Buford gave Steven a worried look as he trundled over.

Margie gave him one too. “You want to do what you’ve described as ‘an ice pick being driven into your brain,’ on purpose?”

Steven nodded. “For science.“

He waved his hand as she glared. “I want to see how much stronger the shield has gotten from being Tempered again. And then I want to see how much stronger my Anchor Shield makes it.”

Margie frowned. “If you think Buford can just crack the shield without breaking it, then I’m all for that, but I’m not sure if he has the fine control.“

Buford gave a hesitant wag as Margie slowly nodded.

Steven called the shield, and Margie waved to it. “Go on, boy. Bite it and try to crack it if you can, but break it if you have to.“

Buford stared at Steven for a beat, his eyes gleaming with intelligence. He gently bit down on the shield.

His jaws tensed, and he slowly ramped up the pressure. After about five seconds of that, the shield cracked and shattered.

Pain.

It was just as intense as ever, but Steven was not the same as he had been.

He shrugged off the backlash in half the time it usually took him.

Passing through a Threshold definitely made it easier to handle, but it was more than that.

After having his shields broken so many times in the middle of fights, Steven had just gotten better at tanking the pain.

He walked over to the Anchor Shield. Once the throbbing faded, he studied the shield more closely.

The Anchor Shield gave off a gentle green glow in what he guessed was a 10-foot radius around it, and the glow seemed to be a perfect sphere.

He called a shield inside the aura.

He could tell the difference immediately. The shield felt solid in his mind, like a ceiling being held up by a pillar

Margie waved Buford forward.

He clamped his jaws down on the shield and slowly increased the force. And kept increasing it.

Five seconds passed, and nothing happened. Then, five more.

Finally, some cracks began to appear, but they were faint and didn’t spread.

Margie whistled.

“That’s no small jump. He went from shattering it in seconds to struggling to crack it.”

Steven grinned at the shield. “And that’s on top of being another shield I can throw at things. However, I can’t use it like Hand-Shields. It's got a thirty-minute cooldown that only starts once it’s been banished or destroyed, so I have to be more deliberate with it.”

Micheal crouched to start petting Buford. “Shield Pull? Keep Compass Push on the Hand-Shields and use the pull to reposition the Anchor as needed?”

Steven nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. Though I won’t be able to make my charged shots with that setup.”

He stared at the shield, feeling his connection to it like a line stretching out from his chest. “If I need to really stop something, layering my Tower Shield in front of this thing should stop anything we’ve seen so far.”

Micheal nodded, then froze. “Traits!”

Steven blinked. “Huh?”

“Our Trait shops! Let’s check them!”

The Trait shop was usually such a non-factor in his day that he forgot it existed sometimes. Now though…

Would you like to roll for your tier 2 Traits?

“Yes.”

“…Say, are you a fan of gotcha?”

“Are you going to use that same joke every time?”

“Yes.”

Rolling for Traits…

Ding! You got lucky! Two whole Traits to choose from!

Trait upgrades: All Tingly.

All Stinky

Effect: All Tingly now links scent along with hearing.

Cost: 1 TP

That was…hmm. Steven supposed there were situations where that could be useful, but he couldn’t think of too many.

I Can’t Hurt Me!

Effect: Take reduced damage from your own shields.

Cost: 3 TP

Steven bought the second Trait immediately.

The Trait Points left him, and a new sense of power settled into him.

He smiled and, without warning, called a shield and used Compass Push to shove it into his chest.

It struck, slamming home with a thud!

There was very little pain, but the force carried right through.

Steven flew back, slamming onto his ass with a grunt.

Micheal and Margie yelled, and the others ran over.

“What the hell!” Margie shouted.

Steven rubbed his ribs, grinning like a fool. Then he sent them all his new Traits.

Micheal stared at the air, then laughed. “You dick! I thought you’d lost your mind!”

Steven laughed as he stood. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. It barely hurt! Well, falling on my ass hurt a bit, but the shield's force carried through me without hurting like it should.”

“You’re thinking of using it to help you-”

Micheal cut off as the System’s voice roared into their heads.

“The Beasts of the North are nearly done with their wait. In one hour, they will break free from their lairs and come hunting. If you're in the Beast's territory, I’d suggest not being there.”

“They’ll be coming for whatever catches their eyes and noses. so you can either get a hurry on and fight them on their turf, or you can fight them in the streets.” It laughed, the sound full of joy. “Good luck Anchorage! It’s gonna be a hell of a night, one way or another!”

Its tone changed slightly as it lowered its voice, and Steven knew these words were just for him.

“I just want to make this clear, even though I’m sure you already know. Bullwinkle holds a grudge.”

Steven clenched his fists as the memory of that first night filled his mind. The moose’s eyes staring down, the malice filling them, its hoof hanging. Making him squirm.

“You know what? So do I.”