The never-ending crackling of the sky puts me in a constant state of paranoia. The creatures that dwell in this place can come from anywhere. Elementals made of lightning can strike down from nowhere, creating an ambush that can come from any direction.

The elementals are no match for Flash Gordon. The bodies of elementals are held together by their spirit, and as a spirit rock, Flash Gordon is the perfect weapon to destroy these monstrosities. The trio has left me to fend for myself, to watch and monitor what I will do from a great distance. Duchess has to slither on the ground, ruffling her feathers for the first time in a long time.

Rob has no means of damaging these lightning elementals. Only his metal shovel can somewhat dissipate portions of the elemental, but his gun does no damage.

I look around my surroundings and start logging the resources I find.

[Crackle Berries

Berries that only grow in places with lots of lightning. They are non-toxic, but their pulp can be processed into an energy source.]

[Thunderstone

They are an amber stone that stores lightning mana. Very volatile]

[Lightning Crystal

Crystalized remains of lightning-based crystals. The more powerful the creature, the higher ranked the crystal remains will be.]

These elementals give really shit experience. The ones that attack me at the base of the mountain are lower leveled. I have two titles that make me want to strike down stronger foes for the benefit. One of these weaklings managed to drop a [Lightning Crystal]. I have Rob store away all the new resources I get into his bag.

I start climbing this mountain. I can tell when lightning is going to strike. My hair starts floating upwards when the sky decides that I am a suitable target for its wrath to come down. If natural lighting comes down, it’s not a problem. It will funnel itself down the lightning rod and away from my body. The residual will burn and shock me, but I’m pretty resilient. If an elemental comes down instead, then it’s a fight.

CRACK

BOOM

The burst of lightning strikes the earth in front of me. The force of the explosion pushes me back and kicks up large amounts of debris. Forming from the blue lightning from the small crater stands a massive elemental.

[Lightning Elemental C lv35]

The creature is vaguely humanoid but is constantly shifting and surging into a more amorphous form. I instantly fling Flash Gordon out and strike the monster in the head.

-188

These creatures take no additional damage from my [Butcher] title. Elementals are not considered ‘alive’ in the traditional meaning, I guess.

The head of the elemental was instantly dispersed, but without any vital points, the creature just formed a new one with the remaining lightning energy. The strength of these elementals lies in their speed and powerful electrical blasts. Before the elemental can get its bearing back and charge at me, I summon Flash Gordon back with a whistle and throw him again.

-190

The creature dissipates into a deadly burst of energy. The elementals have weak vitality, but not many things can hurt them anyway. There was no loot dropped from this creature, so I decided to just pick Flash Gordon up and continue up the mountain.

The ambient static flows through the air like a current. I see cloud elementals riding the waves and floating around without a care. [Cloud Elementals] seem to only get hostile when encroached upon, unlike their lightning counterparts, who are quick to get violent. I start documenting their behavior. They form a colony, a sea of clouds, that move in tandem.

A dark and malicious-looking [Cloud Elemental], one crackling with lightning, starts a fight against another elemental. The victim erupts in electric bolts as he turns dark and stormy. They seem like they would be harder to deal with compared to the pure lightning elementals.

The lightning elementals are quicker and have more potent bursts of power, but their temper can be abused, and their recharge time when they attack can also be abused in a fight. The cloud elementals are a wild card. They can be peaceful, floating masses of air. Or they can bring down lightning, like everything else in this fracture.

I also document a rare [Air Elemental]. It was almost thoroughly invisible and intangible. It literally floated with the wind. It wasn’t in a combative state, so I don’t know if it changes like the [Cloud Elemental] when threatened. I couldn’t document what loot they dropped. Because they were either too high up or too fast for me to hunt them.

~

After an hour of trekking up the mountain, I reach an impossible cliff face. Sheer stone standing tall well into the clouds. Luckily the cliff has many grooves and handles that I can utilize in climbing. Flash Gordon and I managed to level up 3 times on our way up here, and Rob leveled 5 times.

~

Name: Ellis Vincere. Race: Human

Nickname: The Last Winner.

Level: 28 1020/30000

Class: Master (Rank C)

Titles: Proud Owner of a Rock, Butcher A, On the Edge B, Prey on the Weak B, etc.

Health Points 650/650 (100%)

Mana Points 195/250

Armor Points: 0

~

Might: 51 +5

Agility:51 +5

Vigor: 40 > 50 +15

Mind: 43 > 50

Spirit: 60 > 66

Perception: 15

Luck: 2

Unused: 21 > 4

~

Name: Flash Gordon.

Nickname: Flash Gordon.

Species: Spirit Stone (Rare Rock)

Level: 23 7300/8000

Evolution Requirements Not Met

~

Health Points: 650/650

Mana Points: 0/0

Armor Points: 38

~

Might: 0

Agility: 0

Vigor: 100 > 115 + 15

Mind: 0

Spirit: 20 > 23

Luck: 5

~

Name: Rob

Nickname: Little Buddy

Species: Shovel Skeleton E (Uncommon Undead)

Level 19 0/4000

Evolution Requirements Not Met

~

Health Points 100/100

Mana Points: 75/75

Armor Points: 5

~

Might: 25 > 31

Agility: 33 > 48

Vigor: 10 + 10

Mind: 13 > 15

Spirit: 13 > 15

~

My lightning resistance has grown from 48 to 50. Just like climbing out of the Snail Nest, persistence and stamina will be pivotal when I start climbing. If I get into a fight, I will need to be able to survive a terminal velocity drop back down in case I get knocked off.

Flash Gordon and I have the exact same Health total. I needed an S-Ranked trait and a C-Rank Item to just reach the majesty of Flash Gordon. With my [Empower Skill], he goes well beyond my health.

I have to leave behind the janky lightning rod setup I had going on. I feel like wearing a lightning rod while traversing through a storm cloud would be foolish. Rob will have to stay on my back while I climb, as Flash Gordon stays in my inside pocket. Unfortunately, Duchess will have to hide down here until I can summon her with [Master’s Whistle] once I reach the top.

I can tell that she feels useless and why the entire group has to go through hurdles to get through this fracture.

“Don’t worry, Duchess. I’d have to climb a ridiculous mountain anyway if I wanted you to evolve. Even if I did find an airplane to ride on, they wouldn’t go that high.”

[Safe travels… Thisss one will wait for your summons.]

I turn and grip the cliff with my bare hands; the stone is soft. My fingers can slightly dig into the stone face. I back up and give a running start to my climb. I jump a good 20 feet into the air before clutching the wall with my body. I start my climb up the cliff face without rest.

~

I am about half an hour into my superpowered climb and nowhere near the cloud line. A group of [Blue Hawks] keep harassing my ascent. I leave it up to Rob to keep them away from me, but every time a hawk cries out, a jolt of lightning flies at me from its beak. Just by climbing this cliff, my lightning resistance grew by 5 points.

[Resistance: Lightning 50 > 55]

Rob made me wear his bag, so he could stand on it while shooting the birds with his gun. He ran out of ammo after the third wave of birds attacked and had to resort to using [Bone Shot] and his shovels. Nothing like the sounds of hawks, lightning, and shovels whacking birds to keep you motivated.

I couldn’t shake off the onslaught of birds, and all the loot I could’ve gotten had fallen thousands of feet down below. The gun makes quick work of the birds, but without ammo, it’s purely decorative. The bone shots don't deal enough damage.

I spot an opening in the cliff face, a refuge that I can use to rest. Climbing, jumping, and dodging the birds, I make my way inside this little hidey-hole. The birds tried to get in, but I kept kicking until they all died or left.

I’ve noticed a trend with lightning-attuned creatures; they have explosive power and speak but are frail in every other aspect. I eat one of them while resting. After they die, the remaining lightning inside them cooks them almost perfectly. If I brought some seasoning, I’d be dining like a king.

An idea pops into my mind while staring at Rob.

“Hey, activate [Bone Shot] for me, will ya?”

He does so, scattering some stones inside the hole with his skill.

“Alright, now try to shape it like a full bullet. Like the one from your gun.”

It takes considerable effort for him to start shaping this skill. I didn’t have high hopes because Item Skills are usually rigid in their applications. To my surprise, he manages to do so in less than 10 minutes. In this form, the [Bone Shot] deals measlier damage since the unnecessary weight from the casing slows it down. He is shooting 65% more bullet per bullet, after all.

“Instead of using the skill to launch it, why don't you let it drop down?”

After 5 minutes of concentration, a bullet falls from his hand onto the floor. I pick it up and examine it. Before I can come to any conclusions, I get a notification from the system. I quickly check Rob’s [Status]

[Bone Magic Gained!]

[Bone Magic D lv1

Magic utilized by necromancers and undead. This type of magic summons or creates unanimated bones as a means for attacking or defending. The strength of spells is dictated by the level of the magic.

-Bone Shot

Shoot a bullet-sized projectile that deals damage equal to your Spirit stat.

Mana Cost: 15]

Name: Rob

Nickname: Little Buddy

Species: Shovel Skeleton E (Uncommon Undead)

Level 21 4500/6000

Evolution Requirements Not Met

~

Health Points 115/115

Mana Points: 100/100

Armor Points: 5

~

Might: 31

Agility: 48 > 50

Vigor: 10 > 13 + 10

Mind: 15 > 20

Spirit: 15

…

I don’t know what to say. Those levels were definitely gained by killing those birds, but how the hell did Rob learn how to use magic? Did he have a natural affinity for bones since he is a walking pile of them? The skill of the [Bone Gloves] was definitely based on magic, so did constant use pathed the way for the beginnings of Bone Magic?

I look into Rob’s eyeless skull, and he stares back cutely. Or he would if he had eyes. I just rub his head instead of asking questions.

“Good job, little buddy. You unlocked a new kind of power.”

He seems happy, chattering his teeth and doing a little dance. I decided not to tell him that his magic is much worst than the item skill. At least he can grow it in the future. Now that I think about it, the whole exercise of him making more bullets for his gun was foolhardy. It’s not like the bones contain gunpowder.

Summoning Duchess into this hole would be dangerous. If the birds come back, she would be a sitting snake for them to eat. I start my climb higher up the cliff face. I hope I find solid ground to work with instead of having a constant drop linger underneath me.