A stream of scans scrolled down the corner of Drake’s vision; Drake wondering if the

scanning function of her Overlay could perform mass scans of everything within her line of

sight. All the enemies were unranked, but all had higher average Attribute Levels than Drake.

Further more, though the monsters classes were locked, many of the scans indicated that her

new enemies had former classes, making Drake wonder how much more deadly they were

than the first Denizen she’d been forced to fight.

Their stats are lower, but I won’t know just how much danger I’m in until I test the

waters.

Drake took a deep breath, trying her broken arm, receiving pangs she felt were the

equivalent to furious flames.

Looks like I don’t have rapid regeneration like the vampires in the stories told on Earth.

She readied herself, directing her spear point at the first skeleton in the long line of

monsters walking toward her. The monster was a former grapple expert with an average

attribute level of 0.5.

Drake glanced at her broken spear as a memory from one of her many table top games

filled her mind.

“Skeletons don’t take piercing damage,” muttered Drake, letting the spear slide through

her fingertips until she held the weapon just below the metal end, turning it around in her grip,

repointing the blunted end toward the Skeleton.

Guess this will have to do…

She inched toward the grappler, trying to stay aware of the additional skeletons behind

the current vanguard of the mob. She analyzed the body of the skeleton, but none of the same

potential weak points popped up as they had when she’d fought the Denizen. The skull and

chest were both empty, and Drake decided her best chance at survival was dishing out as

much blunted punishment as she could managed with the shaft of the spear.

A plan that seemed credible, until the first skeleton lunged, grabbing the spear shaft

and yanking Drake forward. She was easily pulled off balance and for the second time in less

than a day, grabbed by her neck; the skeleton ripping the weapon from her hand in a ferocious

tug, tossing the spear well behind itself. Drake’s grip not enough to keep ahold of the weapon.

Her eyes went wide, but before matters could get worse, a familiar black beam lanced

out, stopping the skeleton from moving. She glanced back at Vanish, giving him a single nod

before making a move of her own.

She swept the monster’s legs out from underneath the frozen skeleton, glad to find it

was far less sturdy than the Denizen had been. The body of the grappler dropped to its back,

and since drake had no other weapons, she used her body, stomping down as hard as she

could. Relief filled her as the bones shattered under her assault, but she couldn’t give too

much attention to any one monster with the growing number of foes cresting the mountain top.

She continued to stomp down until the skull was crushed, Vanish’s energy dispersed,

and she received a notification informing her of another 0.3 attributes being added to her pool

of unspent points.“How many times can you do that,” yelled Drake.

“Well I’m scared half to death, and this meter in my vision is full, so as many times as it

fills up I guess!”

“What meter?”

“The meter that shows gathered fear, its the energy source for my Dread Beam skill,”

yelled Vanish as Drake stepped forward, preparing herself for the next opponent. Her scan

revealing the next skeleton to be a former Brute.

“Well don’t just lay there, keep firing!”

:Got it,” yelled back Vanish, chuckling.

Drake immediately felt terrible at her choice of words, but before she could apologize,

the next skeleton was frozen in place a yard away. The hulking figure was stopped with its long

arms out toward Drake, its fists balled up in threat.

Not today bud, sorry bout it!

Repeating her last tactic, she knocked the Brute over and stomped the foe until all that

remained was its unmoving arms and legs. Its torso and head crushed completely.

Drake stumbled trying to step over the bones of the Brute’s long arms, confused as to

why the bones that formed its extremities remained connected to one another. She

momentarily stared at the large fist of the brute and smiled; picking up the limb in her offhand,

swinging it about, getting a feel for the weight.

Is there something still linking the bones, maybe some sort of magic?

She couldn’t think on the matter for but a moment, yet she still froze briefly enough to

have a completely absurd thought.

Hmm, I wonder…

Drake smirked and charged, rushing the next skeleton with a burst of speed, hoping her

improvised blunt weapon would hold up with what she planned. Her first swing was aimed at

the knees of a petite skeleton; its scan identifying it as a former Ranger.

The long arm she held by the humorous gave her a range advantage; Drake’s cleaving

strike obliterating the fragile knees of the skeleton. Without hesitation, she followed through,

drawing the improvised weapon back, before swinging it overhead like a sledgehammer. The

skull of the Ranger crushed in an instant.

Both swings hadn’t been perfect, as the arm had bent slightly at the elbow with each

attempted strike, the arm moving almost how Drake would imagine a flail would. Only Drake

didn’t have time to be picky, settling on the generic war hammer for at least her current

engagement.

This will have to do for now!Drake smiled, then immediately frowned, noticing that the fingers of the Brute arm she

used had cracked. She nearly tossed the arm aside in frustration, until she had another idea.

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Why not… they are bones…

Drake tried to use her Reanimate skill, afraid that she had to spend the points on herself

first, but lucked out receiving a new notification once she tried.

*Notification* Reanimate Successful - Arm of the Brute -

You have created your first minion. Arm of the Brute. Your connection to this limb is

deeper than the bones of any other undead creatures.

Scan - Hybrid - Monster/Weapon

Name: Arm of the Brute

Rank: Unranked

Age: ???

Class: Locked/ Former Brute/ Weapon

Average Attribute Level: 0.1

Stats -

Offense: 0.1

Defense: 0.1

System: 0.1

Scan Results - This limb was once the arm of a mighty warrior. Now it is the tool of a

newborn Cultivator. Its limits are bound only by its wielders imagination.

Would you like to level up this minion, Yes / No ?*

Drake smiled and clicked yes, sacrificing another 0.3 Attribute points to level her

minion. The fist opened, and then closed as the damage to the fingers was restored, and the

arm straightened, losing all its previous flexibility as if the minion knew what it was to be used

for.

Now that is what I am talking about, Thought Drake, ignoring the apparent selections

that needed to be made for her minions level up.

“Incoming,” yelled Vanish, and another beam was shot over her shoulder, stopping the

next skeleton in its tracks completely. Then the tied of battle was changed once again. Drake

darted forward, aiming her new weapon at the skull of her next victim. The arm of the Brute

hurtling toward the skull of her next target, taking its head from its shoulders in a powerful

smash. The skeletal skull crumbled underneath the power of the blow and Drake roared as she

ended the skeleton even before she could scan the monster for its stats.

The next few moments were nothing more than elated carnage; Drake spinning through

the skeletons, knocking limbs from bodies, smashing the undead to bits.

Vanish fired beams from a distance, beginning to save his shots for instances where

Drake wasn’t entirely safe from being flanked.

The skeletons numbers swelled, and dwindled simultaneously. Drake wasn’t accurate

nor graceful using her off hand, but she didn’t need to be with the war hammer like weapon.Some of her swings arced out, smashing through multiple skeletons all at once. Every swing

was tremendous, and if she wasn’t worried that she’d lose the upgrades flashing in the corner

of her vision, she’d have spent her growing number of attribute points to level the weapon

further.

“Don’t go to far, I won’t be able to help you if you push pass a certain point,” yelled

Vanish and Drake nodded, stepping back slowly. She stumbled trying to walk backward over

the scattered bones of her mayhem, sweeping her feet wide to clear the area as her enemies

approached.

“You ready,” yelled Drake in question, never taking her eyes from the monsters before

her.

“Yeah,” yelled Vanish in response.

Drake nodded her head and smirked, wondering just how long this night would last,

and if relief would come with the light of day.

“its time to level up!”

…

Aurora couldn’t believe what was happening. Drake was fighting tooth and nail to stay

alive. Her every swing with her strange weapon was pure devastation.

Every kill that the duo of Cultivators managed saw that their bodies were filled with a

black energy tinged with various colors of mana. Aurora didn’t know if what she saw was the

void energy that came with attributes, various types of combined mana, or even a spectrum of

both.

She couldn’t decide as she watched, knowing that these types of magical resources

were supposed to be rare, which is why Cultivators both leveled up slowly, and ascended even

more slowly. Ranks were supposed to be hard to acquire. Yet the pair might as well have been

getting spoon fed energy, gathering the powerful substances in large quantities with every kill.

The energy that rolled off the Traveler and Vanish in waves was heavy. Drake’s aura

becoming dense, growing more oppressive the longer she fought. The force surging from her

chest was tangible to the point that Aurora could tell the skeletons approach was being

effected.

Some of the skeletons Aurora scanned were as high as level seven. Yet Drake either

broke them down piece by piece, or the foes were given absolutely no chance when Vanish

froze them in place, making the skeletons nothing but statues to be destroyed.

I would say that she was at risk of tiring at this rate, but with that meditation skill, she

seems to be unaffected by all of this.

The sight reminded her of seeing construction workers in the palace breaking down

walls to add rooms or space to existing areas. Aurora could only wonder what Drake would be

capable of with her other arm not being broken as she watched the Traveler work.

This should be impossible…She couldn’t tell if Drake was incredibly lucky; if her and Vanish were a perfect team, or

if the enemies were supremely unmatched. The pairs skills obviously put the skeletons at a

disadvantage, but with how many their were of the monsters, Aurora started to wonder if she

was just making excuses.

She wanted to believe that those of her home born within high society were the

mightiest mortals the world of Cultivation had to offer, but as she watched Drake, as well as

Vanish grow, her faith begun to dwindle.

She’s in your body Aurora, you may have been just as capable…

She tried to give herself the benefit of a doubt, but didn’t actually believe she’d have

come close to the Cultivator she watched blooming before her. As Drakes impressive growth

more than likely came from her influences being born on the slave planet known as Earth, while

Vanish’s own drive more than likely came from being sentenced to death, and given a second

chance at life, and not just any kind of life, but a powerful one.

Aurora wondered how long it would take before Drake used her left arm and hand, as

well as she had seen her use her dominant limb during the Traveler’s first skirmish with the

Imperial guards.

She’d be a force to be reckoned with if she could use the art of duel wielding. Hasn’t

been seen in millennia, but anything is possible.

Aurora didn’t know if she would feel that way if she was speaking about anyone but

Drake, or her brother Scepter.

I wonder what choices she is going to make with that weapon of hers, all of those

options seem interesting, I don’t know that I’d be able to pick easily, thought Aurora, looking

over the upgrade options for the Arm of the Brute.

*Notifications* - Upgrade Selections -

Offense: Form of the Palm , Form of the Spear , Form of the Blade.

Defense: Shoulder mounted Defender , Flying Shield , Exoskeletal Armor.

System: Dread Beam , Necrotic Energies , Life Lych.*

Aurora had slowly read through the choices, agitated that none of the upgrades would

be described until after they were picked. This made Aurora want Drake to duel wield that

much more, feeling that a secondary weapon would grant the Traveler even more combat

variety.

Answer for every situation would make her odds of surviving this place grow

exponentially.

She made assumptions as to what she believed would be the best choices, and was

excited to see how Drake would wield whatever selections she made.

Not only was Aurora impressed with Drake however; she was becoming equally

impressed by Vanish. Even with a broken back the young man found a way to be useful.

No way…Aurora was shocked to see Vanish’s hand move. Not because his spine was fixed, but

because he used the same black energy that had surrounded his body within the cavern,

somehow using it to make himself move.

Only his left hand was moving, but it was also the only part of his body covered with the

energy. He managed to move it small amounts in-between his shots at the skeletons, but still,

he was making progress, and with who he’d found himself partnered with, Aurora began to

wonder if even his growth was influenced by Drake.

Is he using bone manipulation on himself, but where would a lowborn get an idea like

that?

Just as quickly as she had the thought, she became ashamed of herself for having it,

knowing that she would have to stop thinking of Vanish as a lowborn Cultivator, and Drake as a

Traveler from a planet of slaves.

He could just be intelligent Aurora, it’s time to drop your biases about the low born.

Even he is showing more promise than you ever did. You were lucky to have met him before

you died…

Aurora pushed her thoughts aside, focusing on the combat. She knew that if she was

eventually able to communicate with Drake, that she would want to be an aid to both her and

Vanish. So as the pair trained, so did Aurora.

She floated just behind Drake, speaking out plans of attack that she felt would be best

with how their enemies moved. Every time a skeleton entered her range, she pointed them out,

describing their class, and any scan results.

Their weaknesses weren’t listed, but Aurora’s studies proved beneficial, as she’d been

forced to study classes and their makeup before gaining a system as all her family had been

forced to as children. Only royal libraries and those of high nobles kept such information, but

unlike her siblings, Aurora loved class work.

Rogue on the left. Speed class. Main skills deal with knife work. Enemy unarmed, so

threat level 2/13 stars.

The more Aurora practiced. The more the flow of combat changed before her eyes, and

the more information she remembered.

Ranger flanking from your south east. Ranged speed class. No ranged weapon. Skills

compliment bows and crossbows. Unarmed, but oh fuck, duck!

The ranger skeleton had bent down, retrieving a rock in one smooth motion and hurdled

it toward the back of Drake’s head before Vanish could fire his Dread Beam. Aurora didn’t know

what to do an had honestly panicked watching the rock, but to her utter disbelief, Drake moved

slightly, as if she had eyes in the back of her head; the rock grazing harmlessly across the side

of her face.

“Fuck that was close,” yelled Drake.

“My bad, I didn’t know it would do that,” yelled Vanish in response.“Its okay, I think I’m getting the hang of this,” roared Drake as she charged the ranger.

Oddly enough the skeleton tried to maintain its distance, but fell due to the debris of all its

fallen comrades.

Drake made quick work of the fallen undead, but Aurora’s mind was stuck on what

Drake had just managed to do.

How did she know it was coming, I can’t remember if the rock made anything more

than the softest of sounds as it moved…

Aurora continued her practice, growing more and more convinced with every interaction

Drake had with the monsters. Every dodge, every clean counter or parry Drake managed,

making Aurora believe with an ever growing certainty.

Can she hear me?

…

Drake couldn’t explain the feeling. It grew stronger and stronger with every skeleton she

killed.

She felt as if she had eyes in the back of her head. Felt as if nothing could approach

within a certain range of her body without her instantly becoming aware of its presence. Not

only that though, plans like that of coordinated strategy or warfare slipped into her mind as if

she had a military general locked away in her head, whispering instructions to her as she

moved.

Was I always capable of things like this? Then why did I ever lose the war games at the

academy, thought Drake chuckling.

She bobbed and weaved, reaping a path of utter bone breaking might through the

skeletons. Every swing created a chorus of shattering skeletal frames, that begun to fill Drake

with the thrill of combat, in a way that not even roleplaying in the woods with her live action

group over the weekends had.

“On your left,” came a voice, Drake had at first assumed was Vanish.

“I got it!”

Drake swung her arm out, not even looking toward the skeleton that rushed her from

her blindside. Only to have the voice yell again, pointing out another foe charging Drake from

her rear.

Behind you,” yelled the voice that Drake could now distinctly tell was a female. She

spun, crushing the foe she knew was a rogue even without scanning the dismantled body; her

overhead swing crumpling the skull of the skeleton into its caved in torso.

“From your south west, former Brute, class known for heavy blows and exceedingly

high strength, unarmed, threat level 5 out of 13 stars!”

Drake nearly froze, knowing where the voice came from, feeling its placement

instinctually. Drake able to feel a connection to the voice; the sensation unlike anything she’d

ever felt before.No fucking way, thought Drake, speaking aloud a name that she could feel resonate

deep within her soul.

“Aurora, is that you…?”