Clover first considered the Aspects the System had provided for free.

Dream, while Inferior, was a direct confirmation that what he had seen last night hadn't been normal. As for what the Aspect would do, he had a few ideas, though nothing concrete. But that wasn't anything new. Deciding what Aspect to assign to a Skill was as much a guessing game as it was an analytical event.

Clover wasn't partial to the Dream Aspect. Firstly, because he had no desire to go through what he had experienced last night again, getting stabbed through the chest wasn't fun or relaxing, and secondly, its Inferior Quality was a black mark against it. While Quality wasn't everything, it certainly played a major role - a jump down in Quality would normally only be worth it if that Aspect better matched or aligned with the Skill. And, simply put, the Dream Aspect didn't align with the Skill substantially better than any of the other options.

He imagined the potential uses of entering a dream through [Meditation] for a moment, then moved on to considering the next Aspect on the list, Interior.

It was also of an Inferior Quality, but Clover had higher hopes for it than the last. While its name was vague - not much of a hint, he suspected that it would allow him to better perceive his soul space while meditating.

Based on what he had done to unlock the Recommended Aspects, that was the possibility that made the most sense to him.

So far, he hadn't discovered any uses for observing his soul space while not in combat, but that didn't mean there weren't any. Doubtlessly, it would be useful, though he could not know when that day may come.

In a situation like his, where his time was limited, and he needed access to power as soon as possible, he couldn't justify the choice. He would have taken it if the circumstance had been different, or at least strongly considered doing so.

The Mana Aspect, on the other hand, had a Rarity of Minor, which was a surprise. He had spent most of his time meditating, observing the ambient flows of mana - the System had seen it fit to reward him for his dedication. He'd have to keep that in mind going forward - it was possible to influence not only what Aspects the System would show him but also their Rarity by the actions he took while training.

He predicted that the Aspect would improve the [Meditation]'s core utility, boosting his mana regen further or increasing his ability to perceive mana - either would be useful. Currently, mana was his most important resource. Without it, he couldn't reliably fight, so any way he could increase the limited resource was highly valuable.

From what he had seen so far, it was definitely the top contender.

He had already set aside the Durability Aspect for [Sculpting], but for the sake of thoroughness, he briefly considered it.

Now that his capabilities had evolved, the ability to become harder to damage while meditating became more appealing. It didn't synergize perfectly with his current build, but he could imagine a world where he was able to sit back from a distance and control his Golems, all the while being impervious to damage. Of course, that eventuality wasn't realistic. Most likely, the boost wouldn't be that extreme due to the poor conceptual synergy between [Meditation] and Durability.

The last option, Ignition, was also a head-scratcher. He had gotten the Aspect from Two-tailed Squirrel with the ability to set its tails on fire, leading him to believe that the Aspect similarly would allow him to set things on fire, or perhaps more likely, set himself on fire while meditating. It was a funny image that he had no desire to pursue. Maybe Claire, with her strong Fire Affinity and resistance to the element, could have made use of it.

He shook his head. After a moment of reflection, he realized that Ignition didn't necessarily have to do with fire. The Aspect could have been based on a broader definition of the word. In which case, he paused, unsure what it would actually result in.

Whatever the case may have been, he figured Ignition would work best with a long-range Skill like [Unstable Mana Bolt].

Clover went back and forth mentally, struck with indecision. All the options had clear strengths - it wasn’t easy to pick one. “Between a Dream, Interior, or Mana Aspect, what one would you pick for [Meditation]?” Clover asked, reducing the choice to the strongest options.

“You’re on a Landmark Path?” Ron asked.

Clover nodded.

“I don’t have an answer, but I have a question that’s been stuck in my mind that may be helpful to consider: At max Level, how many Aspects can a Skill hold? If it's a high number, the importance of planning synergies between future Aspects goes up.” Ron adjusted his collar. “Unless you have a clear direction of where you want to take the Skill, you should follow a more standard route that’ll synergize well with future Aspects, allowing you to remain flexible with your choices. That said, I don’t know what one between Interior or Mana would best fit that role.”

Clover nodded again. What Ron said made sense. While every choice he made opened doors, they also closed a similar amount.

He didn’t have an overarching plan in place for [Meditation], so it would be for the best if he kept his options as open as possible without skimping on power or potential with his choice.

Also, the line of thought raised another question: Did the order in which he took Aspects matter? Would a Skill paired with Wind, Fire, Explosion result in something drastically different when with a different ordering, for example, Explosion, Wind, Fire.

“I’d go with Dream,” Claire chimed in.

“Why?” Clover asked.

"Sometimes, I like dreams more than real life." She held out a Gatorade bottle partially filled with a murky gray liquid. "I'm aware that's not a particularly helpful comment. Here's a Lesser Potion of Chicken Communication; maybe it'll help you make up your mind."

"I'll pass, thanks." Clover shook his head; the ability to communicate with chickens sounded interesting, but the potion looked somewhat like radioactive sludge. He'd rather not drink something like that first thing in the morning; it'd make him nauseous the entire day. "How did you even make something like that?"

“A chicken bone and some magic.”

“Where did you get the chicken bone?”

“Ron bartered for it.”

Ron shrugged. “It was free.”

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Clover chuckled and then refocused on the decision he had to make.

If he was willing to roll the dice, Interior and Dream had the potential to net him something amazing, but that decision would most likely lock him into a different path of progression, changing what he could do with the [Meditation] going forward.

Maybe he had lost his nerve, but he wasn’t willing to risk a bad evolution, not when he had such a solid option available.

After a moment of hesitation, where he wondered if the Recommended Aspects he did not choose would carry over to the next selection, Clover selected the Mana Aspect.

Breath in. Breath out. Mana is impossible to escape; it suffuses even the very air we breathe. Paradoxically, it remains immaterial - out of reach, avoiding the grasp of most. However, for the few that can touch it, even a single unit is enough to kill a man or to spark a cascade of events capable of toppling empires and raising the dead.

Greedily gather more with each breath.

Congratulations, in your stillness, your connection to magic has deepened. While meditating, your mana regeneration is further increased, and due to your increased connection, your control over your magical energies is slightly increased. +2 Skill Paths unlocked.

Clover was satisfied with his decision. It hadn’t resulted in the largest change, but it’d allow him to keep his options open while also improving on the Skill’s core functionality.

He opened the Skill Paths screen to see what new options he had unlocked. Even with his earlier purchases, he still had 17 Skill Points left over.

Lines wiggled across the screen, connecting part of [Meditation]’s Skill Tree to [Magical Talent]’s Tree. He clicked on the box connecting the two, eager to see what the new type of fusion Path would hold.

Mana Perception 0/10

To perceive is to corrupt.

Prerequisites(2): Magical Talent I, Meditation I, ?, Fractured Soul, Mana Attunement, ?, Magic Tracking, ?...

Quest: None.

Everything related to the [Magical Talent] had given him amazing rewards so far, so he decided to invest in the Path.

The human brain processes what it sees, distorting light into familiar images. Similarly, the soul, as it perceives mana, twists it to match its image. Only with a light and impartial touch can the true design of the ambient mana be perceived.

Accept Skill Y/N: Mana Sense - Lvl 0 (Common)

Consume your own mana, burning it brightly to reveal the magic that surrounds you. This Skill has a maximum range of 10 meters and a cost of 5 MP per minute to sustain.

Clover mulled over the Path's description. If it was to be trusted, the mere act of perceiving mana could change it; maybe that explained part of what he had seen and heard while meditating.

Still, that couldn't account for all of it. While he could accept that perception had the ability to shift a magical structure, from what he had seen so far, it was too weak of an effect to majorly affect anything at a distance.

He scratched his head absentmindedly and accepted the Skill without much thought; there was no reason not to. His soul space shifted as a new structure emerged, consuming a small portion of the empty space. One day, he wouldn't have room for more - today was not that day.

“[Mana Sense],” he muttered under his breath.

The space around him came into focus, and perhaps, for the first time, he could sense the mana that surrounded him clearly. It was as if the resolution of his perception had been doubled. No, more than that. Within the sphere that [Mana Sense] illuminated, he could track everything.

Further from the center, the effect weakened.

Congratulations! Mana Sense has reached Level 1. +1 Skill Point.

The Skilled ticked up, minutely strengthening and increasing its range.

Clover shut his eyes. Even with them closed, he could broadly track Claire and Ron’s location just by the feel of their aura. Additionally, different from the impression humans made, his Golems also made a mark on the ambient mana - it had just been too subtle for him to trace before.

Even the ground beneath him emitted a slight, hard-to-track mana signature.

After playing with the Skill, testing its limits, he let it fade away before it could incur another tithe of mana. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He had been lucky to get a Skill from the Path, let alone one as good as [Mana Sense].

With it, one day in the future, if its range expanded enough, he’d be able to accurately command his golems from far away - far from danger.

“You got something good?” Ron asked.

“Yup. I got a new Skill.”

“Nice,” Claire said. “Are you done with your spending spree; can we go now?”

Clover nodded. He had 9 Skill Points left, but he could save them for later. It’d be for the best if they got an early start to the day. He'd wait till they arrived at the museum to make another Golem. That should, if he wasn't unlucky, push the Skill up to Level 10, raising the max number of Golems he could control at once to 3.

They gathered their supplies and then left their corner of the building.

Clover took a deep breath as he wheeled outside the factory. His Stats had gone up, but he was still afraid. That hadn’t changed. He doubted it would ever change.

Outside, a medium-sized group had gathered around Dr. White as he talked. Clover was too far away to make out the exact words he spoke.

A rustling of leaves without a source faintly echoed throughout the parking lot, and then the group that had gathered around the doctor dispersed, off to do their tasks for the day.

Clover waved.

From a distance, the doctor didn't notice.

That was okay. There’d be plenty of time to catch up later. For now, he had to use the precious daylight carefully.

With Mr. Cat, the many-handed Golem, and his bag filled with supplies in his lap, he wheeled around the city, retracing their path to the museum. Bouncing around lightly as he rolled over cracks and bumps in the road, they cut a wide arc around where they had encountered the giant spider yesterday, entering a new part of the city’s downtown area.

Clover's stomach dropped as, in the distance, a familiar bell tolled, sealing his fate. "Did you hear that?" Clover asked, hoping he had just imagined it.

“Yes?” Claire responded, scrunching up her eyebrows as she questioned why he had asked a question with such an obvious answer.

“Ok. That’s ok.” Clover said. He drummed his fingers across the side of Wheel. As long as he avoided that area like the plague, he should be okay. And. He mentally paused, trying to reassure himself that everything would be ok. Just hearing the bell from a distance wasn’t confirmation that his dream was some sort of prophecy. Maybe he had heard it yesterday without noticing, and his subconscious had summoned it into the dream.

It was possible. Possible was all he needed to distract himself from a growing strand of panic in his stomach.

He did his best to smooth out his expression, not allowing his concern to show on his face. “That wasn’t there before.”

Ron nodded while staring down at his treasure map. “It wasn’t. The System probably teleported it here back on the first night when it was rearranging reality.”

"I still don't get why it bothered to teleport everything around. It doesn't make any sense," Claire said.

Clover shrugged. "No, it doesn't, but giant man-eating monsters don't make much sense either," Clover said in a mostly normal tone.

"They're women-eating monsters too," she pointed out light-heartedly, between nervous glances across the street.

“People eating monsters, then,” he corrected.

Thankfully, they avoided any people-eating monsters on their journey. Unharassed, they arrived back at the museum.

Its interior was dark - the generator powering the backup lights had gone out.

Clover peered into the shadows, searching for danger, steeling himself for what was to come.