“Aarghhh” Castor yelled, both in pain and exertion, as he weakly threw his left fist. When the skeleton predictably moved his shield to block, Castor spun and reversed his momentum. Instead of a weak strike, an ebony club smashed into the monster’s fragile skull.

Unarmed Combat Proficiency Expanded!

Unranked 5

Blunt Weapon Proficiency Expanded!

Unranked 7

Perseverance Expanded!

Unranked 4

Castor heaved for air, struggling to just hold his weapon. The light animating the [Skeleton Soldier] escaped through the new hole in its head, and the warrior crumbled into a heap of unmoving bones.

Quest Log Updated

Objective: Destroy Skeletons (1/3)

“I can’t…do this.” Castor whispered in between the huffs for air. His arm felt like it was going to fall off; he barely could keep his bat on his shoulder.

Refresh Bestowed!

Danger! Resource Exhaustion Imminent!

Not even his pseudo-spell could wash away the agony. It was no better than slapping a band-aid against a gunshot wound.

But it’s better than nothing, Castor thought he felt more responsive, more on his toes. Which was a sharp contrast to the growing unresponsiveness in his left arm.

Another loud thump echoed further down the tunnel, followed by the eerie beat of something coming closer.

It’s another Skeleton Soldier, Castor realized. And it’s coming here. Straight for me.

That didn’t bode well for him.

Each step the soldier took was a weight on Castor’s chest. His lungs refused to inflate, and give him the vital air he need. No matter how many times he tried to inhale—

It took whaling on his chest to come back to reality. He coughed, savoring the air. Maybe for the last time.

Don’t think like that, Castor told himself. What can I do? The man summoned his status, scouring through words in blue boxes to find a solution.

His [intuition] stirred as something caught his eye.

(Dulled)

Blue Canivora

Bloodline: Canine

RP:7/7

Skill List: Guard (Ba), Bite (Ba), Bond (Ra), Alter (Ra)

Spell List: Shadow Sneak (Ba)

After using [Alter], Blue gained a spell. Castor realized. Gray hellfire spewing from the skull illuminated the skeletal figure in the distance. Albeit barely visible, it still hung over him like a guillotine, ready to separate his head from his torso.

“If I can activate my skill,” Castor savored the words, allowing himself the possibility of success. “If I can do it, I might be able to tip the odds in my favor.”

Castor ignored the approaching death incarnate—ignored the invasive pain in his shoulder, and solely focused on his breathing and the energy that rose at the crux of every breath. He had to believe in himself.

Castor didn’t need to imagine much; energy seethed in his stomach, churning harder than ever before—even if it was nowhere near full. Closing his eyes, he could almost see it.

A colorless fluid that reflected a hint of violet.

I just have to be as smart as a dog. Castor lamented humorously as he corralled the writhing pool of potential into a controllable cluster. Any filaments that proved unmanageable were quickly scrapped and returned to the ever-roiling sea of energy.

Sweat dripped down Castor’s head as his heart pumped wildly. The skeleton could be right in front of him—weapon ready to end his life—and he would have no way of knowing.

Castor dragged an inhale and savored the exhalation.

I just have to change it. He tried to get [Alter] to work, will it to move, anything really.

Once again, each attempt was unsuccessful.

Panic almost overwhelmed him, but he understood that the skill needed clear intentions. Even better, a clear visualization, yet Castor had no idea what was possible, let alone what he could do.

I just want to live, no matter what. Castor let go of the mental grip he had on his aura and tried to activate his skill with everything he had. To his surprise, the skill hummed to life without any resistance.

Skill Gained!

Flow Mediation (Uncommon)

Passively Gather Ether from

your environment and actively

convert it to Qi-Class resource.

Increase Resource regeneration up to 50%

Scores: MND

Flow Meditation Expanded!

Unranked 2

Alter Expanded!

Unranked 1

Aura Release Expanded!

Unranked 4

Feral Empowerment Bestowed!

Fatal Resource Exhaustion Avoided!

1/8RP

[Alter] didn’t end after [Aura Release] pounded the energy into his body. It blissfully faded and vibrated in the background, underneath the rapid changes in Castor’s body.

His eyes shot open—sight tinted in the tiniest hue of red—his heart threatening to skip a beat as it pumped a huge amount of blood through Castor’s body. Rage burned in his heart and swept across his chest. The pitiful skeleton was several meters away, a dented swashbuckler and rusted sword in its hands, ready to catch any attack Castor could throw at it.

The mere sight of the pathetic [Skeleton Soldier] sent Castor over the edge. The pains and aches were gone, replaced with a primal fury that urged him to destroy any potential threat.

So he did.

Castor ripped forward, closing the distance in a second. It tried to block with its shield, holding its sword behind, braced to counterattack. Castor ran straight into the shield, throwing his weight behind his shoulder like a battering ram.

It should’ve been an even exchange—it should’ve been in the undead warrior’s favor—yet, the skeleton was thrown back by the force the human mustered. As the disgusting monster was propelled back and off-balance, Castor brandished his club with both hands and rushed in.

He bashed the shield up and out of the monster’s guard, spun out of the way of a stab, then broke the offending hand off with a downward slam. In seconds, the roles were reversed, and Castor loomed over his foe, weapon-in-hand, ready to end its life. Anger flooded his veins and he couldn’t control himself.

Castor didn’t hesitate to hammer its skull in.

Quest Log Updated

Objective: Destroy Skeleton (2/3)

Castor stood over the broken corpse of the [Skeleton], gasping for air, when another thump sounded in the distance, followed by the loud grind of metal on rock .The pain came back slowly, as did the loss of the ability to freely move his left arm. Taking his time worsened Castor’s condition instead of bettering it, so he did the only thing he could do.

Castor began to run, holding tightly his club and the last bundle of aura he had left.

“What does this mean?” Gabby asked with a hint of fear in her voice as she gestured to her status screen.

“Castor found a dungeon,” Micah whispered. He was shocked, only to lose all hope instead of some. “He’s in a dungeon; under-powered, under-leveled, and unprepared. He’ll be lucky if he makes it to the first floor, dead or alive.”

Blue whined and struggled to get out of their grip, but he didn't bite them. At least Micah didn’t have to worry about the dog being trained.

“What should we do?” Gabby asked. Diana watched quietly behind her sister.

They both looked at Micah for an answer. He gulped.

“We should—I think we should—“ Micah stuttered, unable to decide to risk their necks or keep them safe, when he was interrupted by a blast of light that bloomed through the cracks between the windows.

The kids ran up to the blocked windows, shocked to see a golden column of light. Like the sun finally punctured the ever-present gloom to highlight one glorious location.

“It seems like the Trial has finally underway.” His sprite said unhelpfully over Micah’s shoulder. He couldn’t help but reminisce over the short time it didn’t talk.

Quest Log Update

Emergency Trial

A Forerunner has laid claim to a Totem

They humbly invite Players to join them

In the safety and defense of the Bastion.

Objectives: Reach the Bastion

Interact with Obelisk

Rewards: Access to Trial Store, ???

It was a beacon, signaling all survivors to converge for a chance at safety. It was clear where they had to go. Only it meant giving up looking for Castor.

Micah hesitated to give an answer.

The longer Castor spent running, the less he felt like he could go on. Soon, what was a sprint turned into a jog, even further when the last obstacle came into view.

The last skeleton was a giant—a full three feet taller than Castor’s six feet, and the sickly hellfire surrounding the monster was bigger and more apparent than the skeletons before it. The miasma surrounded its bones like faux muscles as it dragged an utterly massive, curved great sword behind it.

Skeleton

Level 5

Marauder

It lumbered about so slowly, that Castor was sure he covered more distance than the marauder. It almost looked like it didn’t notice Castor’s approach, something he planned to abuse.

Castor released a short breath he was holding, relaxing his grip on his aura just a hair. Just enough to tilt his skills into activation. [Aura Release] sputtered to life as [Alter] carried him with its renewed tune. Several windows flew into his red-tinted vision, but he dismissed them all. He needed complete focus to crush the oversized fool in front of him.

Castor held his club with both hands once more as he dashed to the enemy, intent on ending it all with a single strike.

The marauder paused in its gait for the first time. A tingle Castor’s grown to recognize as [Intuition] buzzed. It grew an octave deeper when the skeleton corrected its stance.

Castor abandoned his forward assault for a dive. Sparks flew in every direction as the [Skeleton Marauder] cut the space in front of it, without care for the walls on either side.

Castor’s eyes bulged out of his head as he ascertained the damage the monster caused in less than a heartbeat. He began to shake when he got back to his feet and saw the hideous rends cut into the walls.

The horrifying undead clumsily extracted its curved cleaver from where it had buried it in the wall. It inspected its weapon for a moment, then continued its almost robotic stride towards Castor.

It seemed unstoppable. Unbeatable.

Castor roared in anger, a searing heat hadn’t felt in years. He wasn’t going to stop. He couldn’t.

The young man lunged in close where the skeleton couldn’t use its giant weapon effectively. He smashed his bat against its ribs and pelvis, sidestep its grabs and fists, and took every chance to bash its head off.

The marauder parried and blocked a few attacks with his bare forearm, taking the rest without any protective measures.

Castor backed off from the flurry of blows, wheezing. Already, the primal strength that flooded his veins ebbed and drained away, leaving him weak and exhausted.

The [Skeleton Marauder], on the other hand, corrected its skull’s posture with a single hand and a crack of its neck. Then readied its sword, poised to cut him in half.

Meanwhile, I can barely hold myself up. Castor chuckled ruefully in between huffs of air.

“You won’t get me.” He smiled with every tooth, blood painting his teeth a brutal red.

Castor smashed that tiny bit of his resource out of his pool, exhausting his RP for a second of strength.

Castor tried to breathe, but every inhale felt like he was swallowing glass. He coughed and was a little surprised to see blood. Falling into the overwhelming confidence was easy after each infusion of strength, yet even that failed him as fear and doubt tore into his mind and body.

He almost failed to take action, frozen between fight or flight. [Intuition] gave Castor a chance, it whispered unintelligible words in his ear, painting pictures that meant nothing,

The marauder swiped its sword up at blinding speed—this time diagonally, as if to cover more space—but Castor was gone before the skeleton moved.

Castor rushed in, angling himself so the hunk of metal missed him by a hair, then wrapped his hands around the monster’s unprotected spine. Following his instincts, he tried to hold the skeleton’s aura. While Castor couldn’t directly grasp the aura of another as he had hoped, something just as promising appeared.

Compatible Aspect

Would you like to Convert and Assimilate?

Y/N

YES, WHY ARE YOU EVEN ASKING?! Castor all but slammed his preoccupied finger onto the screen. Slowly, the gray hellish aura of the skeleton was sucked into the Castor’s body, where it was mysteriously converted into his own RP—although at a horrific conversion rate.

For the first time since fighting these things, Castor saw a whiff of pain flash across the monster’s skull as it dropped its massive sword in surprise. It whirled around and threw its bony, oversized fists into Castor’s already broken body.

Castor endured every gut-wrenching moment.

Every fist that Castor took, and every wall he was thrown into was another moment—another second the skeleton that didn't use its massive sword to dissect him instead.

It was more time for the aura to burn its way through Castor’s body. It was more resource that came back into his pool. It was more of a fighting chance.

So Castor didn’t stop clinging on to that massive spine; he didn’t stop when the [Skeleton Marauder] broke his legs against a wall, nor when it bashed its sharp elbow into his face so many times his eyes swelled until he couldn’t see.

He didn’t even stop when the skeleton stopped moving, or when the prompts came to congratulate him on his victory.

Castor only stopped when the bones faded to ashes and slipped in between his fingers. Only then did he slip into a blissful sleep.