Eldridge dropped the pine branch as a loud laugh echoed out of his mouth. He stood laughing as the rats scattered before his friend's assault.

"Take that!" He screamed towards that unknown presence he fought earlier.

A part of him knew he should be more concerned over that creature, over the waves it could create. Yet, victory overwhelmed every other thought of his.

"Thanks again," A mumble behind drew his attention.

As he turned, he caught sight of Byung still naked, though now he was a bit more of a bloody mess. The man seemed to ignore his many small wounds, some with blood still oozing, instead he knelt with his hand on the rat Eldridge helped him save. Eldridge watched as the small blue creature slowly melted into a skater glove of some sort.

Someday I might get used to that, He thought as Byung slowly stood, his face grimaced in obvious pain.

"Detective," The gruff man said as he met Eldridge's eyes. "It seems we are victorious."

"Yeah we are!" Eldridge shouted as he shot his hands into the sky. "Now, let's see to those wounds."

He continued as he turned down the hill towards his friend. He paused as he caught sight of Cee tossing one of the dead rats to the side only to pick up and hold another. a second later he tossed the creature and reached for another one of the beasts.

"Hey man, leave some of those for the rest of us! Now get up here and see to Byung's wounds!" Eldridge yelled as he started to walk to his friend.

"He seems fine," C responded nonchalantly as he put down the current rat and looked over towards the man. "Besides, I needed to recover some of my xenoid." His left hand reached out, palm towards Eldridge and a ball of light slowly formed inside of it. All the while, C turned back to the rats at his feet. As he reached down for one of the many creatures, the light in his palm flashed and vanished.

A new light caught Eldridge’s attention and he turned towards Byung. Under his feet a ward circle of light slowly grew. The words Time to Recover etched into the outside ring. As the light intensified, Eldridge watched as the wounds slowly stopped their bleeding, each one of the many having now formed a scab. A final burst of light ebbed off the ward before it vanished, leaving no sign of its presence aside from the now healthier man.

"Glad to see you're doing well," Hinklebottom said as he stopped next to Byung.

"I would like to thank you for sending your," He paused as he nodded to the glove. "Friend to aid me. Not sure I would have fared well without him."

"It was simply a turn for a kindness you did for us," Byung answered curtly. "Though Devon has taken a bit of a liking towards you."

"I see, well appreciated nonetheless." Hinklebottom answered. “Now I must see to my charge. If there is anything in the future I can do for you, let me know.”

“I think that’s the most I've heard the man say since I've known him.” Eldridge answered as he watched Hinklebottom walk towards C. His friend tossed another rat aside and Eldridge remembered the xenoid he was supposed to get for Osel.

I should get on that before C takes them all.

“I can say that’s the most I've heard him say.” Byung said as he cracked a smile. “It is also good to see you break loose as well detective.”

Eldridge turned back towards the man, unsure of how to respond. For the few interactions he’s had with Byung, he felt there was a wall of sorts. The man even went so far as to call Eldridge a racist against Asians. Though, as he now thought about it, that interaction in the light of what he saw now, it is highly likely the man was teasing him in some manner.

His intense focus brought the threads he felt from Byung to the forefront of his mind. Though he could touch Byung’s thread, he felt that would be incredibly rude. Eldridge was sure he didn’t want someone randomly listening into his thoughts. Though as he let up on the focus, another thread caught his attention. This one, unlike the threads of consciousness, was deeper on some level. It tied Byung to Eldridge through the glove.

“It is because we facilitate their bonding.” Eldridge heard Ocel faintly whisper into his mind. “We will continue to do so until the pair of them get strong enough to support it on their own”

“And when would that be?” Eldridge mentally asked Ocel as he reached over and picked up one of the rats that lay on the ground.

The familiar tinkle rushed through his arm towards his core, his stomach, as a progress bar popped up in the lower left of his vision. It wasn’t even a second before the tingle vanished and a blue +124 popped up as the bar disappeared.

“Once he gathers enough xenoid and forms a core.” Ocel replied, voice even softer than before. “Now, let me sleep.”

Eldridge tossed the rat to the side and looked at the remaining ten or so rodents. “Byung, pick up that rodent there and tell me if you feel the tingle.”

Byung turned and stared at Eldridge for a few seconds before he finally relented and stepped towards a dead rat. Eldridge watched the man’s face twitch as he touched the creature. Clearly he could now feel the tingle.

“That’s not as unpleasant as I thought it might be.” He finally said as dropped the creature. “Though I’m not sure what it has accomplished.”

“We’ll get to that, for now I need you to drain as many as you can.” Eldridge answered. He didn’t know what supporting the bond would entail, but he figured it would be best if he could get them on their own as soon as possible.

***

Falreath dropped the tenth or so rat he’s drained as a blue +106 popped up in his vision.

“So what is the time frame on the helicopter?” He asked Hinklebottom as he continued to take in the battlefield.

For as intense as the battle was, there was a dire lack of dead. It was an odd thought to have for Falreath as he normally would’ve been content to survive as he had been with the bears. Yet, knowing that he needed to consume xenoid to grow stronger, to survive the next battle to come, his hunger has grown.

“As far as I know they still haven’t taken off.” Hinklebottom answered as Falreath bent over to pick up another of the beasts.

“I see, well see if you can’t climb back up and get us a timeframe.” Falreath answered as he reveled in the tingle that dove to his core.

“Sir, I don’t know if it would be wise too…”

“It should be fine.” Falreath interrupted Hinklebottom. “The purification should last at least a day, if not more. Those rodents will be far too scared to attack us again today.”

“That might be true, but I’m more concerned about other threats.” Hinklebottom replied as he pointed to one of the bears. Falreath couldn’t blame him, for he had those same concerns. It was why he was so focused on gathering as much xenoid as he could.

“The three of us should be able to handle things. I mean I've recovered some of my strength. And as far as I can see, Eldridge is far faster in his recovery. If you are that concerned give us ten then head up. Though I honestly would like word sooner than later.”

“Understood,” Hinklebottom answered as he turned towards Eldridge then towards the rest of the battlefield. “I will trust you sir, as it seems you have a strength I’ve yet seen. Though I would like answers at some point.”

“Don’t we all,” Falreath answered as he dropped the next rodent.

As he surveyed the hillside for more creatures he noticed that Eldridge was having Byung pick up a few. His first instinct was to hurry to collect more, to gather as much as he could. He took in a breath, then two before he calmed that raging hunger in himself.

It would do no good to gain this strength on my own.

He told himself as he turned to focus on Hinklebottom, the man watching the two of them.

“I am going to focus on recovery, is there anything else you might need from me?”

“No sir, I believe your plan is the correct one. As much as it pains me to leave you four on your own.”

With that Falreath sat in the dirt, his mind focused on picturing himself, on that screen that would illuminate his xenoid. Soon, the Freki Interface materialized before his closed eyes. This time he would take the time to understand as much of it as he could. It was because of this marvel that he was able to ward off the most recent threat.

The center of the interface had the davinci pose with lines going to various parts of his body. The line towards his arms spoke of his strength being advanced, though it also had three stars next to it. The one towards his hands had the same thing though this time referenced his dexterity. Endurance pointed towards his legs, though there were only two stars and the word advanced was replaced with improved. As he went, he slowly began to understand how the system rated his body.

Strength *** Advanced

Dexterity *** Advanced

Endurance ** Improved

Reflex ** improved

Willpower ** Improved

Intelligence - Unrefined

Constitution *** Advanced

Honestly Falreath wasn’t sure how to take the system's rating. He was one of the best quarterbacks in the league, if not the best. Yet, he only stood at advanced in most of his physical stats. What would a person who had higher stars than himself look like? Then again, what was the max? There was no reference, perhaps he was maxed. Though, he felt that unlikely as he only reached the advanced stage. Surely there was a higher stage.

As for his intelligence, there was none who understood his own lack as much as himself. He struggled through most of his classes in every grade and if it wasn’t for his determination, and Eldridge’s help, it was unlikely he could have even passed.

Well whatever, it doesn’t seem I can change the evaluation at this time.

Falreath thought as he examined the stats a bit deeper. Instead of a way to increase the evaluation, a number appeared next to each. This number seemed to be independent of the evaluation though, as willpower and intelligence both had zero, they were evaluated differently.

“Perhaps,” He mumbled as he looked at strength.

The number next to it had four. If you took into account his recent throwing, the increase in strength made a lot of sense.

So if I increase my strength, I will have to adjust my throwing once again. Not too much of an issue given I still haven't adjusted to the earlier increase. He thought as he told the system to increase his strength.

It will cost 300 Xenoid, are you sure?

A quick glance at his Xenoid count told him he had roughly nineteen hundred total unbound, most of which was water aligned.

“Yes, use the water,” He muttered, unsure how to reply. Suddenly there was a gray number two next to strength. As he focused on it, he understood that it was letting him know the changes were happening. Though they would take a while.

As he studied his stats he further increased his dexterity and strength by one as both would be useful for his work and the fights he’s found himself in. As he continued down the stats, down what was essentially his body broken down into numbers he paused on intelligence. It was definitely something he could use more of given his desperate lack thereof.

Yet, the battles flooded his mind, the wounds that everyone took and he moved his focus to constitution. From what he understood, this stat was the capability of resisting damage. A useful trait for sure. A deep breath later and he increased his one point of constitution by four. The action cost fourteen hundred of his free xenoid.

Falreath looked at his remaining points, unsure what to do with them. He could increase his light, or another skill, but thought better of it. For now, he should see what these points net him. Too much growth might be just as detrimental as not using the energy.