Kara found a suitable location far away from prying eyes deep within the garden. A couple of curious rats followed her, though with a little bit of Life Concealment she quickly lost them. Those who persisted received a surprise 4th Kinetic Drill straight from the ground and up their bottoms. Not enough to kill, surely, but enough to maim them with embarrassment.

As for the other pest... Kara turned around, casting 4th Gravity Zone.

Nilbog hit the wet grass, an enormous weight pressing him against the ground, and this time, it wouldn’t budge. She didn’t have to worry about crushing him—knowing his numbers gave her enough information.

“You tried to kill me,” Kara said, crouching down. She lifted his chin with a finger. “Why should I not do the same?”

Nilbog replied with a few incoherent grunts as he attempted to breakthrough. Once he realized it was pointless, he immediately gave up. Does not spend resources in vain, she noted.

“Because we’re even now,” he said, smiling. “Actually, I get a few more tries.”

Fearless to a fault. He was confident Kara wouldn’t harm him because she needed his body, but that did not mean there weren’t other ways she could. Then again, it’s a risk he must take. Showing signs of weakness would just make people take further advantage of him. Offering his body would be pointless if he couldn’t guarantee Kara’s cooperation.

It was the same for her, after all. “Good enough,” Kara said, releasing the gravity field. She rested against a nearby boulder as he got himself together.

Legions of ravens swung overhead, casting moving shadows over Kara and Nilbog through the tiny openings in the leaves above. From their size and the way they flew, they were probably the scouting squad sent ahead.

A new list of poorly optimized Dungeons would be ready by the time they got back, though if Kara could pull some strings, that meant little for them.

“Uh…you’re not ma—"

“Oh I’m mad,” Kara said. “That was a stupid thing to do. You put me, yourself, and everyone else in grave danger.”

“But?” Nilbog asked, sitting cross feat.

She shook her head. “I must admit, convincing Iris to fight alongside you contributed greatly to our plan. Repeat this type of reckless behavior, however, and I’ll behave accordingly, and treat your life as worthless as you treat it.”

He paused, scratching his hair. “I guess… I’m not as afraid of dying as I should be."

“There is some good in that,” she said, pointing with her index finger. “Beca-”

“Because it's about to get a lot more dangerous?” Nilbog said.

“Do not make that a habit,” she said, folding her arms. Neither he nor Ron appreciated good humor. “Now, assuming my words hold the tiniest bit of credibility to you, you would not have opened the Epic Card, correct?"

"Yes ma'am," Nilbog said. “Want me to pull up everything?”

With a nod Kara made a Greater Note. It snatched her Soul and tucked it inside its confines.

Nilbog stared at her wordlessly as she floated around. “How do you speak? You don’t have a mouth.”

Kara looked down, her hands going over where her mouth should have been. Just as he said, there was nothing. She couldn’t even feel that anything was below it. Out of all the things you question, that comes first? “Notes, probably. They extend my senses, so I assume that I speak through them as well.”

Nilbog nodded. He began to fiddle with his status screen. “Might you be able to--”

“Use them as long-distance communication? It’s a clever idea, though I haven’t had anyone to try it on yet. Before that,” Kara said, floating behind him. “Let’s use all our stat points before you open the Epic Card.” She placed obvious emphasis on our. Any decision he makes would affect them both. She wanted to remind him of that.

She was not being manipulative. She was being considerate.

“Uh, right,” Nilbog said, scratching his head. “Can you explain…everything first? What your powers are, and what we’re going to do?”

"Hm, that would be a good place to start. Very well--beyond being a master of the basic mana forms, I own 9 powerful class skills, though because I've my present circumstances, I'm only able to use 3 of them--The First Movement: Equilibrium, the Third Movement: Deviation, and the Fourth Movement: Amplification. Deviation redirects Mana and Life Force, while the fourth only doubles Kinetic Mana. All moving objects have Kinetic Mana, which means I can change the direction of projectiles with Deviation, or double their speed with Amplification. However, if I use a Deviation on an object, I may not Amplify it until it physically connects with the ground. Do you follow?”

After staring at her for a while, Kara figured he didn’t.

“I am an anti-mage spell-sword,” Kara said, rubbing her fake eyes. “Do you understand now?”

“Sure,” Nilbog said. “Not really, but sure.”

Kara floated down to the bolder. This is going to take a while. She crossed her legs, thinking about an easier way to go about this. “Let's start from the very basics. Do you know what makes the Warrior archetype useful?”

“They’re strong, fast, and durable,” Nilbog said.

“Mages?”

“They got firepower.”

“Spellswords?”

“More power?” Nilbog said.

“Correct, yet still incorrect. Tell me the weaknesses of a warrior.”

Nilbog scratched his cheeks, the nerves on his forehead straining. “They’re...dumb?”

“Some of them. Most of them, actually, but no--they’re simply limited. There are only so many ways you can build a Warrior. In the end, they’ll only swing or move faster. Each individual's class adds a bit of spice to this, of course, but the general rule is to keep your distance. Now, what about mages?”

“Rogues,” Nilbog said. “Or anyone that can cut the distance.”

“Finally, tell me the weaknesses of a Spellsword.”

“They have range…so it’s the same as a mage. Their defenses are weak?”

Kara shook her head. He needed to fully understand this—there was little point in Kara simply telling him how things worked. “What stats does a Warrior invest in?”

“Agility and a bit of Endurance. Strength and Constitution, too but I reckon that they pick one or the other, depending on what they wanna do."

“Good. What stats does a mage invest in?”

“Soul…Agility and Consitution?”

“What does a spellsword invest in?”

Nilbog’s eyes went wide. “Strength, Agility, Constitution, Soul, and Endurance as well.”

Kara nodded. There it was. "Mostly correct. They don’t actually need to invest heavily Strength—they could simply use Kinetic Bursts to provide the penetration they need, though yes, you have the right idea. While other archetypes can focus on a couple of stats and roles to fulfill in a given party, a spellsword must focus on everything, as their very purpose is to do everything. Them having the most offensive capabilities is just the cherry on top."

“So what about us, or me, I mean?”

“Soul.”

“What?”

“Soul. We'll use Soul to fulfill every facet of our build. Defense? Kinetic Shield and Life Force Shield. Dodging? Kinetic Mana and Life Force Enhancement. Single target? Kinetic Mana. Area Of Effect? Thermal for offensive effects, and Gravity for control effects. With the combination of Mana and Life Force, there is not a single thing we will not be able to do better than every individual out there."

“So we can literally do everything better than everyone? That doesn't sound fair."

“Fair? fair? What makes you think The Games are fair? Where did you even get this absurd notion from?"

Nilbog looked stunned. "I mean, there are always level constraints and rules in place to prevent lower levels from dying to higher levels. The Game gave tools to let even someone as weak as me to survive. There is always a way, as it always says."

"Survive? Surely, it is fair in that regard. Too fair, from my view, though that is a topic for another time. The point stands. Surviving does not equate to excelling. My existence is not the only proof of The Game's lunacy-- throughout all of our history you will find individuals who gained unparalleled power, and what reason? For what purpose? None but chance. There are thousands of equally talented rankers, yet there is only a single First Ranker, and only a single wish to be granted. Our life and aspirations are at the mercy of the dice. All we could do is nudge it one way or the other, but make no mistake, Nilbog. Fairness, compassion, and morality are not found among the top rankers for a very good reason." Kara, in more than one way, was proof of that reality.

Nilbog looked as if he was going to argue further, though after a pause he nodded and waited.

"Back to the issue at hand," Kara said, pushing back the emotion that had surfaced. It's been quite a while since she's spoken to another person at a length. Though her rambling was justified, it was nevertheless embarrassing. "Be confident in yourself and I, but do not get conceited. We are far, far from reaching the peak of our powers," and reclaiming the glory I once held and the wish I was once denied. She herself might not be able to stand in the limelight, but raising the one who will become the 45th will suffice for her pride.

"Okay, I'm following. A bit overwhelmed, but I'm following. What are we doing right now? What should I be focusing on, and when..." Nilbog stopped. He clenched his teeth, leaving the obvious question for her to ask, both of herself and for him.

Revenge. Though in different worlds and magnitudes, both were seeking it, and the poison that caused this now binds them in their quest. She had half the mind to erase half of Dlar, but alas, her hunger for her own revenge was greater than her empathy. His wrath and hate will drive him to reach new heights, much like the Sayrina of then, and the Kara of now. There is no greater motivation than the death of a loved one.

"A Phase occurs every month for 7th months. Assuming the 2nd Phase will occur in the next twenty days, most of Dlar's top rankers will be Tigers. By the time the Third Phase begins and ends, only a special few would become Dragons, if at all. The 4th Phase is commonly referred to as The Age Of Dragons, and as the name implies, the world will fall into the control of Dragons. The 5th Phase is by far the worse, as there we will see Disasters emerging from the corpses of Dragons. Uncontested by the general population, it is there where tyrants and heroes will arise. The race to Cataclysm will begin. The Game will when the 7th Phase concludes. Threes days after then, those who participated in the Games and survived will ascend to Heaven--a land where only the powerful and wise exist. There we will find my brother, and there we will exact my revenge."

"Revenge? For your brother?" Nilbog said, unfazed.

Kara gestured to her current form, and to the corpse that laid limp against the ground in peaceful sleep. "For doing this to our family." For making me spend the past four decades in agony. As much as she wanted to utter those words to someone who would listen, it was not yet time to reveal her identity to Nilbog.

"I understand, thank you for explaining all of this. Considering my own circumstances, I'm sure you can understand why I was unable to ask anyone else. Though, I must say, your plan is missing a minor part." His voice was calm--too calm. His language was too stiff and his face was plain and his eyes locked with hers without fear, but Kara sensed the emotion bubbling underneath.

Emotion, not just anger or hate. That was something Kara had not expected. What else could he be hiding underneath his visage? "I am not. I will only allow you to pursue your targets once you reach their Danger Ranks."

To her surprise, Nilbog simply nodded. How understanding, he is. Kara had expected a tantrum, but though he was newborn, his matureness was something most aspiring rankers should attain.

Nevertheless, Kara will do well to prepare for the day his patience runs out. She will not allow her sole investment to run into certain doom. If he were to break their contract, then it would be so in a Dungeon or Phase, where Kara's reach is limited.

And that is where dear Iris comes in.

"With that, I believe we have sorted out everything there is to be sorted. Unless you have any other questions, we will move on to assigning your points and skill. Agreed?"

With Nilbog's affirmation, Kara continued. "From now on, we should focus on increasing our Soul. Life Force and Mana per point, as investing in it is twice as effective as any other stat.”

“And the fact I don’t have a skill that allows me to dual-source—”

“--Is off-settled by your Shapeshifter’s immunity to internal damage. We don’t need the Dual-Source skill unless a skill’s requirement explicitly says so. I can use two of my class skills regardless of that. In the end, we are combining two classes into a singular one. Though, of course, I must pay the price of being immobile and vulnerable for the duration."

“So now I look for cards that increase my Mana and Life Force rank? Okay, I think I’m getting where you’re coming from,” Nilbog said, nodding quickly. “Where am I putting my stats? I got 21 left.”

“2 for Strength, 3 for Agility, 6 for Endurance, and 10 for Soul. Once we get your basic stats to an adequate amount, we’ll solely invest in Soul."

“Done,” Nilbog said a yellow aura covered his body in a flash. "And I'm still a Cub. Thought that would put me over for sure.”

"You should be pretty close. Pull up everything, I want to make sure we know what we’re working with.”

General

Stats & Parameters

Level

35

Strength

10

Species

Human (Shape-Shifting)

Agility

20

Class

Sentient Killer

Endurance

20

Profession

Life Dancer

Constitution

20

Age

1

Soul

33

HP

200/200 (+20/Hour)

Life Force

330

STM

200/200 (+2/Second)

Mana

330/330 (3.3/Minute)

Overall STM

682/1,000 (+400)

Danger Rank

Cub

Soul Inventory:

1 Epic Card

1 Common Regret Card

Seventh Sense (Monster Unique)

Skill Slot: Extra Sense

Your body has learned to react before your Soul.

Murderous Lolie (Unique)

Skill Slot: Reward Modifier

The reward boost to killing enemies higher level than you is increased by 50%.

The penalty for killing enemies lower level than you are increased by 50%.

Each Danger Rank you have on your opponent will decrease the rewards by 20%, while each Danger Rank your opponent has on you will increase the rewards by 20%.

The drop rate of unique, blessed, and cursed rarities is increased by 30%.

You are not allowed to opt-out of the Games while you possess this skill.

Having been proven victorious against unthinkable odds at such a young age, your future is sworn to be littered with conflict.

Basic Dodger (Common)

Skill Slot: Dodge

Increase Agility by 10% when dodging.

Short-Breath (Common)

Skill Slot: Breath

Grants 10% Agility and 20% reduced STM cost for the first five seconds of a battle.

Short-Breath will become available after staying out of combat for 10 seconds.

Lesser Bleed Resistance (Common)

Skill Slot: Bleed Resistance

Gain 10% Bleed Resistance.

1st Life Force Source (Common)

Skill Slot: Life Force Source

You have begun your journey into discovering the power of life.

Decrease Life Force costs by 10%.

1st Mana Source (Common)

Skill Slot: Mana Source

You have begun your journey into discovering the power of your Soul.

Decrease Mana costs by 10%.

Life Dancer (Unique)

Skill Slot: Profession

Wherever you Dance, death follows.

Your Siren may use her powers through you.

Agile Hunter (Uncommon)

Skill Slot: Offensive Enhancer

Upon activating the skill Agile Hunter is attached to, the said skill will have 25% increased Strength and Agility for 5 seconds. If your attack deals HP damage, increase your Agility by 10% for 5 minutes.

Agile Hunter will go on a five-minute cooldown upon activation.

“Well, at least there isn’t much to go through.” Kara was familiar with most, but it never hurts to double-check everything. “Murderous Lolie might be your most useful skill. Open the Epic Bounty now, won't you?"

Choose from one of the following!

Wielder Of The Flame (Epic)

Type: Thermal Mana Conversion

Critical Dodger (Epic)

Type: Dodge Skill

Incomplete Ent Core (Epic)

Type: Soul Gem

Crown Of Thorns (Cursed)

Equipment Slot: Head Equipment

Wielder Of The Flame (Epic)

Type: Thermal Mana Conversion

Some create flames, others, like you, are made to wield it.

Enchanting Thermal Mana skills will receive 25% more power, will require 25% less Thermal Mana to maintain, and will have 25% increased duration.

Gain 25% Fire Resistance.

Critical Dodger (Epic)

Type: Dodge Skill

Dodging is a matter of desperation.

Gain 10% Dodge Agility. This bonus scales up to 30% the lower your HP is, with the maximum power reaching at 40% HP.

Damage taken while dodging will be reduced by 10%.

Free Add-on: STM cost for Dodging will be reduced by 10%. This bonus scales up to 35% the lower your STM is, gaining maximum power at 40% HP.

Incomplete Ent Core (Epic)

Type: Soul Gem

The Ent Core, even when reduced to a simple stone, still desires life.

The Incomplete Ent Core can store up to 300 Life Force. You may siphon this into your own body to use.

The only way to store Life Force into the Core is to kill other life forms. 10% of their cuurent Life Force will be stored within the Ent Core.

The more Life Force that the Incomplete Ent Core receives, the greater its powers will grow.

Crown Of Thorns (Cursed)

Equipment Slot: Head Equipment

Upon activation, Crown Of Thorns may only be deactivated after 5 seconds.

The wearer of the Crown will take 1% of their HP as Bleed Damage per second.

For each % HP consumed, the wearer will gain that much increase to all their stats.

In addition, all Bleed damage from outside sources will be reduced by 50%.

Upon pick-up, the wearer will become immune to the symptoms of blood loss.

The Life Force of the earth, once pure and ambient, is now corrupt with a hunger for blood. The more blood that the Crown Of Thorns consumes, the greater its powers will grow.

0/10,000 HP

“Two real choices, sadly,” Kara said, a bit disappointed. Wielder Of The Flame and the Incomplete Ent Core did not need the slightest consideration from Kara or as much as an explanation for Nilbog.

“What does the curse mean?" Nilbog asked, likely coming to the same conclusion as her.

“Cursed skills or equipment permanently bind to their slot with large effects at the cost of even larger penalties. They can be as mighty as Legendaries if you're able to negate the penalties, though most often they end up hurting you. You'll need a Purification card to get rid of them, and those tend to be pretty expensive."

“I don’t like the idea of my own equipment killing me,” he said, shaking his head. “Or cursing myself."

"I disagree. Most of my skills and equipment are cursed, though I do understand the caution in this case." A 1% Bleed Damage per second would kill the wearer in 100 seconds, even if they took no damage. The way the buff was gained was also suboptimal. It wasn’t a 1% increase to all parameters per second, but an increase per HP percentage loss, meaning that there was no point in reducing the damage it deals.

Kara went on. "Critical Dodger is a decent choice that goes quite well with your skills.” As long as Nilbog prevents himself from dying in one hit, then he could heal himself in a few seconds. “Not much to say about it, really. On the other hand the Crown Of Thorns is a gamble. In theory, a 100% increase in stats is a powerful effect, but keep in mind you will have to use 4 Souls for it, and that’s without taking any damage from the enemy. Plus, you won’t be able to use it every fight, as your Shapeshifter's healing has a cooldown." The healing caused by her Life Siren Song, though powerful in its own right, was not a reliable source either. They would need more tools to deal with it. “Historically, the most successful ranker's built their characters around a unique skill or item. Whether you want to make the Crown Of Thorns the centerpiece or wait for a different opportunity to present itself is entirely up to you."

“Why are you leaving the choice to me? You want Crown Of Thorns, don’t you?”

Kara nodded. At heart, she was still a ranker. Getting a powerful item and seeing how she can make it work is everything she's made for. "You are not me, unfortunately. The skills and equipment that are offered to us are based on how you win them, but they are also impacted by your character and behavior. It's best I inform you of the paths and for you to choose."

Nilbog barely gave it a few seconds thought. "The Crown it is."

"Why?" Kara asked, after a pause. His goals didn't require him to be the strongest, as Kara's did. The Crown might have a higher potential than Critical Dodger, but it also had risks that Critical Dodger did not. In terms of probabilities, the Crown had a lower chance of achieving Nilbog's more modest goal. Did I overestimate his intelligence?

"I don't know. Reasons, I guess," Nilbog said, avoiding her question. He pressed something, prompting a bright green light to appear in front of him. From it materialized the crown, and if truth be told, its appearance was quite underwhelming. It seemed nothing more than plain thorns in the shape of a crown. “Ow,” he said dryly. Even without putting it on the Crown drew Nilbog's blood.

"Any useful skill we can use the Common Regret Card for? There is little point in holding those early on," Kara said, floating back to her body. She would understand him with time.

Nilbog paused. He closed his eyes in concentration, though after a few moments all he did was smile at Kara as he shook his head.

Very well. Kara allowed her Soul to return to her body. She was eager to use Duel Duet to reclaim her senses, but business had to come before pleasure. She would not use it fruitlessly. “Let me see the Crown." Nilbog handed it to her. She held it, and though blood flowed in her veins, the Crown simply fell dormant. Only works on him. How unfortunate. Having only Nilbog feed it 10k HP would take a long time. Still, if one was clever enough to use the Game to their advantage, sometimes there were ways around these things.

"Let's get you accustomed to the pain, dear Nilbog. Over the coming months, you will become quite familiar with it." With Nilbog's confirmation, Kara placed the Crown on top of his head. He winced as blood began to slip down the sides of his head, his entire body tensing up in response. The thorns latched onto his legs, clawing up as they littered his skin with holes.

Nilbo did not make a squeak, though admirably enough, he did not hide the hurt on his face.

Nilbog rested against the boulder as he fed the Crown. He breathed in the sweet scent of the colorful flowers and herbs growing around them, hoping it would relax his muscles. Each throb caused by the Crown's prickles spread throughout the rest of his body. Thinking while his blood was getting sucked was difficult enough, and soon enough he'll have to fight as the Crown did its work. Maybe it'll be easier, maybe it'll be harder. Either way, he needed to get used to this, and to Kara herself.

She was not what he thought she was. At their first meeting and the first Song he'd heard, Nilbog had believed her to be an incompressible jumble of madness, but she was anything but. Kara was possibly the only person Nilbog has understood--she wanted revenge, and she would stop at nothing to achieve it. Nothing more, nothing less. As long as Nilbog did not impede her in this, then the wrath and destruction she sought would not affect him.

Of course, that was easier said than done. Her willingness to do anything wasn't something Nilbog could get behind. As much as he understood her pain it does not justify becoming villainous people.

She was on the other side of the boulder, doing nothing in particular. She hummed though, and for that Nilbog was grateful. There was something magical about the way her voice made him feel. It wasn't filled with hate and wrath, but bright things like Excitement. Resolve. Ambition. It made him want to break into a sprint.

The thrones digging into his flesh prevented him from doing so. It drew its blood at an expedited rate, almost as if it knew he was feeding it. The damage he received went up from 2 HP to 4 HP a second. The thorns kept growing, surrounding his legs, wrapping around his stomach and back, and spiraling around his arms, leaving only his neck untouched. It didn’t seem like it wanted to kill its host, at the very least.

Nilbog brought his hands closer to his eyes, studying the way the thorns wrapped around his fingers. It was metallic silver. The prickle did not protrude straight from the stem like a spear, but rather was woven out of it like a curved sword. Not a single drop of his blood touched the ground—all of it was sucked in by the thorns.

Nilbog bit into it. Blood began to drip from it. The thorns instantly tightened around him in response, but he would not shy away from it. The thorns were alive, and he wasn’t going to show any weakness even to them.

Whatever you can do, I can do better. Nilbog took small bites out of it, hurting it as much as it hurt him.

End of Book One