He was fully awake now. The dream he had of Sharlot was now just a distant foggy memory. Thanks to this good boy bringing it to me, the chest has been emptied of its contents. Shane gave the friendly grey-hound some scratches between its shoulders, and it nuzzled his leg in response. Looking at what lay in front of him, he saw the smoldering ruins of Cain Prime’s hut.

Bright, burning coals released several tiny tendrils of smoke that floated and vanished into the night sky. Shane walked up to the dilapidated rubble of the dwelling. Sharlot was here, he thought as he absent-mindedly kicked a few unburned wooden panels. Out of the corner of his eye, something small and white caught his attention, and he bent down to pick it up.

It was a blank piece of square paper, not much bigger than a large post-it note. There was something familiar about it, but Shane couldn’t quite capture that elusive realization. Then it hit him; this piece of paper didn’t look or feel like it originated from within this world. He touched the top near the paper’s edge and felt his finger stick to it slightly.

“Sticky paper. Ugh, let me guess,” Shane said as his mood soured.

Turning the slip of paper over revealed what he imagined would be there.

Dear Shane,

I appreciate you leaving that wand by the gravestone for me.

It will serve as a fun toy to test on Sharlot and Liziffer (haha).

Thanks again!

Prime

Shane collected all the saliva in his mouth and spat it all onto the slip of paper. He then crumpled it into a tight ball, ripped it in half, and tossed the two spitty wads into the remaining burning coals of the destroyed hut.

“That rotten fucker!” Shane cursed as he turned away from the mess.

He had never gotten a chance to inspect the wand’s abilities, so he hoped by Cain Prime’s testing that it turned out to be a sleep beam or healing ray.

“Liziffer? Really?!” That pet name for Liz was enough on its own to spark a new level of revulsion for Cain Prime.

“And, of course, he swiped the wand! Just you wait, Prime.” Shane mumbled to himself as he rejoined his skeleton crew and the loot pupper who had just finished urinating on the other side of the hut.

After a couple of deep breaths that helped to quell his anger, Shane opened the quest notification window waiting for him.

-Level 12 Exploration Quest (Part 1) Complete!-

You Have Earned The Following:

Exploration Quest (Part 2) 806 Exp 5 Gold Coins 20 Silver Coins (Uncommon) Shielded Iron Kite Shield of Riposting

A shield that projects a powerful barrier and allows for counterattacks

Hrmm, a shield, huh? He pondered for a moment and considered the benefits versus the cons of using a shield. A defensive tool that allows for counterattacks would undoubtedly have its uses! In truth, he was thinking of Captain America and envisioning himself pulling off some of the iconic hero’s moves.

“Before exploring the shield, I’ve got some leveling to do!” said Shane as he found a new notification pop up from his experience bar being full.

-Congratulations! You Are Now Level 9!-

You Have Earned The Following:

1 Active Feat Slot 1 Active Spell Slot 5 Attribute Points 2 Soul Points

Splitting the five attribute points into his intellect and wisdom meant he finally met the requirement to use the spell that came along with his legendary ring. There was a rush of excitement as he inspected the magic he could now finally use.

Grand Imbibe

(Legendary Light Spell)

Allows the user to absorb a spell or feat from an item permanently.

Range: Self

Cooldown: Once per day, resets at noon.

Requirements: 40 Intellect

Before anything else, Shane wanted to use this spell here and now to finally separate his favorite spell from the hood he was wearing. Activating [Grand imbibe] created a soft white glow around his right hand. Unable to keep from smiling, Shane touched the cloak wrapped around his neck and shoulders. A new window immediately appeared upon doing so.

-Grand Imbibe Activated-

Would you like to siphon the [Skeleton Crew] spell and add it to your permanent active spell list?

Accept/Cancel

Shane eagerly accepted and watched as the white glow of his hand transferred to the green and black cloak draped over his shoulders. After a few moments of silent glowing, the white light faded, and the window’s text changed as expected.

-Notice!-

Grand Imbine Successfully Completed!

[Skeleton Crew] Can Now be Used Seperately From Its Host Item!