Nothing has to remain broken - even the immaterial. All around you, potential weapons lay scattered on the ground, shattered and buried under a layer of disuse. What will you choose to repair with your power?

Congratulations! New functionality added to Improvised Weapon Mastery. Repair any improvised weapon that you can touch.

Completing the Skill Path gave him 3 points in Magic and 2 points in Dexterity, but he didn’t care much at the moment. All he was focused on was repairing the god-forsaken leaks in the roof. If any more water fell on him, he was going to lose his mind.

He stacked up paint cans to get closer to the ceiling, ignoring Jess’s inane cursing at the water. He stretched upward with his hand and touched the roof right where a wooden board had cracked. His back protested at the effort; he still had a knife in it. A drop of water landed on his forehead. He frowned. Somehow, the water was more aggravating than the stab wound to him mentally.

He pressed his hand against the board, feeling water drip onto his palm through the gap in the wood. He tried to activate the repair function of Improvised Weapon Mastery, but it didn’t work. It was too much to expect the skill to work so easily. However, he wasn’t worried; he had a guess as to what the problem was.

He closed his eyes and defined the board as a weapon in his mind. It wasn’t too far-fetched. All he would have to do was take it down, and he’d be able to wack Tony on the head with it. He focused on the desire to hit Tony with the board. How it would feel in his hands, how it would sound as it swung through the air, and how the board would vibrate when it struck its target. Something clicked into place deep within his chest where Improvised Weapon Mastery resided.

An option appeared to him, as obvious as a flashing light in the night. He willed it to activate. Like magic, the gap in the wood shrank till no more water leaked through. The board made a sharp popping noise as it straightened out, settling perfectly into place.

He smiled; he had to trick the System into defining the roof as a weapon, but in the end, he was able to use the repair path on it. He checked his [Status] screen, his smile widened. The repair hadn't cost much mana - probably, because very little was actually wrong with the board of wood. If there was a gaping hole in them, he figured the process would be much more expensive.

He repaired the rest of the major cracks and holes in the roof, draining all his mana.

Congratulations! Improvised Weapon Mastery Lvl 22→24. 2 Skill Points awarded.

“How did you do that?” Jess asked. Tony moved the pile of rope he was using as an umbrella off his head.

“Magic.”

He sat down; now that the roof was taken care of, he could focus on selecting the rest of his skill paths. He opened back up his Skill Screen but kept half an eye on Jess - just in case, she decided to have a mental breakdown and attack them for no reason. As his dad used to say, “Better safe than sorry.” Not that either of them followed those words, but it was nice to pretend like he was wise from time to time.

After seeing how useful the repair path was, he reevaluated the Improvised Weapon Making Paths. Specialty was still a hard no. However, Missing Link was now a more attractive option. If he could push the limits of the skill in a similar way to what he did with Repair - the skill would provide vital utility. It didn’t state any hard limits on what it could create. If he was in the right mindset and was somehow able to modify a gun, so it would register under the skill, he could theoretically use Missing Link to create bullets. He scratched his head as he thought.

Actually, it shouldn’t be too hard to make a gun register under the skill. All Aaron would have to do is tape a knife onto it. It was a risk, but he was willing to take it. He still had a lot of Skill Points in reserve, and the potential upsides were huge. The Path wasn’t limited to making just bullets; it could make anything he imagined - theoretically.

He put 5 points into the Path, completing it. For his efforts, he once again earned 3 points in Magic and 2 in Dexterity.

Create the missing link.

He paused at the short Path description. He hadn't seen anything near that short before. He moved on after a moment, thinking in circles wasn't going to get him anywhere closer to an answer. He itched to test out his new ability, but he decided not to. He only had 30 MP left. It was best to save mana, in case a monster found them.

He considered the other Improvised Weapon Mastery Path: Bomb Making. It was cheap, only 5 points; he could regain that amount in a couple hours. Spending a few points was worth it to potentially improve Explosive Mark. With his mind made up, he pressed the blue screen. He completed the Path, earning 3 Points in Spirit and 2 Points in Defense.

The art of bomb-making is a constant arms race of improvement fraught with danger. Fall too far behind, and you’ll be burnt to ash. Become complacent, and you’ll blow yourself to dust. However, if you follow this path to its conclusion, you’ll learn that every problem can be solved with explosions. Just don’t get caught in the blast radius.

Congratulations! The speed at which you can create explosives has been slightly increased. Additionally, the blast radius and power of all explosives you create have been slightly increased.

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Extra knowledge seeped into his skull as Improvised Weapon Mastery changed shape within him. Even though he didn’t have the chance to test his two most recent paths, something told him that they would be powerful.

Having spent 15 Skill Points, he moved onto the next Path on his shopping list: Heat Resistance. The Path was cheap, and he had no desire to be lit on fire ever again, so he bought it. The Path rewarded him with points in 3 Defense and 2 points in Recovery.

Heat is the creator of all life, but all too often, it takes it away. Through exposing yourself to hot flames, you have built a resistance to its grasp. Now, you can call inhospitable deserts your home. A true survivor can live anywhere, even in the heart of a wildfire. Slight increase in resistance to heat. Extremely Small increase in Fire Affinity due to class.

His skin tingled as the Path took effect. Suddenly, the room didn’t feel as cold. It was a comforting feeling, just enough to take the edge off the biting cold that had seeped into his clothes. He liked it. For such a cheap path, it had a seemingly rare reward. He had never heard of Fire Affinity before, but it sounded useful. Hopefully. If it was a reward, it probably wasn’t actively detrimental to him. Maybe it would let him shoot fireballs.

Next, he moved on to Mana Bolt’s Paths. Mana Bolt was currently his highest level and most used skill. So, he wanted to spend the rest of his points upgrading it. After some debate, Aaron decided to choose the most expensive option on the list: Power 2. The first installment of the Path had been immensely useful. Without it, he doubted Mana Bolt would have enough force behind it to cut through the Bonemaw Octopus. The Path had saved his life, so he was partial to it. If Power 2 gave a similar upgrade, he would be beyond happy.

He completed the Path, earning 5 Points in Strength and 5 Points in Magic. His muscles flexed as the stats took effect. It was a nice added bonus that it provided him with physical stats; they were starting to lag behind. Of course, he believed in specialization, but it was always nice to have a good foundation. He knew he would never be as strong as a Warrior in a fistfight. At the same time, he wanted to not be totally overwhelmed in close quarters combat.

The second step down a seemingly unending path. No end is in sight, but you take comfort in the well-worn ground - untold numbers have traveled down this road before. Though your footing is sure as you travel down this road, one question marks your journey: when will you stop? Is it foolish to endlessly run down an unending road, progressing farther away from home with each footstep? Travel too far, and you’ll find that there is no easy way back. Mana density infinitesimally increased. Mana Bolt damage moderately increased.

Mana Bolt thrummed with power inside him; without even using the skill, he could tell that the increase was larger than the first by a substantial amount - more than double. It seemed the System gave slight benefit to those who pursued a single path.

Again, the rewards from the Path were welcome. Though the message at the end was concerning. Was it possible for a Path to provide negative rewards if pursued too far? He doubted it, but it was possible. The Mana density increase was yet another variable which he didn’t know enough about. Honestly, he was getting a bit annoyed at being in the dark about so much. It would have been nice if the System offered a tutorial.

He was getting sidetracked. He focused back on selecting a path. He had 18 Skill Points left, so he could complete 2 or 3 more Paths. That plan went out the window as he looked back at the screen. A new Path had been opened.

Power 3 (0/15): What is power? Is it money, fame, violence, love, tacos, or something else? Whatever the case, a challenge stands before you. One which you’ll need to muster all your strength to have a hope of beating. *Challenge Path! Path Rewards are based on results. Complete at your own risk.*

The Path was 15 points, by all accounts extremely expensive. He could complete Speed 1, Barrage 1, and Shaping all for that cost. However, the mention of a Challenge Path interested him. A path where the rewards were based on his achievements. Potentially he could get more than 15 stat points if he performed well. The prospect was tempting. The only downside was the warning at the end. He didn’t want to unnecessarily put himself at risk.

He looked around the shed; Jess was sitting by the campfire stove, poking the air, presumably interfacing with the System. Now, it seemed pretty safe to explore whatever a Challenge Path was. The Cervom hadn’t made their way out of the prison building yet for some reason, and most of the normal monsters had been killed.

The factor that drew him most to the Path was the increase in rewards from Power 1 to Power 2. He could only imagine how much stronger the skill would be if he completed this Path. He tapped his fingers in indecision. It was a calculation of risk versus reward, except he knew neither variable. It was a crapshoot; he didn’t know what to do. There was no right answer. He didn’t have enough information.

“Worrying all day isn’t going to help anything. Flip a coin,” Tony said.

Aaron looked at the old man, surprised at his deduction. “How did you know?”

“It’s easy to tell what you’re thinking. Your face is expressive.” He didn't think his face was expressive, but it wasn't like he stared in the mirror all day; he could be wrong.

Aaron mulled over the idea; it wasn’t bad. The only problem was that he didn’t have a coin. Of course, that was an easy enough problem to solve. He set heads to yes and tails to no. “Heads or Tails?” he asked.

“Heads,” Jess said.

“Heads,” Tony said. They looked at each other in shock. They high-fived. In his opinion, Tony was treating the threat Jess represented too lightly. However, the old man was a better judge of character than him. If he trusted her, he would have to extend a bit of trust to her as well.

Well, that settles it. There’s only one way to figure out what a Challenge Path is.

Before, putting any points into the Path, he activated meditation for the first time. The hours slowly ticked by as his Mp crept upward. He didn't encounter any profound realizatiions while using the skill, but he did come to the conclusion that meditation was extremely boring. At some point, Tony had come by and fixed up his injuries. Having a healer by his side was truly useful. After the treatment, he wasn't at full health, but he had regained a full range of motion with his body. In the end, his first foray into meditation earned him 8 levels in the skill. Which, considering the hours of effort he put into it, was a glacial leveling pace.

Ready for what ever the Path may throw his way, he began to invest in it. Each Skill Point he put into it rewarded him with absolutely nothing, only counting towards ticking up the counter. He began to get worried as he put in 10 Skill Points with no reward. Finally, once he finished the Path, something happened. A bell rang, and the world faded to black.

When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the shed.