Jason sat in his silver cell, staring at his hand. He had spent a long time thinking about the news that the Holy Will had arrived, and he had finally come to a conclusion. I fucked up. There was no way for him to know that things were going to escalate into a bloody war, but he was the one who’d let Streni go…She had claimed that her death would have brought more Aspirants, and he’d listened…jumping on the chance to not kill her. He grimaced, the recent deaths he’d caused pressing on him. He hadn’t done many, but in the isolation of his cell, his mind wandered to them; To their empty eyes, gaping mouths, and the spurt of blood… He forced the images away. It was fair, either me or them, and they put me in that situation. He breathed heavily. Regardless, that was the situation now, and he was still a prisoner, unable to do anything. Not for much longer though. During his imprisonment he’d thought about the weakness that he’d noticed recently: Sound, silver, and mobility. Heonly had an idea for one of them, and thankfully it was the most important, silver. It completely countered his [Phantom State], and considering that he was in a room which prevented his experiments with it, he’d have to put upgrading the Ability on hold, if it was even possible. Instead, he’d been looking at [Bone Manipulation]. Time to get some awesome bone armour. He smiled weakly, and felt the Mana patterns inside him again.

He could see the effect of [Dense Bones]; the lines of criss-crossing mana in his marrow had become packed with more of them. Which made him think. If that’s what it is, then can I manually level the ability up? He thought it was worth a go. With a deep breath he pushed his Mana into his bones trying to find space for more lines. It seemed to accept it easily, and he kept pushing more into it. After some time, it started to get difficult, as his bones were overflowing with Mana now, and he was distantly aware of the notifications waiting for him. But, he felt that it wouldn’t be enough. How do I get the 2nd Tier? He continued to experiment, by trying to infuse Mana throughout the marrow. It was simply sucked into the lines, but he noticed not all of it went away. Frowning, he pushed more Mana in, until suddenly, a line split off from one of the main ones. He jerked in surprise, and returned his attention to it. That kind of looks like… he continued, and was rewarded with more lines. Excited, he started pouring his Mana into his marrow, almost emptying his reserves, but it had done it. Like a repeating pattern, smaller and smaller lines stretched from each other, until he couldn’t see it anymore. I think I know this…fractals? He opened his eyes and listened to the bell chime.

‘Ding’ [Dense Bones Lv 16 – 2nd Tier Lv 2]

By discovering the Mana pattern for bones, you have made them more absorbent to it, making them denser by a static [50% – 100%].

2nd Tier: Your bones’ structure has changed due to the overflowing Mana. It is now more resistant to impacts.

‘Ding’ You have unlocked the Class Ability [Mana Marrow Lv 1]

You have explored your abilities, and discovered a way for the marrow to be transformed. You can now spend Mana to create more bone.

He grinned. Perfect. He was almost ready; he just had to finally decide on where to spend his Stat points that he got from defeating the woman who controlled the…things. He had ninety one in total and he had to spend them carefully. First, he put forty into Dexterity; he’d need the speed for running away. Secondly, he put one into Wisdom, just so it matched endurance. He smiled at that, and carried on. Then, he equally divided the remaining sixty into Vitality, Endurance and Wisdom. With that, he was done.

‘Ding’ Name: Jason Darting

First Class: [Phantom Swordsman Lv 95] * 5

Second Class: [Bone Manipulator Lv 66] * 3

Unspent stat points: None

Vitality: 316

Endurance: 208

Strength: 60

Dexterity: 180

Wisdom: 208

Intelligence: 193

General Skills: [Identify Lv 1] ; [Bretae Standard Language Lv 5] ; [Death Magic Resistance Lv 1] ; [Space Magic Resistance Lv 5] ; [Bone Resistance Lv 1] ; [Pain Resistance Lv 6] ; [Fear Resistance Lv 13]

Class Skills: [Spacial Strike 2nd Tier Lv 20] ; [Phantom State 2nd Tier Lv 20] ; [Ghostly Swordsmanship Lv 14] ; [Bone Manipulation 2nd Tier Lv 2] ; [Dense Bones 2nd Tier Lv 2] ; [Mana Marrow Lv 1]

He waited for a while, allowing his Mana to return, until it was time. With a deep inhale, he shifted everything but his feet, and then he finally started summoning his bone armour. His Mana drained quickly, and his eyes widened as a smooth white covering slid over his arms. He kept pouring Mana into the Ability until it reached his neck, before he then carefully guided the stuff around his face. He paused as he realised he would need a visor, and with a grin he settled on one. Slowly, the bone rose and completely covered his face, except for a T shaped gap for his mouth and eyes. Just like Boba Fett. He took it even further though, by filling the space in, before using [Phantom State] to make the shape again. Perfect. He added a bit more to it, compacting it in places by feeding [Mana Marrow] to it until he felt like it was better than steel. Fuck I forgot how heavy it would be. He used [Bone Manipulation] to help out, moving it with his will, as well as his arms.

Time to get out of here.

—---

Silver gave orders to his subordinates, all people who believed in their cause. He had to make sure that they didn’t see his doubt, his fear. They were relying on him. He loosened his jaw, and carried on organising.

He was in the process of approving an assault team, when he felt his connection to silver twinge. He immediately turned to the source, and his eyebrow raised as he realised what it was. “Our prisoner has escaped, capture him.” He spoke to the people behind him, and with a blur, they sped off. He watched for a moment, before turning around to continue giving orders. He was interrupted by a headache inducing grinding noise. He turned around, his eyes widening when he saw a building slide apart, as if cut by an enormous sword. “That was my office!” He roared, and summoned a tendril of metal to lift him over. When he arrived, he paused momentarily, as he didn’t see Jason. No, instead there was a knight in pale armour, with thick smooth plates that absorbed the attacks around him with ease. He narrowed his gaze. No, it’s not just absorbing… it’s regrowing.

‘Ding’ [Bone Manipulator Lv 66 / Phantom Swordsman Lv 95]

It is him. He shook his head in disappointment. He has been far more trouble than he’s worth. It was time for him to put a stop to this. He raised a shimmering lance of silver, before sending it hurtling towards the man. The Swordsman noticed and quickly responded with a distorted slash of air that rose to intercept it. He held back a scoff, as it cut through his attack, changing nothing as it was still in his control. He did blink though when the ability kept coming, and had to quickly jerk out of the way. He thought he was fine, until he started falling. The tendril! It quickly reattached itself and he scowled, before focusing back on the fight, only to realise that the man had gone. “What.” He looked around, pausing to stare at the bodies of the assault force. “JASON!” He screamed and rose higher, searching around the city. He spread tendrils of silver out, feeling for his presence. He received a ping, from the southern exit. He cursed, and practically threw himself over to the location. He caught himself gently, and landed in front of the man responsible for this entire mess. He glowered at him, but couldn’t see any reaction in his ghostly visor. He wasted no more time, immediately flooding the area with silver. The swordsman tensed, and then… sunk into the ground?

He stared for a moment, before what happened clicked in his head. With gritted teeth he sent the silver underground, causing the earth to writhe and undulate, like it was filled with worms. Except I’m looking for the worm. He strained further, and finally brushed against something. He immediately focused everything there stabbing wildly, but the presence had already slipped away, and he knew he had lost him.

“JASON!”

—---

Jason emerged from the ground some distance away, and leaned against a tree. He was gasping, trying to calm down his beating heart. I am never doing that again. He shuddered as he recalled the sensation of slipping into the ground, the pressure, the darkness, the isolation; all made worse by the burning brush of silver that was hunting him. He took his time, but no matter how hard he tried, his heart just didn’t seem to want to calm down. He eventually shrugged. “I made it out… that’s what matters. I need to move though.” Swallowing, he started walking. He hadn’t paid attention to where he was going, but it didn’t matter to him right now. I need to think about what I need to do next…first of all, where can I go? He didn’t think he could go to any of the settlements, the Holy Will could be at any of them, and that would just put him needlessly at risk. So where else? He couldn’t think of anywhere, which meant he was probably going to have to camp in the wild. He sighed. Well, what can I do? He could run, this situation was completely out of his control, maybe he should just leave, and let the others deal with it. He frowned. That doesn’t feel quite right…in the past it would be…but not now? He pondered it while he trudged, until a realisation dawned on him. It’s simply because I have power now…as cringe as that sounds. On earth, I couldn’t do jack shit. Here though? I can actually make a huge difference… The idea was so bizarre that he had to stop to really appreciate it. I can make a difference… His mouth formed into a line. Well then, what can I do? Silver said that they had more than one controller for the…things…the barnacles, if I hunt them down, they’re going to lose a lot of momentum. He smiled, the light feeling in his chest finally settling down his heart. He started off again, and realised…shit, where do I go though?

—---

Ilis stood with her team among the crowd of adventurers staring at the two council members for Danist and Grenion. She closed her eyes. Bloody hell, it’s become so fucking complicated. She recalled the angels’ declaration from earlier.

“Greetings citizens of the Freelands. We have come to free you of a presence most foul. However, it appears we are needed for more than just eliminating our target. It has come to our attention that a plague is sweeping your land. Do not fear, the higher members of our church have been notified. Your salvation is only a matter of time. We will remain and try to fight it back as best we can.”

She sighed. They hadn’t said anything else, but it was worrying nonetheless. It was basically a confirmation of everyone's fears. This whole situation was about to escalate, and the people who lived here would suffer for it. She glanced back in the direction of the Scandy Singer, where Juliet would be cleaning up. She felt conflicted. In her mind, the decision had already been made. I’m getting out of here. She felt bad about it, but it was the smartest decision. The…smartest…decision. Her mouth twisted. it wasn’t the one she wanted though. She knew what Julie would say, and she honestly felt inclined to agree. It’s not my home though… She hesitated. She didn’t have a home…but this place? It was pretty close, single handedly defending it from a horde would do that to you. I’d stay…if there was a chance. She looked around at the others. Adventurers, probably gonna leave as soon as this is done. The sound of someone harrumphing drew her attention. Up on a small stage, were two finely dressed people. The council members of Danist and Grenion. The woman who had cleared her throat, scanned the crowd, eyes alighting on her for a moment, hopefully. She grimaced, and the woman's face almost crumpled, before her gaze carried on.

“I’m sure you're aware of why we have called you here.” The woman spoke, while the man next to her bobbed his head nervously. “The Holy Will is coming, and they are going to destroy this land in the resulting war. We know you are all thinking of leaving…” nods came from all around. “...But we need you if we’re going to save our homes. We’ve spoken to the Adventurers Guild and they have upped the reward to five gold pieces a day…” Everyone leaned forward all of a sudden, hanging on each word. The leader gulped. “...So I implore all of you, stay. The citizens of the Freelands need you.”

That was it, and everyone relaxed, glancing at each other. It wasn’t enough. She knew Adventurers needed more than just money; they needed to believe that they were going to survive. Mutters were exchanged, and things were silent, for a moment.

A voice spoke up from the back of the room. “I’m sorry Ma’am but my team can’t do what. We wish you the best of luck.”

She closed her eyes. So that’s it then.

“Really? You're not even going to try?”

She opened them again and stared at the man who’d spoken. Brand was standing tall, his eyes boring into the team that were leaving. His gaze swept across the room, drawing everyone in. “We’re Adventurers dammit, it’s our job to go where other people wouldn’t, to fight where others wouldn’t dare.”

The man that had been about to leave, rolled his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. It’s not the end of the world, the people can leave just like us.”

Brand turned to him again. “It is for some people. This is where they’ve lived their whole lives. You really think there is going to be no consequences for them having to leave their homes?”

She watched him shake his head. “No. The dangers of moving through the Wildlands, the prospect of setting up somewhere else, sometimes even the simple fact that they lost their homes can be…” He inhaled, all eyes on him. “And I know what you're thinking. ‘That’s just life, that’s how it is sometimes.’” He visibly gritted his teeth. “And I ask you, is it? – IS IT?!” his voice seemed to shake the walls, a breeze blowing past people. “I agree that sometimes in life we fail, but why does that mean we don’t try? Who’s fault is it that we’re in this situation!? Some natural phenomenon? Or is it PEOPLE?!”

Ilis glanced around, the air was stirring, becoming more and more powerful. The wind blew her head back to the short man, who now seemed to loom. “The Holy fucking Will. They do this, time and time again. Come in, claiming they know what’s best, and leave nothing but ashes behind.” She felt something twist in her chest.

“I’VE HAD ENOUGH! They shouldn’t be doing this! Them and the Grasping Hand, or whoever the fuck is out there! And we’re Adventurers dammit! We have the power to do something! At least try! We have a chance, we have time! At least stay until then!” Her and everyone else in the room stared at him, while he panted.

A sudden scrape of a chair broke the silence. A Cani woman in knight armour stood up, her teeth bared in a ferocious snarl. “Yes.” Was all she said, and the rest of her knights joined her. They slammed their fists against their chests, and howled. Their cry, being joined by others, not just Cani, but the yowls of Ferre and the thumping of Hanes. It trailed off and everyone watched them with wide eyes. “Yes.” The word echoed, she was sure from the rest of the town too. Ilis laughed, and stood up, slapping the man responsible for all this on the back. “Why the fuck not? I fucking love this place anyway.” Her words cut through the tension like a knife through butter, and the Adventurers blinked, before shaking their heads ruefully. They all stood up, and like the Cani knights, slammed their breasts. Even the team that had been about to leave, joined them, their eyes shining with determination.

In the middle of it all, she watched the simple bear-like man stood tall. Except, that didn’t seem right, as the air whistled around the room, bringing energy and focus wherever it went, she thought she saw something different in him. She tilted her head speculatively, and stepped back to whisper in Falan’s ear. “You see that right?”

The elf nodded, a wide grin across his face. “Oh yes…I do indeed.”