Jackson stumbled back, letting the remains of the glaive drop to the ground. His strange attack had obliterated the blade and left behind only a stub of metal at the end of the haft. He abruptly dropped to his knees, winced, and laughed.

“That was awesome,” he said. He looked over his shoulder and grinned. “One of my skills lets me store up pain and send it back to an enemy. Didn’t realize it would feel so good!”

Dalton pushed himself off the ground and shook his head. “You crazy bastard. Now I know why you were letting yourself get hit so much. Are you alright?”

Jackson stood up, using the wall for support. As he did, the remains of his shirt fell to the ground, tore up into rags by the elemental’s attacks. Numerous cuts and jabs littered his chest, but the big guy just shrugged. “Eh. It hurts, but I’ve had worse. How about yourself?”

Dalton sucked in a few deep breaths then forced himself to his feet. The world spun dangerously for a moment before settling. “I’m alright. You got the worst of it this time.” He stepped forward and hissed as the wound on his side stretched. “Ah, I nearly forgot about that.”

“Did you level up twice too?” Jackson asked.

Dalton nodded distractedly and walked over to where Jackson stood. There, by the remains of the crystal, materialized two distinct items.

A glaive and a shield. The haft of the glaive looked like the white stone of the chamber they were in, but it was surprisingly light. The blade was wickedly curved and fashioned out of multi-faceted and multi-hued crystal. The shield was similarly made with a whitestone base and a crystal layer overtop.

Grimacing from the pain, Dalton slowly bent down, picked up the glaive and shield, and handed the shield to Jackson, who received it in awe.

Dalton looked at the glaive and thought, Inspect.

Crystal Glaive (Item Rank: E)

A glaive fashioned out of the body of a crystal elemental and the stone of the Dungeon. Grants +4 Strength when worn, as well as 15% increased damage to crystal-type monsters.

“Look at your shield and think, ‘Inspect,’” Dalton said to Jackson, who was busy strapping on his new shield with glee.

“Whoa!” Jackson exclaimed a moment later. “Says it gives me +4 Vitality and decreases damage I take by 15% from crystal monsters. That sounds pretty good, right?”

“It’s really good,” Dalton said. “Which worries me. If the System is giving us equipment to help us defeat crystal monsters, then I think there’s going to be a lot worse enemies than this elemental up ahead.”

“Hmm. Well, let’s worry about that later. I want to try something out first. A new skill.” Jackson walked over and laid a hand on Dalton’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

Golden light emanated from Jackson again. It transferred over to Dalton, and he felt infused with energy; not a lot, but enough that breathing was easier and the pain in his side lessened. When Dalton looked down, he saw that the cut had already begun to scab over.

Jackson took his hand off and smiled weakly. Now he was the one who looked pale around the edges and wobbly on his feet.

“That was one of my skills,” the big guy said, leaning against the wall. “It lets me transfer some of my health to you.”

“Jackson! Dude, come on, I was fine! Why’d you do that?”

“A nerd like you? You need all the help you can get. Trust me, I’m good. Let me, uh, just sit for a moment here. The skill says it transfers health poorly…” Jackson slid down the wall and thumped on the ground, letting out a shaky breath. “Just… need a minute…”

Dalton knelt down by him and looked around worriedly. Jackson really needed to rest, but they were exposed in this chamber with the three open paths in front of them. More could monsters come at any time; besides, that elemental had come with blood on its body. They had planned to go down that middle path to see if there were any survivors, or who was killed.

Kelsey…

Dalton looked down at Jackson, who’s eyes were closed and head slightly slumped forward. The big guy had passed out.

Kels, he thought, helping Jackson lay down on the ground. I’m sorry. I can’t leave him alone undefended. Please be okay, wherever you are.

Dalton gathered up the rags of Jackson’s shirt and balled them up as a makeshift pillow for Jackson. Using the glaive, he carefully cut up strips off the end of both their uniform pants, which were relatively clean, and used them to wipe the blood off Jackson’s wounds. He took the shield off his arm and laid it by the wall.

Afterwards, he sat down, glaive across his lap, and opened up his Bio.

Bio

Name: Dalton Blake

Age: 16

Class: Glass Cannon

Level: 6

Exp: 100/600

Stats (Available Points = 2)

Strength = 13 (5+4+4)

- Increases physical strength and capability

- +4 boost from passive skill "Risktaker"

- +4 boost from Crystal Glaive

Dexterity = 7 (3+4)

- Increases physical agility and reflexes

- +4 boost from passive skill "Risktaker"

Vitality = 1 (LOCKED)

- Increases physical and magical resistance

- You cannot allocate points into this stat due to "One Shot"

Intelligence = 1 (LOCKED)

- Increases magical strength and capability

- You cannot allocate points into this stat due to "One Shot"

It looked like each time he leveled up, the amount of exp he needed increased by 100. Right now it was linear, but if the System functioned like a game, which all evidence showed it did, then it would likely become exponential later down the line.

After mulling over it for a bit, he decided to put both points into Strength. It seemed like Strength dictated his stamina, and his stamina dictated the amount of time he could spend in a Form. In the fight with elemental, he had quickly run out; but perhaps that was also because the skills were only level 1?

*Ding* You have increased Strength from 13 → 17

Dalton closed his eyes and breathed out. A sense of power and capability flared in him like a blazing bonfire. When he opened his eyes again, the sensation faded, but a lingering warmth remained. He knew without a doubt that he was stronger than he was just moments before.

I’ll need to get even stronger, he thought, looking down at Jackson’s snoring form.

He opened up his skill tree next and focused specifically on his passive skills.

Passive Skills (Skill Points = 2)

Glaive Mastery - LVL. 0

Increase mastery of the glaive by 5%

Form Combo - LVL. 0

Increase Form stat bonuses by 5% after switching from Form to Form three times. Lasts for 10 seconds, timer resets after switching to another Form.

Form Mastery - LVL. 0

Decrease the drain on stamina when in Form by 5%.

When he first unlocked his skills, he had ignored his passive skills in favor of the more exciting active ones. He realized this was a mistake. If he could do it again, he would’ve put only one or two points into Forms and the rest on the passives. He saw great benefit in them now, after his first fight.

Especially Form Mastery, he thought, immediately putting one point into it.

*Ding* You have increased Form Mastery from 0 → 1

But what to do with the other point, he wondered. Form Combo wants me to continually switch between Forms. But when I tried to switch from Wave to Flame I failed. I wonder if…

He decided to run a quick test. He hopped to his feet, walked up a bit, and held his glaive out.

Behind him, Jackson grumbled and rolled in his sleep.

Dalton stared down the three paths that led out from this chamber. The crystal veins that gave light did not extend down those paths, leaving them in darkness. At any moment, a monster, or multiple, could come out and attack.

If so, he needed to be ready to fend them off and protect Jackson. He worried about Kelsey, his classmates, his mom and dad in the outside world; but for right now, at this very moment, the only thing he could do in his power was to make sure Jackson was okay.

So that was what he would do.

Dalton breathed out and entered Waveform.

Loops of water spiraled around the blade of his glaive, and again his stance automatically shifted to one that would better help him counter an enemy’s attack. He did a few movements around the chamber, which thankfully was large enough that he could experiment without Jackson getting in the way.

In Waveform, his body was naturally inclined towards flowing movements. His steps led into one another with no wasted steps in between; his glaive sweeped and spun, and his mind was focused and clear.

Now that he wasn’t in the midst of a battle, Dalton noticed that with every step and every swing of the glaive, he could feel… something quickly fading within him. It was like a fire dying down, but still it gave off heat and light.

This is my stamina, he thought, coming to a still. When I’m in Form, it goes down quickly, but my strength doesn’t give out until it’s completely exhausted.

Now that he was standing still, the fire dwindled much slower.

Before it completely faded, Dalton tried to switch directly to Flameform.

Like in the battle with the elemental, the loops of water around the glaive briefly turned into roaring fire before sputtering back into water. And as they did, exhaustion clamped a pair of vices around Dalton’s muscles and lungs; he dropped out of Waveform as he dropped against the ground, gasping like a fish out of water.

It took him a few minutes to recover enough to stand up, a few minutes of teeth-grinding anxiety as he stared at each of the three paths, wondering if this was the time a monster would come. But thankfully it wasn’t, and soon enough he felt alright enough to enter back into Waveform.

This time, instead of going straight from Wave to Flame, he dropped out of Wave first, letting himself be normal, and then entered into Flame.

The difference between the two Forms was, unsurprisingly, like night and day. Flame was the Form of explosive movements and Strength; perhaps it was due to the Strength bonus the Form gave, but Dalton felt a surge of energy and an incredible urge to act.

He immediately launched into a series of movements, each step more ferocious than the last. His glaive didn’t sweep or spin; it crashed and roared. Flame spun furiously around the blade of the glaive, and Dalton had a mad grin on his face as he burst around the chamber, his mind whipped up into a blood lust, red flames covering his vision—

Abruptly, the fire fizzled out as his stamina depleted, sending him crashing on the ground in the middle of a movement. In his excitement, he didn’t notice it depleting.

That Form, he thought, gasping on the ground, is dangerous. It controls me more than I control it.

It felt like forever before Dalton felt strong enough to stand up. He decided, for now, to avoid staying in Flameform for too long.

He entered into Waveform again, and the calmness of the Form was a cooling salve to his burnt mind. He did a few movements around the chamber, enjoying the smooth, controlled nature of Wave, before continuing with his tests.

In the middle of a step, he tried switching to Breezeform.

In his mind, he half-braced himself for another jarring shock.

Instead, he found beauty as he seamlessly transitioned from Wave to Breeze. The loops of water at the blade became visible wind that trailed along, as if the glaive cut the air as it flew by. His stance changed from the poised readiness of Wave to a more delicate, airy posture; he lifted up onto his toes and leapt across the chamber like a gazelle. His glaive was tucked by his side, blade pointed down, not interfering with his leaping movements.

In this Form, his mind felt disconnected and detached; he simply wanted to enjoy the feeling of the air dancing alongside him.

But before his stamina could deplete again, Dalton wrested control away from the Form’s influence and tried switching to Stoneform.

And again, that failure as the fluttering breeze by his glaive briefly turned into swirling bits of rock before reverting back into wind. The shock came shortly after, and this time Dalton was ready for it so it didn’t hit him as hard when he dropped to the ground.

Through his deep, air-sucking breaths, Dalton grinned.

I figured it out! he thought, mind running with the realization. When I tried to switch from Wave to Flame, I failed because they’re opposing Forms! Wave to Breeze worked because they’re complimentary!

When he recovered enough to stand, he stood still and switched from Form to Form, figuring out what worked and what didn’t.

Flame to Bolt, yes, Dalton thought, testing the two with a smile.

Bolt to Breeze, yes, he thought, lightning crackling around his glaive.

Breeze to Flame, no, he thought, gasping on the floor.

And on and on he went, until at last he successfully transitioned from one Form all the way around.

Wave to Breeze to Bolt to Flame to Stone back to Wave.

As the bits of stone around his glaive transitioned into loops of water, Dalton let out a deep breath and let himself drop out of Waveform.

And when he did, a system notification popped up.

[System Notification]

Class Quest Unlocked: Seamless Transition

Continue your journey to master the Forms in order to unlock the special skill, Seamless Transition

Seamless Transition - LVL. N/A : Allows you to switch from any Form to another without complication.