“Alright. Just two of them this time.

How about I take one out then drag the other one somewhere and chain it up?”

“By Magic’s grace. He’s planning an abduction. It is at moments like these that we feel the burden of an observer weigh down on us.

To experience true evil yet be helpless to prevent it.”

“Alright drama queen. They attack me on sight, not exactly children we’re dealing with here.

I reckon the smaller one should be easier to drag around. Can’t quite make it out but it looks like a small bear or something.

What do you think?”

“From the cramped alley our hero has managed to spot two defenseless undying.

One with the stature of a taller, more rugged humanoid. Listless eyes reflect its empty mind.

The second of the two, a smaller by a large margin yet a wider, beastly looking thing. Its fur either ripped out or in the process of falling off.

What we do know, they look far stronger than our hero. Prevailing in both height and body mass.”

“Size isn’t everything though. You saw the group earlier, right? All bigger than me. Super slow though.

Right. We’re going to need some rope.

Right. I don’t have rope.

Wait! I got this.”

“Miscellaneous items fall to the ground in a disorderly fashion. One by one our hero starts fiddling with the quite large collection of undying remains.”

“And then like this.

This here could work as well. No. never mind better stick to the same thing.

Could use a needle and twin at this point.”

“Where did this mystifying ability to fit together one piece to another in succession come from?

After a few moments of concentrated concertation our hero has managed to create himself a makeshift tool. Presumably to bind his victim”

“Haha! Done!”

You have discovered handicraft.

Hand crafted items will receive appropriate bonuses.

|Recycled undying hide|

Decrepit leather possesses surprising tensile strength.

“Hastily made by a novice handicrafter.”

“Handicraft. Hand crafting. I’m not sure what I was expecting when it came to crafting but this seems a bit odd.”

“The handicraft profession is one tied to most things and is often considered a necessary auxiliary profession. As it adds bonuses to various other crafting professions.”

“Alrighty then. I’m going to see if my rope works.”

“Our hero grips his worn out apprentice sword and takes a deep swing before throwing it towards the two undying foes.

The throw proves to be accurate, piercing into the taller of the two creatures, impaling him to the concrete wall behind him.”

“Wow! You see that!? Can’t believe it hit it!”

“The four legged beast roars once it realizes it is being attacked and launches its agile body towards our hero.”

“Easy boy. Easy now.”

“Our hero throws out his signature flailing punch, dislocating the beast’s shoulders and slamming backwards and into the wall, rendering it either unconscious or dead.”

“Nice. Let’s see if we can wrap this bad boy up and take him back.”

“We can only watch in awe as our protagonist shatters the taller creature's head, then tying the second victim. Practically mummifying it.”

“I just knew all those undying remains would come in handy. And you were being all judgmental!

Well look at me now!”

“The insane wails of the desolate human being known as Ji. A creature so far gone that one must ponder the things he’s experience on his journey to complete lunacy.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Okay. I don’t wanna to drag it along the ground. It’ll ruin the ropes.”

“The fetters that bind the creature have no semblance of a rope. A case could be made if one would like to compare it to rotten leather strips.

We watch the remorseless Ji Aleksy roll the bound beast onto corpse of its headless friend and dragging it off. All the while, humming a gloomy tune.”

“You reckon it’ll be able to escape this building if I untie it?”

“There are moments in life when one has to look back. Look back and ponder the decisions and actions one took. To lead them to where they are now. This is one of those moments.”

“Huh? I thought you’d get a kick out this. Well. Whatever.”

“We watch our hero play with dirt in a quiet corner of this newfound mansion. The building could be considered large enough to house a dozen or so families.”

“I’m not playing. I’m trying to get the dirt to properly respond.

Not making much progress on this though. but It’s almost like I can taste it.

I’ve got this course feeling in my mouth.”

“Please. Stop eating dirt. This will be the end of me.”

“I’m not eating anything. It's magic research.

I’ve been wondering. There are elements right? And there is mana. But there is also elemental mana.

Which is the strongest?”

“When one delves into the most basics of magic, one finds mana. It is the clay that is used to create the sculpture.

Magic however, is more like untethered laws. Some are subjectable to change while others stay firm and unaltered.”

“Oh.”

“When this tiny world was sent into chaos by external forces. A higher being took action, channeled the copious amount of energy and used it to fuel new magic laws.

Thus when one falls onto the question of what mana, what element, what aspect or any other variation of mana is the strongest. The answer is always the same. All are equal, but the laws are not.”

“Hmm. That’s kind of interesting. Elements are laws. And mana fuels those mana? Am I understanding this right?

No. wait. Does that include the laws of physics?

What can be changed and what can’t? What does change mean? Could I alter time? Stop it? Reverse it?

This is eye opening.”

“There are certain truths that hold together the universe, many of which are closely tied together.

Majority of laws are old. Very old. But that being said, some are new, young. And the main difference between a law and a truth is that new laws can be created, bent or even broken.

Truths however are a stable, a constant in this ever changing sandbox we call the multi-verse.”

“Woah, dude.

I don't think I really care about such grand things though. Feels too far away. Know what I mean?”

*Grorp*

“The wheezing and muffled roars can be heard in the next room.”

“Oh! Sweet. It’s awake!”

“Our hero quickly discards the pile of soil in his hands and makes his way to the enclosed room.

A slight grin plastered on his face, one might even describe it as mischievous. But we know it to be sadistic.”

“I’m not going to hurt him. I’m going to befriend him.”

Optional: Befriend one creature.

“See? I’m not sure about connecting with one of these things on a physical or psychological level though.”

“Writhing on the floor we find the creature trying to break free of its bonds.

Its untiring nature, high threshold for physical pain and simple mind. Will cause it to continue this endeavor for hours.”

“Hey buddy. Yeeeaah. That’s a good little bear-monster.

No, no. Easy there buddy, come on now.”

“We watch on with apprehension as a grown human tries to swindle his way into the good graces of a tied up undying Umbaraous.”

“Here you go buddy. Ye. That’s right.

Taste good doesn’t it?”

“One would have to reluctantly agree that our hero’s tactics are not without their merits. The simple minded are easily made dependent on their provider.”

“Hehe. That’s the plan. I think the poor feller was just a bit hangry.

Awh. He’s almost cute. If it wasn’t for the dislocated shoulder and the messy fur.

And the smell.

The odd breathing isn’t help either.”

“The more apt person would have noticed that this particular specimen of Umbaraous is female.”

“What? For real? Huh.”

“A day passes as the conditioning continues. It is only a matter of time before foes becomes friend.”

“C’mere sweety. Who’s a cute lil bear-monster?”

*braaaar!*

“That’s right. Just a little bit closer.”

“One is in shock and awe at the scenery. Those of you who just tuned in, it must come as a surprise how large his Umbaraous has grown during the sole night it spent with our hero

Be at ease. I will explain.

You see the undying, are a dormant species by nature. This dramatic growth is one of the main reasons a horde of them is so feared.

An army of undying grows exponentially after feasting.

And. No, that’s about it. We could go deeper into the more complex reasons of how the undying magic works but we don’t want that old spy in on too many secrets.”

‘Tsch!’

“Eh? What? Old spy?

Hello!? Is someone there!?

No?

Awwwwh. Who’s Ji´s little monster? Thas right! You are!”

Optional: Befriend one creature. (Complete)

“Just wish I had something to celebrate with.”

“Despite what the empirical evidence would show, our hero did not entice the creature with food.

It may have caused it to cease hostility but under no circumstances would it cause it to have anything aside from primal feelings towards our protagonist.

No. what our hero has achieved is to exude a feeling of goodwill. This is something of an innate talent that few are born with and less learn.

Question is. Did our hero learn this specific set of skills himself or was this something he was born with?”

“I assure you, I have always been this charming. Often people would describe me as charismatic.

Isn't that right buddy? Yes it is, yes it is. Good girl.

Alright. Just a few days now and we’ll be able to finish this quest. I’m just going to take it easy. Maybe go hunt a few things for experience.

I should probably focus on creating an ability or something, I wonder if it’s easier to use magic once it’s considered learned.”

“The ever bumbling buffoon, we call Ji Aleksy has finally stopped talking and has set himself the goal of completing yet another objective of his quest.

Slowly the mansion gets barricaded and our new friend has grown too large to exit the building without breaking down walls. And incidentally that is what it did.”

“Damnit Arra!”

‘Wrooo.’

“No! Bad bear. I was trying to make everything safe inside the house. Now we’ve got a giant hole here.

Luckily you just knocked down one wall. Alright come here.”

“The days quickly go by as our hero holes himself inside the mansions more secure areas.

The creature, now known as Arra has taken to sleep in the hole it created.”

“I’ve managed to gain over hundred levels since I came here. This has been incredibly productive. Right?

Level one hundred and sixty three. Whoooah. That went by fast.”

“The unreasonable experience bonus our protagonist benefits from may be a gift, or a curse in disguise. How will the inexperienced do once he faces a harder scenarios.”

“No point in going to hunt anymore either. Experience penalty seems a bit unfair. No?”

“Do in days what other do in months or years. And complain about it. This is what we are dealing with.”

“There has been no progress in taming this lil bastard.”

Optional: Connect with a creature on a psychological level. (Complete)

“This one got complete for some reason though. Which is great, no idea how that happened but I almost feel a tangible connection with Arra.”

“Eighteen hours. That’s all the duration our hero has left to survive. And it would appear it will be easily done.

Assuming nothing foils such optimistic predictions.

That’ll be all for now. We’ll chat once the young master decided to do something of note.”