Kara laid down next to the bolder, exiting her body. She exhaled deeply, taking relish in the weight she had shed. Her Notes gathered around her, enhancing her senses.

Nilbog stared at her wordlessly as she floated around.

“You can see me?” she said, inspecting her fingers one by one.

“How do you speak? You don’t have a mouth,” he said.

Kara looked down, her hands going over where her mouth should have been. Just as he said, there was no nothing but flat skin. She couldn’t even feel that anything was below it.

She shrugged. “These Notes, possibly. They extend my senses, so I assume that I speak through them as well.”

Nilbog nodded. He began to fiddle with his status screen.

“Before that,” Kara said, floating behind him. “What happened to the Soul Trails? You should have received a title from them.”

“Nothing,” Nilbog answered, shaking his head. “They were...postponed because you interfered.”

“Unfortunate. Say, if you ever go back, do try to come out,” she said, and floated back to his front.

“Gee, I would have never figured that part out,” Nilbog said, shaking his head.

“You didn’t figure that out the first time,” she said, narrowing her sights on him. “Let’s use all our stat points before we go through the rewards screen.” She placed obvious emphasizes on our. She should try to keep the guy happy--intimidating him would be too difficult at this point. Having him believe in her, on the other hand, would go a longer distance.

“Why?” Nilbog asked. “I thought the system would account for the unspent points into the Power Rating and provide rewards based on that.”

“True, the rarity and power of the items won’t change, but the rewards will change according to our current stats. Have high strength? You’ll probably receive a skill or item that will bolster that.”

“Hm. Didn’t know,” Nilbog said, scratching his head.

He does that whenever he’s nervous, embarrassed, or confused. Gee he’s obvious. Here comes a question.

“Before that...can you tell me what is going? What we’re doing? What is your class? How all of this works? What we’re going to do?” Nilbog said, breathing heavily. “Anything at all?”

“Oh,” Kara said, chuckling. “I forgot you don’t know any of that.”

“How can you forget something like that?” Nilbog said, grumbling. “Do you have any idea how confused I am?”

“Sorry, I overestimated how smart you were,” Kara said, and proceeded to explain. “Let’s start with me--I have a decent class. The strongest, if I so myself. I can use both Life Force and Energy. There are 9 Movements. I know 8, but with you, I can only use 2 of them--the Third Movement: Deviation, and the Fourth Movement: Amplification. One redirects Energy, the other multiplies it. Do you follow?”

From his face, Kara could tell he did not follow. He simply stared blankly at her, and nodded slowly once he realized he was supposed to answer.

“I’m a mage without the setbacks that is anti-mage,” Kara said, rubbing her 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. “Okay, let’s start from the beginning. Do you know what makes the warrior archetype good?”

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

“What about mages?”

“They got firepower. Have a lot of uses too.”

“Spellsword?”

“Uhh...I don’t know. Same as mage? ” Nilbog said.

“That’s right-- tell me the weaknesses of warrior.”

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

Another chuckle escaped Kara’s throat before she realized. She had been trying to keep the laughter to a minimum-- it would have kept things more professional, but the kid was too much. “Yeah, some of them. Most of them, in fact, but no--they’re just limited. There are only so many ways you can build a warrior--in the end, they’ll only swing or move faster. Knowing how to fight a couple archetypes means you can fight most of their archetypes.”

“Like External and Internal warriors?”

“Yes, though most warriors are Internal focused. Tip-toeing in those two doesn’t work well, unless your class combines them, but that’s a different topic. What about mages?”

“They’re fragile,” Nilbog said. “No Life Force Empowerment--most things kill them in one hit, so they keep their distance.”

“Mehm. And now you know why Spellsword sucks, right?”

“I do now. They die a lot?”

“Yeah. No Life Force Empowerment means they are slow and fragile. They deal the most damage, but where a single mistake costs your life, eventually most die before reaching a high level.”

“So you’re a spellsword!” Nilbog said, perking up. “With Life Force Empowerment! All the pros and none of the cons! Holy shit I always cringe when someone says something is overpowered, but that’s serious-”

“Hold it! It is great, but it has its setbacks. It requires a lot of expensive items, add-ons, training, and levels to work as intended. Don’t get overconfident,” Kara warned, upon when Nilbog’s face twisted.

“You don’t get to say that. What level were you when you failed to capture me?”

Kara didn’t like where this was going, so she casually ignored his question. “Anyway! The point is, investing in Spirit is twice as effective as any other stat.”

“Right, and when I’m not with you? All that Spirit will be useless. I don’t know how to use Energy, much less Life Force. All I have is Empowerment.”

“For now. We’ll buy something nice for you, and that’s the issue, yes. To be frank, it will take you years to use Kinetic Energy the way it is meant to be used.”

“So?”

“So? We take what we get. The class is nigh useless without obscene amounts of Energy and Life Force.”

“That means--”

“That you’ll be trapped with me, yes,” Kara said. “Without me, you’ll be useless. Only External Life Force users invest heavily in Spirit, and those are rarely front line warriors. Again, because you’re starting at the 1st Rank in Life Force, it’s unlikely you’ll learn quick enough.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Nilbog said, biting his gums. “You’ll have too much leverage over me.”

Kara nodded. That was obvious. “So will I, to you,” she said. If she wanted his trust, there was no way around giving him hers. “You know how I really wanted your body?”

Nilbog shivered. “I remember,” he said, his voice darkening.

“Here is the thing: my body is a corpse--it has 0 HP, STM, and Life Force. One of the add-ons for my class let me exchange Energy for Life Force, and that is what is keeping me alive.”

“And you can’t feel much in it, can you?”

“You noticed?” Kara said, surprised. How did he figure that part out?

“Um...yeah. You kind of yell how good it feels every time you take over.”

“Oh,” Kara said, lowering her head. “I’ll keep that in mind, but yes. I can see and hear, but all other senses are extremely numbed. I can’t eat, which reminds me, I will be borrowing your body the moment I spot steak.”

“No taste buds?” Nilbog said, his voice breaking. “You poor little thing.”

“Yes, woe me. What were we talking about? Oh, right--for a level 189, I’m useless. I can’t get experience or points because I can’t fight anything my level. The shop is closed to me, too, for some reason. Might be because my Soul is damaged, not sure yet.”

“You’re stuck,” Nilbog said, an odd sense of familiarity in his voice.

She nodded. “Just staying alive requires a lot of concentration and Energy, which means that, without you, I’m just as useless. We’re in this together.”

“Really? From the way you act, it’s almost as if you own the world.”

“At some point, I will,” Kara said, “but for now it’s a fun bluff. I can use one or two attacks that might kill something my level, but then I’ll be empty. Doing Missions is near impossible for me, and that’s where all the hot stuff is at.”

“How… how did this happen? Sounds like a pretty fucked up scenario you got there.”

“I lost a fight. Now, you decide. You in this with me?”

“Do we have any other option?” Nilbog asked, surprisingly calm.

“No,” Kara said, shaking her head. “I suppose not.”

“On to our rewards, then,” Nilbog said, moving quickly. “Where am I putting my stats? I got 26 of them.”

“For me to access any of the Movements after the Fourth, we’ll need to have equal physical stats while having a Soul that has equal combined value, or if we have the right Add-On then it can be more,” Kara said, quickly doing the math in her head. “The minimum physical requirement is 30, meaning that we’ll need another 48 levels to reach True Equilibrium. Level 95 is our golden level. After that, we won’t spend any stat point unless we can keep the right ratios.”

“Wait. Slow it down. If that’s the case, then wouldn’t Life Force Empowerment or other buffs get us that ratio?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Kara snapped. “I said stat requirement, not Parameters. So many fools mix those two up!”

“Right,” Nilbog said. “Just tell me the loadout.”

“5 for Strength, 6 for Endurance, and 15 for Soul. It’s a good habit to keep all stats even for us. Oh, and remember, never, ever, no matter what, accept any skill that increases one stat over the other--it will add too many variables, and might ruin our build. They’re rare, but do not mess this part up.”

“Done,” Nilbog said a yellow aura covered his body in a flash.

“Now, open up all your skills for me. I want to make sure we know what we’re working with.”

“Here,” Nilbog said.

General

Stats & Parameters

Level

47

Strength

20

Species

Human (Shape-Shifting)

Agility

20

Class

Player Killer

Endurance

20

Profession

Death Dancer

Constitution

20

Age

7

Soul

38

HP

200 (+20/Hour)

Present Brawn

25

STM

200/200 (+1/Second)

Present Speed

25

Overall STM

632/1000 (+400/Day)

Present Armor

20

Life Force

380/380(3.8/Minute)

Present Spirit

38

Energy

380/380 (3.8/Minute)

Power Rating

108

You have 26 points.

(Unique) Seventh Sense

Type: Unique Passive Sense

In cases of danger, your body will react before you.

(Unique) Murderous Lolie

Type: Unique Passive Soul

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

You will continue to grow quicker than others, and you are guaranteed to meet with at least one Soul Trail.

The experience boost to killing enemies higher level than you is significantly increased.

Increase chances of gaining free add-ons for heavily utilized skills, as well as an increased chance of finding unique skills, classes, and races if applicable.

This skill’s power will decay as you grow older, completely disappearing at the age of 13.

(Rare) Gourmet initiate

Type: Passive Food skill

Add-on cost: 5

If two advanced foods are consumed, change the Vigorous Nourishment buff into Cuisine Enlightenment.

You have increased resistance to poisons and negative effects that are ingested through the mouth.

---

(Unowned) Add-on: Increase bonuses from advanced by 20%.

(Unowned) Add-on: Increases your advanced food slots by one.

(Unowned) Add-on: Reduce your advanced slots by one but increase the effectiveness of advanced food buffs by 50%.

Desperate Endurance (Common)

Type: Passive

Add-on cost: 5

Gain 10% STM reduction if your STM bar is below 50%.

This bonus also applies when Overall STM is below 50%.

Add-on: Gain 10% STM reduction if your HP is also below 50%.

---

(Unowned) Add-on: Gain 10% armor if both your HP and STM is below 50%.

(Common) Dodge

Type: Passive Dodge Skill

Add-on: 5 points

Increase Dodge Speed by 10%

Add-on: Increase dodge Speed by an additional 5%

---

(Unowned) Add-on: Will change from a passive into an activation. double the given dodge speed but triple the STM usage.

(Unowned) Add-on: Reduce damage taken while dodging by 10%

(Uncommon) Short-Breath

Type: Passive Breathing Skill

Add-on: 5 points

Grants 10% Speed for the first five seconds of a battle, reducing STM cost by 20%.

Activities once per battle.

(Unowned) Add-on: each kill increases the duration by 5 seconds to a max of one minute.

(Unowned) Add-on: activates every 20 seconds.

(Unowned) Add-on: getting a kill within Short-Breath’s duration will grant 10% Brawn.

Add-on: change the skill from a passive into an active.

(Common) Minor Bleed Resistance

Type: Passive Bleed Resistance

Add-on: 5 points

Gain 10% Bleed Resistance.

---

(Unowned) Add-on: Your body can heal bleed damage 30% faster

(Unowned)Add-on: Bleed Resistance increased by an additional 5%

Free Evolution Available.

1st Rank Internal Life Force (Common)

Life Force Empowerment (Common)

Type: Active Empowerment Skill

Add-on cost: 5 points

Through the use of Life Force, you may strengthen parts of your body by a percentage, increasing Brawn, Speed, and Armor.

MAX buff: 25%

Time until recast: 10 minutes.

---

(Unowned) Add-on: Increase MAX buff by 10%

(Unowned) Add-on: Double the duration.

(Unowned) Add-on: Half the duration but increase the MAX buff by 20%

Beginner Death Dancer (Unique)

Wherever you Dance, death follows.

Your Siren may use her powers through you.

---

Free Add-on available.

(Epic) Player Killer

Where others cower as Players wreak havoc upon the world, the Player Killer is a hyper-specialized class entirely dedicated to wiping them off the map.

Outside the Rewards Screen and Shop, all Player Killer skills will activate as one skill in combat unless it is an activation skill, or if stated otherwise. Any effects or add-ons which target Player Killer will target all the skills connected to it.

Player Killer will always active against equal or higher leveled Players, or Players that possesses a higher Power Rating than you. Against Players that are lower level, effects will be penalized if their Power rating is lower than your pre-class skill’s activation. Player Killer will not activate against Players allied with you and which possess no killing intent.

Add-on: The higher the Power Rating and level, the greater the power of Player Killer will become.

Escalated Progress

Type: Passive

Add-on: 10

100% increased point gain from combating Players.

200% increased point gain from killing Players.

200% increased skill growth for Player Killer skills. 100% for all other skills.

You have a 1% chance of learning a skill from the Player when in combat. Killing them increases this by another 1%.

Add-on: Escalated Progress will only activate when you kill a Player, but will double the points gained, double skill growth, as well as triple the chances of receiving a skill.

Empowerment

Type: Passive

Add-on: 10

50% Mental Defense increase against Players.

25% Power, Speed, Armor, and Spirit increase against Players.

AoE effects from Players are 50% less effective against you.

---

(Unowned) Add-on: Gain 50% Camouflage against Player Scout skills.

Deadly Strikes

Type: Passive

Add-on: 10

25% Armor Penetration against Players.

25% of your damage will be dealt as True Damage against Players.

Damage dealt to Players may not be healed until 10 seconds pass. Afterward, it will take 50% longer to heal against Players.

All probability skills have 25% increased value to their chance of activating against Players.

“Oh boy, that’s a lot of stuff to go through.” Kara was familiar with most, but it never hurts to double check everything. “Murderous Lolie might be your most useful skill.”

“A few skills gained add-ons. I say we start with the Death Dancer upgrades--its the most important.”

“After it, we’ll hit the Minor Bleed resistance, open up the rewards for the Mission, and then spend our points if need be.”

“Sounds good,” Nilbog said, clicking the upgrade button on his Death Dancer profession.

Add-on: Increase the power of skills that the Siren directly channels through you.

Add-on: Increase the power of skills that the Siren indirectly channels through you.

“Ar, got a guess?”

“Direct is when I’m controlling you, indirectly is when you hear my Song,” Kara said. That skill description, however, gave Kara an important hint.

It did not mention Duel Duet or specify Kara controlling his body, meaning that there were other skills...can she use Death Siren’s Song through him? Or her Notes?

Kara prodded one of the Notes near here. “Say, relax your muscles for me,” Kara said, making Nilbog instantly tense. “Hey!”

“I can’t just...relax when you say something like that!” Nilbog said. “What are those dark auras surrounding me?”

“They’re my Notes. I can sense and use my skills through them, but they have a range limit. I was...wondering what would happen if I put one in you.”

“You want to experiment on me?” Nilbog said, stepping back.

“Who else? That’s the only way to advance the profession, fortunately.”

Hesitantly, Nilbog gave her the go.

When she moved the Note towards Nilbog, it struck his body and bounced off. She kept prodding it, but didn’t quite find an opening. Scratching her chin, Kara tried to listen to his Tune--it was how she was able to attack him last time.

All things had a Tune, Kara soon discovered. A signature sound they all made. Once she listens to it, she could find out bits and pieces of the person.

It wasn’t terribly useful, considering all she got were random images and emotions, but maybe this was the purpose for it.

The child was anxious, and to that Kara was not surprised. He was tense and fearful, but his Tune was louder than before. Where it was desperate and stitched together like a ripped cloak, this Tune was more whole. More concrete, as if it was conscious.

As Kara listened, she guided one of her Notes with her, combining it with...something of his.

She sensed resistance at first, but as Nilbog relaxed, the Note began to enter his Tune. She released her hold and was happy to see the Note did not lose fall into a frenzy or fizzle out, as it usually did.

The weight of that Note fell from her mind, but she could still feel it if she focused in, almost as if Nilbog was holding onto it for her.

“Do you feel heavier?” Kara asked.

“Kinda,” Nilbog said, placing a hand over his chest. “ It feels like something here, but it doesn’t feel bad. More like a warmth.”

“I’m going to find the limit for how much I can store inside you. Let me know if it gets painful,” Kara said, and ushered more in. By the third she found the process to be exceptionally harder. It didn’t feel like there was space.

“It feels like your pushing against my chest,” Nilbog said.

“Two is the limit so far,” Kara noted.

“You’re happy because?”

“I can only maintain so many at a time--twelve, the last time I checked. When you hold on to them, I can go over that limit. I may be able to communicate with you over long distances, I’m not sure yet. We’ll need to test it out.”

“Taking the first choice, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Done.”

“I’m going to test it again,” Kara said.

“Why? It didn’t say anything about increasing storage room.”

“That’s the thing with anything that has the Unique tag--rarely is there ever a number behind it. The terms are broad and vague. Don’t, ever, trust it. It doesn’t lie but some can confuse you.”

When Kara did it again, she found she was able to increase the count to three Notes. “Say, I’m going to try something else. I’m trying to combine the Note with your Tune, instead of just putting it in, but your Tune is too rigid. Try to...blend with the Note.”

“What? Who?”

“Flow with it.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh… eat it! Just try to eat it!”

“With what? You’re not making any sense!”

“I’m an artist--I don’t have to make any sense!” Kara snapped back, becoming increasingly frustrated. How could she describe it? The Notes were a Source--there was power inside them. She was sure this was the way to buff someone. “Can you feel your Life Force Source?”

“Yeah,” Nilbog said.

“Where do you feel the Notes are?”

“Inside it?”

So that’s what a Tune is! It’s their Life Force Source! No wonder she could feel their emotion and memories--the Source contained that too.

And if that’s the case, then the way to use the Notes must be through the Life Force Source! A Tune wasn’t something arbitrary that was made up--it was the Soul all along!

It made sense then why forcing her way into it caused damage. When her Songs failed, they also damaged their Soul.

Using the egg model, Kara wasn’t sure whether it was the Life Force shelling that she damaged, or the Energy inside it. Memories were retained inside the shell itself, but most of the Soul resided within the influx of Energy.

“Cast Life Force Empowerment, but as you do try to wrap it around the Notes. Eat it up. Control it, I don’t know. Figure out that part.”

Nilbog struggled for a few dozen minutes, not finding any success no matter what advice she gave him.

It was too much to ask of him, considering he just learned how to use his Life Force. Being a monster created inside a Mission, it didn’t seem like the Game accounted for him to use Life Force, and did not put the instructions in.

Fortunately, he was learning. It would have been devastating if he was completely inept at it.

Taking the loss, Kara decided to use Duel Duet. Each minute she used took four hours, so she had to do this quickly. She fell deep inside him, gathering his Life Force as if to cast Empowerment. Instead of sending the Life Force across his body, however, she wrapped it around the Notes.

Kara couldn’t see the Soul, but she could feel the Notes dispersing into his Life Force Source. After a few seconds, all the Notes completely melted within the Life Force Empowerment.

“Did you--oh my,” Kara said, bouncing off.

Nilbog stood with his arms extended, his eyes wide as dark aura seeped out of his body. It covered his limbs like silk, moving as if alive. “This...I think I like this,” he said, moving around. The aura trailed behind him as he moved and jumped. “Neat! Feels like Empowerment but better.”

“You didn’t receive any skills?” Kara asked, disappointed.

“No, but I feel a lot stronger! I can somewhat control it. See?” Nilbog said. The darkness gathered on his chest, making a fist. It then sped down his arm, changing from armor into a dark sword.

It didn’t look terribly durable, but she had to give him one thing--it looked cool.

“Looks like you need to do it to gain the skill. This might take a--”

“I don’t think it will,” Nilbog said, turning towards her. “I felt you work--I think I got the hang of it. I’ll recast it once the duration runs out. 10 minutes, just like a normal Empowerment.”

“Alright, we’ll figure out the rest later. Moving on to Minor Bleed Resistance. Evolve it.”

Moderate Bleed Resistance (Uncommon)

Type: Passive Bleed Resistance

Gain 20% Bleed Resistance.

Moderately reduce chance of getting disease.

Minor Blood Replacement (Uncommon)

Type: Passive Bleed Resistance.

You will always be able to heal Bleed Damage.

Healing Bleed Damage is 20% faster.

The debuffs of blood loss will be reduced, and slash and pierce wounds will close 20% faster, reducing the duration of Bleed Damage.

“What’s your call?” Kara asked.

“Don’t test me like that. Minor Blood Replacement is obviously better for my Shapeshifting.”

“And?” Kara said, smiling.

“And, if I’m unlucky to get stabbed a lot, which I definitely will, Minor Blood Replacement will be easier to upgrade because it is Minor, instead of Moderate level. It’s a rarer branch too, so in the long--”

“Alright, you got that part figured out. Shall we open the last gift box?” Kara said. First place guaranteed at least an Epic rating.

“Here, we, go!” Nilbog said, excitement filling his voice.

Congratulations! You have gained 111 points!

You now have 138 points!

Choose one of the following rewards for your 1st place in the Individual rankings!

Wielder Of The Flame (Epic)

Type: Thermal Energy Conversion Perk

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

Creating Thermal Energy will take 25% more Energy. In return, the cost for Manipulating Thermal Energy will be reduced by 50%.

You no longer require Kinetic Energy to move Thermal Energy.

Critical Dodger (Epic)

Type: Passive Dodge Skill

Dodging is a matter of desperation.

Gain 35% Dodge Speed when dodging strikes that would have dealt significant damage.

Damage taken while dodging will be reduced by 25%

Incomplete Ent Core (Unique)

Type: Gem

The Incomplete Ent Core is able to store up to 500 Life Force.

Based on how rich the environment is, Incomplete Ent Core will regenerate up to 1% of its MAX Life Force storage every hour.

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

Crown Of Thorns (Cursed)

Type: Head Equipment

The Life Force of planetary life, previously pure and ambient, is now corrupt with a vicious hunger for blood.

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

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

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

The more blood that the Crown Of Thorns consumes, the greater its powers will grow.

“Let’s thank Murderous Lolie for this,” Kara said.

“Is that...in a good way? I’ve never seen Cursed items before.”

“I don’t know, child, I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “Cursed items don’t have a rarity--they’re like the Unique tag, but have the nasty condition of Soul-binding on pickup. Can't wear anything else there. Some are unusable, most cause more damage than they’re worth, and only a couple possess an obscene amount of power if you meet the right requirements.”

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

Bleed Damage was the leading cause of death--as long as no important organs were struck, most of the damage from slash or pierce attacks is Bleed Damage.

Most people prioritized getting reductions for it, which in return prompted attack skills that had additional magical or explosive effects to be favored.

Still, the 1% Bleed Damage per second meant that without skills that vastly decreased Bleed Damage, it would kill the wearer in 100 seconds.

Even the buff was suboptimal. It wasn’t a 1% increase to all parameters per second, but an increase per percentage HP lost, meaning that if they found a way to become immune to the damage or reduce it significantly, then the buff would be useless.

At that point, if someone had that much Bleed Resistance, then the buff from the Crown Of Thorns to outside Bleed damage is rendered obsolete.

The only way to get the buff to parameters was to either heal or regenerate it--no damage reduction.

“Let’s set it aside for now,” Kara said. She knew something he didn’t, but it would take a bit of persuasion on her part. “The first is easy: slash out the Core. We’ll get a lot of selling something like it, but our build doesn’t use gems.”

“Sure. We’re going for the Flame, then?”

“Not precisely,” Kara said. “I’m a Kinetic focused mage--I rarely use Thermal Energy to attack. Even worst, Wielder Of The Flame is usually used by spellswords or enchanters whose skills require more precise technique than raw power, which is the exact opposite of us.”

“What about for Deviation, then? Don’t you have to use your own Energy? Or is that different Equanimity that I saw when you were fighting?”

“Both. There is a golden ratio--roughly 100 Energy for every 10% Equanimity, but when I’m low on the other I can compensate. So yes, while it would make us near unkillable by Thermal mages, as the cost for Deviation and Amplification will be reduced significantly, but that will be the only time when it's useful.”

“Then what about that you did in the boss lair? That seemed pretty powerful.”

“The flames were already there, and I’m already at the level where I can control Thermal Energy without using Kinetic Energy,” Kara said, and then noticed she had completely lost Nilbog at that. “For early levels, you can’t send control Thermal Energy, fire in its basic form, without Kinetic Energy--so that makes one of the best parts of the skill useless for us.”

“Got it. So we’re going for the Critical Dodger?”

“It is good.” Considering Nilbog’s Shapeshifting abilities, any non-fatal attack could be healed. Then again, considering his avarice nature to storing material, she wasn’t sure how that part would play out--a different issue for a different day. “Not much to say about it, really. It is a sturdy skill,” Kara said, nodding.

“Then, please tell me, why do I get the feeling that we’re not getting it?” Nilbog said, falling to the ground.

If you knew I was going for the Crown of Thorns, why would you bother with the charades? Then again, she thought as she saw him moan about the floor. Why did I?

She floated behind his figure, lifting him up. The dark aura covering his body became noticeably excited as she touched his skin. That’s odd. Did that mean the closer she got, the stronger the aura will become?

“You already have a passive Dodge skill, Nilbog. You have to take that into consideration.”

“Does the Crown have some ultra-powerful form once I suffer it enough?” Nilbog said, turning to face her with a pained look in his eyes.

Kara couldn’t help but laugh. “Pretty much. How did you know?”

“It felt right,” he said, raising his nose slightly higher. “That, and you would have completely dismissed it if there wasn’t something more to it.”

“Good. Stay sharp like that, it will give me hope that we’ll actually end up somewhere other than the grave.”

“So? What’s the story behind it?”

“Uh...I don’t know, honestly,” Kara said, and almost giggled when she the horror immediately appearing on his face. “A powerful ranker a few Games ago wielded it,” she quickly added. “The records from then show that a great amount of power resonated from a crown he had. It was made of thorns, and this is probably it. The guy always bled everywhere. Was a mess at the bar, probably.”

“That’s nice, but do you know how it worked? What type of healing skill could maintain that damage?”

Kara shrugged. “The more he fought, the stronger he grew--that part we got figured out, but in theory, that should mean that he could only fight for a few minutes. A couple dozen if he had some skills I know about, maybe even more with skills I don’t know about, but he was recorded for his effectiveness in battles lasting hours, meaning that either the Crown provided him with some type of sustain--”

“--Or he had other ultra rare skills to accommodate for the damage it healed.”

Kara nodded. “This is where the gamble is. If the key wasn’t with the Crown’s evolution, it means that unless we find some way to deal with the Bleed Damage, one of our most important Equipment slots will become useless. It will take a lot of effort, time, and money to remove it.”

“Awesome. What could possibly go wrong?”

“Famous last words,” Kara said. “No, really. They are one of the most comm-”

Nilbog pressed something, prompting a bright green light to appear in front of him. From it materialized the crown.

If truth be told, its appearance was quite...underwhelming. She expected for it to resonate with power, as the stories were told, but as it landed on Nilbog’s hands it seemed nothing more than some bloody thorns in a shape of crown.

“Ow,” he said dryly. The thorns poked his skin, letting his blood seep to the ground. “I’m taking 2 HP damage per second.”

Damn. Empowerment won’t reduce the damage? That sucks.

“This sucks,” Nilbog whined.

“Stop whining.”

“Would you like to put this on your head?” Nilbog said, giving her a glare.

“You know what, I will!” she said, reaching for it.

It didn’t really matter, considering that she goes through physical material like it wasn-

“Ow!” she said, yanking her hands back. The moment she touched it her hands became a bloody mess.

“What’s this? Is that whining I hear?” Nilbog said, clicking his tongue.

“I wasn’t expecting that!” she said, taking back the Crown.

It hurt. Kara didn’t even know she could bleed in this form. The longer she held it, the more she felt her Spirit weakening. Damn it. It’s not Bleed damage. This thing digs into Spirits too.

“Turn around,” she said, floating behind him.

“What are you going to do?”

“Put it on you, what else?” she said, laughing.

Nilbog breathed deeply. “Go ahead,” he said, closing his eyes.

“Before that,” Kara said, the Crown inches from the top of his head. “Before I crown you, you need to sit on a throne.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Make a throne with the aura.”

“Are you serious?”

“Very,” Kara said. “Be quick about it.” This thing really hurts.

The brat took his time, making Kara quickly regret her need for the dramatic effects. She could hardly put the Crown down--it would look incredibly silly of her considering that he was going to wear it on his freaking head.

The aura slipped down his body, condensing under his feet. It spread around him slowly as it began to extend its form into a square. It was unstable, becoming bubbly and shaky as it rose up. The material began to form the shape of a large chair.

Just the same, however. Kara got a few giggles out of him as he fell a couple of times through the aura, or whatever it was.

She'd seen high ranked External Life Force users able to materialize their Life Force into physical matter, and Nilbog’s control over the Notes was very similar.

“I think this should do it,” Nilbog said. The makeshift throne shook as he rested his bottom on it, wavering at the sides, but holding steady in the end. “So why the ceremony?”

“Because today is a special day,” Kara said, floating above him. “Clench your teeth.” She placed the Crown on top of his head slowly, hoping it would lessen the pain. He winced as blood began to slip down the sides of his head, his entire body tensing up in response. “Take in the pain,” she whispered softly. “Take it in. Conquer it. Use it.”

“What’s special about today?” Nilbog said slowly, grunting as thorns poked out the ground. They latched onto his legs, clawing up as they littered his skin with holes.

“Today marks the start of our epic, of course,” she said, and began to sing.

End of Book One