After hurriedly gathering the contents of both mine carts, I decided it was a good idea to take stock of the area around me.

  I’d spent enough time being careless since I’d entered this place. Twenty minutes of scouting nearby corridors and tunnels led me to conclude that if anything else dangerous was in the immediate area… I couldn’t see it. That didn’t rule out there being an enemy in the vicinity, so I was still choosing to keep quiet and limit the use of my light crystal.

  Speaking of which… it was beginning to blink and flicker every twenty seconds or so. I was pretty sure it was going to run out of charge eventually, or possibly just break. Considering that, I was using this time spent scouting to try and get more familiar with [Moonlit Grace], specifically the heightened senses it boasted.

  I didn’t manage to level the ability, but the strain on my mind felt a little less severe after repeated use. I was still only managing ten to fifteen seconds of enhanced everything at a time, but it was better than nothing. I could hold it for longer if I was standing still, but the moment I tried to move or do anything, I soon felt dizzy and nauseous. It was as if my depth perception was being completely thrown.

  For the sparing moments that I could handle my new ability before toggling it off, it was proving useful. The boost to my hearing told me which directions held potential enemies, while the enhanced sight allowed me to chart a course using only short flashes of my light crystal.

  …or stumble into a wall and hit my head. I managed to do that at least once. Like I said, this new ability made me dizzy, and it wasn’t really optimised for seeing well in the dark like [Savage Reflex] had been.

  That said, it was definitely something I could learn to do with more focus. The vision tools were all there, they were just surrounded by a layer of visual noise. Dense pockets of air distracted me whenever I toggled the ability on, each of them carrying subtle tints that might have denoted the type of mana that each mass represented. Some where blue, others green, some brown, and at least one had been a bright white, almost blinding.

  When I toggled the ability off, I made a stunning realisation.

  The soft white colour had been replaced with the shape of something that almost resembled a possum. Or maybe some other kind of rodent.

  The creature was long, with quills along its back, and, unlike a possum, seemed to boast an extra pair of legs, as well as an incredibly long snout. Moreover, the creature appeared somewhat shiny. As if its pelt glistened in the dark.

  I toggled [Moonlit Grace] on again. And then off once more.

  Was I… detecting the life force of this creature?

  If that was the case, it was incredibly useful. I’d need to find another living thing to compare against before I could be sure, though.

  A couple of minutes later, about halfway through searching the perimeter, I saw another shifting formation of mana, this one denser, and an earthy yellow.

  I slowly moved closer, not shining my light and attempting to discern what it was I’d managed to find from a distance. I didn’t want to alert the creature to my presence, especially considering there was a good chance it was a threat.

  It took a lot of strain and a fair deal of toggling with [Moonlit Grace] as I crouched against a wall, but in time, the shape and features of the monster began to reveal themselves to me.

  This thing was much larger than the possum-like creature I’d encountered earlier, a four-legged monster with huge hind legs that almost took the shape of a buffalo.

  That being said, the creature appeared to be grazing, and… I was pretty sure it was docile? I could sense that?

  [Moonlit Grace: 1 >> 2.]

  My heart felt calm around it. I was almost certain it wouldn’t attack me if it saw me.

  I didn’t decide to test that theory, but I did decide to go find the possum creature again to see if I could make a similar determination.

  Nope. There were more of them this time, but I couldn’t even begin to make a determination regarding their aggression level. I wasn’t even sure how I’d made the first assumption. Was it just a gut feeling, or something more?

  It gave me something new to ponder as I searched the rest of the surrounding caves.

  The areas around me mainly consisted of corridors and walkways. Some of them were clearly manmade, or at the very least, altered by the drassians, as they were so straight and perfect I struggled to imagine they’d existed like that previously. These tunnels often held tracks that mine carts were meant to run along, and other remnants of drassian work remained scattered around.

  One tool that stuck out to me was something called an oscillation hammer, a large instrument resembling a sledgehammer that I couldn’t lift with one hand.

  I could store it, though. A read of its description told me it was a tool used to measure the vibrations of a surface in order to see how far down a material ran. Drassians probably tested with tools like these before determining where to place their industrial mining equipment.

  Sounded useful. I wondered if I could break it down and turn it into something one-handed? It was definitely worth considering such things if I didn’t find a way to recover my left arm soon. Even if I did fix my arm, downsizing heavy items wouldn’t hurt.

  Scouting complete, and a second oscillation hammer recovered, I returned to the site of my battle with the marilik and decided to start running through my inventory.

  I was fairly certain nothing in the immediate area was hunting me, after all, and now seemed as good a time as any. I wanted to equip myself as best I could before continuing my journey.

  First thing was running through the new named stones I’d found. Of note were the Corrosive, Earth, Pyre, Control, and Spirit Stones I’d received.

  There were fifteen Control Stones in my possession, all of them ranging from C Grade, of which I had six, to D Grade, which made up the majority. I’d also managed to find six Earth Stones, half of which were C Grade, a trio of D Grade Pyre Stones, four D Grade Corrosive Stones, and a dozen Spirit Stones, three of which were C Grade.

  Notably, these stones were much larger than the flakes and pieces of similar stones that I’d chipped off and hidden away during my last excursion to the underground. Some were the size of my fist, and some even larger than that. Whether size directly affected potency was something I would need to test, but assumedly, it’d be prudent to break up some of the larger stones into smaller pieces so that I could get more use out of them.

  Reading the description of Earth Stones was interesting to say the least:

  [Earth Stone, C Grade: Earth Stones can be consumed to bolster the resilience and durability of organic matter, as well as being a strong foundation in alloys for the construction, reinforcement, or enhancement of various objects. Consuming Earth Stones has a low chance to impart an Earth-based skill to the user, based upon the user’s Earth affinity. Excessive consumption of Earth Stones without sufficient mana cycling, core strength, or effective impurity removal may lead to calcification of Earth Mana inside of the user’s body, increasing risks of hypertension, heightened blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, heart failure, stroke, major organ failure, and hair loss.]

  I stared at the innocuous lump of clay in my hand. It looked scarier with every word I read.

  Okay… might wanna find a test subject for these things before I started munching on them. Still, enhanced durability sounded useful, and it wasn’t like I had no clue how to cycle. I’d definitely hold onto them. Worst case, I could use them to help build something. Or to upgrade a skill.

  At least consuming it wouldn’t set me on fire.

  Come to think of it, couldn’t I use Recovery Stones to flush impurities that built up from Earth Stone usage? Maybe I wouldn’t discount these things yet, after all.

  That said, I hadn’t managed to find more Recovery Stones. I did find more Spirit Stones, however, and these ones were stronger than those I’d previously used.

  The description read the same, so I imagined the only way I’d really be able to tell the difference was by consuming one…

  I decided to hold off for now. I was definitely willing to try a small dose, even if it meant breaking off a piece a fraction of the size of what I typically ingested, but I knew how Spirit Stones often wanted to make me move, and I didn’t want the distraction just yet.

  Corrosive Stones were about what I’d expected:

  [Corrosive Stone, D Grade: Used to break down stubborn materials. Extremely dangerous to ingest. Can be used to paralyse or otherwise incapacitate high-durability targets for short periods. Burns through mana within organic materials.]

  That sounded… like something I didn’t wanna put into my body.

  That didn’t make it at all useless. What if I could turn this into a weapon somehow?

  A bullet comprised of a Corrosive Stone, an arrowhead, the tip of a knife…

  I needed a means to deal with higher Tiered enemies, after all, didn’t I? This could be just the ticket, if I could find a feasible way to deliver the payload.

  I had four of these little green crystals. I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to fashion them into usable weapons, but I wanted to keep it in mind. If anything, I was very interested in figuring out how to make more bullets in general. I was hoping I’d find more at the facility, but my turret was beginning to run low and I’d already drained my submachine gun of its last magazine.

  Considering the facility was the only place I’d found these, and likely wasn’t an endless source, I was going to need to figure out how to make more. The applications of bullets felt limited when I considered how ineffective they’d felt versus someone as low tiered as Toar, but the idea of custom-making more powerful ammo was an eye-opener. If I knew how crafting a bullet worked, and if I could replicate it with more powerful materials, or tailor my bullets to certain enemies, then the speed and fire-rate of a gun could make me incredibly lethal.

  Last consideration was the Pyre Stone. D Grade was an upgrade from what I was used to. An E Grade Pyre Stone had almost killed me the first time I’d used it…

  But now that I had the newer one to replace my remaining E Grade, that gave me an idea.

  First step was finding a body of water. It took me around forty minutes of backtracking to find the stream I’d camped near last night. I’d already scanned this area previously, but doing so again with [Moonlit Grace], I felt a similar feeling emanating from the small, burrowing furry creatures as I had when looking at the buffalo, as well as another earthy hue, though it wasn’t the exact same tint of yellow.

  I wasn’t sure if the colours denoted mana type, intent, or something else. It could be a coincidence that both of these creatures had yellow mana signatures, and that I got the distinct impression both creature types had been docile. Either way, I felt comfortable making camp here. That might’ve been a holdover from the fact I hadn’t been attacked last night, but if I was going to get any more rest before continuing my quest, this was the safest place to do it.

  That said, I wouldn’t have journeyed all the way back here just because I wanted somewhere nice to sleep. No. I had something else in mind.

  And that was maxing out [Flame Body]. I had a new Pyre Stone to replace my old one, now, and that meant the second E Grade Stone was up for consumption.

  Ideally, I was hoping I could max out [Flame Body], learn a fire resistance skill, and break up the mana blockade in my noodle arm all at the same time. Hence me stabbing the Pyre Stone into my left forearm as I sat within the running stream.

  Once again, searing flames erupted all over me, and this time, I was ready.

  Well, about as ready as one could be when setting themselves on fire, but I knew what to expect this time. I’d stripped to avoid ruining more of my clothes, and I’d grit my teeth before beginning to avoid biting my own tongue. Next was sitting in the feeling and getting everything I could out of the invading flames. I had my last superior health pot on standby in case I needed it, as well as one of Selsor’s if I felt I could get away with lesser healing. All I wanted was to gain that skill.

  Five seconds of being on fire was one thing, fifteen was something entirely different. I felt myself tapping into [Moonlit Grace] to try and weather the pain, but while it did little to block out the sensations, like [Savage Reflex] might have, it did give me more context. Allowed me to feel my body reacting, the mana within me attempting to acclimate to the roaring energy exploding all around me.

  It brought some sense of order to the pain. Some rigidity. Instructed my body on how to respond and mitigate the damage. My [Flame Body] worked of its own accord, mitigating the pain as best it could, but I attempted to focus it on specific areas, to embrace the flame rather than reject it.

  I didn’t want to lean back in the stream. I didn’t want to pause to heal. I wanted to ride out the pain and absorb the fire and all of its energy into my own being. I’d sooner do that than douse it.

  For a time, I began to wonder if I was being overzealous. If all I was going to accomplish by doing this was slowly cooking myself alive. But, given an entire minute under the terrible heat, the sensations of pain began to give way to something more…

  There was an understanding in there, deep within my body. It had likely been born from my use of [Flame Body], but it existed past that now. As its own entity. I could feel the mana within me rise and react to the pain, move to mitigate the damage, to keep my body intact. I looked at my skin and saw that despite the active flames, the burns weren’t nearly as severe as they might’ve been only a few weeks ago.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  I was doing it. I was baptising my body in heat, birthing a new level of resilience and strength. My first attempt had been uncontrolled bedlam. This was determination and control.

  The flames began to douse themselves over time. I felt them meld with my [Flame Body] and move into it, becoming another part of the mana I already possessed. I fought the urge to scream at first, but over time, the level of pain devolved to that of a growl, and then nothing at all. It was inconsequential. I could weather it. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as it had the first time. I’d learned to resist fire.

  [Fire Resistance: Level 1 Acquired!]

  Looking over myself, I took a swig of Selsor’s health potion. Thankfully, the effects of [Flame Body] had been enough to limit the damage almost entirely to minor burns. I didn’t even need the superior health potion to bounce back this time.

  Not only that, but I’d achieved another goal I’d set out for as well:

  [Flame Body: 9 >> 10. Hard cap reached.]

  I’d mastered it already. Well, mastered in my sense of mastery. I knew that skill levels could go much further than ten. But, with my ability to refine and combine, I also knew I could move far past this point. And I was excited to do so.

  Would I combine [Flame Body] now? What with? Would I simply refine it?

  I knew I wanted to use the Armored Core I’d picked up on this ability. I’d been saving it with that in mind, and would’ve continued to do so if this stunt hadn’t gotten [Flame Body] to ten, but the specifics of what new ability I wanted to unearth were still a mystery to me.

  I mulled it over as I once again tried to tense my left arm.

  I’d hoped to affect the clump of dormant mana residing within it, but it seemed that even setting myself on fire had barely made the buildup budge. My arm was nearly as stubborn as ever. I could barely tense it, and even then it was almost completely numb.

  If there had been any sense of recovery from that feat, it had been incredibly minor. Less than even five percent. I’d need to continue searching for alternative means to get my arm working again.

  Before that, it was time to eat something. Nothing built an appetite like fighting for your life, and I’d done plenty of that today. I pulled some madmaw jerky out of my [Hoard] and began to munch on it, finding it was still warm from when I’d originally stored it.

  Definitely one of the more useful features of my [Hoard]. The ability to enjoy an instant hot meal was something I treasured beyond measure.

  One day I’d buy some spices and take them with me everywhere. Tasting Ceri’s food was eye-opening for me. For all that warmth was a godsend, madmaw meat was tough and light on flavour.

  I began considering potential combination synergies between Flame Body and other skills. I had multiple at or approaching ten, after all, and this was a good time to think about it.

  [Pickaxe Mastery] was at ten. So was [Throwing]. [Perception] was at nine, but reaching ten on that skill was taking time. [Running] sat at eight. Same with a few other skills.

  Having other level ten skills I could add wasn’t a strong enough impetus to do so. I didn’t want to dilute the effects of [Flame Body] by combining it with non-synergenistic skills. I wanted to improve it while preserving at least most of its core function.

  So [Pickaxe Mastery] was immediately out. Anything I combined that with was going to be too skewed towards the usage of tools. [Perception] was interesting but felt like a much more likely candidate to be merged with something like [Moonlit Grace] even if I had it at ten. [Running] or [Climbing] might be contenders. I could merge with a single skill that wasn’t ten yet.

  Still, I was hesitant. Such combinations might strip the versatility away from what was currently my most versatile skill.

  It didn’t escape my notice that consuming this Pyre Stone hadn’t offered me a fire-based skill like it had last time. Not that I was complaining. It had helped me to max out my existing one, plus learn [Fire Resistance]. But if there was anything I might’ve been willing to combine with [Flame Body], it’d likely have been another Pyre Stone-based skill.

  The more I thought about it, the more I realised that the best chance I had of not screwing up [Flame Body] was to not add more skills to it, but instead to add plenty of materials and cores which I could source from when picking a potential evolution.

  So I chose the [Refinement] option. When it came to material sacrifices, I put in a variety of things.

  A single D Grade Pyre Stone went into my offerings, as did the Armoured Core. I dumped in about two hundred gold’s worth of metals and gems, the biggest offering I’d ever made, and considered throwing in something else as well.

  It was a small blue ball a little bigger than a marble that a streaky red current ran through. That current danced and jittered around the shiny ball when I ran it around my palm, shocking my hand in a slightly uncomfortable way. The item was called an [Electrostatic Matrix]. I stored it to read more about it.

  [Electrostatic Matrix: A gem that has generated an electric charge, dormant when not interacting with sources of electromagnetism—reactive in proportion to energy encountered. Absorption may allow the user to generate their own Lightning Mana, or help with understanding the foundations of mana charges. Requires a durable core to reliably hold.]

  Reading that was confusing… was I a source of electromagnetism? Or at least a faint one? The little ball definitely didn’t seem dormant when it was in my hand, considering it was shocking me. Would absorbing it cause it to shock me even more? Or constantly?

  I decided to hold off doing anything with it right now. I wasn’t sure how durable my core was, and didn’t want to waste the small item. I had no clue how rare it was, as the description didn’t specify, but the gem itself must’ve been valuable, as the price was listed as fifty gold pieces.

  And that was for something the size of my fingertip. I almost threw it into [Flame Body]’s refinement on a whim but I refrained.

  Once everything was properly prepared, I hit [Refine].

  [Flame Body has been refined.]

  [Material Sacrifice of an Aspect has resulted in increased refinement choices.]

  [Please choose from the following options:]

  Screens filled up my vision, but physically, no change yet. The options read:

  [Burning Soul (rare): charge your core with heat reaching hundreds of degrees in volume, majorly increasing heat tolerance as well as command over Flame Mana. All ambient mana within user’s body is now converted to Flame Mana. Gain the ability to spark fires along surfaces within your body’s reach, as well as ignite ambient mana within three feet of you. Burning Soul triples mana expenditure on average, stripping oxygen from the environment and transmuting all flammable chemicals within the user’s vicinity.]

  That sounded… very potent. Destructive? Yes. But tempting nonetheless.

  Obviously, it was a major upgrade to [Flame Body]. The ability to spark fires of my own accord, or to heat my body to even greater levels than I could previously manage. All of those things sounded great.

  What didn’t sound great was the increased energy demand that this new skill expected. Plus what seemed like an inability to turn the skill off.

  Converting all ambient mana I received to Flame Mana might not hurt me in the immediate term, but it definitely crippled my versatility. Taking this upgrade meant I’d have to index exclusively into fire skills for at least the coming weeks and possibly longer, depending on how long this skill took to develop, and I wasn’t sure that was always practical. I knew that other beings could be fire resistant, such as Naska, and I imagined there were downsides to combusting any available oxygen when I was underground in a mist-laden cave.

  Not to mention being so hot all the time. Even if my heat tolerance grew to match it, would it be uncomfortable? And it was hardly subtle. I couldn’t imagine a more clear indicator of ‘that guy has fire abilities’ than walking around feeling to everyone in the vicinity as if I was a walking fire pit. What if people found ways to counteract my abilities because I couldn’t sufficiently hide them?

  I was becoming increasingly iffy about [Burning Soul]. For all that it upgraded the fire-related components of [Flame Body], it felt as if it came with a fair few downsides. I kept on reading, hoping my second option would seem more promising.

  [Kinetic Shell (rare): Burn mana to enhance speed and power. Create heat-based barriers with your motions, layering around your body and environment and slowing the movement of energy flowing in your direction. Heat, motion, and malleability of said barriers is determined by user control and mastery. Retain a level of heat tolerance and some internal control of Flame Mana.]

  This one. I barely even had to think about it.

  This allowed me to hold onto most aspects of [Flame Body] while giving me entirely new skills. Being able to enhance my physical attributes using mana was reason enough on its own for me to choose this path, and that was even if the increases were only temporary. Most of my worries in combat and survival centred around the weakness of my body. Anything that mitigated that for me was a welcome change, especially when I had a big stockpile of mana, at least for my Tier, and limited ways to currently use it.

  Speaking of which… this new skill also offered something I was incredibly excited to start experimenting with, even if I had no clue how the skill itself might handle this… a means to externally use my own mana.

  [Flame Body] had allowed me to heat my own body, and even burn others or heat items through that, but I hadn’t been able to set anything ablaze, or even start a campfire using my heat alone. I simply didn’t have the control to push mana through my gates while maintaining its structure and potency. The second it left me, whatever construct I’d manifested internally would fall apart.

  This skill said I could manifest barriers. It spoke about it as if it were an intrinsic thing I would immediately learn to do, though it explained that control would be a factor in determining how effective those barriers were and what exactly I could do with them.

  What I was beginning to wonder was… could I use this new skill as a foundation to learn how to bring forth my mana in general? Could I manipulate these barriers into being other things, somehow? Would they be like physical shapes I could interact with? Or nondescript clusters of energy I could barely comprehend, like those I saw within [Moonlit Grace]?

  There was only one way to find out. I reread both skills a couple more times just to be safe, but I picked [Kinetic Shell] without much doubt or reconsideration.

  There was less of an internal shift than I’d anticipated. [Flame Body] was quite similar to this new skill, even with less features, and my core barely had to tighten or contort in order to facilitate the new transmutation.

  I immediately attempted to ‘activate’ [Kinetic Shell] in the same way I usually would [Flame Body[, the means that had become almost second-nature to me in recent weeks.

  I soon discovered they didn’t quite work the same. I frowned as I searched for the familiar feeling of my body heating up, only to discover it was simmering at about half the intensity that I was used to.

  Then I brought a hand up to inspect it, and I immediately felt the roaring change.

  As I focussed my body on keeping [Kinetic Shell] active, I felt the lion’s share of that internal heat layering my body rush towards my forearm, a small portion shooting from my fingertips as well as the back of my hand.

  The area around my arm had immediately roared in heat, burning just as hot as [Flame Body] allowed, perhaps slightly hotter. Further to that, I’d seen literal heat jump from my hand when I’d performed that motion. Was it possible I’d just constructed a barrier for the first time?

  I layered [Moonlit Grace] over my [Kinetic Shell], using it to try and see beyond my sight’s limit and determine what exactly had happened.

  There was a faint impression of energy residing along the air just in front of me, energy I soon recognised as my own. There was a distinct sense of warmth to it that lingered for around fifteen seconds before it began to fade…

  I sliced my hand across the air once more, pushing mana and power into the strike, and this time, I didn’t even need [Moonlit Grace] to see the effect.

  It was as if I’d carved into the air itself. A small orange line rippled in the atmosphere, radiating with heat. My hand passed through it effortlessly, though I felt a measure of resistance as I tried to withdraw my appendage.

  It was like moving my hand through mud. After a few seconds of strain, the barrier loosened and dissipated, but I couldn’t argue that it was there, nor that it had affected me.

  Would it affect others more than it did me? Burn them? Was it easier for me to see because I recognised my own mana signatures?

  I had so many questions. And a whole new skill to play with.

  I couldn’t wait to start experimenting.

  ***

  I managed a few hours’ sleep before getting back on with my journey. I used the time retracing my steps to the Drassian mines to practice burning mana for speed. It wasn’t as effortless as I’d anticipated; the feat required manipulation of my internal energy, pushing it into my arms and legs, then commanding them to use the gathered energy to increase the force of my movements. It ached a little, too. Made my heart pump as I pushed myself to speeds I’d only experienced under the influence of Spirit Stones.

  After an hour of intermittent running and huffing breath through shaky lungs, I needed a break. I sat in a large cavern with multiple walkways above, cross-legged, and attempted to regain my energy.

  I’d already scanned this area. It seemed empty besides some quadruped creatures that were about the size of small dogs, though they also appeared capable of walking on two legs. Their arms were kind of gangly and they in some ways resembled humanoids, though I had no clue what they were or if they even paralleled anything that existed on my planet.

  Either way, they seemed curious about me, and kept looking my way, but they appeared harmless, if only due to their size, and their mana signatures were that same earthy colour that I’d come to so far associate with docile creatures.

  It didn’t mean I was ignoring the small things entirely, but I at least felt comfortable catching my breath in this room. I found a large, smooth stone, the closest I’d came to a comfortable seat in a good while, and sat down, feeling the relief in my wobbly legs the instant the weight was off of them.

  I kept practicing with my mana as I sat there. It was almost instinctual at this point. Even with a tired body, my mind was awake, and I knew that after a night of recovery I had plenty of mana to spare.

  And so I decided to play with my barriers some more.

  I wasn’t sure how to increase the duration of them just yet, but I could tell the effectiveness generally seemed to correlate with how much mana I put into my motion. I could even generate barriers while running, though I could choose not to. Part of what made [Kinetic Shell] feel so efficient was that I could choose how much I wanted to put into it, meaning the only issues centred around the limit of my maximum, rather than a minimum requirement for use.

  In other words, if I wanted to practice with lots of weak barriers, I could. In fact, that’s what I was doing now. Layering them one on top of the other and seeing if I could balance something atop them.

  In this case, it was a Spirit Stone from my [Hoard]. The little crystal shard was light enough that it felt like a good object to attempt to balance atop my barriers, and I wasn’t worried about the sturdy stone breaking.

  Which was a good thing, as it fell through the air multiple times. It fell slowly, its descent more like that of something sinking than the familiar pull of gravity, but nonetheless, my barriers didn’t manage to hold it afloat.

  Well, at least initially. It took some time and a lot of swiping my hand through the air, but I eventually managed to summon stronger barriers, ones that when placed over one another slowed the crystal’s descent to a crawl. It was still sinking, but slowly enough that it may as well have been floating.

  The quadrupeds seemed increasingly interested in me, and what to their eyes must’ve been a small floating crystal.

  When I saw one hop-crawling over, I decided to run another test, this time placing a barrier between it and me.

  I saw its body slow as it came into contact with the area I’d just sliced. It didn’t seem to be pained or particularly scared, but I noticed its body slow to about half speed as it pulled its way through.

  I erected another barrier and repeated the test. Similar results. Layering barriers made the creature even slower, though again, they didn’t seem to cause any harm.

  Interesting. I figured I’d have to increase the strength of these significantly in order to slow larger monsters, or to make them significantly hurt, but this was definitely a start. The fact I could do it by will already was a great accomplishment.

  Satisfied with my progress, I went to pick up my Spirit Stone and consume it, eager to regain a portion of my energy.

  Before I could pick it up, a furred hand reached out and snatched it away.

  Cursing, I reached forwards, just to receive a bushy tail in the face. The creature screamed victory and jumped away.

  I watched as it scaled a wall and ascended to a higher platform, a snarl reaching my lips.

  “Little bastard. Give me my shit back!”

  If it heard me, it didn’t care. It kept going until I lost sight of it. I heard another screech echo from above.

  A less petty individual might’ve cut their losses. Recognised that they had plenty more Spirit Stones available and that losing one wasn’t that big of a deal.

  Not me! I saw this as an excuse to practice my [Climbing]. Maybe my hunting skills too.