"You know, when they said Northern Wastes, I expected the snow, and I expected the lack of… well, everything. What I didn't expect was all the uppy, downy." Greg muttered as the four of them trudged up a hill on their way to see the closest danger zone with their other selves while their main selves focused on training their skills.

"Uppy, downy?" Andrew asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well what would you call it?" Greg retorted. "I can't say hilly, cause it ain't just hills. Can't say mountainous, cause it ain't just mountains. Can't say… cracked? Canyony? Whatever you call it when the land just splits on you, cause it ain't just that either. So yeah, uppy, downy."

"Could call it shitty." Thomas offered.

"Sure, but there are lots of shitty environments." Greg replied. "This one is specifically an uppy, downy kind of shitty."

"Which begs the question of why we're walking, when we could be either flying or sitting in Chris's world while he does his thing." Andrew grumbled.

"We've been over this." Greg shook his head. "Flying and teleporting isn't eventful. We just get where we need to go. However, if we walk, things can actually happen! Like maybe we'll run into some Trolls or Yeti, or fall down a crevice- oh, crevices! That's what they are!" Greg snapped his fingers. "Anyway, we might fall down one and discover some hidden ruin or something."

"I think we're good on Ruins for now." Andrew muttered, his expression twisting slightly.

"Not that kind of Ruin." Greg shook his head. "The ancient civilization kind, with artifacts and whatnot instead of monsters."

"That would be kinda fun." Thomas nodded.

"And it's never going to happen if we take shortcuts everywhere we go." Greg continued. "So we walk."

"I get it, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it." Andrew grumbled.

"Snow's too bright." Chris agreed, squinting so hard he looked like he was trying to glare the snow away.

"Okay, I called that one. Didn't I call that one?" Greg cocked his head.

Chris shook his head. "No, that was Carlos."

Greg blinked. "Really?"

Chris nodded. "I was talking to Georgia about the sun being blinding, especially when there was a lot of white, she protested, and Carlos mentioned that people in snowy environments need special glasses. So technically I called it, but Carlos mentioned snow in particular."

"Huh… coulda sworn that was me." Greg muttered.

Andrew shook his head, toning them out as he focused on his Energy Control, slowly moving his Energy through his body, stretching it through his limbs, then concentrating it in his core, and back again, getting used to moving it around. It was actually kind of nice working on a skill and not having to worry about leveling up because of it. He should probably give more thought to this whole 'multiple bodies' thing… having extra selves to work on skills and whatnot for him would be a huge help. Just the ability to have a self that could focus on hunting in his World would be amazing. It was just… Cathryn. Andrew sighed, shaking his head. She was trying but she still wasn't comfortable with the full nature of what he was. Not that he could exactly blame her, since he wasn't comfortable with everything he was. Which, due to the Bond, probably compounded her issues and vice versa… ugh, it was just a mess.

Andrew paused as he leveled up, before shrugging and picking up Aura Manipulation, beginning to practice that as well. His current goal was to get both skills to sixty so he could get tier four versions of the advanced skills before he combined them, for no other reason than the fact that at this point having a skill under tier four felt like a disappointment. Unfortunately both skills had stalled out in the mid forties, and he was struggling to get them any higher, which meant he had to keep practicing and since he was practicing, he was getting experience, which meant he was leveling, which was a waste. Of course, with this body, he didn't have to worry about that… he really needed to get into using multiple bodies.

"How much further to the danger zone?" Greg asked, glancing over at Chris.

"At this speed? About four days." Chris replied.

"Days?!?" Greg asked incredulously. "I thought you said it was close!"

"It is." Chris shrugged. "The next closest is two weeks away by foot."

"Regretting walking now?" Thomas chuckled.

*

Thomas looked over his skills. He had a tier four inner sight skill, a tier five blade skill (go Runes), a tier three movement skill, and he was ready to Advance. He closed his eyes, hit the plus, and everything went dark. The next moment, Thomas opened his eyes in… his old dorm room? He looked around with a slight frown, before freezing as the door opened and a woman entered. "J-Jessica?" He croaked.

'Jessica' smiled sadly. "No. I am simply a construct, an intermediary between you and the system. This form was chosen as the one which would make you the most comfortable."

Thomas shook his head. "No. No! Choose something- anything else!" He growled. He would not have his memory of Jessica reduced to some tool for this World to make him 'comfortable'! The world shifted around him, and suddenly he was in his childhood living room, his mom standing in front of him. "Fuck you!" Thomas cursed. "Just- don't use anything from Earth!" He paused. "Actually, how about you don't use my memories, period? Just- anything else!"

His mom frowned. "I have to use your memories. I don't have access to anything else."

Thomas paused. "Really? Okay, then… How about you just turn into a computer and an AI assistant or something? I can work with that."

She cocked her head as everything changed, and suddenly Thomas was sitting in front of a computer with a little anime girl staring back at him. "Does this make you happy?" She asked, doing a little twirl for him.

Thomas sighed. "Good enough. Now, what are my options? Something warriorish I hope."

"You aren't interested in being some kind of rogue?" The AI asked, cocking her head. "Blades and footwork, plus a little bit of magic?" She did a twirl as her outfit shifted into a tight leather catsuit with a hood, twirling a pair of daggers. "Or maybe a scout?" She added, straps and pouches covering her outfit as the hood lengthened into a cloak. "Inner sight, blades, and footwork lend themselves to many Classes. You simply have to decide which direction you wish to pursue. Do you wish to simply be a warrior? Or do you want to be something more?"

"More? Or less?" Thomas asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. "There's nothing wrong with focusing on combat, and if I split my focus, my combat skills will suffer."

"Variety is a strength of its own." The AI countered. "Not every foe can be taken down in straightforward combat. Maybe you'll need a rogue's skill to create a trap, or a scout's to create an ambush?"

"But if I go down that path, I'll have to fight using traps and ambushes." Thomas frowned. "I'll have no chance of facing anyone in straightforward combat! No, I'd rather just keep things simple and focus on being as good a fighter as I possibly can."

"Well, if that's your wish…" The AI sighed and a short list appeared in front of him.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

[Warrior - rank two]

[Blade Warrior - rank three]

-tier three blade skill

[Void Warrior - rank three]

-memories of another World

-tier three inner sight skill

[Voidblade Warrior - rank four]

-memories of another world

-tier three inner sight skill

-tier three blade skill

-average of tier four between inner sight and blade skill

Thomas blinked at the screen before turning to raise an eyebrow at the AI. "So obviously I'm going to take the Voidblade Warrior. Why show me the others?" He paused. "Wait, do I have any other rank four options available? Or rank five?"

"No rank five, but the Voidblade can be a Rogue, a Scout, a Duelist, or a Mage as well." The AI explained.

"Wait, Voidblade Mage?" Thomas cocked an eyebrow at her. "How does that work?"

"The Voidblade can act as a focus for spells." The AI replied. "As I said, your skills can be the foundation of many Classes."

Thomas frowned, considering his options for a moment, before shaking his head. "No. I'd still rather focus on honing my skills as a warrior." He selected the Voidblade Warrior and a list of options pulled up. He automatically gained three traits: Void Affinity, Blade Intent, and Voidblade. Void Affinity was Void Affinity, while Blade Intent seemed to be a different kind of Energy modification which let him use his Energy to imbue 'sharpness' into objects, and Voidblade let him create blades out of Void that he could control mentally, the damage determined by his Will and the range determined by his Intellect.

For inner sight, he had one more trait point to spend, two of which had already been taken by the Void Affinity while another was taken by Voidblade, so he could get three basics or one intermediate and a basic. Void was good for destruction and avoiding other people's defenses, so Thomas wanted something that could add defense, control, and speed. Looking over his options, he eventually settled on Ice and Wind, Ice for defense and control, and Wind for speed and a little more control. He could already see himself sending little tornadoes of ice chips full of Blade Intent to shred his enemies like a blender.

He then moved on to his blade skill, which like the inner sight skill, had two trait points taken up by Blade Intent and one by Voidblade, leaving him two to choose his other traits. He wanted two things out of these traits: destruction and bypassing defenses, so he chose Infused Blade, which let him infuse his blades with his affinities, and Slip Blade, which let him phase his weapons in and out of the void, bypassing barriers, and if he tried to phase it back out inside something, or someone, it would eat at its defenses based on his Will.

Finally he moved onto his movement skill, which he obviously wanted to use for movement. The first thing he chose was Void Evasion for a short range teleport, then Void Step, which would give him more mobility, and lastly Slip Step, which was essentially Slip Blade for his body without the ability to phase back in while inside something.

Thomas looked everything over one last time before nodding in satisfaction. "Alright, done." He confirmed his selection, and the world went dark again. The next instant, a fresh Voidblade Warrior entered the world.

*

Greg let out a low, impressed whistle as Thomas showed off his new traits in a quick and dirty battle with a bunch of Greg's different forms. "Wow, you almost make me regret focusing on skills instead of leveling."

Thomas chuckled as he infused his blade with Wind, his blade making a crack through the air as it doubled in speed, slicing through three of Greg's selves in an instant. "Traits are pretty nice. I think I could pull off the infusion on my own, but it wouldn't be this… instinctual without the trait."

"So… what you're saying is that the traits are unnecessary?" Greg asked, raising an eyebrow.

"In theory, traits can be accomplished with just the affinity and Energy Control, but in practice… unless you're trying to be an archmage or something, just buy the traits." Quinn explained, shaking her head.

"Though that still doesn't mean your idea of getting all the crafting skills before Advancing is any less insane." Andrew pointed out. "Seriously, how long are you going to stay at level ten?"

"As long as it takes." Greg replied firmly.

Allison cocked her head. "What I don't understand is why you don't just make yourself a second body to level normally."

"Cause then I'd have to split my points between two bodies." Greg sighed. "Two bodies doesn't mean double the points, because we share the same mind."

"Okay, but… how does that keep you from leveling normally? You know, like literally everyone else on the planet." Allison retorted.

Greg paused, eyebrows rising slightly. "It- wow, I'm an idiot sometimes, aren't I?" He shook his head. Just because he couldn't benefit from the system in an extra body didn't mean he couldn't use the other body! "Shit, why not be a mage then?" He chuckled. "Fuck your traits."

"Mages still use traits to increase their control over Energy." Quinn pointed out.

Greg cocked his head. "Still worth it." He shrugged, bringing out some smoke to make himself another Elf form, before pausing. Why make himself another Elf? All he needed it for was the translation trait, and he'd already proven on Thomas's World that he only needed one of him to have the trait to make use of it. So why not use a different form? The only question was what form to go for… Changeling was pointless and Human was boring, so those were out, but he didn't have access to any others. He supposed he could pick up a Dwarf form, maybe? But that didn't seem all that interesting either. His gaze settled back on Thomas fighting off his other selves, and he started to grin as an idea began to form. Did he have to limit himself to forms from this World? What would happen if he made, say, a scorpocroc? Why kind of traits would a genetically enhanced monstrosity get? Without a second thought, Greg's smoke condensed into a scorpocroc and a moment later a glowing cocoon engulfed it.

"Oh, that can't be good." Greg muttered.

"What did you just do?!?" Andrew exclaimed as he stared at the remarkably familiar cocoon. It seemed just like the things that had engulfed him when he evolved.

"I made a scorpocroc." Greg coughed, scratching the back of his head. "Wanted to see what would happen, you know?"

"What is happening?" Thomas asked with a frown, studying the cocoon.

"I'm not sure, but it feels like something is poking me." Greg replied. "Wait." He suddenly held up a hand as words appeared in front of him.

[Unknown race detected. Analyzing…]

[Sentience established. Determining Intellect…]

[Intellect over ten. Determining traits…]

[Linked consciousness detected. Analyzing…]

[Unknown energy detected! Analyzing…]

Greg frowned as he felt some sort of energy prod at his smoke. All his smoke.

[Foundation detected. Foundation Manipulation detected. Foundation Consciousness detected.]

[Race classified as Foundation Hivemind.]

[Initiating Hivemind system.]

[Unknown race linked to Hivemind. Analyzing…]

[Race classified as Sardillian.]

[Categorizing Race… Race is not self sufficient. Categorizing as Monstrous Race. Establishing Monstrous Status.]

[Race: Foundation Hivemind

Sub-race: Sardillian - 1

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Will: 10

Intellect: 10

Energy: 10

Sensitivity: 10

Skill Points: 1]

The cocoon fell away and the scorpocroc, or Sardillian now, was revealed. "Aw… I'm monstrous." He sighed.

"Did you expect anything else from that form?" Andrew asked, rolling his eyes.

"I mean, Yeti are noble, aren't they?" Greg shrugged. "Plus, you grow by killing people! How is that not monstrous?!?"

Andrew's expression twisted. "I don't- I don't have to kill people to survive! That's what makes a race monstrous!"

Greg paused. "Shit, do I have to kill people?" He checked his status, opening the traits page. He paused as he noticed it was split between his Foundation Hivemind traits and Sardillian traits, before shaking his head as he focused on the Sardillian ones. "Let's see… oh. Ew." He grimaced. "I have to lay eggs in people." He shook his head and patted himself. "Sorry buddy, you're celibate." He paused. "Though, on a positive note, my Strength is doubled when I use my pincer, and my Agility is doubled when I use my stinger, so that's neat. It also added traits for my tail being poisoned, though it switched it to a paralytic… why- oh. Uh, and my sonar thing, which added a Sonic Affinity too."

"Wow." Allison blinked. "I wonder what your Rank is. I'd be shocked if it's lower than four and I would be surprised if it was five or six."

"How do I check that?" Greg asked, frowning slightly.

"I'm not sure… but it should be pretty clear after you level up." She shrugged. "Higher Ranks get a lot more stat points."

"Right." Greg nodded absently as he turned to his Foundation Hivemind traits and froze. "Oh my."

[Foundation Construct: Create constructs from Foundation based on analyzed Races. Constructs have all the traits of the Race they are based on. Constructs may alter their race at any time to another analyzed race (Only alters appearance and racial traits. Constructs maintain original system type). Constructs automatically heal from any wound that is not instantly lethal. Constructs disregard any experience penalties from working together with those connected to the Foundation Hivemind. Constructs may decrease their Energy regeneration to increase the Energy generation of another connected to the Foundation Hivemind by an equal amount.]

[Foundation Parasite: Infect another being with your Foundation. Infected individuals' race may be changed at any time to an analyzed race (Only alters appearance and racial traits. Individuals maintain original system type). Individuals automatically heal from any wound that is not instantly lethal. Individuals disregard any experience penalties from working together with those connected to the Foundation Hivemind. Foundation Hivemind may decrease an individual's Energy regeneration to increase the Energy generation of another connected to the Foundation Hivemind by an equal amount. Infected individuals may be converted into constructs at any time.]

Greg turned to Andrew. "Okay… I think I'm the bigger monster now."