Mel roasted the remainder of her scavenged mushrooms and guzzled a full potion bottle of water before she could stop herself. Her stomach was growling something fierce and her throat burned. Everybody would need something to eat and drink before they could even think about finding a way out.

It was hard not to use the water to wash away the gore and blood from herself, but she had precious little as it was.

I would kill for a shower, she thought. Then she looked at the dead bodies neatly piled in the corner and chuckled darkly at the irony of her statement.

Once the food was roasting, Mel turned back to her new aspect skill.

[Omen Mark]

(Omen Aspect)

(Copper, Yellow/Spell)

(Grade 0 [0%])

Cost: Modest Mana & Stamina

Cooldown: Short

Single out a target for death, marking it with an ominous and debilitating sign.

Imprint(Copper Rank): Mark a target, enabling you to sense where they are within a 100-foot radius and triggering the [Marked for Death] affliction. Only one target can be marked at a time. Upon the death of a target, the mark can be moved at no additional cost.

[Marked for Death]: Creates a glowing sigil above the target’s head that only you and those you choose can see. Reduces the target’s physical and magical defenses proportional to your own. Afflictions placed upon this target will stack regardless of their original properties. Physical contact applies stacks of [Decay].

[Decay]: Withers the physical vessel of a target, dealing stacking damage-over-time and depleting stamina. Stacks accrue at a greater rate the longer you remain in physical contact.

“Legendary aspect indeed,” Mel whispered huskily. She grinned to herself despite the grim surroundings. The chamber was truly painted red.

Noticing that, Mel cleared her throat awkwardly. With the food still cooking, Mel got up to loot what remained of the Bloodtide Covenant members she had moved to the side of the room.

Good riddance.

Streamers of light streaked out from their bodies to each of her friends, depositing small piles of loot for them to wake up to. Mel now had a coin purse of [Blood Coins] stuffed so full that she couldn’t close the drawstrings. It didn’t even fit it in her inventory. Not with everything else she had looted.

Using up those [Mist Coins] was long overdue, anyway. That would make some more room.

The collection of daggers, bows, and swords she looted from the bodies was extensive. Most people had more than one weapon, likely looted from a hapless victim based on their descriptions.

It never struck Mel just how heavy and cumbersome looting a pile of weapons and armor was. Mel couldn’t figure out what influenced the type of loot they dropped. Their armor was, as far as she could tell, functionally useless.

They had been burned, stabbed, sliced open, magically attacked, and peppered with arrows. Yet the armor pieces she looted from them looked like an identical twin to what they were currently wearing. Only they were in pristine condition.

Though the sample size was small, Mel couldn’t help but draw the conclusion that the more damaged the person’s armor, the more likely they were to drop that armor. Almost as if destroying the armor raised the chance of it dropping a perfect replica.

System shenanigans, Mel thought to herself, shaking her head.

Using a cloak ripped off a body to carry her bundle of armaments, Mel dragged her spoils to the campfire.

While looking over the various armaments Mel collected, she took out the [Mist Coins]. She rolled one across the back of her knuckles by habit.

Mel looked at the action as if it came from another person. Huh, didn’t know I could do that.

[Mist Coin]

(Copper Rank, Item)

(Uncommon)

An overwhelming condensation of Mist mana in the shape of a coin. Exceedingly light, this coin is cool and damp to the touch, as if it might fade away any moment.

Imprint: Use to reinforce the Grade of an attribute and aspect skills bound to Mist aspect, up to Copper Rank.

Mel rolled the coin into her palm and crushed it. A burst of power surged through her arm into her middle. Her eyes went wide at the thrill of power surging through her, wiping away some of her fatigue.

Without missing a beat, she consumed the rest of the coins, eager to revitalize herself. It was as if somebody had just injected adrenaline into her veins.

Oh shit, these could come in handy to stay awake–oh wait, never mind, here comes the crash.

Struggling to keep her eyes open, Mel pushed the heavy velvety blanket of sleep away once more, but it was much harder. Slumping, she barely managed to keep her eyes open until the overwhelming sensation passed.

Note to self: don’t use magical aspect coins as a substitute for good old-fashioned coffee. Or, y’know, sleep.

Unsure what to do with all the equipment, Mel got up and went over to her unconscious friends. Their piles of loot might have tempted her at one point, but she knew deep in her heart that they had earned every spoil.

Hal was right, an unbidden thought came to her, it is good to be part of a group. To trust and be trusted.

Shaking the alien thought free, she stepped around her newfound friends and their loot. Even on her own, Mel had enough equipment to haphazardly outfit all of them in at least one decent piece each.

Together? They had more than they could probably wear.

While lamenting the fact that nobody had a twinblade, and that they would no doubt have to leave most of the loot behind because they couldn’t carry it, Mel approached the half-eaten body of the Priest.

She tried not to look at the grotesque form of the bloodfiend. She knew she should loot it, but she knew it was going to give her something disgusting.

The Priest, on the other hand, was a different type of class than she had seen and he was Copper. If her hunch was correct, that meant he had five aspects. No doubt funneled to him by his congregation.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Guess there are upsides to being part of a group.

Which meant that, if she was lucky, she might find an aspect on him. This was the first time she had ever faced somebody else with more than one aspect, though she couldn’t have said what was else he had.

Probably something gross, she thought to herself as she gently tapped his lower half with a boot and looted him.

Boot ‘n loot! Her eyes widened at her spoils, particularly the black piece of armor that dropped to her feet. You were holding out on me, old man!

You find (1) [Heathen’s Cuirass].

(1) [Armament Scrap Ritual Scroll] has been stored in your inventory.

You earn the Title: [Blood Tax].

(20) [Blood Coins] have been stored in your inventory.

(2) [Blood Ember (Common)] has been stored in your inventory.

Much to Mel’s disappointment, the priest didn’t drop one of his bound aspects. What that would have been, she didn’t know. Probably something more messed up than Omen aspect, if she had to guess.

So much for that theory, she thought with frustration. The cannibal bastard kept ‘em all to himself.

She knelt and picked up the cuirass, at first dismayed because she expected it to be made out of metal. Instead, she found it to be surprisingly light and pliable like leather. Hardened leather plates were embossed with silvery designs that looked vaguely Nordic to her eye.

There were, however, an uncomfortable number of circular motifs with snakes eating their own tails. She couldn’t remember the name of the mythological creature, but somehow Mel had the impression that this armor had not come from the Priest.

It didn’t match him.

Then again, she guessed it could have been stolen from somebody else. They certainly killed enough people by the looks of it.

[Heathen’s Cuirass]

(Copper Rank, Armor)

(Epic)

An exquisite piece of black plated leather and chainmail turned to occultic purposes. Marked with silver embellishments of an Ouroboros, representing the cycle of death and rebirth under the Anchor Rune of the World Serpent.

Imprint(Copper Rank): Resists physical status afflictions. Increases stealth. Blood spilled on this item repairs its durability.

That’s the name! Ouroboros. Mel could hardly believe her eyes. Not just that she found a new piece of equipment, but at how good it was.

She wasn’t about to go stripping what was left of the Priest to see if he wore this item or not, but she doubted it. Not enough gore and blood motifs on it.

This almost seemed purposefully designed for her.

Picking her way back toward the campfire, Mel stripped out of her filthy burial dress and ruined coat. She tossed both into the fire, happy to finally be rid of them once and for all.

Slipping the [Heathen’s Cuirass] over her head, she found it surprisingly padded and comfortable against her skin. At first, she had intrusive fears about the cold chainmail creating some rather unfortunate chafing, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.

I’m just missing a headpiece now, she noted. Hopefully that [Umbral Hood] will be good.

It was too bad, evil cult-y humans didn’t count as nocturnal creatures.

Turning around and getting a good look at herself, she was thrilled with the result. The armor was sturdy without being bulky. Her range of motion wasn’t hampered, and it covered far more than she first thought. Thick flaps fell across her thighs and rear. The black chainmail and padded cloth covered her arms down to her wrists.

The sleeves even had a hole to slip her thumb through so the material stayed in place. The only oddity was how it fit with her [Scalebane Gloves].

Unlike the [Exile Storage Ring] she wore, the loop vanished as soon as she slipped her thumb through the hole. Only when she removed her gloves did she find it again.

Thought I was going to get stuck in a cursed piece of armor for a second!

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mel turned her attention to the second-most interesting item she received from the Priest.

His title.

[Blood Tax]

(Title, Legendary)

Earned by slaying Lord Bytram and transferred to you upon his death. As a high-ranking member of the Bloodtide Covenant, Lord Bytram was always destined for greatness. Given the best tutors Lormar’s dwindling nobles had to offer, Bytram invented many cruel and unique methods of enhancement. All in service to his vile god of blood.

Bytram’s unique talent of transferring agony into power manifested itself the moment he was uplifted into the multiverse. His meteoric rise to Copper was fueled by his ability to enhance ritual magic with blood, improving the effects of the spell based on the quality of the blood. That power now resides within you. Whether you use it to beget more suffering or sacrifice your own lifeforce is a choice only you can make.

Whenever you cast ritual magic, you can supplement the required ritual components with blood to enhance the effect of the spell.

As a Legendary title, it is eligible for additional growth should you satisfy specific requirements. Additionally, should you be slain, this title will be transferred to the victor.

Mel frowned slowly. Great, now I have two titles about blood. I’m beginning to sense a disturbing pattern here.

She could only hope that it was because of the source of the titles and not anything to do with herself. It wasn’t like she received Blood aspect or anything.

Omen was bad enough.

Speaking of rituals, Mel fished out the scroll she gained. It seemed appropriate that the Priest who used the suffering of others to enhance his own rituals would drop a spell scroll.

[Armament Scrap Ritual Scroll]

(Copper Rank, Item)

(Rare)

A furled scroll inscribed with the instructions for a type of ritual magic that breaks down and converts weapons and armor into equivalent rarity armament scrap, which can then be used to enhance the rarity of armaments in the [Soul Kiln].

Imprint: Use to learn [Armament Scrap Ritual (G-Tier)].

Requires: [Novice Ritual Magic Training]

Mel turned the scroll over in her hand. Not many of her friends would be able to use it. She just barely met the requirement herself.

From what she could remember during those few minutes she had to pursue the classes early on, only Mage had greater ritual training than Mystic.

No, I’m forgetting a class. Acolyte too, probably?

She shrugged.

The scroll was hers. If the system deigned for them to have a copy, that was between them. It was her favorite thing about the system, really.

It took out any form of in-fighting about loot distribution. The system handled it. If somebody got an awesome Epic weapon, but another person in the same group got a Common, that was between them and the system.

When Mel unfurled the scroll, the complicated geometric designs and mathematical formulae on the parchment burned their way into her mind.

For a moment, she thought she smelled burnt toast, then everything returned to normal. The scroll burst into flames in her hand. Silver flames that tickled her fingers consumed the aged parchment until not even ash remained.

You learn: [Armament Scrap Ritual (G-Tier)].

She immediately went over to the campfire and began sketching out the required diagram for the spell.

I’ve finally got a use for all those weapons! She looked to the side where red smears led to pools of tacky blood. And…technically, free blood.