Facing a pair of ghouls in combat wasn’t something Luke was ready for. Bullying a few low-level zombies didn’t prepare him to face the elite Draugsvär warriors. The ghouls charged forward in step with one another, with their pikes leading the charge.

A corrosive domain washed over the forge as they closed in. Luke’s tender soul recognised the scent of [Undeath] in the air and shivered. Though Luke caught the pikes on his shield, he couldn’t counterattack. The length of the pikes kept him at a distance.

“Rurik, your forge is under attack! Wake the fuck up!” Luke shouted, fighting a retreat closer to the furnace. The ghouls jabbed against the shield with pikes. They were strong, and even probing strikes tested his defences.

Raw power wasn’t the only advantage the ghouls had. Their pikes were made of elongated bone that they could bend in the air. Just as Luke thought he had deflected a blow from the one on the left, its weapon curved around the shield, and skewered his biceps.

Luke roared and brought his hammer down on the shaft, smashing it. The steel tip of the weapon embedded deeper into his arm, and blood flowed freely.

It hurt.

Fortunately, even Rurik couldn’t sleep through the entire battle. Spilling molten ash onto the floor, the forgemaster swayed to his feet.

After taking a moment to take in the scene, Rurik squinted and let loose a burst of flames. It was like standing next to a waking volcano. Such a show of strength could have turned the tide of the battle, had Luke not been standing in the way.

To the forgemaster’s credit, the shield he helped Luke make was as fire resistant as advertised. He reflexively blocked the fireball, and was able to bear the brunt of the searing heat. The edges of the fireball curled around his shield, and caught his shoulder in the blast. Pain surged through his arm, but he kept hold of his shield.

[Concept ranked up: Bulwark - Gold. Awarded for blocking an attack from a creature significantly more powerful than you. +5 Endurance, augments shield and armour. You have enough affinity with this concept to create an Ability. You shall not pass.]

Luke screamed.

The first ghoul was incinerated, but the second ghoul, who Luke had inadvertently shielded from the flames, took the opening. With a quick thrust, the [Death Guard] stabbed him in the gut.

Fortunately ranking up his [Bulwark] filled his body with defensively aspected aether. The sharp blade penetrated skin, but the aether hardened the thick sheet of abdominal muscle beneath.

Rock hard abs slowed the attack just enough for Luke to drop his shield, and grab the pike, stopping it from going any deeper.

It was close.

Driven by pain and rage, Luke pulled the metal from his flesh, then yanked the weapon out of the ghoul’s hands.

Before he could close the distance, the ghoul drew a short sword from its hip to defend itself. With a quick parry, Luke caught the ghoul’s thrust with the claw of his hammer, and swept it out of the way. The ghoul brought its sword back into the centre, but Luke turned the momentum of the hammer against the side of the blade, smashing it in two.

Even with half a sword the ghoul was dangerous, and a chop with the broken blade almost sliced off Luke’s fingers.

While dancing with the undead, Luke kept the forgemaster in the corner of his vision. He couldn’t survive another fireball. For his part, Rurik had surrounded himself with flames and looked like he was trying to line up a shot.

The dwarf was still too drunk to aim.

For the next few seconds, Luke tried to position the ghoul for a clean shot. However, the ghoul was smart enough to catch on. It positioned itself behind him, so Rurik was forced to hold back, lest he immolate Luke with friendly fire.

This meant that Luke was on his own, but the behaviour created an opening. As they were turning together, Luke caught the ghoul’s sword arm in his armpit, pushing through the agony that flared through the burnt shoulder.

Up close and personal, Luke brought his hammer down hard on the top of its head. This attack dazed the ghoul and dented the helmet. Luke reversed his grip and introduced the ghoul’s brains to the claw of his hammer.

[You have killed a level 11 Death Guard. Loot generated from death echo.]

[You have gained enough experience to reach level 8.]

The ghoul had stopped moving. It fell to the floor with the claw embedded in the helm, but there were no more ghouls to fight, so Luke could retrieve it at his leisure. Ragged breaths rattled around his ribcage. He winced in pain. The adrenaline flowed through his veins, but as his tunnel vision widened, he took stock of his injuries.

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Two steel blades had embedded in his body, and his left side had suffered third-degree burns. The raw red muscle of his shoulder was exposed next to skin that had been burnt black. The heat from the blast had already cauterised the wound, but it was leaking a sticky clear fluid down his arm.

Though less badly burnt, the blistered skin on his hand where he had been holding the shield was also problematic. Luke tried to wiggle his fingers, but he didn’t seem able to do much more than twitch them.

Perhaps it was his superhuman attributes, or that he was getting used to his new reality, but Luke didn’t panic. His first proper fight had seen him recover from a similarly grievous wound. He had been sure that injury would either claim his arm, or his life. Granted, back then he immediately sank two attribute points into [Recovery], and this time he only had one point to spare.

One was better than none, so Luke spent the point into his [Recovery] without a second thought. Luke also had a marketplace, three thousand saved credits, and a very guilty looking dwarf.

“Are you.. alright, son?” Rurik stammered as he walked forwards. The forgemaster was still wreathed in flames. When Luke flinched back the aspect registered this and shook the flames away like a dog with wet fur. “Hold still. I can take the heat out of the burns.”

Initially, Luke hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he wanted any more of the forgemaster’s ‘help’. The burns were still excruciatingly painful, so after a few stubborn moments he accepted the offer.

When Rurik reached him, the aspect placed an ethereal hand over Luke’s shoulder, and immediately the pain lessened. It was like the spirit had put an ice pack over the wound, soothing the pain. The surge of healing from his boosted [Recovery] was helping, but even with flesh regrowing in front of his eyes he was concerned for the limb.

“Fucking hell, that hurt. Can you heal it?” Luke asked. The brief fight had definitely driven home the difference in power between himself and the forgemaster. He tried to keep his frustration from his voice, but wasn’t very successful.

“No. [Fire] and [Metal], that’s all I’m good for.” Rurik mumbled, sounding miserable.

“Arg. I’m going to pull out the spear tip in my arm. Can you cauterise the wound without turning me to ashes?” Luke asked behind gritted teeth. It came out more tetchy than he intended.

“I… I can do that, son.” The forgemaster nodded.

Without giving himself much time to think, and trusting in his attributes, Luke pulled the metal from his arm. A quick burst of pain followed as Rurik stopped the bleeding with his flames. Luke gingerly tried to flex his fingers and found they all worked, but when he bent his arm, he could feel the weakness in the limb.

The burns on his shoulder made it difficult to lift his arm more than a few inches. Already the burst of rejuvenation was slowing down. In the old world such injuries would have left him crippled, but Luke’s mindset was acclimatising quickly. The wound looked less critical, but the pain gave Luke solid motivation to speed it up any way he could.

Unlike his earlier feat of [Recovery] cultivation with the alcohol, Luke struggled to grasp the concept with his mind. Fighting off the effects of alcohol had been familiar, and therefore something he could wrap his mind around. Regrowing burnt flesh was too much like magic, and he hadn’t had enough time to get used to magic being a real thing.

Fortunately, he had other options. The marketplace became more populated by the hour, and he was relatively flush from his sales slowly rolling in. After waving off the concerned, but still drunk Rurik, he delved into the interface in search of something that could help him out.

Luke had enough to buy the [Mammoth Steak], but his priorities had changed. The steak would help cultivate [Strength], which wasn’t what he needed.

Instead, Luke scrolled through the listings until he found items that boosted the [Recovery] cultivation. The most common variety were teas of various sorts. The type of tea gave him some insight into the world outside his dungeon, but he wasn’t in a contemplative mood.

Each of the teas claimed to help cultivate [Recovery], and some of the more expensive ones said that they would help with external concepts as well. That was interesting, but he only cared about recovering from his wounds.

To that end, Luke spared no expenses, and bought one of the more expensive [uncommon] recovery resources. The [Primordial Tea Leaf] was sold by a person going by [Jade Goddess], which Luke suspected wasn’t her birth name.

The vibrant green leaf materialised into his open palm. He could feel the aura of vitality coming off it, and smell the primal forest it came from. Its domain was potent enough that a hazy image of a gigantic leafy tree formed in his mind as he brought the leaf up close to his nose. The leaf in his hand was the size of his arm, but the tree in his vision had millions of even larger leaves.

With Rurik’s help, Luke filled a mug with water. The aspect dipped his pinky in the water and it went from icy cold to a roiling boil in less than a second. Swaying from side to side, Rurik was struggling to stay awake.

Not for the first time Luke questioned how Rurik could get drunk in the first place. The spirit could walk through tables like a ghost when he wanted, but his body had at least some physical presence.

With no real instructions or even a teapot, the primordial tea ended up as more of a stew than a brew. Even so, Luke could feel the potent concept of life bubbling away in the water.

With a last look at his pus leaking shoulder, Luke picked up the mug and drank the tea.

Shit, that’s hot, he thought as he burnt his tongue.

Before sitting down to meditate on the concept of healing, Luke went over to the shimmering corpse. Reaching down with his good arm he poked it. Misty aether twisted through the air and formed a small object made of bone in his outstretched hand.

[Sewer Key - Uncommon. Grants access into the deep city.]

[Quest received: Unlock the Deep Gate in the sewers and kill the Three-Headed Rat below. Reward - Golden ticket + Choice of Rare Item, 10’000 credits, 1 Free Attribute Point.]

Gross.