What is that? My jaw dropped in surprise at the new Information I just got. So many theories... so many ideas...

The panel stands in front of me and I stare at it with my eyes wide open, fully concentrated on reading every little detail of this Specialization thing. I wasn't expecting to be something like that, nor was I trying to earn it. I must read it again... I just... want to make sure I didn't miss any details.

Specialization unlocked: Artificer ◇+25% XP gain for skills related to crafting, knowledge or magic ◇+25% increase to rune affinity gain ◇+25% increase in the power of artifacts you use ◇You can make small alterations on runes when inscribing them, customizing the effect to an extent. (Aura, Bolt, Explosion) ◇Every Artifact you make have a max charge of 10 if you don't use a mana storage rune. ◇you can temporarily mark one object with a rune you know. This Ability lasts 1 minute and has a cooldown of 10 minutes. Accept? Yes No

"Yes." I say out loud. The 'Yes' option shines a little and the panel closes. There is now an option in the menu where I can access my Specialization panel where the same information as before could be seen.

Ok. Guess I am an Artificer now. It says in the description that Artificers are adept at crafting items, enchanting them with runes as well as using them on the battlefield. Based on the text that showed up before, I can assume I got this for making Artifacts and using them in dangerous situations.

As for the bonuses, the ones with a flat 25% increase in power or XP gain are good, but the other three... they are amazing. Being able to create temporary artifacts, how cool is that? Anything can become a weapon. And every artifact I make will have some charge slots, even if I don't use a mana storage rune. I should try to level that arcane affinity to 100% to test this customization ability as well.

But first, there is still lots of bronze left and I need some protection if I am to venture deeper into the caves. There is also the risk of soldiers coming, so...

First, I make some greaves, adjusting them on my legs and using some leather from the clothes to tie them, then I make bracelets, shoulder guard, and a breastplate. With little bronze left, I make an open helmet. All in all, the armor is crude and there are many areas uncovered, but at least if someone wants to hit me, they will have a harder time doing it.

The weight of the metal becomes apparent as I walk around. It will take some time to get used to it. Maybe I should pay a visit to those mantises to train to fight in armor and get my arcane affinity at 100%... Yeah, I will do it, but I won't take the staff and the cloak with me, don't want to ruin those.

A familiar blue whirl surrounds my rings and a small current of mana can be seen by my eyes as I finish charging the remaining of the Daggers capacity... It's time to go.

The dungeon entrance was waiting for me just like it was before. I walk to the left, passing the corridor and the hall, moving towards the den, and then I stand quietly at the door, staring at the big hall full of bugs, some bigger than a person. I notice the familiar green mantis occasionally passing through, but I also see bigger ones, blue and around 2 or 3 meters.

It is now or never... If I am to get stronger, I have to fight them. I grab a stone and throw it at the blue one. The thing hissed angrily and jumped towards me, some residual wings on the insect back helping the creature while in the air.

Sweat drips from my face as I wait for the insect to get closer and send a wave with one of the daggers when he gets at my range, jumping back quickly. The creature screams in pain as arcane energy cuts through its exoskeleton, leaving its flesh exposed. I run back to the hall to avoid getting corned in the corridor, the mantis follows me quickly, crouching to pass the door. As I get there, the blue mantis attacks me with its claws before I could evade. The attack hits my shoulder guard, cutting a piece of it and making a shallow wound. It's not the first time they aim at my shoulder... maybe they have some attack pattern? My instinct tells me the damage would have been far greater had it hit an unprotected area instead, good thing I made those guards.

I take another dagger and using both of them, I send two waves of purple energy, the mantis evaded quickly despite its size, their many legs helping with mobility. If I want to hit it, I will have to use my head as well as my body...

I send a wave with my dagger to make an opening knowing they will evade it... Then I use the other one just a moment later at the location the creature dodged to. The wave hits it in the claw, cutting it almost entirely, leaving only a piece of flesh connecting it to the body. The mantis jumps back while still facing me and use the other claw to cut the damaged one mercilessly. The Blue giant insect is moving faster and screaming more too, I think I made it angry...

Another three mantises of the green variety heard the blue cry for help and came for the rescue. I run to one of them and slash it with a wave before it could give me any trouble, chopping its head off. The other two get to the sides of the blue and try to corner me together. I switch one of the daggers for the pistol while using the other one to send waves to keep their distance. I shoot at the green mantis, 2 shoots in each being enough this time. The blue advances at me at the sight of the others falling and I keep trying to cut it with the wave while shooting with the pistol, the thing quickly evading and attacking me with its long claw. The creature is at a disadvantage, however, having only one claw to attack. I equip my second dagger back and evade the claw while cutting it off and finishing the bug off with 3 more strikes to its chest.

I fall to the ground, breathing so fast that the world started to spin a little bit... I am exhausted. If I had some way to measure stamina, I am sure mine would be almost depleted.

After a while, no more mantises came and I recovered my energies. I think it is safe to check my notifications now.

◇New skill: Dagger Mastery Description: Daggers are usually used either to parry or to pierce weak points in an enemy's armor. Effects: you are better at finding weak points. +1% dagger damage ◇New skill: Dual Wielding Description: Fighting using a weapon in each hand, using the second one either to parry or to bypass enemy defenses. Usually people dual-wield weapons of different lengths, so they don't get in the way of each other, but two small weapons are viable as well. Effects: you get better coordination when dual-wielding as the level of the skill increases. Wave affinity is now 45% Arcane affinity is now 95%

The two skills I got seem to go hand in hand together, daggers are good weapons to dual wield. The affinity is so close now… maybe just one more blue mantis and I go back.

♡90/103 Mind 60/75 ☆95/100 P•17/25 Dag1•0/25 Dag2•0/25

Oh, right. I am low on charges.

While charging my weapons with the reserves, I grab the piece of the shoulder guard that got cut off and mend it together with the gloves. There are still many unknown symbols on the walls... Perhaps they are runes? maybe more secret passages? This is beyond my knowledge...

Alright, back to the den, I got enough charges... I think.

♡90/103 Mind 60/75 ☆75/100 P•20/25 Dag1•15/25 Dag2•15/25

Back in the den, a group of 4 green mantises is eating a 5-meter corpse of larvae, I don't even want to know what they would become if they reached adulthood. I shoot at one of them twice, the others get surprised but come at me soon enough, I kill another one with more arcane missiles, the last two coming close enough for me to chop their heads with the dagger's arcane wave. I quickly get back at the entrance of the dungeon to avoid getting more attention.

Arcane affinity is now 100% ◇New Rune: Arcane Description: Arcane magic is using raw mana to do your bindings. The color depends on the nature of the mana used, blue being the most common. Contrary to most kinds of magic, Arcane magic does not require creation rune as the element controlled is Mana itself. Effects: you can manipulate arcane energy and properly inscribe objects with this rune, as the meaning of arcane has been understood by you. +1% Arcane power

Interesting... It does remind me of how skills work, there is even an increase based on percentage. Now, time to test my temporary marking ability. I grab a stone on the ground and mark it with the arcane rune. The stone glows a faint blue aura the moment I do it.

SCANNING ARTIFACT Name: Stone of Arcane Aura (Temporary) Description: The stone glows blue with Arcane energy surrounding it Charges: 10/10

Oh, so this is the aura option I got from my Spec...

I hold the stone and strike the wall with it, Arcane energy damaging the wall a little bit. Throwing it had the same effect too. After a minute, the stone turns back to normal.

Wanting to experiment more, I go back to my home as the cooldown goes off.

Arriving there, I try to do it again. This time, I try to use the Bolt configuration.

SCANNING ARTIFACT Name: Stone of Arcane Bolts (Temporary) Description: The stone releases Arcane energy in the form of a bolt Charges: 10/10

Holding it, I focus on sending a bolt in front of me. A blue missile is a shoot, much like the pistol, but not as strong... I think the material used interferes with the quality of the runes. Maybe there is a magic conduction propriety?

Time to try the last one...

SCANNING ARTIFACT Name: Stone of Arcane Bomb (Temporary) Description: The stone detonates an explosion of Arcane energy 5 seconds after being activated. Charges: 10/10

I go a little bit away from the plants, into the entrance of the hideout, and then activate the stone, throwing it as far as I could into one of the paths.

A few seconds later and a blue explosion with a radius of 2 meters appears, sending stones all over the place and making dust fall from the ceiling. I try to retrieve the stone but it was disintegrated in the process. I wasn't expecting this one to be that strong as the others seemed to be weaker than normal... Maybe it is balanced in that this is single-use?

There is still something I want to test...

To cast magic, someone will need Mana, A rune attuned, and some magic potential...

The image of the Arcane rune in bolt configuration is memorized on my mind. I feel the mana from my myhrite gems and try to use it with the image in my mind... But nothing happens

I repeat a few times but it didn't work...

Okay, let's try something else. I focus on the image of the rune, then I gather the mana of my rings, using all of them at once to concentrate all the mana I could get on the tip of my fingers, then I draw the rune with them, a blue trail follow my fingers as they slide on the air... Then a small blue explosion occurred in front of me. Shit, this is hard... but I got something, I am sure of it. I remember the adventurer Ayla Green saying she had to practice a lot to get it right, so maybe that is it... Still, I wouldn't be able to do it without the rings... not yet, at least.

Well, time to rest a little. Doing those kinds of things put some strain on the mind... Another reason mages usually have strong willpower.

Health Integrity Physical State: 100% --- Mental State: 80% Anxiety (-20 WIL, -5 END) depression (-20 WIL, -5 END) determined (+10 WIL) Loneliness (-10 WIL) Total: 90% Fine Stats Strength: 112 (+12) Endurance: 103 (+13) Reflex: 114 (+14) Intelligence: 131 (+31) Willpower: 80 (+20) Charisma: 101 (+1) Staff Damage: 6% Dagger Damage: 1% Mind resistance: 1% Electricity resistance: 20% Dark magic resistance 1% Skills Fighting Level 11 +11 str, ref, end Artifact Crafting Level 7 +7 int, +3 wil Climbing Level 1 +1 end, str Aesiri Level 4 +3 int Staff Mastery Level 6 +6% staff dam Friend of the squidcrabs Level 1 +1 Cha Arcane knowledge level 11 +11 int, +5 wil Mana Manipulation level 7 +7 wil, +3 int Battle magic level 2 (+2 int, ref, wil) dagger mastery level 1 +1% Dag dam dual-wielding level 1 Runes Current willpower: 80 Mana 0/0 Runes Attuned 1/1 Affinities Electricity 55% Space 23% Light 10% Time 5% Gathering 25% Wave 45% Arcane 100%

I grew so much from the moment I got here… Been through a lot as well. It is still so weird that this system quantifies in numbers my growth. There are some things that can't be measured, like how I am less afraid of things... Actually, that may have something to do with my willpower and Intelligence, being able to think logically can help in some situations.

A gurgling noise resonated on the cave walls... I am hungry. My body is tired too, I can feel the weight on my eyes and on my limbs... I have done a lot today. Taking off my armor, I spend the rest of my time making vegetable soup, stretching, meditating, and preparing potions before falling asleep.

I throw the dice at the table, everyone has a look of apprehension on their eyes... "20! I DID IT!" I say loudly as my dice hit the highest number, meaning my firebolt is a critical strike. The goblin chieftain falls dead with a hole in his chest. I was not aware, however, that a goblin assassin was invisible, he strikes me with poison, leaving me to die. "Wait, I got you" says my brother, he is playing a fighter but he has a medic background, so he is able to stabilize my wounds after slaying the assassin with 4 sword strikes.

I wake up hearing the sound of faint human voices.

“Are you sure this is the way?” A low voice asks

“Yeah, this orb we got can track people up to 2 months after the tracks disappear” a higher voice answers

Shit. They found their way here. What do I do... what do I do...

Breathe, grab the daggers, pistols, drink a potion, hide.

I try to execute my plan the best I can, but my body is shaking in anticipation. I was using the cloak to sleep so I use it to help in hiding... Then I wait for them behind a bush, trying not to make a noise there.

I hear a third voice “let’s find the little rat and kill it, shall we?” Says another voice

“Wait, it’s here, or around here… wow, look at these glowing crystals… How interesting...” the high voice says. Those last two are familiar... Yeah, they are the wizard and archer from when I got out...

“shh, quiet, search her,” a fourth voice says

Great, at least 4 of them, probably well-armed. I have to do it... Or I will die here. Grabbing a stone and marking it with an explosion arcane rune, I wait for them to get in range and throw it activated at them.

“You saw that? I think it came from th-” A loud bang and a man is dead, the plants completely burned, forming a circle on the ground with blue wisps dancing at the area. One of them got his arm injured, another evaded it completely, while the mage with blue robes from before cast a shield on himself. I use the confusion to run into their direction, focusing on the one with his arm injured and swinging my dagger, Arcane energy coming from the tip, forming a purple wave that beheaded him with one strike.

“IT’S HER, KILL THE DEMON” the archer who evaded the blast yelled, drawing his bow and shooting at me. I try to dodge but the arrow sliced through my unprotected arm, making a bad looking wound, the blood coming out coagulated quickly because of the potion.

♡85/103

I send two waves to him, but the wizard appeared in front of his ally, blocking them with his magic shield. Then, a fifth Enemy appears, fully armored with plate armor, bucket helmet, and a long sword almost his size, resembling a paladin from the tabletops games I played.

“Demon, we finally met. Fear not, I will save your tainted soul from a life of sin”

It had to be a paladin. I fucking hate paladins.

Outnumbered, I focus on taking out their weakest link, the archer. To take the wizard’s shield away from him, I send 3 waves quickly at the magician, who focuses on defending himself. the archer draws a short sword and comes to strike me, giving just the opportunity as I roll to the side, cutting him from afar with the wave. Things from his belly that should stay inside are leaking as he yells in panic.

“Weak” Says the paladin as he beheads the archer, ending his suffering

The mage runs to get some distance and start throwing firebolts at me, I evade them and try to hit the paladin. He easily blocks my attacks with his sword, the weapon absorbing the arcane energy and dispersing it as mana into the ambient. A useful enchantment, but if he can’t use the mana the blade absorbs, not that useful.

The Paladin starts swinging his sword and I advance at him to parry before he gathers momentum, the attack is very strong but I hold firmly. I use the opportunity to strike from up close with the other dagger, cutting directly and using the wave at the same time, but both didn’t cause any damage to his armor. He punches me with his gauntlet and I get back, a little stunned by it. The wizard uses the chance to hit me with a firebolt, burning my right leg.

♡65/103

He is trying to affect my footwork, making me worse at evading. I place my left dagger on my belt, hiding the move from the wizard. Just as I see he will begin casting the firebolt, I shoot at him. His face was of surprise and defeat, he forms a shield but before it completely forms, the arcane missile passes it, hitting him on his chest. He is still alive, the bolt was weakened by the shield, so I run towards him fast, switching weapons once more and piercing his neck with the Vampire’s Knife. The paladin throws the short sword of the archer at me but I grab the wizard body and use it as a shield. The throw however was made with immense strength and the blade pass the corpse body, wounding me a little on the abdomen but not very deep nor hitting a vital organ.

♡50/103

The Vampiric blade shines in a crimson aura, still in the neck of the corpse, drinking the blood from him. I take it away and face the paladin. His longsword is a real problem as the range does not allow me to get close, risking getting chopped with one blow of the blade. His armor is protected from magic too, also, it’s steel so I can’t use most artifacts if I grab him. My only choice is the vampiric dagger.

I get close to him as he swings his sword, aiming at the blade instead. The vampiric dagger slice through it as if it was butter, having drunk so much life from the wizard, the dagger was unstoppable. However, I left an opening. The knight murmurs “Evil demon” as he punches me with the gauntlet right into the head, stunning me and then stabbing what's left of his blade on my stomach, turning the blade slightly to add to the damage.

♡10/103

Gathering all my strength, I pierce his eyes with the dagger, he gets stunned in pain and I use the chance to do it again five more times to make sure he doesn't move ever again. The dagger aura is now a dark crimson. I can see little dots of mana around me, the same color as the aura.

Without forces, I fall on the floor, trying hard not to lose consciousness. From the corner of the hud, I can see my health getting worse as the wound is left untreated.

♡9/103