The three hunters weren't startled by the figure approaching, but they remained attentive while inspecting the newcomer. One of the hunters stood up to meet him and after introducing each other, Bones joined them by the fire.

I thought I would be in my room by now. The wolves truly had me run around, chasing them for a long time. Still…

ding

Congratulations! Soul Weaver had leveled up!

You have learned a new skill: Soul Spark

Finally, the fruit of my effort.

Soul Spark: An ability affiliated with creation magic. Enables the user to infuse an item or an object, depending on the user, with a fragment of their soul. The results may vary according to the user's class.

Warning: The user's soul will be in a weakened state for a period of time after using the skill.

Synergy detected!

Use Soul Spark on Golem Core: Skully

Yes/No

The skill automatically detects the objects I can infuse? This is somewhat what I was hoping would happen! But now's not the time. I need to make preparations. The skill doesn't specify in what way it would affect Skully and the aftereffect of using the skill worries me.

"You're going to warm up in no time sitting so close to the fire! Your jacket seemed to suffer some damage from the attacks. Claws attacks? Are you doing the subjugation quest for the guild?" The person sitting next to Bones asked, drawing attention. Bones dismissed the screen in front of him and checked his jacket for tears and holes. He didn't pay much attention to the damage he received before, but now that he took a closer look, even with self-repair enchantment they were still in the process of repairing.

I guess the damage I received while chasing them accumulated over time. Especially the attacks done by Wind Blades. They left quite deep marks on my bones…anyway what did the hunter just ask me?

"Pardon? Subjugation quest? Ah, I'm a bit sensitive to the cold." Bones repeated and said after realizing he still had goggles and a few layers of clothing on.

"Yes. The subjugation of wolves in the area?"

"Oh, no no - I was in passing and heard about the infamous alpha duo, so I thought I'd come and see them for myself." Bones explained with a chuckle.

"I see. And? How was it? Did you manage to catch any?" The hunter nodded and asked with a wide grin. The other two hunters perked up hearing the question and focused on the ongoing conversation.

"...I couldn't catch them." Bones reluctantly admitted to the chortle of the hunters. "Are you three here for the wolves as well?" Bones asked. The hunters seem decent, two were level thirty and one was level thirty-one. If they coordinated their attacks, they could pose a real threat to the alphas.

"Oh no, we gave up on trying to hunt those two years ago. We're hunting a different game, like wild boars and small game for meat and fur. Animals at night are more active and dangerous, so we set up camp overnight while waiting for the morning. We plan to leave at dawn. Are you staying with us? You are more than welcome to stay."

"Thank you for the invitation, but I wasn't planning on staying that long. I'm heading back to Melville so I'll be leaving before dawn."

"Melville? You're pretty far from the town." One of the other hunters commented.

"Is this not the direction of the town?" Bones asked, suspecting the worst.

"No, this is opposite of the town. Y-you're not very good with directions, are you?"

"..."

"Well, no shame in that. We've been hunting here for years so we know our way around. Melville is…that way!" The hunter pointed south west, right over Bones.

Bones turned in the direction the hunter pointed, then back at the man, nodding and thanking him for the directions. The rest of the night passed mostly in silence and the sounds of the fire cracking. Like Bones said, an hour before the dawn, he wished the hunters good luck in their hunt and headed back in the direction of Melville.

Later that day around noon, Bones sat on his bed with a golem core in his hand. In front of him was a screen with a system message asking him if he wanted to proceed with infusing the golem core with the soul spark. Bones stared at the message for a while before storing the golem core in the inventory and dismissing the message. Before doing anything that might have unforeseen and permanent effects on his one and only golem, he wanted to make sure he had everything ready. Instead, he summoned an orc skeleton and worked on the engravings until evening, when he left the comfort of his room and headed to the workshop to meet with Mark and pick up his Lizardman's skeleton.

The sudden drop in temperature caused the occasional snow flurries to cover the streets in a thin layer of snow. It was the first snow of the new year and Bones recalled the time he left Stonefalls and headed towards the city of Hagos for the first time. The path over the mountain was treacherous. Even more so with the snow trolls inhabiting the area.

Aberant, the Troll King - I wonder if he's still there, sitting on his throne.

To think I'd receive the quest to -

Bones opened up his quest screen and stopped in his trek. It was empty. Both the quest pertaining to the Troll King and clearing the dungeon were gone.

I suppose quite a bit of time has passed since. Or perhaps is it because of the distance? I am two kingdoms away from the Wezar Kingdom afterall.

*continues walking*

No matter! I can clear the dungeon from start to the end at a later date - and I'd rather not be involved with the troll.

"Hm?" Bones looked up and saw he had reached the workshop without realizing. He entered and headed straight upstairs where Mark was finishing for the day.

"Mr. Jones! I thought you might not be coming in today!"

"Figured I'd give you as much time as possible. Have you already finished with my request?"

"I did! Give me a moment to close the workshop and we'll be on our way! The body isn't here, but at the butchery so we'll have to make a short trip there."

Bones nodded and waited until Mark finished, then they both headed east, coincidently toward the inn Bones stayed in. On the way there, Mark asked Mr. Jones what he needed bones for and Bones didn't hide the fact that his class was a Bonemancer. Mark seemed unperturbed and shared that, while he had never seen a Bonemancer before, he had seen users with golem related classes.

As far as minions go, Bones learned that golems were commonly used in production, excavating and security. Their programming and what they were made off differed depending on their use. And their capability on the user's skill level and ability to program a nucleus.

Mark stopped in front of the butcher's shop with large windows displaying the variety of meat on sale.

"We're here. Come, the butchery is in the back."

Bones followed after Mark and into the back entrance of the building. On the ground floor was a butchery and a shop, and on the upper floor a place of residency. The shop closed early so Mark led Bones through the butchery and into the office at the back of the shop.

"I'm just going to pick up the bill and we can go back to the butchery!"

Mark took a paper bill from a drawer of a desk and handed it to Bones who took it and quickly skimmed through. The bill listed every service done and salvaged commodities from harvesting service. The list was rather long and Bones didn't particularly care how accurate it was.

"The price on the bill is the final price after taking into account the body parts sold to us, the use of our tools and chemicals used to clean the skeleton - the butcher's and the leather smith's service as well. I think you'll find the price to match the quality of our service!" Mark said. Bones didn't think much of the bill and just nodded.

I expected the bill to be at least a hundred gold but it's barely half that.

The organs and meat sold from harvesting didn't amount to much. The organs were of some value but the meat had a rough texture and required an expert cook to handle it. The scales fetched the highest price and they halved the price of the bill. Bones didn't care much about the price as he still had thousands of gold in inventory. What he did care about was the Elite Lizardman's skeleton and true to his words, Mark delivered a quality service.

He remained quiet while Bones circled the butcher's table and observed the neatly placed pristine white bones of the lizardman.

"You're a man of your words, Mark. I have nothing but praise for the job well done! I didn't expect even the tiniest of bones to remain unscathed."

"I'm pleased to hear that Mr. Jones. I do hope in the future you will think of us whenever you will be in need of the services we provide again."

Bones stored the skeleton in inventory and after having small talk with Mark, returned to the inn and covered the bill. In the middle of the night, he skipped the town of Melville and headed over the border and into the Mapleton Kingdom.

The new kingdom shared familiarities with the Quntis Kingdom in that they were both minor kingdoms and relied on hunting and agriculture to survive. The major difference between them is that Mapleton Kingdom has many hilly regions where bandits often resided.

Bones found a remote spot in a grove with a handful of trees to stay in - located in a steep valley between two such hills, overlooking a stream and a narrow dirt road. In front of him Skully knelt and next to him on the snowy ground laid a new skeleton. Bones was eager to finally start making changes to Skully but now, he started having different ideas.

I thought Skully was faulted because he didn't have that primal behavior of his living brethren, but now that I think about it some more - do I want him fighting like that Elite Lizardman? Throwing away his weapon and moving on all four…

No. Skully is fine as is! What he needs isn't a change but the capability to grow and learn how to fight with advantages of both the human and the lizardman.

Originally I planned to try and fuse the bones from the elite lizardman to Skully's skeleton using shaping but - why would I go through that much trouble instead of just switching Skully' core from the current body to a new one?!

That seems…more practical! I would need to make some adjustments first and remove some of the tiny bones that serve no purpose without the flesh. As for Skully…

"My apologies old boy, but the new body should make you a more efficient golem!"

Bones placed a hand on top of the skull and shaped an opening, then removed a marble-like object the size of his fist. He stored the golem core for later use and stored Skully's previous body before turning to a new one and immediately started working on the adjustments.

After an hour, Bones was satisfied with the changes and immediately started working on the engravings for the next few hours.

It was morning and the light basked Bones in warm light. An occasional withered leaf - barely clinging onto the imposing maple trees - fluttered down and landed on top of him. Caught up in work, he didn't even notice. When he finished, he jumped to his feet and posed victoriously.

"When did it get so bright? At least a few hours must have passed!"

It was snowing yesterday but it seems today is going to be a warm day. What little snow accumulated already started melting away.

He stretched a few times and his bones made snapping sounds. It was time.

In the worst case scenario, I'll have to create Skully anew using the spare mana core.

Bones extended an arm and summoned Skully's golem core in his hand. He held it still for a few seconds before focusing on the skill Soul Spark. Something unexplainable sort of just - clicked, and Bones felt he knew how to separate a piece of his soul into a fragment, a spark!

Excruciating pain scrambled his senses. Like something pierced through every imaginable layer of defense he had, both physical and mental, and bore down on his very soul. Bones endured through the pain and guided the spark from his own core toward his chests, then through the shoulder and down the arm - finally, the spark merged with the core in his hand.

Glaring light radiated from the core for a brief moment, then dimmed until it faded away.

ding!

Bones’ arm holding the core suddenly plunged and he keeled over, almost dropping the golem core. He feebly held onto the core until the pain subdued.

"This - " *groan* "- better be worth it!"

Warning!

The user has been afflicted with status 'Weakend'

ding!

Congratulations!

Golem Core: Skully has been successfully upgraded to Soul Core: Skully [unique]