Bones returned to the smithy after the evening and found the dwarves waiting for him. Not just Hemdus and Darsumi, the others were there too and it seemed tonight they would have another meeting regarding the heist. Once everyone got comfortable in a private room, Darsumi started the meeting.

“Since we're all here, let’s get started shall we? First, thank you all for coming. The agenda of today’s meeting is to discuss the changes in vault security for the last two and, I’m confident to say, the most valuable houses on our list. Bones, you wouldn’t know since you weren’t here but one of the two noble houses we’re going to discuss in today’s meeting have an intact mana core in their vault. Of that we’re sure of. The problem is…our intel on security is outdated. More accurately, the overall security of the mansion and the entrance to the vault is more secure than we initially thought it was. Luckily, we have you for that!”

“Me? What can I do to help?” Bones asked in surprise when Darsumi addressed him.

“We need you to make something for us! Something usually hard to come by but you might just have what it takes to make what we need!”

“Now you’re just keeping me in suspense on purpose! You know I’m not a crafter! What is it?”

Darsumi smirked and without beating around the bush, said, “We need you to make a Skeleton Key!”

All eyes turned to Bones, eagerly awaiting for an answer.

"I'll do what I can to help of course, but you need to explain to me first what Skeleton Key is!" Bones replied.

Darsumi nodded and briefly explained that the Skeleton Key is a master key capable of opening a variety of locks and that he would offer a more detailed explanation after the meeting. The meeting ended before midnight. Many ideas and scenarios were thought of, but nothing conclusive was reached. Until more accurate information was gathered, their plans remained incomplete and unchanged.

The dwarves left, leaving Bones and Darsumi alone in the smithy. Hemdus was yet to finish with the shop so they talked while waiting.

"I see you made some changes to your…Bone Armor was it? Made it permanent?" Darsumi asked, referring to Bones' new and thinner frame. Bones confirmed and talked about the Widow Queen, stages of the fight and his experience in the third stage. Darsumi kept writing notes and occasionally nodded his head.

"The third stage seems troublesome! It will take awhile until we have a team capable of clearing it. We lack a leather type of equipment and wolf pelts would increase our diversity of armor." Darsumi stated, then asked. "How's your golem? I see the equipment is getting worn down. Yours too, a bit! And…" Darsumi paused before he continued, "What did you do to your arm?"

Bones extended his arm and rolled down the sleeve. Darusmi sucked in a breath seeing the engraving lines done on a thin layer of bone coating Bones hand.

"That…looks painful!"

Bones scoffed. "That's an understatement! It's a bit early to analyze the result, but I can already feel the difference. Once I finish the whole arm…"

"You plan to engrave your whole arm?" Darusmi asked, a bit of shock and surprise in his voice. Bones smirked and replied, "Not just an arm! Arms, legs and possibly a chest too. I'm doing this to compensate for the lack of physical reinforcements you fleshy mortals have!"

"Fleshy mortals?" Darsumi murmured. "I get that you want to improve your body but this… No, you're right. I might've done the same in your position." Darsumi admitted after thinking about it and continued.

"While you have the advantages, there's an apparent weakness that asserts itself with levels. More and more people will overwhelm you physically and the gap will just widen. I'd suggest you wait until after your race advancement, but might as well start early. Are you any closer to advancing?" He asked, knowing that Bones needed one more level until his race advancement.

"Half way through a level. While combat gives plenty of experience, it doesn't add much to racial level."

Darsumi nodded, not surprised. Class was, is and always will be easier to level up.

"Speaking of experience", Bones started, "-do general skills always level this slow?"

"Are you referring to skills like Identify?"

"No…I mean yes, Identify too but I was referring to Mana Blast. I've been using the skill for quite some time now and it still hasn't advanced! I'm close, only a level away from advancing, but I've been using the skill often and for a long time!"

"I see. Mana Blast is a skill you learned yourself, no?" Bones nodded and Darsumi continued. "Then there's your answer! General skills level slower, that's general knowledge and if you didn't know, your Mana Blast will be capped in progress after advancing."

"Capped, what do you mean?" Bones asked, not familiar with the term.

"It means, you won't be able to progress after you advance Mana Blast. It will stay at level 1. Now if you were to choose an Arcane Mage class or any other class based on arcane affinity, your Mana Blast would become an Arcane Blast and you'd be able to continue your progress with the skill."

"I see. A shame really. The skill, while mana consuming, did the most damage. What about the synergy between the skills?"

"What about it?" Darsumi asked while standing up and going over to the cabinet, opening it and taking out a bottle and two glasses.

"I'm getting more and more notifications about the detected synergy between skills. The synergy even altered the upgrades available when I received the skill advancement."

"All normal Bones. As you level up, more skills will have synergies between them and fuse into a new skill. The system is designed to help you along the path. You customize skills to suit you better and while you pick plenty of skills along the path, the end goal is to have a few skills you have completely mastered! Otherwise, you'd have ascendants running around with hundreds of skills at their disposal."

After a pause and after taking a swig at the bottle, Darsumi continued. "Now then, you didn't answer me about the golem! How is it? Skully, was it?"

"Skully is fine. Leveling Golem Mastery helped improve his combat capabilities by a margin. Say, couldn't I have used a used mana core on the golem since they are so hard to find?"

Before Darsumi managed to reply, Hemdus, who just walked through the entrance, pitched in. "Used one wont da ye any good. Ye need an intact and new mana core fer ye golem! Trust me Boney!"

"Mmmm I do trust you…evening Hem!"

"'ello lad." Hemdus greeted back and joined them by the table while rubbing his neck. "Bah, we hav too many orders these days and da apprentices cant keep up! Anyways, ye misunderstood sumthing. Mana cores arent hard to find! Wut do ye think powers up dis smithy?" Hemdus asked.

Bones looked at the dwarf surprised by the question. It didn't occur to him. "You mean…"

"Aye, 'nd is not just mah smithy! Machinery in da Construction Guild, at quarries, even public transport ye luv so much. All powered wit da mana core! Da hard part is findin an unused core! And again, ye need unused core if ye want a proper, non-defective golem bound to ye!" Hemdus finished, looking at Darsumi and motioned to the table and the missing glass. Darsumi rolled his eyes and went to get him a glass.

"Thanks cuz!" Hem poured himself a drink and continued. "Once ye program a nucleus 'nd infuse it wit da mana core, dey become bounded no? Der' ways to unbound and delete da nucleus but it damages da integrity of da core. Ye dun want dat do ye?" Hem asked matter-of-factly and Bones shook his head.

"If we had thought a used mana core would suffice, we would have already acquired one for you!" Darusmi added seeing Hem took to the bottle.

Bones didn't stay the night this time and left before midnight. He saw that Hem needed a proper rest and with him being there, they would most likely stay up until late in the night or even early in the morning. Bones commissioned a new set of clothing and some modification done to Skully's equipment when Hem finds the time.

There was a bit less than two months until the festival and Bones planned to use the time to practice his profession and make a Skeleton Key. Darsumi gave him a set of instructions with an explanation on how to make the key and its purpose. Bones was reading the instructions while slowly making his way to the capital and realized why HE was commissioned to make one.

The Skeleton Key didn't have to be made of bones even though its name implied it would be. The key made of wood or metal would work the same. Bones was however, the only one among the dwarves that could delicately shape and manipulate the material needed to make the key. In this case, small bones. Bones was instructed to do his best and make at least an incomplete version of the key as the complete key was impossible to make without a profession related to making keys, a Keymaker.

Making the key looks to be an interesting project! The details and precision required bother me though. I'm not at that level of shaping.

Bones realized the dwarves have perhaps put too much trust in his capabilities. Bones stopped and looked at his engraved hand. Perhaps, engraving my whole arm would give me enough of an edge to make the key? Yes…yes! I could see it happening. The engraving should make manipulation and mana flow smoother and easier which is precisely what I will need! I could ask Silva for a private place to not be disturbed while I work!

With his next course of action made up, Bones increased his pace and around noon reached the now familiar gates of the capital Hagos.

He didn't immediately head to the tavern. He headed toward the shopping district, going through the goods displayed in the windows of the shops and eventually came to the auction house. The palace was as busy as ever with a constant rush of people going in and out. He entered and browsed the items for sale. He wasn't looking for something to buy, but a trader selling certain types of items, monster's body parts.

Bones found what he was looking for after an hour. The merchant had a lavishly decorated shop set up so he must've been good at what he was doing. The merchant was a big, fat man with a swirly beard, wearing lavish and extravagant clothing matching his shop. Bones chit chatted with the merry merchant to get a feel for his personality and concluded that the merchant truly knew how to put up a fake persona.

Bones leaned in closer and spoke in a hushed voice. "Look, you seem like you know a thing or two, but I am in need of someone that can acquire something not easily obtained."

The merchant harrumphed and proudly proclaimed that he could acquire anything! From eyes and ears and tongue, to the very bones if needed be!

"To the very bones you say?" Bones repeated, cocking his head.

"Of course! To the very bones!" The merchant confirmed, grinning. Bones explained he was in need of a skeleton and not any kind of skeleton would do! Bones instructed what he was looking for in a skeleton but didn't have a preference whose skeleton he wanted. By the end, both figures were making a deal in hushed voices and away from prying eyes.

Just like the monster body parts, bones weren't illegal to sell, but what Bones asked for was. Bones thought about what he needed and from what he could tell, Skully was a damage dealer. So what he was looking for was something that could take on a defensive role, a "tank".

"Mr. Bones, I must insist on an advance since I'll be the one taking on the risk here. I won't promise anything but you will get your money back if the item seems…unacquirable."

"How much?" Bones asked and the merchant raised his hand and gestured an amount with his fingers.

"Three?" Bones asked, a bit confused.

"What? No, three hundred gold…".

Of course. Three hundred gold for an advance? Seems a steep price to pay but if the man can deliver…

Bones agreed and handed the gold to the merchant. If the man double crossed him, Bones was sure he could find him again and take back what he was owed. Bones continued browsing goods and even bought some used alchemy tools he was missing because he totally planned to make use of them someday. When he left the palace, it was already dark. Time sure flies by.