Laying on the ground, the soothing sensation that was coating my mana vessels depletes. Pain like I’ve never experienced courses through my body.

Every fiber of my being feels as if it has been drenched in liquid-hot metal. I can distantly hear someone calling out for me, but soon the world goes black.

Opening my eyes, I’m in the same cloudy void I recognize from the last time I met The Construct.

Hello again, Lucas. I’d like to congratulate you on defeating the first boss monster on this planet.

The Construct is in the body of my father once more. He smiles at me, the same green-blue eyes I have glinting.

“Oh well uh, thank you. Why are you visiting again though?”

You defeated an Agent of Restruct, that’s quite the accomplishment. The energy that gave me, as well as the defeat of the world boss, has given me more freedom in this area, for now.

Your accomplishment wasn’t without sacrifice, unfortunately. The Restruct took the lives of many of your people. For that, I am deeply sorry.

The visage of my father looks grim, a deep sadness that’s hard to comprehend from someone I have always recognized as constantly cheerful.

“You really care about us, don’t you?”

I care about every living being as if they were my own. I simply want you to grow and build yourselves up. The Restruct wishes to take that away, it wishes to alter your Fate as it does not see you as capable of being strong on your own. It cares… just in a twisted way.

“What do you mean about the energy you received from Brandon and the… World boss? Forgive me but I just still don’t understand a lot of the nuances to your… system.”

He smiles at me once more.

That much, I can tell you. You’re aware of experience at this point. You have leveled up many times. A couple more times, in fact, you’ll come to see soon.

Experience is the energy of The Restruct. Imbued within every foe you fight is a tiny fraction of The Restruct’s power. A power that was taken from me long ago.

When you defeat a creature of Restruct’s design, I am able to convert some of that power to sustain myself as well as empower you.

“I’ll be honest, the numbers seem a little arbitrary sometimes. I’ve killed the same thing before and I get different amounts of experience, why?”

He laughs, a joyous noise that echoes through the void.

Ah, that is simply because of your strength! Experience is gained through struggle. Without that struggle, your body is simply open to less of the experience I can convert.

Artificial struggle does not count either. I believe I know humans well enough at this point to be aware of your tendency towards exploits in these game-like systems.

He gives me a grin with a raised eyebrow.

“...Admittedly, I would have tried that if you hadn’t said that.”

He laughs once more.

Our time is running low, Lucas. Allow me to show you the fruits of your labor this time.

He snaps a finger.

Level up! For reaching new heights and showing the force of your will with the anchor, your Talent: Adept Anchorist has reached (15/50)!

For reaching your third Talent milestone in Adept Anchorist, you have been awarded applicable stat points to Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Willpower and + 90 XP. In addition, you have been awarded one Perk Point! Perk Points can be only spent on a Perk that came from the associated Talent.

Level up! For clever use of your magic to distract, and manipulation of mana to empower attacks beyond normal limits, your Talent: Fledgling Mage has reached (33/50)!

You have displayed an act of great heroism in saving the city of Portland from a world boss! You have attained the Perk: Mantle of the Hero!

You have gained the resistance: Crush Resistance (1/100)!

Grandis - Crystal Knight defeated! 15,108 XP awarded!

Grandis - Crystal Knight dropped: 10 Gleams and Crystalline Steps.

Level up! You have achieved level 22, you are awarded 5 unallocated stat points, +80 MP, +0.8 HP regen, +2.7 MP regen, +32 Strength, +49 Endurance, +12 Dexterity, +29 Intelligence, +41 Attunement, +17 Willpower, +8 Charisma, and +19 Insight. 8230/7780 remaining until level 23.

Level up! You have achieved level 23, you are awarded 5 unallocated stat points, +80 MP, +0.8 HP regen, +2.7 MP regen, +32 Strength, +49 Endurance, +12 Dexterity, +29 Intelligence, +41 Attunement, +17 Willpower, +8 Charisma, and +19 Insight. 450/8668 remaining until level 24.

“Oh wow. Two levels? Nice! Can you tell me what the Crystalline Steps do or do I have to wait until I wake up?”

You know the answer to that one, Lucas. One last bit of info you should look at though.

Condition Acquired: Severely Mana Burnt

Rest up. Your recovery may take a few days. Goodbye again, Lucas.

The void swirls around me and blackness takes over once more.

Waking up to voices and a bitter taste in my mouth, I keep my eyes shut and simply listen for a moment.

“Colt, more healing potions aren’t going to make him better! It’s his mana vessels that are damaged, those have to repair on their own. Until he wakes up, we can’t know if he’s better yet.” Recognizing the voice as Cassandra, I’m brought back to awareness of my own body.

Everything hurts. Not nearly as bad as before, but it feels like my entire being has a sunburn.

“I know Cassandra, I’m just worried. He’s been out for two days!” Colt’s voice is tight, he sounds tired as well.

Paying attention to my surroundings a bit more, I feel the texture of whatever I’m laying on. It’s quite soft but it doesn’t seem to be a bed. It almost feels somewhat squishy under my fingers.

Opening my eyes, Colt and Cassandra are standing next to a boiling pot, discussing as they’re mixing more ingredients. There’s a red potion on the table that clearly has a dose or two missing, explaining the bitter taste in my mouth.

My throat feels hoarse, but I speak up finally. “Morning sunshine.”

Colt snaps around, quick as lightning, and is at my side in an instant.

“Oh my god, I was so worried! You weren’t waking up and you looked like you were in so much pain and I-” Taking my hand in his, he rubs it worriedly with his thumb as he talks.

“Shhhh… It’s okay, I still hurt, but it’s tolerable now.” His eyes tear up and he lays his head on to my chest, hugging me close. Whatever surface I’m on shifts at this, causing me to topple on to him on the floor.

His yelp of shock turns into laughter, which shifts to me laughing as well, and the tension between us breaks. He looks up at me happily before pulling me into a kiss.

Cassandra clears her throat, causing us to break apart and blush heavily.

“Lucas, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to check you out a little. I’d like to make sure there’s no lasting damage from the recovery star I gave you.”

“I’m a bit busy being checked out right now, sorry Cassandra.” Turning to Colt, I wink at him. He frowns and pushes me off of him, lightly chuckling afterward.

“You dork. Go let the witch check you out.” He stands up and gives me a hand, helping me up as well.

Walking over to Cassandra, her eyes and hand glow green as she scans my body up and down.

“Your nerves and mana vessels are fused, so it’s no wonder to me you were in so much pain.” She continues to run a hand across each of my limbs, strange energy permeates inside of me, but it’s more soothing than uncomfortable.

“Yeah, that’s a perk I got. Neural-Magic Vessels. It fused into another one called Spellbound Physique.” She nods to me, seeming to understand.

“I was only a nurse before all of this. The candy-making was just a hobby. But now it’s no surprise to me that you were hurt so badly. If I had known beforehand I might not have given you the candy. There’s no lasting damage as far as I can tell. You’re healing quickly, but the kickback from the recovery star was amplified by how vast your mana vessels are.”

She looks at me directly in the eyes. “No using your mana for another day or two, okay? Or at least until The Construct tells you the mana burnt status is gone.”

“Sounds good Cassandra, thanks for taking such good care of me.” She gives me a smile and begins walk out of the room.

“Wait, Cassandra. Quick question.”

“Hm?”

“How are you not dying of sweat in that witch outfit? It’s completely black! The material looks thick too.”

She gives me an intense look before opening part of the robe to reveal some kind of ice crystal. “Monster drop. Aesthetic is everything.”

She walks out of the room, leaving me in stunned silence.

Looking over finally, the bed I was laying on is actually just a mass of buoyoberries. Colt must have used his magick to make a bed out of them. The balloon-like purple berries did a good job of holding up my body weight while I slept.

“Cute bed, Colt.”

He grins at me. “Thanks, it was the best I had on hand for something soft.”

“Well, it was very comfortable, so thank you. Also, sorry for scaring you again.” My head drops and he steps in close.

“There was a bit more reason now than with those boneheaded decisions you made before. All is forgiven.” He pulls me into another hug and I take a second to enjoy the tingling sensation of his Wild Magick.

“Hey, where’s Argo?” Feeling at my ear, I’m shocked to discover that my constant companion is missing from the fishhook.

“Oh. He was uh, freaking out quite a bit about you. So Adreanell decided to show him the sights.” Colt scratches the back of his head and glances at the ceiling.

“How did she even lift him? Palemetal is incredibly heavy!”

“I uh, repurposed your wagon-pulling golem and may have turned it into a self-operating stroller.” He glances anywhere but at me.

“A stroller. Why not just have the golem carry him?”

Colt’s complexion blushes a deeper shade of green. “Adreanell said she wanted to push him around in a stroller, you know because Argo is kind of childlike… I got a Fledgling Enchanter level out of it at least!” He awkwardly smiles.

Sighing, I rub my temples. “Okay, that’s fine. I can make more golems. I’ll just have to get the core back from Adreanell.”

Glancing around the room, I finally take the entire place in. It’s a simple yet large wooden room made from a pale, light wood. The ceilings are high and there appears to be a strange light source.

“Where are we anyway? Is that… An evergleam fir branch?”

Colt smiles widely. “I was waiting for you to ask. Welcome to our new Portland home! I shaped the entire thing myself out of an evergleam fir! It’s still living and everything! It’s the perfect tree because its shape doesn’t matter! It handles its own photosynthesis!”

Colt puffs his chest out in pride, clearly pleased with his work. My heart warms at how proud he looks.

“Wow, this is incredible! ...Can I get the tour then?” Taking in the room, I realize that the walls, floor, and ceiling are all flush. They’re one smooth piece of debarked wood.

“Oh, yes! Of course!”

Glancing out the window, I see the morning sun’s light streaming into the room. A small tickle in my mind reminds me of my mom’s short fad obsession with Feng Shui. Apparently, a bed on the eastern wall is good for feeling like every day is a good day.

He begins with our room, showing me that we have a large walk-in closet on the north side of the room. A door on the western side of the room leads to an enormous bathroom.

The style of the bathroom is extremely reminiscent of Ilmarinen’s. It even has the rock pool with the waterfall on the western end. No water is flowing currently, however. It’s all made very ornately with mixes of granite for the bath and marble for the flooring.

“I’ll uh, need you to do the enchanting to make the shower work, heh.” Colt blushes slightly. “Moving on!”

We step back into what I now recognize as the master bedroom. Stepping out another door on the western wall, we enter into a vast, open-air space. Colt explains that the intent is to be a common room and dining room combo.

On the western side of the common room, I note windows which appear to lead out to a balcony. There’s a wooden door with glass panes in a grid on it leading to the balcony.

“Colt, where did you get all the glass for these doors and windows?” My curiosity is getting the better of me now, and I keep interrupting Colt’s explanations.

“Oh, Ilmarinen showed me how to make glass with a mix of Geomancy and Pyromancy! I can show you later, it’s pretty cool. Very resource consumptive though. He ended up just giving me some spare glass he had after I kept nearly draining myself.”

“I also thought… Y’know, if the balcony was facing the west, we could watch the sunset together…” Colt blushes, gripping his shirt awkwardly.

Smiling at him, I give his hand a squeeze. “That sounds like a great idea.”

He nods, grinning at me, and continues the tour.

On the eastern wall, between the wall of the master bedroom and another wall on the easern side, is a large, wooden staircase. More evergleam fir needles poke out from the wooden supports of the railing, lighting the way downstairs.

Before we go down the stairs, Colt shows me that we also have a guest bedroom, the other door on the eastern wall from the common room. It’s similarly empty right now, Colt claiming that he’s still figuring out the furniture situation.

There’s a second, smaller bathroom from the guest room on the southern wall. It has a door leading to yet another room, but Colt say we should enter the last room upstairs from the common room.

Walking back into the common room, we open the last door of the upstairs, the southern door. There’s another tiled floor in here, but the walls are still the same smooth, continuous wood like before. There’s not a plank in sight. This house truly is made from a living tree.

“Tadaa! A kitchen! There’s actually another, bigger one downstairs, but then I realized if the dining room is upstairs, the kitchen should be close by. So, we have two kitchens!” He scratches behind his ear awkwardly while blushing again slightly.

“This house is incredible, of course, but Colt, there’s a lot of wasted space here.” I indicate around us and back into the common room where there are large expanses of nothing.

“...It’ll look better when it’s furnished I’m sure. It’s not like I’ve made a house before.” He meets my eyes, looking sheepish.

“Alright, I’m being too harsh. This is an incredible achievement. It’s super cool, I promise.” He smiles at me and takes my hand in his.

“Thanks, I was hoping you’d like it. I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about us sharing a room, which is why I made the second bedroom… Just in case.”

Shaking my head, I chuckle. “Colt, you don’t need to worry about that kind of thing. We’ll find a use for the guest room I’m sure but neither of us will be sleeping in it.”

His face lights up, causing him to excitedly chatter more about his plans for our house.

“Explain as we go, I’m still taking this all in.” He lightens up on the speed-talking, leading us down the stairs from the common room.

“Okay okay, so, honestly. The downstairs is a bit worse. I was still figuring out things as I go.”

Stepping down the stairs, there’s a large wall containing it so one doesn’t see the stairs going up, creating what amounts to a hallway around the stairs.

“There was a lot of space and I made the walls around the stairs too big, so there’s a second bathroom in the same wall space as the stairs on the other side of us. I closed it off of course.”

The rest of the room is a wide-open expanse of nothing. Unable to hold it, I laugh once more.

“Okay yeah there’s a lot of wasted space, but I’m sure we’ll figure out something we can do with it. Maybe it can serve as a training room! Wait, we might break the windows… Anyway! Big kitchen!”

He leads me through a door that’s just beyond the bottom of the stairs on the eastern wall. It’s an enormous kitchen with generous counter space. He’s already set up spaces for several appliances to be slotted into, but it also looks fairly barren right now.

The floors are made of granite tiles and their gray color scheme matches well with the darker gray countertops. There’s another door on the side of the kitchen to the south.

Taking me through that door, he shows that all of our plants, as well as some new ones, have been set up in a new alchemy room he built. Each plant has its own plot in a planter and they all receive light from the crystals on evergleam fir needles poking out from the ceiling.

There are already a few areas for cooking potions in here. He explains he was able to buy those tools at the Construct Shop with what he received from Grandis. On the wall facing the western side of the house is another door.

Opening this door, I’m lead into a completely stone room. The floor is tiled but the walls are all smooth granite, clearly manipulated and shaped by Colt. There is a window on the southern wall to the outside, allowing some morning light to stream into the room.

“This will be your forge! We’ll just have to, y’know, build the forge, and get anvils. And tools. Anyway, on to a cool thing about the forge!”

Colt opens a simple wooden door in a stone doorway on the southern wall to our left. Strangely, it opens up to Ilmarinen’s main room of his home. He’s sitting inside, working away on several anvils at once as usual.

“Morning, Ilmarinen!” The octopus glares at us, grumbling a response.

“He set up this portal door, neat, huh?”

My brain at this point feels overloaded with information at everything that’s gone on while I was unconscious. Taking a seat on the floor for a moment after leaving Ilmarinen’s house and closing the door, I take a deep breath in.

Colt sits down next to me, laying a hand on my arm, his face looks concerned. “You okay?”

“I’m… Not sure. I hurt all over, and then I wake up to find I’ve lost two days of my life to it. The house is super cool, but also kind of overwhelming to have such a large shift in my life all at once.”

Colt blanches. “Oh! Sorry, I was really forward with this, but you got a perk for killing Grandis too right? We’re these people’s heroes. So I felt like right now we shouldn’t just head back to your house up north… I pushed things too fast, I’m sorry.”

Taking his hand in mine, I give it a light squeeze. “No, this is all fine, I just… Need a moment to adjust. I think it’s better that we’re closer to these people. They’re getting stronger, but they’ll need our help.”

He smiles at me. “I like that attitude. You just sit here, I’ll go make us something to eat. I’m sure you’re hungry. We couldn’t really get food in you the past two days.”

Paying attention, part of my pain does appear to be my stomach cramping with hunger. “...That would be nice, thank you.”

Colt steps out of the room, glancing back at me once more before he does.

Taking another deep breath, I calm myself down slightly.

‘Let’s just check a few things… It’s been a while since I looked at this. Status.’

Status:

Lucas Creo

Age: 22

Race: Human

Status:

Level: 23

Exp: 450/8668

HP: 6855/6855 (29.95 HP/min regeneration)

MP: 0/6670 (42.3 MP/min regeneration)

Strength: 324

Endurance: 457

Dexterity: 167

Intelligence: 284

Attunement: 392

Willpower: 209

Charisma: 49

Insight: 220

Stat points: 40

Anchorist Perk Points: 2

‘Right, forgot about the perk points, and all of these stat points too. Better spend some of them before Ilmarinen and Colt get mad at me… My stats though, these numbers are getting crazy…’

‘Wait, how do I have 49 Charisma? Perks.’

Perks:

Mantle of the Hero

Description: You have performed a heroic act recognized by many, as such you have taken on the mantle of a hero to your people. Even strangers will feel your heroic air! You may don the mantle of the hero once per day to give yourself a 30% bonus to a stat of your choice for 2 minutes. Charisma increased by 5. +5 Charisma per level up.

‘Well, that explains all the extra Charisma points.’

Spending one point on Charisma, I gain the milestone perk.

For reaching your first stat milestone in Charisma, you have been granted the perk: Synchronicity Boost!

Bringing up the perks menu once more I check out that perk as well.

Synchronicity Boost

Description: Your power to work in tandem with others has increased. You now receive a 10% bonus in power to combo Skills with others. This effect does not stack with those who have the same perk. Charisma increased by 1. +1 Charisma per level up.

‘That sounds really useful. I’m not sure what else I need these points for right now, so I think I’ll save the remaining 39 and spend them when I know what I need. Now let’s figure out what perk points do. I guess I can only spend them on Anchorist perks right now.’

Trying perks like Promethean or any of my other fusion perks, unfortunately, does not count, as they have perks from other Talents and methods combined with them.

‘Damn, upgrading Promethean would have been amazing…’

That lowers my choices to: Amphibious Respiration, Dermal Denticles, Ebb and Flow, Personal Hold, and Plunder.

Cutting out a couple that I don’t see immediate benefits of upgrading, I’m left with Ebb and Flow, Personal Hold, and Plunder.

Ebb and Flow makes it far easier for me to dodge attacks in combat. While it’s a subtle perk, its utility is there for sure.

Personal Hold makes sense to upgrade pragmatically. If it increases storage space, that would be amazing. My hold is already becoming quite cluttered with everything I have stored in there so far.

Lastly, Plunder is hard to observe the effects of even more so than Ebb and Flow, but if it upgrades the amount of currency and items I loot from monsters, it’s useful too.

Personal Hold is too useful to not upgrade, so I spend my first point on that one. A strange shifting inside me is accompanied by a notification.

You have upgraded the perk: Personal Hold! Its innate abilities have been enhanced! Personal Hold has become Personal Hold (+1)!

‘Well, the name is slightly underwhelming. Oh well.’ Peeking inside my hold, it’s far larger on the inside. The items are still a mess, admittedly, but I’ll organize them someday, just not today.

Taking an item out, I wince after I remember it has a mana cost and I’m currently out of mana from the mana burnt status. Nothing happens, I’m simply holding one of the bottles from the Construct Shop that I enchanted.

‘Huh, it removed the mana cost too. It was negligible to begin with, but I’ll take it.’

Thinking more on my own fighting style, I’m a bit too focused on running right into enemies and ignoring the hits I take rather than dodging with Ebb and Flow, so I decide to upgrade Plunder for now.

You have upgraded the perk: Plunder! Its innate abilities have been enhanced! Plunder has become Plunder (+1)!

A quick scan of the new description for Plunder just tells me that I’ll get more currency from monsters and the higher tier loot drop chance has been increased somewhat. It’s always been a bit vague as a perk so the description doesn’t surprise me.

Finally, I stand up and smile to myself. Looking into my hold once more, I spot a pair of leather boots, adorned with smoky quartz.

Taking them out of the item pile they’re sitting on, I Inspect them.

Crystalline Steps

Quality: Excellent

Traits: Crystal Generation, Crystal Growth

Description: These boots, received by slaying the world boss Grandis - Crystal Knight, grant control over crystals. This ability allows the wearer to generate and manipulate crystal structures at a mana cost scaling with the amount of crystal created and how heavily it is manipulated.

Equipping the boots, they fit perfectly and feel extremely comfortable on my feet.

Thinking of all the events leading up to now, I realize plenty of good has come out of all the bad. I have a group of kick-ass friends, a boyfriend, an anchor, and a fancy new pair of boots.

‘Maybe a change of scenery isn’t so bad after all.’

Walking out into the main room of the first floor, I see Colt coming toward me with a plate of food, smiling.

‘Home, sweet home.’

End of Arc 1