[Perception: 1 > 11] [Dexterity: 60 > 50]

As Lan's vision returned, he found the thin Goblin looking down at him with a hate-filled eye. Breathing just as hard as he was, the Goblin looked like it would say something before its one remaining eye turned black and embers poured from its mouth. Dropping the broken dagger it had tried to open Lan's neck with, the Goblin grabbed Lan's armour as if trying to continue the fight even as its knees buckled and slumped, and it slid off his blade, expiring into ash.

The moment Lan was sure that Goblin wouldn't get back up, he let his body drop to the ground, taking one deep breath before pain stabbed into his mind and body. It felt like every muscle in his body would tear any second. His mind spun, and he felt he couldn’t control his body. It took him a moment to remember what was happening, but this time, it was far worse than the clearing with the silk flowers.

[Ninth configuration complete]

[Strength: 10 > 15]

|Body: 10 > 15

|Mind: 8 > 15

|Dexterity: 50 > 15

|Perception: 11 > 15

[Charisma: 1 > 15]

The moment Lan could think straight, he flopped back, 'That…, That was…' Lan tried to before giving up with a sigh. It felt like he had been dragged behind a horse for miles with a mind full of rocks. And although his ears were ringing a little, he had regained enough of his faculties to hear a thumping in his head.

‘I’m fine.’ Lan said with a smile as Tyr landed on his chest, sending an impression of worry. And although, for the most part, he did feel alright again, if not a little hungover. The odd feeling in his chest was still there.

It was almost like he was holding air in his lungs; only the feeling was warm yet light and just in the middle of his chest. With a smile, Lan realised it reminded him of Tyr herself.

Once again, she sent an impression for him to follow her, but Lan didn’t even know if he could move. Plus, with the now ground shaking pounding in his ears, Lan was sure his head would have exploded if he tried.

Ground shaking? Lan thought as Tyr sent the more familiar impression of danger.

Realisation ignited into adrenaline as Lan rolled to his feet before stumbling into a tree just as a Goblin titan came charging into view with a roar.

With a sigh of exhaustion, Lan willed the shackle to change.

[First configuration complete]

[Attributes.]

[Strength: 15 > 14]

|Body: 15 > 11

|Mind: 15 > 10

|Dexterity: 15 > 25

|Perception: 15 > 20

[Charisma: 15 > 10]

When his stats changed, Lan had to fight not to be sick as his body recoiled before the world spun into blackness.

Tyr’s thoughts pierced Lan’s mind like an ember in the night, forcing him to open his eyes just as the Goblin Titan reached him with its fists raised to crush him.

The ground bubbled and boiled as the Titan’s fists fell with enough force to turn a body into a mist of blood just as Lan kicked his legs over his head and rolled to his feet a moment before the shockwave carried him into a tree.

Stumbling forward, Lan felt a vice wrap around his body and lift him off the ground as the Titan tried to bite his head off.

Staring into the jaws of imminent death, he knew he should be afraid, but something else bubbled up first. ‘Oh fuck you,’ Lan sighed as he touched the rune on his shield arm.

The moment he did, the joints of the shield arm snapped open with golden lights, matching the rune circles that burst to life all over the arm, and then Lan’s fist was moving. Moving fast enough, the air broke around the blade on his hand, making it glow a bright red before he met the Titan’s head.

One moment, there was a snarling, rage-filled face trying to close its jaws around Lan’s own, and then it was gone, replaced with a spray of red that was itself blown away by the aftershock of the shield arms roar.

Dropping to its knees, the Titan’s body twitched, allowing Lan to break its grip and step back before its hulking mass crashed into the ground with its fall.

With one last solid clunk, the Shield Arm expanded before the last of its power drained away in a golden vapour.

Then, all Lan felt was pain radiating through his arm. Although he could still move it, doing so hurt and opened up ribbons of red down his arm. The shield was now much heavier, even if he could still lift it.

Lan reached into the Other World Chest for his potion but stopped as golden Lights lifted from the Thin Goblin and the Titan.

Floating up to hover in the air for a moment, the new light sources were joined by a pair of burning green as the undead made of the darkness watched him.

Even in the face of more danger, Lan found that the experience from the Goblins had left their bodies while he was still in danger to be unusual.

Seemingly just as interested in the odd phenomenon, the undead reached out again, trying to grab the golden traces as they flowed to Lan.

[Kill log]

Hobgoblin x 1 – Level 12 = 800 exp

Goblin Titan x 1 – Level 11 = 600 exp

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

[Level Up!]

[Congratulations, you have levelled up!]

[Level 7 > 8]

[Exp 725/ 10000]

[Attributes.]

[Strength:14 > 16]

|Body: 11 > 13

|Mind: 10 > 12

|Dexterity: 25 > 27

|Perception: 20 > 22

[Charisma: 10 > 12]

[Hp 30 – 80]

As the ray of light from levelling up faded, Lan found his mind spinning again, even as his body knit itself back together.

Tyr sent an impression for Lan to run as the undead seemed to step through space, vanishing and reappearing before its black armoured foot touched the ground.

Pushing down the weakness in his bones, Lan threw himself out of the way before the undead’s impossibly black blade bit into the tree with less skill than even Lan had, yet the speed and strength were blinding, cutting into the tree like a woodsman at work.

Tyr sent a stronger impression, jolting his body forward as the undead’s sword nearly cleaved off his foot.

Slamming into another tree, Lan looked for a way out. There was no way that he could fight the undead as he was, as he didn’t know if he could stand changing his stats again, yet he didn’t have the strength to run either.

Before he could decide, Tyr sent an impression just as the undead took the choice out of Lan’s hand with a downward slash, which buckled his knees even as he blocked it.

Reeling from the strike, Lan saw and was able to bring his shield up as the undead started to rain down blows on the shield as if trying to cut through it, each sending blades of pain shooting up his arm.

Although the undead could have killed him by aiming around his shield, it seemed more than happy to hack at him as if only being able to see the immediate kill no matter what was in the way, even if that meant driving him into the ground first.

Forced onto his back, Lan drove his boot into the knee of the undead, hoping to shatter it, only to have pain rip through his own knee.

Gritting his teeth, Lan tried to think of anything he could do, only to come up short. All he had was the silk, which Lan was sure would affect him more than the undead.

If he tried moving as he was, the undead would no doubt cut him down, and Lan had nothing in him left to fight with.

From where he lay, Lan could see the canopy of the trees every time the undead lifted its sword. The leaves were so high above that he was sure only winged creatures and the best climbers could reach them.

Between them and the undead, he found Tyr frozen in the air.

For a moment, he wondered if she had come to the same conclusion that he had and had given up. Then she sent one last impression for him to follow her. The impression might as well have been a whisper in his mind, yet it held so much weight and hope that he would be able to.

Finding an odd smile forming on his face, Lan wished he could, but he didn’t know how to do that now. He couldn’t see, Lan thought, remembering his dream as the sword fell and he felt his arm break under the force.

More resolute than before, Tyr sent the impression again as if the undead, forest or the rest of the world didn’t exist. She looked into him and willed him to look into her.

For a heartbeat, Lan wasn’t lying on the ground but floating above the undead and his body as the odd feeling that had been building in his chest returned.

Through Tyr's eyes, he saw countless lights of other wisps and even the living flames of creatures that had gathered to watch him beyond the trees. All around were traces of mana from the life in the forest, the darkness trying to eat the world, and the power of the Mother holding it all together.

This was how she saw the world. This was what she wanted him to see… or maybe just part of it.

Watching distantly as the undead sword fell, Lan noticed something. A golden cord of light stretched from Tyr to him. It was the bond they shared, a promise made real.

No matter the distance between them, they were as one; they were one.

Destined to walk together.

Tyr called to him, and Lan answered.

[First configuration complete]

[Attributes.]

[Strength: 14 > 17]

|Body: 11 > 17

|Mind: 10 > 17

|Dexterity: 25 > 17

|Perception: 20 > 17

[Charisma: 10> 17]

{Synchronicity: Established}

In a blink, Lan was back in his body, and the feeling in his chest blossomed into a surge of power like cold electricity and hot ice dancing in his veins as the undead's sword fell again.

Then… the undead was gone, and Lan was looking up at the canopy, only now Tyr was at his side, as a sound like shattered crystal dancing in a storm filled his ears. Looking around, Lan found himself floating in the air on silver wind flecked with gold and other more minor colours.

Tyr told Lan to look behind him, and he found the undead slowly turning to look up.

As he guessed, it hadn’t gone anywhere; he was somehow floating, only he was floating in the same position he had been in on the ground, leaving his back open to the undead.

Realising he needed to do something, Lan tried to turn, something that should have been impossible, yet as he tried, the silver wind rushed to support him and allowed him to act like he was swimming but with the solidity of standing on his feet.

With the world supporting him, Lan swung his sword as he turned, just as the undead’s sword stabbed up, missing him as he picked up more speed than someone suspended in the air should be able to. Lan aimed for the undead’s exposed neck, cutting through the black bone before the silver wind crashed into the headless undead, destroying it like a ruin in a storm.

Suddenly, gravity remembered that he shouldn’t be able to fly, and Lan started to descend, the silver wind pulling away from him as he reached the ground.

Lan just sat there momentarily, his skin tingling like it did after a long bath with a deep scrub as the remnants from the cold electric feeling danced on his skin. His body still ached but was considerably dulled by the sense of completeness wrapping him.

Part of which came from the little light that seemed happier than he was. Tyr flew rings around him like a blur while sending Impressions to him.

For a moment, Lan felt a little disappointed that he couldn’t hear her thoughts like he had been able to in those few seconds, but soon enough, he allowed himself to be swept up in her glee.

‘Okay, okay.’ He laughed. ‘I’m happy I listen too.’

So that was a Wisp Walk? Lan thought as he opened his Tome, finding it had changed slightly. Still, a book made of dark blue crystal, the cover of the book was now lined with silver, with what looked like wisp wings on each of the corners.

Having an idea of where that had come from, Lan smiled, opened his stats, and was greeted by a few changes.

One was that his stats had been reset, and he had a new icon next to his Runica portrait.

[Synchronicity – You are in perfect balance in mind and body, allowing you to Glimpse the world of your forebearers.]

Rereading it, Lan wondered if that was why he hadn’t been able to use the wisp walk until now. Although it seemed to play a part, it had changed independently after understanding his bond with Tyr. However, did that mean he couldn’t use it with his stats changed, or was it just with the shackle activated?

Technically, the shackle was activated even as he thought about it. And Lan didn’t want to even think about changing his stats so soon to see if he still could.

Another change came in the form of his mana.

[Mp 120 > 80]

From the looks of it, one wisp walk cost a third of his mana. That seemed a little like a steep price, but he wasn’t even sure what he was doing, so it could be fair, Lan thought, looking at the Ability in question.

[Wisp Walk – Slip through the Veil with your Wisp as your guide. Upon return, you become charged with the magic of a Royal Wisp for five seconds.]

Lan guessed that explained the floating in the air and possibly killing the undead with just one strike. Although that could have been just how fast he had moved when charged with Tyr’s Magic, Lan reasoned before looking to his sword, finding it glowing with silver rune circles that he had never seen before.

Even though Lan could not know it for a fact, this one seemed older and more primal, unlike the fire rune circles. And instead of the warmth from the fire runes, it felt like he was holding the eye of a storm in his hand. Even the runes looked like ancient creatures made of unsymmetrical thorns and slashes.

‘What is this?’ Lan asked the voice.

[The primordial and unshaped. Wild Magic is magic in its true forms, a cascade of all the elements before they are drawn out into their individual form. As a result, Wild Magic cannot be shaped by spells, existing only as the roaring storm of creation drawing from all parts of all elemental strengths.]

Lan had never heard of Wild Magic before, although it didn’t sound like something that he should be able to wield, nor should Tyr, for that matter. Then again, she was a Royal wisp tied to the same craziness as he…

‘What can I do with it if not cast spells?’ Lan asked, getting nothing back. But for a moment, it… had felt like the Voice would answer.

That reminded Lan of the moment he had been able to Wisp Walk. Maybe it was just how he felt colouring his memories, but the Voice had sounded relieved for a second? If that was possible.

Before, Lan could dwell on it for much longer. Tyr sent the pin-drop feeling, and Lan looked up to find undead appearing out of nowhere, like actors stepping through the curtain, ready for the finale.