Clover scratched his hair with his left hand while he inspected the options the System had given him. At first, he had planned to use Durability no matter what, but now a wrench had been thrown in that plan - with the enticing Aspects the System had offered, he wasn’t entirely sure what one to pick.

Well, Ron and Claire were still finishing up, packing away their supplies, so he had a couple of minutes to burn. Clover adopted a thinking position, the type he had seen on the Greek statues in the museum, and mulled over his choices.

The first thing that caught his eye was the Animal Aspect. While it wasn't the most impressive in name or Rarity, it had carried over from his last selection. That piece of information gave him a clue as to how the selection process worked: if he didn't select one of the System's Recommended Aspects, there was a chance that it would be preserved till his next selection. He wasn't sure how high that chance was - the other two that had appeared on the list last time hadn't carried over.

He wasn’t upset that he had lost his chance to pursue the other two options; the two that had been removed - he didn’t remember their names - had been replaced by two better options. It was an overall upgrade to his selection.

Clover eyed his Golems. It wasn’t like he had made a conscious decision or anything, but most of his creations had ended up being animals - the many-handed Golem and his wheelchair were the only exceptions.

With so many compelling Aspects available, even with the trend in his creation process he had noticed, the Animal Aspect fell by the wayside. Maybe if he could somehow pump up its Rarity for [Sculpting III], he’d consider taking it, but as of now, it couldn’t compete with the other options.

Clover glanced over the Recommended Aspects first. His lips twitched upward toward the sky. It was just a funny coincidence, but the Aspect names, when put together in order, spelled out Lost Antique Animal - it almost sounded like an actual description of something.

As for the Aspects themselves, he didn't have much to go off of. The use of some Aspects, like Durability, was rather obvious, but others, like Antique, didn't give him much to go off of.

At least for Antique, he could somewhat guess how he had gotten it - interacting with a bunch of items in the museum probably had done it, but he had no clue what he had done to unlock the Lost Aspect.

He tried to think back to all the things he had done since the last Landmark Path. It didn't take long. He hadn't used [Sculpting] all that much in the intervening time. The two major projects he had undertaken since completing the first Landmark were the construction of his golemized wheelchair and Bob the Elephant.

He had used the Skill a few other times to make odds and ends, like the stone set of cutlery he had made around the campfire, but he doubted they were substantial enough in the eyes of the System to influence what Aspects he had been shown.

He shook his head; it didn't matter how he got the Aspects. It mattered how he'd use them.

In the case of the Antique Aspect, he theorized that it may allow him to more easily imbed a History and Identity into his Golems - two factors that [Named Golem] had led him to believe were important. On the other hand, he didn't like the connotation that the Aspect had. Antiques were fragile and, by definition, antiquated - he didn't want his Golems to be either of those things.

If it weren't for its Rarity, he probably wouldn't have considered it, but now… Well, the only clear plus side it had over Durability was the fact that taking it wouldn't cost him anything. Still, antiques were valuable; it was possible that the Aspect had layers to it that he wasn't considering.

As things were now, he wasn't inclined to take that risk. [Sculpting] was one of his most important Skills, and he didn't want to mess it up. In other cases, he'd have been more willing to take a riskier option.

He moved on to considering the Lost Aspect. It was the type of enigmatic thing that had the potential to be something amazing or wholly terrible - he'd put it at about a 50/50 chance of either being true.

While Lost was more appealing than Antique, he had reservations about it for similar reasons. Even in the best-case scenario, where the Aspect turned out to be useful and powerful, he struggled to imagine what it would do.

Somewhat humorously, he could imagine that the Aspect could add an effect to his sculptures that would make them easier to misplace or lose. If he was a merchant, he could run a racket with the Aspect. He could sell magical sculptures that were enchanted to make their owners misplace them so he could go back and collect them in the dead of night to sell again to other buyers.

He chuckled at the idea.

Maybe it'd turn his sculptures into lost relics or something. There was no way to be certain.

He glanced at the Aspects he had banked up. Ignition didn't make any sense at all to add. What would it do - help him catastrophically blow up his sculptures? That didn’t sound particularly appealing.

Sprout, on the other hand, was a viable option. On the surface, it seemed like it would be at odds with the unchanging nature of stone, but there was a real possibility that it would allow his sculpture to grow somehow. If that change carried over to his Golems, it'd be very valuable. Though, like with the other Aspects, there was no way to guarantee that'd happen.

As a stray thought, Clover realized that perhaps one day in the future, humanity would map out the System and its Aspects so thoroughly that it would no longer be a guessing game and instead be more of a science.

Alas, today was not that day - that day wasn’t even guaranteed to come. With nothing to go off of other than his instincts, he had to make a decision.

As the seconds ticked by, Clover stared blankly ahead, waiting for some divine spark of inspiration to strike him and clear away his indecision. It never came.

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“Ah, damn it,” Clover whispered under his breath as he forced himself to make a decision.

He selected Durability.

In the end, the simple upgrade had been too hard to pass up. While it may not have had the potential upside of the others, it didn’t have the downsides either.

With no delay, a blue screen appeared.

Straying from the traditional path, a young sculptor pursued magic as his ideal. At first, they were ridiculed, and their every attempt was met with failure. However, after 77 days of trial and error, their unique set of rules allowed them to discover the secret of how to shift stone under their grasp as if it were clay. Soon, a mountain of sculptures made of material no other crafter could bend began to rise from the earth. With each sculpture completed, the young crafter improved, and the quarry of black stone they pulled from deepened.

After 77 days of work, they made a 2nd discovery. Beneath the quarry, unearthed by their relentless digging, there was a cave marked with strange shapes and symbols. In it rested an ancient secret - the secret to why the blackstone was so durable. However, before the sculptor could decipher the markings, he mysteriously died. Hopefully, you won’t suffer the same fate.

Congratulations! Your sculptures have undergone a blanket improvement - they are now moderately more difficult to damage and destroy. +1 Paths Unlocked. Synergy Detected! +1 Paths Unlocked.

Clover’s eyes winded slightly as he read through the ominous message at the end of the Path. He knew, intellectually, that the System wasn't talking to him - the Path completion screen was probably a preset message, but it was still unnerving to read. He’d have preferred something a bit more upbeat and positive.

He shook his head, his anxiety fading away as he read over the rewards he had unlocked. Like he had expected, the Durability Aspect provided a bland but useful upgrade.

While he didn’t regret his choice, he couldn’t help himself from wondering one last time what the Lost Aspect would have resulted in. Maybe he’d choose it next time if it was still there merely on account of how cool its name was.

As for his bonuses, he was satisfied with them. A general boost in durability for his sculptures would pay dividends down the line once he turned them into Golems. The part that stood out to him the most was the fact that he had unlocked an additional Path through a synergy between the two Aspects. It was something - a factor he'd have to take into account when making decisions in the future.

He used [Appraisal] on Bob the Elephant, checking to see if the boost in Durability applied retroactively.

Lesser Golem: Bob the Elephant

Durability: 500/500

Mana: 50/50

Bones Break So They Can Mend: 0/100

Traits: [Pseudo Amethyst-Core], [Named Golem], [Durable I], [Remnant of a Distant Dream I].

Unfortunately, it did not seem like it did. Or at least if it had, it hadn’t visibly changed the Golem’s Durability.

Clover poked the Golem’s hide. He shrugged. He couldn’t tell a difference.

He reopened his Skill Paths screen, checking to see what else he had gained.

Durable Design 0/5

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Prerequisites(1): Sculpting II, Disproportionate Intelligence Stat, ?, Mind’s Eye, ?

Quest: None

[Durable Design] was cheap, so he’d pick it up eventually. Plus, it sounded useful. He wouldn’t turn down an extra avenue of Durability if he had the chance.

The Chisel and The Rune 0/10

Strange shapes and symbols mark the blackstone.

Prerequisites(2): Magic Aspect, Durability Aspect, ?, Skill Stone, ?, Runic Talent, ?

Quest: None

Clover hummed. Reading through the prerequisite section of Paths was always interesting. While most of the time they were utter nonsense, from time to time, he picked up an interesting nugget of information - apparently, he had a talent for engraving runes. He'd never have guessed that. Well, he wouldn't have guessed that he had a magical talent either, so he wasn't sure what to think.

He scrawled out a series of squiggly shapes through the air with his finger, pretending to draw runes. He didn’t know the first thing about the reality of engraving runes, but he thought it’d be fun.

Currently, he was just a few short Points away from completing [The Chisel and The Rune]; if something better didn't come along, he'd likely spend his Points on it next.

“You ready?” Ron asked.

"Ya. One second," Clover said. He took control of his elephant Golem's trunk, using it to deposit Mr. Cat into his lap. Then, he delved into his soul space, switching out the cat's connection for the glow-in-the-dark Golem. He'd switch back after they made their way back to the Monster Nest, but the lighthouse of a Golem was too useful not to use when navigating in the dark.

After stashing their things away by the museum's entrance, they entered the building. Clover commanded his Golems to lead the way, clearing the path ahead, sweeping it for danger. In the dark, it was easier to tell the differences [Named Golem] had made. Now, the light Sol gave off was moderately brighter and a shade warmer. That wasn't to say other light sources no longer reflected out of its bones. They clearly did. But, a sunshine orange sheen took up most of the real estate across its skeleton.

They arrived at the Monster Nest and retraced their path to the second cavern without incident. However, as he switched the thread in his soul space, disconnecting it from the glowing dinosaur, he noticed something about the tunnel they hid in had changed since they had last been there.

The green vines of moss that lined the walls had expanded - grown - but no, that wasn't all. He perked up his ears. "Do you hear that?" he asked. In the distance, echoing through the stone, it sounded like someone was slamming an acorn into a stalwart tree - a strange yet distinct sound.

"I think I do," Claire said, her eyes half-lidded in concentration as she spoke. "Is the cave collapsing or something?"

His back tingled. Something wasn't right - the monsters were too quiet. Clover peeked his head around the corner, glancing into the expansive cavern.

Roughly 15 Two-tailed Squirrels, the entirety of the caverns population, stood frozen, none moving a muscle. Then, as the faint echoing sound faded, the group of Level 1 and 2 monsters began to charge toward the tunnel in which they were hiding.

Clover gulped, fear, adrenaline, and a sliver of excitement welling up in his chest. While talking around the campfire, they had discussed what they would do in this type of situation.

It was one thing to talk; it was another to act. He tore his eyes away from the approaching mass of monsters for a brief second, glancing toward Ron and Claire. Ron nodded, cracking his knuckles, and Claire tensed her fist, flickers of fire rising up from between her fingers.

They weren’t backing down. It looked like he would be testing out Bob the Elephant sooner than he had expected.

Clover forced a smile onto his face. “Let’s do this.”