sayin¡¯ they¡¯d make the trek by foot. It was their funeral. I did however leave my troll behind to watch over the knuckleheads that remained, controllin¡¯ it with a facet. The rest of the cluster packed up their meager belongings and headed into my P.D.S., I closed it before hoppin¡¯ on my drake with Wiesner and Sally sittin¡¯ behind me and we took¡¯ off. The blood fairy had finally gotten tired from constantly huntin¡¯ and killin¡¯ and had exited the drake clone. She mumbled something about sleep before driftin¡¯ into my torso like smoke through a screen door, snugglin¡¯ up next to my heart. It felt invasive and parasitic at first, but somehow endearin¡¯ and cute now. I really needed to name her. Snuggle-bug? Snugs for short? Nah, that was lame, but I¡¯d come up with somethin¡¯.

    ¡°This is fantastic!¡± Sally shouted over the noise of the wind rushin'' by as we hit roughly a thousand feet in elevation.

    I turned around to face her, shouting back at her, ¡°It¡¯s a five hour ride. You¡¯ll be bored of it soon enough.¡±

    An hour into the journey she passed out against my back, arms wrapped around me. I had to shift her hands a few times as they had drifted awkwardly close to my groin.

    Unsure whether I could set any air quality conditions within my P.D.S., I figured out I could open it on the move, turns out the doorway could be tied to my relative location so I opened it every few hours to allow fresh air in. I could¡¯ve left it open but I worried someone might get curious about the view and fall out.

    The three day journey had been condensed to five hours. We landed in a flat grassy area just outside the dead zone that encompassed the Tower. Sally woke up as we landed and quickly distanced herself from me, cheeks blushin¡¯ a bit. We got down from the drake and opened my P.D.S.. Wallace exited first, approachin'' me with a wide grin, the others pilin¡¯ out behind him, starin¡¯ up at the seemingly endless tower in disbelief.

    One thousand people that had left the safe zone. Less than seven hundred remained.

    ¡°Ride smooth?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Very. I bet there¡¯s a market for mass transport like that,¡± he replied, then looked pensive for a moment. ¡°On second thought, maybe not, the town plan listed a teleportation hall.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Who knows what that¡¯ll cost though,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ve been thinkin¡¯. We might ought to build the town outside of the dead zone surroundin¡¯ the tower. I can¡¯t see a single livin¡¯ plant within a mile of it, just rocks, bones and dead vegetation. Not a good sign for inhabitability.¡±

    We circled the dungeon tower searching for a better buildin¡¯ site. Findin¡¯ none, we stuck with our landin¡¯ point. As it was already midway through the day, we decided to begin the system construction in the mornin¡¯ and we spent the rest of the day fortifyin¡¯ our position.

 Chapter 8: Town Buildinâ€™ Plan Activation!

    I couldn¡¯t sleep at all that night due to one of my facets being locked onto my troll clone, still protectin¡¯ the knuckleheads that chose to walk here. I busied myself by tinkerin¡¯ with beast materials in my Bone Vault, tryin¡¯ to create a three-person saddle for the drake. Using bones as a framework and hides which I dried into a functional leather I cobbled together something workable. The cinch straps would need fine tunin¡¯ once my blood fairy returned with my drake, or as she referred to it, her ¡®new ride¡¯. I¡¯d reinforced the cinch straps by surroundin¡¯ them in segmented bone plates, allowin¡¯ them to flex and hopefully not get sliced in two from rough landings or minor damage.

    Everyone was awake by the crack of dawn, eager to watch the town construction. I activated the buildin¡¯ plan, an overlay popped up similar to a video game on the land before me, conformin¡¯ to the terrain automatically, showin¡¯ green where the terrain would work for it, red where it would not and it moved accordin¡¯ to my will. The town was much bigger than I¡¯d imagined, probably a mile or so wide in its original circular configuration. I played with it for a bit, movin¡¯ it one way or another and spinnin¡¯ it in place. The overlay remained stationary if I wasn¡¯t actively movin¡¯ it, allowin¡¯ me to walk around outside the fortified wall as well as inside to shift individual buildings around. I kinda thought the layout would be fixed but every buildin¡¯ could be shifted to suit the terrain. Even the perimeter wall could be adjusted to be round, square or irregular in shape, but it did have a maximum circumference. The overlay buildings were featureless green blocks if well situated, or red if not, and I couldn¡¯t modify the building''s shapes or sizes.

    A window had popped up upon activation allowin¡¯ me to designate up to twelve other people to help get the layout sorted. I hadn¡¯t interacted with enough people to know who would be good candidates so I asked Wallace for assistance. Once again he came to the rescue, callin¡¯ forth enough people from our cluster to fill the slots.

    I mentally selected them, grantin¡¯ them the necessary permissions and gestured for them to approach. ¡°I¡¯ll set up the perimeter wall from the air. Wallace can come with me to help create an optimal layout and then we''ll assign tasks once back. Sound good to yall?¡±

    I received a chorus of assent and a few nods.

    I called the blood fairy back and felt her mentally grumble, she¡¯d just found a deep cavern, plenty wide enough for the drake to enter and full of a variety of ¡®vermin¡¯ she could eradicate. Nevertheless, she did turn around and start headin¡¯ in my direction. I tapped into the clone with a spare Facet and observed the cavern as she left, on a distant wall I saw a ledge which appeared hewn into the rock, it led to an arching tunnel. I¡¯d have to return here in person one day and explore this place.

    Upon my clones return, the blood fairy released control of it and flew up to me, stoppin¡¯ right in my face.

    ¡°Master McLain!¡± my blood fairy chirped happily. ¡°Am I doing a good job? Are you pleased with me?¡±

    Wallace accompanied me on the drake and we flew slow circles around the overlay perimeter makin¡¯ small adjustments here and there. A cliff rose up several hundred feet limitin¡¯ us in one direction, a dry gully in the opposite, but there was a wide stretch of suitable land between them where the terrain was mostly flat with rocks, shrubs and stunted clusters of shrooms dotted about. Several large boulders had seemingly rolled from the cliffside and came to rest on our site but I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d be an issue.

    ¡°A rectangular shape fits this area best,¡± Wallace stated. ¡°A circular or oval layout would push us into the cliff or gully. I don¡¯t see any water though. Do you suppose the system will tap a well? I¡¯d hate for us to build the town only to find out there are no nearby sources of water.¡±

    Considerin¡¯ his question, I shook my head. ¡°The layout is mostly green. I doubt we could place it if there was no water for the bathhouses and other facilities to use.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Wallace replied, scannin¡¯ the layout below us. ¡°It¡¯s a good spot, but the cliff worries me. Anything that glides, climbs, or flies could use that as a launching point.¡±

    It had crossed my mind as well. My tinkerin¡¯ brain came up with a possible solution. What if we could build <i>into</i> the cliff¡­ My curiosity risin¡¯, I slid the overlay towards the cliff until half of it was inside it. It tried to flicker up to the top of the cliff but I mentally pushed it back down. My perception altered, allowin¡¯ me to see the overlay within the cliff. From Wallace¡¯s reaction, he could too. This side of the town layout contained the communal housin¡¯ units, communal bathin¡¯ units, the Lord¡¯s Manor and the Teleportation Hall and all of these remained green. As a test I tried movin¡¯ the Arena inside the cliff, it went red immediately and stayed red no matter where I moved it within the stone. It was the same with all the other large structures except the Communal Feasting Hall and Town Hall.

    ¡°Well that certainly changes things!¡± Wallace exclaimed.

    ¡°Are you thinkin¡¯ what I¡¯m thinkin¡¯?¡± I asked, raisin¡¯ an eyebrow quizzically.

    Wallace nodded, ¡°It makes sense defensively to throw everything we can into the cliffside. That leaves the Arena, Adventurers Guild Hall, Marketplace, Barracks and Auction House outdoors as well as any shops, inns or other miscellaneous buildings that we wish to build. To maximize our outside space I suggest we cram the structures within the cliff together as tightly as possible. Hopefully the system will make it all workable with entries and exits.¡±

    I snorted, ¡°You were definitely thinkin¡¯ more than I was, but along the same lines. How about you take the lead placin¡¯ the buildings within the cliff and I¡¯ll let you know if I see anything needin¡¯ an adjustment.¡±

    Wallace''s face got all serious as he began movin¡¯ the buildings around into various configurations. When he finally settled on one the intense look of concentration eased and he turned to me with a smile.

    We discovered that the communal housin¡¯ buildings could be stacked and were placed together in five rows, two buildings stacked and two buildings deep along the cliff. The buildings sorta snapped together when placed close enough together and the system automatically added stairways, hallways that linked all the buildings together and entryways led outside at multiple points. It was as if the buildings were one structure.  Left of that was the Communal Feasting Hall, the Town Hall, with the Lord¡¯s Manor placed at the end.

    ¡°We done here?¡± I asked, seein¡¯ nothin¡¯ wrong with his work.

    ¡°If you¡¯re happy with it I suppose so.¡±

    We rejoined the others and apprised them of the free defensive upgrade we¡¯d managed. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    I¡¯d had enough of town buildin¡¯ so I left settin¡¯ the remainin¡¯ large structures up to Wallace and those he had selected. An impatient energy coursed within me; I craved a challenge, an opportunity to increase my strength in a meaningful way. Sure, my stats had risen and I had two strong clones, three once the Trojanus clone reconstituted itself, and one harpy scout, but some primal urge deep within me craved <i>more</i>. None of the recently slain lower tiered creatures had any worthwhile abilities and weren¡¯t strong enough to use as blood clones. Perhaps the mana-field generated by the system¡¯s construction of the town would lure in somethin¡¯ of a challengin¡¯ tier. And I wanted Rufus back damnit! Twelve hours protectin¡¯ our new town and then our loved ones would be returned.

    Sally approached and patted the blood fairy, who was still sittin¡¯ on my shoulder, on the head. The blood fairy emitted a happy chirp, rubbin¡¯ her head into Sally¡¯s hand like a cat.

    Sally looked at me closely, brushin¡¯ her hand down my shoulder. ¡°You seem distant. Everything okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Concerned about the town capacity though. The plan says it¡¯s good for up to two-thousand people. We¡¯re down to roughly seven-hundred now, and some of these people won¡¯t have pets or kids, but what if we got stuck with a bunch of Mormons with thirty kids each or somethin?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll make it work,¡± Sally said confidently. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s unfortunate but we may have more vacancies by the end of the construction period.¡±

    ¡°True. No tellin¡¯ what might come out of the woodwork. I hope I¡¯m wrong but even my strength may not get us through this. I¡¯m strong for my rank, but I doubt I could do much against anything stronger than Trojanus.¡±

    With my Life Sense flared, I sensed someone approachin¡¯ from the woods behind us. I turned and eyed Wiesner trudgin¡¯ out with one end of the corpse of a fifteen-feet long polka-dotted snake slung over his shoulder, the rest draggin¡¯ behind him. Its severed head swung in Wiesner offhand as the man power walked over to me.

    I inspected the snake.

    <b>[Bronze Rank D Beast: Canopy Dweller, corpse.] </b>

    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± I yelled. ¡°You get a title due to it bein¡¯ a tier higher than you?¡±

    A huge grin split Wiesner¡¯s face, ¡°I can¡¯t slack off if I¡¯m going to keep up with you. No title though.¡±

    ¡°I guess only minibosses or higher rarity grant the title.¡± I mused, givin¡¯ him a thumbs up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about levels though. Us Buds gotta stick together. I¡¯ll powerlevel you if I have too, and the levels will fly when we enter the tower, assumin¡¯ we both don¡¯t die.¡±

    Wiesner chortled, ¡°Very reassurin¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Want me to store that beastie for ya?¡± I asked.

    Wiesner just nodded.

    A short while later Wallace returned wearin¡¯ a triumphant expression on his face. He filled us in on how settin¡¯ up the rest of the layout went, but I was barely listenin¡¯ to him. It was time for action and I.

    Final activation of the Town Building Scroll was simple. I mentally selected the holographic Finalize icon which had been hoverin¡¯ over the open scroll in my hand ever since I activated the layout feature and the scroll instantly burnt up in a flash of light.

    Right away I could feel the mana start gatherin¡¯ into an ever denser field coverin¡¯ the holographic layout of our town, even spreadin¡¯ into the surroundin¡¯ areas.

    Stone began to flow like thick mud out of the cliffside at many points.

    The roar of some beastie out in the forest shook me awake. I couldn''t stand here watchin¡¯ the process. An attack could come at any minute. I summoned my Harpy lookalike clone and sent it into the sky to patrol, controllin¡¯ it with a facet.

    ¡°Gonna go up on the drake and try to stomp out some threats preemptively. Y''all wanna stay here or?¡± I said to Wallace, Sally and Wiesner.

    ¡°I¡¯m with you Master! We¡¯re going to pulverize these bitches!¡± my blood fairy exclaimed, yankin¡¯ my ear in her excitement.

    <i>Oww!</i> <i>Where had she learned that kind of talk?</i> I grimaced, ear throbbin¡¯, now that my hair was only stubble my ear seemed to be her official handlebar for ridin¡¯ my shoulder and she had a grip like iron.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you in case Trojanus comes back,¡± Sally said. ¡°Depending on where he emerges it might be faster if you drop me close to him as my Spatial Freeze has a limited effect range.¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°My place is here,¡± Wallace stated. ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep our people organized.¡±

    Wiesner unsheathed his weapon, proppin¡¯ it against his shoulder. ¡°Your cheatin¡¯ ass don¡¯t need anymore firepower. I¡¯ll stay.¡±

    We laughed. Wiesner helped me quickly attach the new saddle onto the drake clone and cinch it up. I could see a few adjustments but that needed to be made but it seemed stable enough for now. Brett ran up just as I was about to launch into the air, wantin¡¯ to join me in the air. I shrugged, gestured him up behind me and we took off.

    We left just in time. Through my harpy clone¡¯s eyes, I spotted a disturbance in the distant forest, somethin¡¯ huge headin¡¯ toward our town, jostlin¡¯ trees and massive shrooms like a dog partin¡¯ tall grass in a field.

    Pushin¡¯ the drake clone to greater speed, I flew closer until I spotted the odd creature and used Identify on it.

    <b>[Silver Rank C Mini-Boss: Spore Spitter Armadillo.]</b>

    I spotted a small meadow along the Mini-Bosses trajectory and turned towards it to confront the beastie. I flared the drake¡¯s wings out, driftin¡¯ to a stop in the meadow facin¡¯ the Mini-Boss and I waited, feelin¡¯ like I was in a Godzilla movie, sittin¡¯ on his back just before he clashed with another titan. My drake clone was Bronze Rank C.  If it was a battle solely between the two it should be a close matchup, but this wasn¡¯t a showdown between two titans. My assistance would drastically tilt the odds in our favor. My Aeonic Crown of Dominance, which I¡¯d equipped with the ¡®hidden¡¯ function enabled, boosted my minions damage by 10% and their stats and damage mitigation by 10% as long as I was within 10 meters of them while decreasing enemy stats and mitigation by the same amount. It was unlikely to be a fair matchup.

    The Spore Spitting Armadillo¡¯s approach was far from silent. It charged out of the forest, saw us and came skiddin¡¯ to a halt, armored scales bristled threateningly. The snarl pullin¡¯ at its face revealed a vicious set of teeth. The beast stood taller at the shoulder than my drake clone and likely outweighed it by half again. It seemed to be waitin¡¯ for us to make the first move.

    Through the Harpy I noticed our cluster members battlin¡¯ a few low tier beasties, but nothin¡¯ they couldn¡¯t handle. Lookin¡¯ east, I spotted a horde of Goblins a couple hundred or so in number, they were runnin¡¯ as if their lives depended on it. Lookin¡¯ further afield, I figured out the reason why, a different enemy was runnin¡¯ on top of the canopy of shrooms either towards them, or after them. A massive.. Rooster? The damned thing had to be twenty-feet tall. And it was <i>fast</i>.

    <b>[Gold Rank C Boss: Hell Cock, Devourer of Goblins.]</b>

    Eh? Was this a named Boss or is Hell Cock what the natives of Terra call giant roosters here? Is Devourer of Goblins a title? I wouldn¡¯t think a Boss could even acquire one. In any case, the Boss caught up to the horde of fleein¡¯ goblins.

    Before beginnin¡¯ the assault, Hell Cock asserted his dominance with a verbal display, "Buk buk buk buk ba-gawk!"

    It was loud enough that even my Harpy-clone heard it from an elevation well above a thousand feet.

    Hell Cock then started snatchin¡¯ up goblins like kids snatch up candy under a freshly busted pinata, his head flashed out like a machine gun swallowin¡¯ two or three goblins per second as the boss darted about chasin¡¯ ¡®em down. Utter chaos ensued with goblins fleein¡¯ in all directions, but it wasn¡¯t lookin¡¯ good for ¡®em. I think this chicken was dead set on goblin genocide.

    Hell Cock possessed a tyrannical aura. Who would¡¯ve guessed a giant chicken would be so strong? I hoped it would get its fill of goblin and head somewhere else. I wanted no part of it.

    Meanwhile, the Armadillo seemed content with a standoff, occasionally posturin¡¯ aggressively or emittin¡¯ an odd hiss. I turned to the blood fairy, ¡°Hey Fairy. Can Bosses gain titles?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good question Master!¡± she chirped, smilin¡¯ at me guilelessly.

    I shook my head. Useless. Completely useless. Although, she was a good clone pilot, and her active and passive abilities weren¡¯t bad, and she was kinda cute¡­ but she was dumb as a box of rocks.

    I was tired of waitin¡¯. More threats could show up at any time. I needed to either scare this armadillo off or kill it. I activated my clone¡¯s Drake¡¯s Breath with full power, sendin¡¯ a jet of liquid flame arcin¡¯ out towards my enemy. With surprising speed the Mini-Boss jumped aside. Of course the fight wouldn''t be over that easily. I jumped off the drake clone and circled left. We¡¯d try the ole hammer and anvil approach. I had a feelin¡¯ this was goin¡¯ to be a long 12 hours.