"What the fuck is this?" Thomas curses in disbelief.

"I would say language, but I have to agree," Sophia agrees with a shrug.

"U-Uh…" Rose is visibly confused and Midas just suffers in silence.

"This…is the right place, I think?" I say as we stare at the building in front of us.

"You think?" Thomas says with a raised eyebrow.

[ Through exemplary actions you have unlocked the skill: Track(Minimum, Active) ]

[ Track - A skill that allows the user to easily find their target. Markers visible only to the user can be placed on objects or organisms. ]

"Well, now I'm sure. I just got a skill." Thomas just sighs and walks into the lair of Doctor Graves.

The supermarket.

We walk past all of the self-checkout and regular cash registers and make out way into the store. We soon arrive in the clothing section, or at least, near it. The, umm, problem is that the entire section has been turned into a giant, blanket fort.

Thomas immediately attempts to ignite the fort, but a smokey shadow snuffs out the flame. This process is repeated eight times before Thomas's arm fires a torrential jet of flames.

His arson attempt goes without success because, even though the entire wall was ignited, the fort stood strong. The rest of us weren't standing around either. Sophia was crawling around it, trying to find an entrance; I was throwing punches and swipes, with little success; Rose was slashing it with her sword, with equal luck; Midas is sitting to the side; and Cooper is swinging a shovel he found.

Anyway, our attempts are foiled by this shadowy thing around the blanket fort. Also, on a side note, what kind of grown adult makes one of these?

I'm not opposed to it, but it just doesn't fit his theme.

"Silvernight," Midas speaks up. "Are we sure that Doctor Graves is in…there?" He gestures to the fort.

I sniff around. Dang, the entire store smells like him. Well, it smells like corpses in here. Though… "I'm not sure. The entire store smells like, well, him. I do have to ask, where are the Nazi's?"

"Halt!" A voice rings out from behind us.

"You just had to say it, huh?" Midas sighs. "Well, do you want to take him on yourself? Or do you want me to weaken him, then you take the killing blow, and get all the experience?"

"I feel like you're implying something." I narrow my eyes and judge the proud figure of Midas. Is he saying I'm too weak to take one on?

"What I'm saying, is that you're very reliant on us. Cooperating with others isn't bad; don't get me wrong. From what I've seen though, we've been essentially carrying you. I want to see what our newest Disciple has, and if she's really worth investing time, and most importantly, money."

I know what he's doing. Provoking me. Trying to rile me up. And probably for some reason like, 'It's for the greater good.'

And it's absolutely working...

I charge at the Nazi, screaming. He screams too, but it looks to be more of fear than anything. He hasn't even pulled out that gun slung across his back, and instead opted for his knife.

He stabs with intention to kill as he aims towards my heart. I'm just slightly faster though as my Agility and Acrobatics allow my to sidestep the blade. I grip his wrist, causing a crack, and pull him forward. Or to the side, I guess.

As he falls, I put almost all of my effort into creating water and earth mana, then I project it all into mud.

He falls with a splat. The linoleum floor beneath him easily swallows him whole.

[ Through repeated actions you have unlocked the skill: Mineral-To-Mud(Minimum, Active) ]

[ Mineral-To-Mud - Allows the user to turn nearby minerals into a slurry of varying viscosities. Cost: 20mp per cast / 10mp per second ]

[ Through exemplary actions skill: Mineral-To-Mud(Minimum, Active) has ranked up to Mineral-To-Mud(Minor, Active) ]

[ Through exemplary actions skill: Mineral-To-Mud(Minor, Active) has ranked up to Mineral-To-Mud(Medium, Active) ]

Hah. I collapse to my knees with the massive drain of two-fifths of my mana pool. I wonder how many skills I have now…

[ Skills: Enhanced Senses(Maximum, Passive)

Minor Physical Regeneration(Maximum, Passive)

Observe(Major, Passive)

Transcription(Passive)

Mapping(Passive)

Track(Minimum, Active)

Danger Sense(Maximum, Passive)

Presence Detection(Medium, Passive)

Inspect(Active)

Sharp Teeth(Major, Passive)

Powerful Jaw(Major, Passive)

Claw Swipe(Active)

Beast Transformation(Active, Hereditary)

Partial Beast Transformation(Active)

Bite(Active)

Acrobatics(Medium, Passive)

Balance(Minor, Passive)

Jump(Major, Passive)

Wall Jump(Minor, Passive)

Climb(Medium, Passive)

Night Vision(Passive)

Sleep Immunity(Passive)

Fall Resistance(Major, Passive)

Poison Resistance(Medium, Passive)

Mental Resistance(Major, Passive)

Radiation Resistance(Medium, Passive)

Alcohol Resistance(Major, Passive)

Soul Resistance(Minor, Passive)

Pain Resistance(Medium, Passive)

Hunger Resistance(Minimum, Passive)

Lunar Power(Passive)

Telepathy(Active, Hereditary)

Meditation(Medium, Active)

Mana Vision(Passive)

Mana Sense(Passive)

Mana Circulation(Major, Active)

Mana Manipulation(Minor, Active)

Mana Absorption(Minimum, Passive/Active)

Earth Magic II(Minimum, Base)

Water Magic I(Minor, Base)

Radiation Magic I(Minimum, Base)

Non-Elemental Magic III(Minimum, Base)

Rock Hand(Minor, Active)

Earth Bone Enhancement(Minor, Active)

Summon Water Sphere(Minimum, Active)

Create Water Sphere(Minimum, Active)

Summon Mud Sphere(Minimum, Active)

Mineral-To-Mud(Medium, Active)

Lightning Bolt(Medium, Active, Equipment) ]

I have…a lot of skills. I'll also admit, I expected the System to name the skill something like Quicksand Trap, or something.

The Nazi squirms in the linoleum mud, but it's pointless. His squirming just makes him sink deeper and deeper. I cancel the skill, and the mud dries instantly, burying him in the floor.

[ You have killed a level 1 "Undead Remnant" x 1. 5 experience points gained. ]

Hmm. Level 1 again.

"Well done," Midas compliments from the side. I hadn't even noticed him walk up to me. He picks up a dropped knife from the soldier. It turns to gold from where his fingers touch the blade.

"Want to keep it? As a trophy?" I nod and pocket the golden blade on my waist.