Book 3, chapter 24

Allison's words were not what Zee wanted to hear. Zee knew that forming a fragment was not easy by any stretch, especially without a cultivation technique. But still, she had been hoping for some sort of reassurance, even if it was baseless.

Allison reached over and placed a comforting hand on Zee's shoulder.

"Don't look so defeated. One in a million odds aren't so bad compared to what you have already survived." Allison pointed out.

Zee let out a nervous laugh. "Well, when you put it like that, it doesn't sound like bad odds at all."

Allison smiled encouragingly. "You should talk with Dern about this. You will need his help too if you want any chance of actually forming a fragment." Allison said.

"Think Dern will be mad?" Zee asked, nervously.

Allison shrugged. "I bet he already knows. You are a terrible liar.-"

"I am not," Zee said defensively.

Allison raised an eyebrow, that one gesture saying all that needed to be said.

Zee gave the woman a rude gesture. Allison's eyes glimmered in amusement. "Let's go sort through all the stuff we found today. Who knows, we might find something to help you form your fragment." Allison said.

A smile tugged at Zee's lips at the thought of treasure. The reassurance might have been baseless, but still, she appreciated the sentiment.

Allison's calming presence always made her feel more at ease. Like, how could someone be so sure of themselves, and calm all the time?

On second thought, the princess was like a walking inferno that could throw fire at people.

She was rich, powerful, with stunning good looks and ample curves that would make anyone envious.

Now that she thought of it, the princess had every reason to be so confident.

Allison shifted uncomfortably under Zee's stare. "You know, your leering might make Yukna a little jealous," Allison teased.

Zee coughed, flushing.

"I wasn't leering. I was just wondering why you got all the good looks and height and I got screwed over," Zee said, gesturing towards her own short wiry frame.

Allison snorted in amusement. "We all have our weaknesses," Allison said.

"Really, and what's yours?" Zee asked.

"Not telling."

A devious smile split Zee's face. "So you do have one? I am going to go ask Yukna, she might tell me," Zee said fleeing the room.

"Hey get back here." Allison pleaded.

Zee fled into the other room, finding most of the team.

Grinning, she walked over, peering down at a sleeping bastion next to one wall. He looked so peaceful, his handsome face relaxed, his breaths soft and deep. She nudged Bastion's leg with her boot.

"Rise and shine sleepy head," Zee said. Bastion opened one eye, glaring up at her from his bedroll.

"Are we under attack?" Bastion asked, tiredly. She shook her head. "Then why are you waking me up?" Bastion grumbled.

"Oh, I was just thinking you might want to be present when we split the treasures we found today," Zee said.

Bastion rose with a speed that made her laugh, practically leaping from his sleeping bag.

He flushed at her knowing look, his dark skin darkening further. "Oh shut up."He grumbled.

Zee winked slyly at him, moving to join, Allison, Greg, Yukna, and Dern, near the front door.

"Alright, same rules as always. Yukna gets the first pick of treasure this time. Followed by Zee, Greg, me, then Bastion." Allison said once they all arrived.

It was a fair system, that changed each day, giving each of them equal opportunity for something valuable.

Bastion got the first pick last time, so that meant he was last this time. There were of course caveats, but those were only for when they found something really good.

Zee removed everything they had gathered today from the spatial storage in her necklace, placing them on the floor. There were not many things today, but the quality was good. She placed a surprisingly heavy silver box covered in etchings on the dusty floor, running her fingers gently along its time-worn surface.

At a glance, she recognized a few of the etchings along the metal, mainly the incredibly intricate stasis rune, that was still intact, even millennia later. Zee had some experience with that one after watching Dern apply a similar version on all of the jewelry they turned into a spatial storage.

It must have been some incredibly skilled artisan who inscribed those etchings, which made her even more excited. Whatever was inside must be valuable indeed.

Next, she placed three palm-sized Ether crystals next to the box, each worth a thousand Dara. Even if they only found those three crystals, today would have been a smashing success.

Then there was the pale, eyeless rift walker corpse, and its splinter. The rift walker was only early E grade, a low beast king, but still, its splinter would defiantly be worth at least as much as those ether crystals.

Zee scanned the faces of the others, noting that Bastion was eying the ether crystals which was no surprise. Dern sitting atop Bastion's shoulder was eying the corpse, hunger radiating into her mind through their mental link.

The princess didn't seem all that interested in the loot, which made sense because she was filthy rich.

Yukna looked positively exuberant by comparison picking up the box, and looking it over. It took her only a minute, but the box clicked and the lid opened, releasing a wave of pure life. The box only contained two small vials, but they each eliminated a dense aura.

"What do you think farmer girl? What kind of concoctions are they?" Allison asked, her lack of enthusiasm having long since fled.

Zee leaned over and gently took one of the vials, ignoring Allison's name-calling. Zee was by no means an expert alchemist, but she did know enough to identify the base effects of a concoction when she saw one.

She bit her lips, feeling the exuberant energy radiating from within the first vial, her fingers tingling at the contact. It was so lively, a burgeoning spark, that could nurture one's body.

"This one is a body-tempering concoction." She took the other one." And A race-boosting concoction," Zee said excitedly.

The others shared her excitement, staring at the small vial in her hand with hungry eyes. The first vial, the body-tempering concoction was by no means bad, but it paled in comparison to the race-boosting concoction.

Allison raised her hands.

"Alright, let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is by far the most valuable thing we have found so far. As agreed before, the normal system does not apply to this one concoction. Back home, our kingdom would go to war for a race-boosting treasure. Therefore, we will need to give everyone an equal opportunity to get it so there is no bad blood between us." Allison said, reasonably.

When no one protested, Bastion reached into his cloak and pulled out two ten-sided dice. "How about we roll for it?" Bastion asked.

"Seems fair enough. Does everyone agree, the highest number gets the item?" Allison asked, her face reverting to its usual calm mask.

Everyone nodded, in agreement. Bastion rolled first, fist pumping when he got a ten and an eight, setting the bar very high.

Greg rolled a measly two and three, grumbling softly to himself, stroking his thick beard, not seeming to be too upset.

Yukna rolled a nine and an eight, whilst Zee rolled two fives, watching her chances at victory flow down the drain.

Bastion looked positively exuberant, grinning ear to ear as Allison picked up the wooden dice.

She threw them, and they clatter softly, tracking through the dust on the stone floor, settling on a ten and a nine.

Bastion's look of victory faded, replaced by defeat.

Zee gave Allison a wan smile, both happy and disappointed. "Congratulations," Zee said, a pit forming in her stomach. Greg gave her a shallow nod, while Yukna smiled at her fiancé.

"Thanks," Allison said, taking the vial she had won.

Zee bit her lip, staring at that concoction. If only she had been a little luckier. Allison stared at the vial for a few long seconds, before sighing, and much to Zee's surprise offered it to her.

"Here, drink this. You need it more than I do." Allison said, much to bastion, and Yukna's surprise.

"I can't take it, it's yours," Zee said, refusing despite how much she wanted it.

Allison shook her head. "Just take it, idiot, if you don't, we both know you might die," Allison said sternly.

Zee grimaced taking the vial. With Allison's statement, she was suddenly at the center of attention, and the team's eyes were filled with questions. Bastion raised an eyebrow at Zee. "What does she mean you might die if you don't drink that?" Bastion asked.

She scratched the back of her head, nervously "About that. There is something I haven't told you guys." Zee said.

After some hesitation, she explained her predicament, about the cracks that were spreading across her splinter. She also explained her efforts to fix the situation by herself, and even some of her reasoning.

By the time she was finished, they were staring at her with a mix of concern and hurt on their faces.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Yukna asked, looking hurt that Zee wouldn't trust her with something so important.

Zee looked away, feeling bad for her deception. "I feel like a burden because I cause you all enough problems as it is. I didn't want to give you any more things to worry about," Zee mumbled, unable to meet their eyes.

Yukna gestured from herself, then to the princess. "A burden? Are you kidding? You are an integral member of the team," Yukna said.

Surprisingly, Bastion and Greg nodded in agreement, not even hesitating. Their reactions were a relief. The only one who she couldn't read was Dern, who was blocking off his emotions from her.

He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. They could always talk later in private. Zee cupped the small vial in her hand, uncertainly.

She could see just how bad the others wanted it, and felt kind of bad for taking it when she didn't even win. Still, that didn't mean she felt bad enough to give it up, especially since it could certainly help her survive forming a fragment.

A race-boosting concoction of this quality should have the ability to evolve her race, changing her from a bog common human to something more.

Boons, skills, and ranks were all good. The thing was, they only increasing the power of her relatively frail human body. Humans were a common race in the universe, unremarkable in their mediocrity. They were not exactly weak, but they were not strong either, completely bland in terms of potential.

Sure her foundation was insane. Her body in particular enhanced to fifty-five percent potency. It sounded high, but that number was an enhancement of her base. Which was a measly human, albeit one who was fortunate to grow up taking lots of rare herbs and concoctions supplied by her family and clan.

Taking this race-boosting treasure could enhance her measly existence, vastly improving what was already there. This was the reason kingdoms on Iztara would go to war for this vial of liquid. Imbibing it would make her body better in every way, which would be a cumulative effect increase after considering her boons.

In the end, those benefits were just icing on the pie. For Zee, who had ominous cracks spreading along her splinter, this could mean the difference between living and dying. And she wanted to live.

Having made up her mind, she uncorked the vial and downed it in one go. It was brackish and slimy, tasting like sweet nectar on her tongue. It felt like she was swallowing a sun, the liquid releasing incredible amounts of energy.

She could feel it dissolving into her skin even before it reached her stomach, radiating outward through her body.

Given the properties of the concoction, she knew it was going to be painful. Still, knowing, and experiencing were two different things.

The medicinal brew flooded through her body, mind, and soul, forcibly opening, then strengthening a thin network of energy channels that spanned her entire body.

Her mind blanked as her body spasmed. She felt like she was being torn apart as the energy bored into her ligaments, muscles, and bones, reworking her body into something better.

She gritted her teeth through the pain, delighted as some of the medicine entered her splinter. Much to her relief, her obsidian core grew by a small margin, and some of the cracks were even healed.

Sadly, such a good thing couldn't last forever. The pain faded as the last of the energy was absorbed into her body.

She groaned, opening her bleary eyes, realizing that she was laying on the dusty stone floor, in an unfamiliar bedroll.

She blinked glancing around a small, dark, square room, feeling wrung out. Her energy reserves were on the edge of depletion. Any further, she might pass out.

Sitting up, she massaged her temples, exhaling sharply at the throbbing pain in her head.

Warmth flooded her mind. She smiled as Dern's comforting presence radiated from the splinter in her mind. Thankfully he didn't say anything, allowing her to scan her body, assessing the changes.

And they were drastic. Her outward appearance seemed the same, but inside it was a whole different story.

Her energy no longer drifted aimlessly through her body, not anymore.

Her body tingled as her inner energy flowed through her newly opened energy channels. Despite the headache, she felt stronger than ever, and this was only the start.

Opening channels, or the inner gates was the main bottleneck when progressing through the E grade. She appeared to have one open, even before ranking up, which could be the difference between success and failure in forming her fragment.

Not only that but the channels were somewhat strengthened by that miraculous brew, saving her weeks, if not months of effort.

The heart of fire beat in her chest, and a trickle of energy seeped drifting through her newly opened channels for a bit before the energy was absorbed. Now that was unexpected.

A grin split her face. Her bloodline talent once again paid its weight in gold, slowly improving her energy channels. If this continued, opening the gates in the E grade wouldn't be as difficult as she first thought.

She shook her head, dismissing the intruding thought. She was getting ahead of herself. There was no telling if she would even survive forming her fragment and the subsequent rank up.

But, she had some hope. Zee stretched her shoulders before holding out a callused palm, focusing. With a simple thought, her energy rushed to her command, flowing through her new channels, her skill activating at over twice its previous speed.

Dark blue notes, reminiscent of flames shrouded her hand, roiling between her fingers in a mesmerizing dance.

With another thought, the ball of energy changed shape forming a semi-solid dagger with a wicked edge.

Shaping her spirit echo skill felt just as easy as breathing, the skill responding to her mental command. The dark blue mist rapidly morphed, from a shield to a sword, then a barbed mace in only a few seconds.

Zee couldn't help her excitement. Her newfound energy control made her previous self look like a bumbling toddler.

What's more, the energy of her spirit echo skill felt denser than before. Heart racing she lashed out at the stone floor, her energy morphing into a sword, gouging into stone like it was made of butter.

Grinning like it was her name day, she formed a curved dagger and threw it at the far wall. The dagger thudded into the wall, embedding itself into the stone.

This could be a game-changer. She mostly only fought with one hand at the moment, leaving the other useless when fighting monsters with thick hides.

Zee formed and threw the dagger, then a spear disgusted at her atrocious aim. Well, she would need to work on that.

She stumbled, as a sudden bout of vertigo hit her, reminding Zee that she was on the edge of energy starvation.

She totally hadn't spaced out in her excitement. Collapsing back into her bedroll, she let out a weary sigh.

A bit of rest and cultivation were in order. She closed her eyes, gazing inward, and began drawing in energy.

Her body jolted awake, her channels coming alive as brackish energy flooded into her body. The speed of drawing in energy as well as purifying it was substantially greater.

Her depleted energy reserves filled quicker than ever. A smile tugged at her lips. One benefit after the other. It was no wonder that wars would be fought over a race-boosting concoction. She set to cultivation with a single-minded focus. Once she was fully recovered, she could test the limits of her newfound powers.

She would also need to find some way to repay the princess for her kindness.

Days of pilfering buildings, and exploring the once mighty city passed in a blur. After their first few run-ins with the rift walkers, the attacks stopped.

Everything was going fairly well, aside from an ominous feeling like they were being watched.

Until now, the stealthy rift walkers had largely avoided them, showing their intelligence. Or at least their caution.

Zee and the team walked across a surprisingly intact bridge, walking in the shadows of only partially damaged buildings.

The architecture was odd, with wide swooping stone roofs, some of them still covered in clay tiles. Most of the buildings were overgrown, the foliage poking holes in the incredibly precise masonry.

What was more impressive were the murals covering the walls of most buildings. She had seen them in the lower districts, but most were to weather-worn to get any indication of what was once there.

Now they were in the inner city that had changed. Incredibly intricate artwork scrawled across the side of the bridge, depicting a beautiful vista of mountain peaks capped with snow.

Zee gaped at the artwork, wondering what kind of people once lived in this city. She glanced around at the mostly intact inner city, hanging on despite the ravages of time.

It was a testament to the craftsmanship that these buildings looked so intact despite their age. Zee stepped off the bridge, into the shadows of the buildings on either side of the street and froze.

The ever-present sense of being watched spiked, making Zee's hair raise on end. She raised her hand, prompting the others to stop. The ominous feeling changed, suddenly filled with a tangible fury.

Zee drew her sword, glancing around the wide street with nervous anticipation. Ahead of her, a rift walker appeared, its eyeless face staring at them.

Another appeared, then another, until over two dozen blocked off the team in a half circle. The rift walkers were barring their entrance, into the inner city. Zee glanced over her shoulder, noting the clear path back across the bridge they had just come across.

"I think they want us to turn back," Bastion said, after a few moments of tense silence.

"Your skills of observation are astounding as always," Allison said dryly.

Zee stepped in to stop a budding argument. "What should we do?" Zee asked, scanning the angry faces of the hostile rift walkers.

Before anyone could come up with an answer, one of the rift walkers took a step forward with agile grace. Its vertical maw opened, and it raised a pale-skinned arm, gesturing back towards the bridge.

Strangely, its dark lips moved a brown tongue darting between its lips. It was a disgusting sight, yet odd, considering that no sound came out.

It was weird. Despite lacking any eyes, she could tell that the creature was looking directly at her. And maybe even trying to talk to her?

Her skin tingled, sensing faint ripples in her sensory skill as it gestured again. She cocked her head, yet she heard nothing. The creature gestured again. This time she felt it again, a soft hum entering her spatial ripple skill.

Her skin tingled intermittently, like invisible waves crashing into her body. Space between them was being manipulated, used in a way she didn't know was even possible.

Zee focused all of her attention on those waves, listening. It was bizarre, the fluctuating space around her vibrating intermittently. It wasn't words, nor any form of speech she had ever heard of, yet, she understood it clearly.

"Leave." Hissed a soft voice.

Zee gripped the worn leather hilt of her sword tighter, startled at the voice. The rift walkers might not be attacking them, but that gross maw was disturbing.

On instinct, she reached out and replied. It wasn't with her voice but with her spatial ripple. With a touch of mental pressure, space hummed around her, rippling outward.

"Hello," Zee said.

All the rift walkers recoiled, taking a few fearful steps back, clearly not expecting her to reply.