Frank added 90 GP to the Building Momentum grid, completing it. In addition to eight attribute points he got the following messages:

Congratulations on completing the Building Momentum grid. You have been awarded the Driven ability.

As a reward for completing the Building Momentum grid the Leading the Pack grid has become available.

Not wasting any time Frank switched to the Abilities tab and focused on the new entry. His jaw slacked and for a while, he sat there with his mouth agape, as he stared at the description.

Driven: Unlike others, you refuse to stand still. Always moving forward, you seek to continuously increase your power. Congratulations, with this ability you can arrive at your grave much sooner. This ability doubles your regeneration.

The ever-annoying snippet about my impending death aside, this ability is totally nuts. Doubling regeneration is like doubling my leveling speed. Hmm, combined with Quick Learner, I should be gaining skills 2.7 times faster than normal, Frank chuckled as he thought about the increase, with this, I can actually go for a jack of all trades and barely fall behind those who specialize in one thing.

Unable to hide the smile spreading on his lips, he changed back to the Grids tab. He sighed when he saw that the Leading the Pack grid required a hefty 250 GP. At least I still get one attribute point for every 10 GP spent, he noted. However, it was still quite expensive, especially considering the myriad of other, more efficient options he had. There were Skirmisher I, Guardsman I, Magic II, Single Heal I, and Group Heal I, at 25 GP, in addition, Die Hard, and Survivor grids were available at 50 GP.

Die Hard was tempting, as it was a reward for surviving the drop to zero HP, but he only had 44 GP left, not enough to finish it. Survivor mostly offered quality of life items, like a flask, though the five potion vials were nice. Single Heal I rewarded Lesser Heal skill, which was like Healing Touch but could be used at range. Group Heal, he didn't need as Margaret was their team's primary healer. Magic II gave Blade Turn a spell that would create a bubble around the caster that absorbed one attack. The fact that it would absorb one attack, no matter how powerful it was, made it interesting, but the monsters they faced didn't rely on one powerful attack, greatly reducing the usefulness of the skill. Guardsman I gave Taunt, while Skirmisher I gave Dash.

After going over his options, Frank settled on the Skirmisher grid. Dash would give him a movement skill, but more importantly, the reward for the Skirmisher II grid was Bleeding Wounds, a passive skill that caused increased bleeding from the wounds he inflicted. It should synergize very well with the Metal Shards skill he planned to learn. Satisfied with his choice, he spent 25 GP to finish Skirmisher I, then added the remaining 19 GP to Skirmisher II, bringing the grid to 19/50, the grids giving him six and three attribute points respectively. Combined with the eight he got from finishing the Building Momentum grid, he now had a rather impressive 17 attribute points to spend.

You have learned a skill: Dash, level 1: Mobility is key in combat. Plus, you can now dash around the battlefield with your cape billowing in the wind, like a true hero. Short distance, long cooldown, and you can only move in a straight line, using this skill against a competent foe is just asking for a counter. Should've gotten Flash Step instead. This skill allows you to quickly cover a distance of up to 20 yards. Cost: 1 stamina per yard. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Frank focused on the Flash Step but gave up when nothing happened. No information huh? Well, can't expect the System to be of much help, not unless it's mocking me, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. There was still work to be done. He switched to the Attributes tab and looked over it.

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 3 (+1)

Quickness: 6 (+3)

Perception: 2 (+1)

Constitution: 2

Vitality: 11

Endurance: 12

Destructive Magic Affinity: 3

Restorative Magic Affinity: 4

Focus: 12

Control: 2

Willpower: 13

HP: 63/63 (134/hour) (67)

Stamina: 70/70 (350/hour) (175)

D Mana: 30/30 (92/hour) (46)

R Mana: 40/40 (202/hour) (101)

Thanks to Driven, his regeneration was simply monstrous. I wonder if Meditation will work off of these new numbers or my base regeneration. Hmm, Kareem said that the System tries to accommodate one's chosen path. Is it just a coincidence or is the System helping me with my choice of boost regeneration? He didn't know. Regardless, it made continuing down his chosen road highly compelling. After a bit of contemplation over his needs, Frank added 10 points to Vitality, 6 to Control, and 1 to D magic. The act of boosting vitality by 10 points resulted in another panel appearing.

You have increased your Vitality by 10 points and regained some of the power of your youth. Perception +1, Constitution +1, Willpower +1.

Frank shivered as he felt the energy rush through his veins. He got up and bounced on his feet a few times, before throwing a few punches and moving around in an intense manner. Haha, I feel like I am in my fifties again, Frank thought as he enjoyed the power of his revitalized body. The hair feels thicker too. Wonder if my appearance has changed. He noted after running his fingers through his hair. He took another look at the updated attributes tab and closed it.

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 3 (+1)

Quickness: 6 (+3)

Perception: 3 (+1)

Constitution: 3

Vitality: 21

Endurance: 12

Destructive Magic Affinity: 4

Restorative Magic Affinity: 4

Focus: 12

Control: 8

Willpower: 14

HP: 108/108 (234/hour) (117)

Stamina: 75/75 (450/hour) (225)

D Mana: 40/40 (152/hour) (76)

R Mana: 40/40 (212/hour) (106)

Regeneration numbers looked amazing, and Frank wanted to test how Meditation interacted with Driven. However, there was no time for that, as Hank tapped him on the shoulder and informed him that lunch was being served, Hank chuckled and shook his head, as he watched Frank nod reluctantly.

“I know we decided to train hard, but you don't have to spend every moment training. Breaks are important, you know,” Hank told him they made their way toward the line of people forming for lunch.

“Sorry, I was just excited about the new ability I got,” Frank replied, before telling his team about Driven.

“Wow, that being first to get a skill is really paying some dividends now,” Margaret said, shaking her head.

“That ability suits you quite well,” Amy offered with a laugh. The others seemed to agree with her.

While eating lunch they discussed their plans for the rest of the day. Feeling both excited and slightly dreadful of what Frank had in store for them. However, their fight against the Bragarth that morning made clear the importance of acquiring magic resistances, even if it was painful to do so.

After lunch, the rest of the group sought Kareem, to see if there were any learnable skills that could benefit them, while Frank went straight to where Steve and the teen were working. He gave the two a quick overview of their fight with the Bragarth, before pulling out the feline's corpse.

“Maybe it has some sort of organ to cast spells, that we could use somehow. Even if that's not the case, it's still a level 30 monster, you should be able to create something good out of it,” Frank explained.

“How about a bow? Put these antennas in the middle of it, then when using Mana Arrow, it would go through the antennas and shoot out lightning?” The teen, whose name was Justin, proposed excitedly.

“Maybe a staff? Or some kind of wand?” Steve said as he examined the protrusions on the monster's head.

“Hold on now, that bow idea sounds nice,” Frank protested.

“I know, right?” Justin quipped excitedly.

“Too bad there ain't no Mana Arrow skill, and even if there was, there is no reason for these antennas here to work like that. And why would it shoot out lightning when the spell used by this thing was a jagged ring?” Steve said, an annoyed expression flashing briefly across his face. Justin tried to argue with Steve's assessment, but his arguments didn't sound that persuasive.

“Alright, a wand would be ideal then,” Frank said, “I'll check back with you in the evening,” he added.

His task finished, he moved to the agreed-upon spot, some two hundred yards away from the base, where his team would train. The reason for the distance from the base was so their training wouldn't disturb the others, especially the smell of burning skin and hair caused by training fire resistance. It looked like he was the first to arrive.

Perfect, Frank thought as he rubbed his hands together. He quickly spammed some of his abilities to burn some of his resources, then used Meditate. A few seconds later he fell on his back and burst out laughing, as he stared into the sky. Meditate multiplied the enhanced numbers, rather than his base regeneration. This is going to be crazy, Frank thought. Oh well, no time to rest.

He got back into a sitting position and tried to follow Kareem's instruction on how to learn Metal Shards skill. The spell proved more elusive than he thought, as he was still struggling to obtain it when the first of his teammates arrived. Frank opened his eyes and looked at Amy, who sat down nearby.

“Anything good?” He asked.

Amy shook her head, before elaborating: “There are some spells I could learn, but they are no better than what I have. Although, he did suggest I learn your Lightning Bolt, for its stun effect.”

“Nothing better on that front?”

“Kareem says all the good crowd control spells are locked behind grids,” she said with a slight frown.

“That seems to be the case for most skills,” Frank said while nodding. “I am still working on Metal Shards, but want to hit me with a few Arcane Bolts? So you aren't wasting time meditating while we wait for the rest?”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Amy asked with a giggle, but got up and nodded to him.

Several Arcane Bolts later, the two sat down again, and Frank gave Amy a quick overview of his Lightning Bolt skill and how to best visualize the magic. The next ten or so minutes were spent in silence, as both of them worked on their respective skills. Apparently, Metal Shards was a hard skill to obtain, as Frank was still working on it when Amy successfully cast Lightning Bolt. They continued to train and meditate, and were soon joined by Margaret.

“The others will take a while to come, they are getting new weapons from Steve and that kid,” she informed them. “I am going to learn the heal over time spell Kareem mentioned,” she continued, not even giving Frank a chance to ask if she wanted to train resistance with him.

It took nearly an hour for Frank to finally get Metal Shards to work. A black oil-like film covered the blade of his weapon, soon it receded as if absorbed by the metal, leaving about a dozen black splotches behind. He ran his thumb over one such spot, but despite the visual, he couldn't feel any difference between that spot and the rest of the blade. Magic, he thought with a mental shrug and brought up the description for the skill.

You have learned a skill: Metal Shards, level 1: Upon wounding a foe, a small metal shard will be left behind and will deal additional damage for a few seconds. If only this skill didn't suffer from flawed design: used by fighters, the Buffer is determined by D magic, resulting in minimal damage. This skill will cast an offensive buff on yourself, lasting up to 10 shards or 10 minutes. Each damaging attack will leave a shard behind that will deal damage for 3 seconds.

Heh, since I am going for a jack of all trades, the flawed design shouldn't be an issue for me, Frank thought as he read through the description. And what the hell is a Buffer? He wondered as he focused his attention on the word Buffer, to his surprise a new window popped up a few moments later

Buffer = 2*Constitution – D magic

Huh? A damage reduction of some kind, but how does it work exactly? He looked at his attributes: Constitution 3, D magic: 4. According to the formula, I would have a Buffer of 2. I guess there is no helping it, Frank mentally shook his head. He cast Metal Shards, then grimaced, as he ran the blade of his saber through his left hand. He pulled the weapon out and focused on the wound. He could feel a small foreign object that was left behind, a moment later the shard seemed to rotate, however, there was no actual damage. After three seconds, the shard disappeared.

“There he goes again,” Margaret remarked as she watched Frank stab his arm over and over.

“You've got to give him credit, he's been training all this time and only now started on self-mutilation,” Amy argued with a giggle.

“I am testing something,” Frank replied, waving his hand dismissively.

Should've tested it first without the buff, he thought as the last shard was used up. A few more wounds, now without Metal Shards, and Frank got his answer. Ah, this is sad, it deals one damage per second and lasts for three seconds. Although, if the shard was left in a vital location, like the brain or something, the damage should be higher. He sighed, it wasn't something he could test, but even if his assumption was correct, the skill still felt quite underwhelming.

“Well, Metal Shards seems like a dud,” he told the women who looked at him quizzically.

“Join the club,” Margaret laughed, “my Renew is pretty blah as well. And I don't think Bill even got any new skill ideas from Kareem,” she continued.

“Why is it taking them so long?” Frank asked. Turning to look at the base he noted that the scouting team was leaving the base, accompanied by two other groups, including Gabriel's. Wonder what's going on, he thought. “I'll go check on them,” he said and got up.

He quickly reached the base and looked inside. The fence had been completed, and now they were building a rampart of sorts, that would allow the defenders to use spells or shoot bows at attackers. Quite a few people were also building basic A-frame shacks. As expected, he didn't see Steve or his crafters inside. Frank rounded the base and soon came upon the place where the crafters worked. It seemed like most of them were working on arrows, while two were doing something with leather.

He walked straight to where Justin and his three teammates were, arriving just in time to see the teen use Magical Crafting. In front of Justin were laid out a short sword, a spear, some leather straps, and three red crystals. Frank was shushed as he joined the others. Soon, there was a flash of magic and all of the items were consumed, transformed into something new. Justin opened his eyes and examined the spear he had just crafted.

“Here you go. It should be way better than the old one,” the teen said as he handed the weapon to Kevin.

“Thank you so much,” Kevin said with a giddy smile, which the teen reciprocated.

“Alright, that's the last one. Don't worry Frank, we are ready for your torture, I mean, training,” Bill laughed loudly.

“Oh? What did you two get?” Frank asked as the four men departed.

While they walked back to where Amy and Margaret were waiting, he got a chance to look at the items that Justin managed to create for them. Bill got a new axe, the shaft was made out of the Bragarth's femur bone, and the butt of the weapon featured a single red crystal. Apparently, using them this way resulted in increased durability for the weapon.

Hank got a new shield, which was similar to the one Frank had crafted for him, except the straps were made of higher quality leather, and half a dozen red crystals adorned the insides of the shield. He also got a sleeveless leather vest, since his shirt was completely ruined in their last battle. The vest seemed pretty uncomfortable, the leather getting stuck to the bare skin, but it was better than nothing.

Finally, Kevin got by far the best upgrade. His old spear was just a long stick with a round spearhead. In contrast, the new one featured a flat, double-edged spearhead almost two feet long. Not only would stabbing with it create much larger wounds, but it could also be used for slashing attacks, which would give a huge boost to Kevin's offensive options. Much like the other items, the butt of the spear featured three red crystals arranged in a Y pattern.

Frank was sad to learn that Hank was the only one to get a skill idea from Kareem, which sounded like the reverse of Gabriel's Explosive Charges. It was a defensive buff, which would allow Hank to receive a charge every time he blocked an attack with his shield, the charges could be used to fire off an explosion. Still, even if he failed to provide the others with useful skills, Kareem suggested they do more focused sparring. Instead of just dueling, they could play mini-games, like having one person attack while the other defended, alternating attacking and defending, only being able to attack the body, or alternatively, not being able to attack the body, and etc.

Frank nodded as he listened. I should've thought of those myself. Just because there is a System now doesn't mean that the old basics don't apply. By the time they reached the two women, Frank had the training plan finalized. He tried to hide his grin as he explained what they would be doing for the rest of the day.

“First, Amy will use Arcane Explosion to hit the four of you. Once she runs out of mana, I am going to hit you three with Lightning Bolt, Amy and Margaret too, if you're up for it. Then Margaret will use Fire Bolt on me, until I gain a few resistance levels, afterward she'll switch to someone else. While the three of us Meditate to recover mana, the three of you will train in melee combat. And we'll just keep going like that till dinner,” Frank explained.

“No offense, but you suck at pep talk,” Hank said, his expression showing a stark lack of enthusiasm.

“Come on, you wanted to train resistances, didn't you? This is the fastest way. Just think about all the levels you'll get,” Frank tried to encourage him.

“Not everyone is as obsessed with gaining skill levels as you are,” Margaret chuckled.

“Their loss. I refuse to lose my chance at another life because I was lazy and some monster ate me,” Frank shrugged. “Enough chit-chat, let's begin!”