"Darn it. It's far more costly than I thought it'd be. My one SS-Rank skill chance... but I need it... ugh... fine, I confirm," Daz managed to say after wracking his brain over the skills price for quite some time. Immediately after accepting the purchase, Daz's body was wrapped in a silver light and just like with his Godly Base Management, it took a few minutes for the light to die down and enter his body.

"Okay, that feels so strange no matter how often it happens," Daz said with a shudder before he began walking towards the both.

That was what the small container that had a makeshift kitchen and a toilet in it was called. Although it was called a makeshift kitchen, in reality, it was just a kettle and a microwave, both of which probably never worked any more thanks to two-thirds of the population dying and the other third being a bit busy currently to fuss over things like electricity.

Daz was right. Nothing in the bothy was working except the sink and toilet, which made him happy. "Here's hoping I can fix everything, or even improve things with the whole base function thingy," Daz mumbled while he sat down in one of the two leather padded seats that were in the bothy.

"So, uh, how do I use my skills? Do I just say their names or think about using them?" Daz asked, presumably to the system.

Confirmed. To use skills, you must say the name of the skill and concentrate on its function. This rule applies to all system features.

"Hmm, that's a big disadvantage in a fight. Is there a skill or something that lets me do system-related things via thought?" Daz asked with the full expectation of such a thing being possible.

It would make sense for such a skill or ability to exist since it would be foolish to fight something with intelligence by shouting out your skills' names in case they knew them and could counter them.

Confirmed. Desired Skill exists. B-Rank (Lower Tier) Skill, [System Integration] Price 5,000 merit points Confirm purchase and usage?

"Another pricey one. I wonder how everyone who got less than ten thousand points will survive today's attack, or maybe I'm over-preparing? Oh, right, I confirm," Daz replied after he had ended his side-thought. He didn't really care too much about the other 'hosts', so long as he was doing fine, he was happy.

After enduring the uncomfortable feeling of gaining a skill once more, Daz decided to try it out immediately. Of course, his first target was his status. 'Uh... view status?' He said via his thoughts in an unsure manner.

Host's Status Basic Information Name: Daz Species: Human (Beginning stages of evolving) Age: 20 Sex: Male Class: Shovel Knight Affinity: Chaotic Neutral Energies Lifeforce: 1000/1000 Stamina: 1000/1000(1050) Stats Strength: 10(12) Dexterity: 10(12) Constitution: 10(12)

"What? Why are there so few stats? Those are only the ones my class is boosting. System, can you explain this?" Daz asked. He was truly confused by this. Everything else made some sense, bar the evolution, but he had been informed about that via his merits, so the only thing that shocked him was his lacking amount of stats.

Confirmed. Additional stats and stat points must be purchased from the shop.

"Well, that explains why I got no gains from last night's fight beside my merit points. Show me the list of all the stats I can buy," Daz ordered the system. He was going to be meticulous and buy a decent amount of stat points. He suspected that this would consume most of his remaining merit points.

Roughly two hours later, Daz had finally finished spending points on stats. He had been quite shocked by the amount of stats he could buy with his golden access. There was an uncountable number of them at the basic level, so he ignored all of them, and specifically asked for a few while he bought one of the rarer ones that required a higher level of access. He also bought a new energy type.

Host's Status Basic Information Name: Daz Species: Human (Beginning stages of evolving) Age: 20 Sex: Male Class: Shovel Knight Affinity: Chaotic Neutral Energies Lifeforce: 3000/3000 Jewelled Core: 50/50 Stats Strength: 50(60) Dexterity: 50(60) Constitution: 50(60) Agility: 50 Charisma: 100 Ingenuity: 500

These were the changes Daz had decided to make. First, the Jewel Core that now replaced his stamina.

He had read its description via the shop and it basically replaced the Host's Heart and brain with a pure core made entirely out of some sort of jewel from a fable of some kind, but the point was, it allowed the host to completely rid themselves of the need to sleep. Which was so unimaginably important to Daz, that he instantly chose to buy it for the costly price of thirty thousand merit points. It also served to reconstruct his body using its energy in exchange, making it a life-saver.

He had then increased his already existing life force, strength, dexterity and constitution before buying agility to help him in combat and climbing if he ever needed to. He felt it would be useful when he decided to go out to explore. It was for that very reason that he had bought twice as much charisma to help him deal with other intelligent species or other humans during that exploration.

Finally, he purchased a huge amount of the stat ingenuity because he had decided what route he wanted to take. He was going to focus on construction because after consulting with the system, it would seem that it was wise to follow the description of your class as closely as you could to gain maximum benefits, so he had gotten that stat to help him with his crafting.

He already had the Basic Craftsmanship skill and after asking the system about evolutions, he had found out that all skills could get close to evolving if used to their full potential, then the host could buy their evolved versions for a far cheaper price than the original from the shop, which was his plan for that skill.

Now Daz had one final skill he wanted to buy from the shop before he moved onto fortifying the base again. "System, is there a skill, it doesn't have to be expensive, make sure I can afford it, that lets me summon some sort of elemental or golem or something that uses my jewel core's energy as the source to maintain it?" Daz asked.

He wanted a companion to help him survive this apocalypse and just someone to talk to in all honesty. It was easy to lose oneself without having a trustworthy friend to endure challenges with. And what better than a being entirely under your control to fill that role with?

Confirmed. Desired skill exists. B-Rank Skill (Higher Tier) [Summon: Jewelled Golem] price 7000 merit points Confirm purchase and usage?

Naturally, Daz confirmed. He would have preferred an elemental, but if a Golem was the suggestion, then a Golem he was getting. After enduring the skill gainage process once more, Daz left the bothy as soon as he saw the notification telling him that his balance was now only four thousand points exactly, and headed to the car park of the recycling centre.

It wasn't a very large car park, it could hold, maybe ten cars, but it was more than big enough for Daz's intended use. 'Jewelled Golem, summon!' Daz thought to activate the skill he had just obtained. Immediately, a dazzling light left his body and condensed into a distinct shape directly in front of him.