8 Chapter 8: Bone Shards
'This Guy makes it sounds like I'm playing a game!' Max thought as a bit of anger boiled in the pit of his stomach.
He breathed in and out deeply a few times before relaxing and moving on to the information and gift he had just been given.
'Tier 4 is required for me to gain real information...' he pondered.
'I suppose that would mean reaching the fourth class advancement,'
'And then I should collect the remaining tar and... bone shards?'
'Hmm...'
'And then 100% the dungeon? What the hell does that even mean?!' Max ranted as he pondered over what 'Big Iron' meant.
'If monsters keep coming into this dungeon... then they might really just die,'
'So if I open it up they may have a way to contact others to get help,'
'I guess that might be a good idea... but I should talk to Rial about that first,'
'And then this Fire Affinity skill and 5 skill points,'
---
-
{Fire Affinity}: LV: 1
Your flesh and blood are bound to the flame of The Labyrinth. You are becoming one with fire. You take less damage from all heat sources based on this skills level. All fire spells/abilities you use are improved in nearly every aspect IE: Damage, Casting Speed, Mana Reduction, Range, etc. You gain insight into fire faster than others.
-
---
Max read the description and nodded grimly.
'I guess that makes sense,' He thought while remembering the explosion he caused just a few days prior.
'But what should I spend my stat and skill points on?'
'Open up my skill list,'
~{Skills}:~
-
{Donor Skill}:
{Universal Crafter}: LV: MAX
{Fire Affinity} LV: 1
-
{Class Skills}:
{Mana Sense}: LV: 1
{Keen Mind}: LV: 1
{Examination}: LV: 2
{Mental Library}: LV: 1
{Find Weakness}: LV: 1
{Ruined Past}: LV: MAX
-
{Personal Skills}:
{Basic Tinkering}: LV: 1
{Language of Intent}: LV: 1
{Basic Tracking}: LV: 1
{Beginner Hunter}: LV: 1
{Current Skill Points:}: 5
-
Max read the list and nodded to himself in contentment.
'The skills I gained from the class are awesome. They make it to where my mind is sharper than it ever has been before which should give me an edge when trying to create skills. And it even increases my combat prowess when you consider the Find Weakness skill,'
'Hmm...'
'Skill points are rare for me so I better make this count,'
'If I'm going based on combat skills then there are only a few skills I should upgrade. Find Weakness, Fire Affinity, and Hunting are the only skills that really improve my overall strength,'
'But if I'm going for upgrading my magic then I should focus on Keen Mind, Fire Affinity, Mental Library, Examination, and Mana Sense,'
'Most of my personal skills are pretty situational so upgrading them feels like a waste,'
'I think I'll go half and half kinda,'
'I'll put 1 point into Beginner Hunter, Examination, Mental Library, and 2 points into Fire Affinity,'
'That should hopefully give me some decent learning/combat abilities,'
{Skill points have been allocated}
Max hadn't really been paying attention to his physical or mental state while he was upgrading, but when he allocated the skill points he felt a roar of energy flood his body as he felt himself being reconstructed.
His mind was flooded with a wave of intense memories that began compacting themselves onto the shelves that lined his consciousness. They were separated into categories that became so in-depth that it gave Max a headache as soon as he saw the spread of the books.
He felt his mind quicken in pace as well. He felt his thoughts begin to race but in an organized manner that made him feel like he was in complete control of his mind.
His senses heightened in an instant and a wave of calm flooded him which was soon followed by a wave of power that surged in his chest that seemed to signify that there was a change in his mana.
But the thing that made him cringe back in fear was the feeling of intense heat that radiated through his body.
His skin turned red hot in an instant and the ground became scorched underneath him, almost as if he was a furnace burning hotter than the sun. But after just a few seconds the heat died down into nothingness, leaving his skin smooth and cold to the touch.
"That was... something," Max gasped as he clutched his head and adjusted to all the changes.
The goblin children had noticed Max's fiery stunt and watched him in amazement.
One of the children, the one named Rufe, came over and gently touched Max's hand curiously.
"It's not hot mister!" He said in amazement as he stared at Max.
"Of course, it's not silly," Max chuckled as he came back to reality.
"It was just my body changing a bit. Everything should be fine now," He smiled.
The goblin boy who looked the same age as a 6-year-old human smiled and looked at him in wonder.
"Could you teach me that?!" He said with expectation in his eyes.
"If I could light on fire then maybe I could have saved my brother!"
The words of the goblin made Max's heart sink.
"Maybe... I don't really know how it works right now. I have a lot to learn myself. But I can try," Max said, trying to keep up a smile at the optimistic goblin.
Ruff raised his pinky finger towards Max with a toothy smile that was missing a fair portion of teeth.
"A Pinky Promise? Of course," Max chuckled as he looped his pinky with the goblin who looked at him with joy.
"You bet it mister!"
"I gotta go train now! Sorry, I can't stay longer. I gotta grow stronger to show those monsters who's the boss!" Rufe said with determination before running towards his playmate with the stick in hand.
Max was left with a smile on his face as he stood up with purpose.
"It's time to move forward,"
---
The next day was spent getting back on track. He ate for the first time in days and talked with the Goblins around the tribe to get back in touch with them.
They were kind and happy that he was back on his feet and seemed thankful for some reason.
He met up with Ivan and received a permanent set of gear that was custom-made for him so that he could properly train and improve his skills.
He also received an alchemy kit and some basic ingredients from Rial after some persuading. Alchemy was a useful skill from what Max had seen so far and if he could pick it up with his Universal Crafter skill then it would be a blessing.
He sat in front of the wooden fence of the tribe with a smile on his face as he got ready to go on his little adventure into the forest.
"I just gotta spend my stat points and then I can start anew," He said gently as he pulled off the green bracelet that was almost always fastened to his wrist.
The bright green panel appeared in front of him once more and he stared at his stats with a thoughtful gaze.
-
~{Stats}:~
{Strength}: 6
{Speed}: 9
{Control}: 12
{Endurance}: 10
{Intelligence}: 10 + 3
{Perception}: 12 + 3
{Insight}: 7
{Willpower}: 5
{Current Stat Points}: 14
-
'14 points to spend,'
'I'm going on a solo adventure in the forest so there is some added danger, but I'm going during the day so it will be much safer than before,'
'So... How about getting strength and speed up to 10 points costing a total of 5 points and spend the remaining 9 points on getting willpower to 10 and insight to 11,' He decided.
Another flood of familiar energy flooded him and he felt relaxed as his body became stronger and his mind became sharper.
"Let's do this!" He said excitedly before taking his first step back into the forest.
---
The trek to the sight he was at before was easier than before, either from his increased physical stats or his improved hunting skill. He managed to reach there about 30 minutes faster than before and didn't even get lost once.
He approached the site of the explosion with caution as he viewed the surroundings seriously.
The explosion had caused evident damage but hadn't caused a forest fire by some miracle.
The floor of the forest was thick with black sludge that Max guessed was what he was looking for.
"Ugh," He sighed as he took out the heavy mud pot he had strapped to his back just for this purpose and stared down at the sludge with obvious reluctantness.
"No one else is gonna get the explosive sludge so I guess it has to be me,"
He used a small shovel that the Goblins used for farming and began to carefully fill the pot.
It took him 40 minutes to fill up the majority of the pot, though he cleared the entirety of what was on the ground during the process.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a sigh of relief.
"That wasn't fun," He said heavily as he took a long swig of water from the leather flask Ivan had given him.
He gasped for breath but felt his spine tingle as he caught a flash of white in the corner of his vision.
He turned his head in an instant, spilling some water during the process, but instead of finding some horrendous creature waiting to devour him he saw something glinting in the ground.
He wiped his face with his shirt and moved forward, intrigued by the glint.
Max reached through the grass and dug a little into the ground and found 3 strange bone fragments.
The fragments were only a few inches wide and the same tall in a strange triangular shape. They were carved down smoothly with no edges whatsoever. Two of the bone plates were sparkling as if they were silver that had just been forged into a piece of glowing jewelry while the third bone plate looked corroded and was covered in dark stains.
"Bone Shards..." Max whispered as he recalled Big Iron's tip.
"These are magical conduits?" He thought out loud.
Max closed his eyes for a few seconds and after he opened them they shined with a mysterious blue light as his senses expanded into the realm of mana.
He felt the threads around the three bone shards in his hands quicken, almost as if being pulled through a whirlpool of sorts. They were absorbed into each of the sides and then launched out of the corners in a quick blast of semi-concentrated mana.
"I guess conduit is a good word for how to describe this," Max muttered in amazement.
Despite the power that these bones held something deep inside of him was nagging him to pay attention.
He stopped his investigation and reviewed the calling that had arisen within him, trying to pinpoint exactly what was wrong with these bone shards.
'Where did they come from...' Max realized as he stared at the shards in his hands.
'2 new... 1 old...'
'...'
"Is this what remains of Drynn and Vaun?" He muttered as his hands began to shake as he held on to them tightly.
He held back the tears that were welling up within him and shook his head to clear his mind.
"No... these aren't conduits,"
"They are the remains of the dead," He said decisively.
"Thank you for the info 'Sponsor'. But if your gonna try and get me to use my fallen friend's bones as a magical material... then fuck off," He growled to the sky.
After calming down he gently stored the two pristine bone shards in a small pouch on his waist and then stored the tainted one in his pack.
He got up and stretched for a moment and then stared back toward the direction of the Goblin tribe with a hint of happiness in his eyes.
"At least you were not completely lost, brothers," He whispered as he began the trek back towards his current home.
