Edgar felt a gentle tap on his shoulder as he roused from his sleep.

“Can you keep watch for a few hours while I get a bit of sleep too?”

“Yeah sure, how are you telling the time?”

She showed him a small hourglass, “this is about two hours. You can run it twice and then wake me up, alright?”

“Sure, get some sleep, Mirai.”

With a quick stretch, she curled up on the other blanket and fell asleep immediately.

Edgar sighed, looking around the room. For the first two hours, he continued meditating, grooming each of his skills. The reflection it encouraged on his past fights was beneficial.

He laughed when he groomed his [Leap] skill and got a sense of its character, bubbly and excited. He even reluctantly groomed his [Tasty Snacks] ability, which seemed surprised he wasn’t using it more often.

He sighed as he reflected on it, wondering if he should be using it more. There was a small piece of himself clinging to whatever sense of humanity he had left and eating monsters seemed like a far cry from that… even if the flavors were incredible.

However, there was a larger piece of himself growing used to the new body. It was fast. It was useful. Having a tail was amazing. He could feel the difference when he ran or jumped, instinctively using it to fine-tune his balance. Plus, bashing monsters with it was really fun.

He opened his eyes as the hourglass ran out and he moved to flip it, marking the second half of his shift.

All of a sudden, the hearth surged with purple flame and Edgar nearly wet himself, flying to his feet.

“Mirai! Wake up!”

In the fire, a dark silhouette rose from the ashes.

Edgar extended his claws and Mirai stumbled to her feet, rallying her weary body.

Bony limbs emerged from the flames, revealing a skeleton. It was a short creature with a heavy frame—Edgar recognized the stocky build of a dwarf. Orange jewels took the place of eyes staring out from under a large helmet and coif.

Monster: Bonesmith

* Type: [Undead]

* Level: 86

Edgar’s jaw dropped.

Mirai shook her head, slapping her face and blinking owlishly at the skeleton. “This is a dream… I’m gonna wake up any second now…”

Edgar could admire her confidence, at least. He was feeling quite the opposite, staring up at the skeleton. He could feel power radiating off it. His instincts screamed at him to move—to run. It’s power completely and utterly eclipsed his own. It could probably sneeze and splatter him against the wall.

At least it didn’t have a proper nose, so sneezing was probably out of the question.

The skeleton’s eyes peered at them from under its helm, shimmering with power. Then, it took a seat on the rim of the hearth.

Its voice was slow and deep. “So… You cleared the arena… Congrats.”

Edgar and Mirai just stood there for a long moment, frozen in fear as they waited for any indication the skeleton would attack.

It just sat there, appraising them. The three sat in tense silence for a long moment.

“ahem… W-who are you?” Edgar managed to ask.

“I’m the Bonesmith! Vinny did tell you I’d be coming, didn’t he?”

“You’re the ‘powerful benefactor’?” Edgar’s jaw dropped.

“Hah hah hah… Yes!”

The Bonesmith’s eyes intensified for a moment, gliding over the two of them.

“I make weapons and armor from bone. I can see you have around a hundred each. A good haul, I say.”

Edgar glanced at Mirai, retracting his claws.

“You can see inside our…” She coughed uncomfortably, cutting off her own train of thought.

She sheathed her sword and began mumbling to herself. “Eight-six… that’s probably normal… for an eighty-six… eight… six…six… eighty…”

Edgar realized the situation had utterly broken Mirai. “What sort of weapons and armor?”

“Whatever you need. As long as you have the materials for it.”

Edgar scratched his chin, eyes wide. “Well, all the clothes I’ve got are hand-me-downs and they don’t really help in fights…”

The Bonesmith nodded. “Mhmmm… Armor for you then?”

Its penetrating gaze settled on him again, peering through him.

“An agility build. So, flexible armor… Adjustments for your unarmed fighting style… Claws and tail…”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

It nodded. “I’ll need your leather too.”

Surprised, Edgar scanned his inventory, noticing the large quantity of leather scraps from all the skeletons they fought in the forests of Black Mountain and the first floor of the Ancient Tomb.

“Absolutely. Anything for some proper armor.”

The Bonesmith turned its gaze on Mirai. “And you?”

Mirai withered a bit when its attention turned on her, but after a moment she managed to calm herself down enough to speak.

“Range?”

“As in a bow or crossbow? Or a reach weapon, like a glaive or a lance?”

“A glaive would be fun…” Hope shone in her eyes.

Edgar shook his head, smiling. He hadn’t realized her excitement for gear would outweigh her fear to this extent.

“And… This is probably a stretch, but… is there any chance you have… moon metal?”

“Hah!” The Bonesmith barked out a hearty laugh. “I noticed your sword—a fine piece of work! I can see why you’d want a match!”

The Bonesmith leaned in, jeweled eyes lit with fire.

“I’ll tell you what. Considering your passion for the craft—let’s make a deal.”

The Bonesmith reached into the fire, rubbed its finger some ash, and began drawing on the floor.

“In the fourth room, there’s a fungus called the Faun’s Footstep that grows in the caskets. Bring me a handful and I’ll use moon metal from my own stores to make a fine glaive!”

The Bonemaster’s eyes were truly aflame now. Edgar was almost scared for Mirai, but as he glanced at her, she was just as fired up—perhaps even more than the master craftsman, actually.

“I’ll pick every, single, gods-damned shroom there is for you! Not a single casket will go unturned!”

“Hah! A fine attitude, lass! A deal it is!”

The Bonesmith rose from his seat.

“I’ll take the materials now and get started. When you return with the mushrooms, I’ll grant you your boon!”

A notification popped up.

Give 144 [Bone] and 42 [Leather Scraps] to the Bonesmith?

* Yes

* No

Edgar tapped yes, and Mirai clearly did as well, because the Bonesmith chuckled happily and stepped back up into the hearth where the fire flared momentarily.

“I’ll see you soon”

By the time it calmed down again, the Bonesmith was gone.

Edgar shook his head. “What kind of unhinged world is this? Aren’t undead—and monsters generally—usually the enemy?”

“Well, you’re rather monstrous yourself, so be careful throwing stones,” she teased.

Edgar huffed. “Finish your rest, I want to practice a bit with my new skills while we have a break anyway.”

“Meh, I’m not sure I’d be able to fall asleep again after that excitement. Might as well make the most of the time and practice too.”

***

Mirai threw open her inventory and produced the skill shard won from the Bone Turtle. It turned to sparkling dust in her hands.

New Skill: [Water Blast]

* Conjure a ball of water and fire it at an enemy

* Aspect: Water

* Duration: Instant

* Cost: 3 Mana

* Cooldown: 2 seconds

* Level: 0

* Experience to unlock leveling: 0%

She closed her eyes for a moment, reaching inside to find it and activate it. A ball of water appeared in front of her. She focused her mind and considered a point on the wall in front of her. With a gesture, the water shot forward and splashed against the wall. It wasn’t quite on target, but it was pretty close.

She smiled to herself, I can do this.

My first magic skill.

In all her fights in the Bone Arena, the lack of ranged skills had been a weakness. She wasn’t sure if the water element really suited her, but there was only one way to find out.

She didn’t know much about the leveling ritual, only she would have a chance to advance and evolve her skills—combining them together. Mother had compared it to alchemy and Father, cultivating a garden.

It was all a bit heady, but… exciting.

She couldn’t wait. At the rate they had accrued monster essence in the Bone Arena, they would be ready to level up by the time they left the rift.

“Edgar, help me with some target practice, pretty please?”

“Sure, what do you need?”

“Just keep moving. You can practice your flips or whatever.”

A water ball went flying at Edgar.

“Hey!? Same team!” He cried, barely jumping aside.

It was amazing how fast the boy was. A perfect training partner for ranged attacks.

A second ball flew at Edgar, who rolled through the air over it like some sort of acrobat.

The ears and the tail were growing on her. It was kind of cute in a way. Not in a romantic way, obviously, but thoughts of Orli flashed in her mind once again, although she would never throw balls of water at little Orli—not in a million years.

She had no qualms about soaking Edgar though and she launched another orb of water at him. He dodged again. Something about the way he did it so effortlessly was frustrating, so she frowned and focused, fine tuning her aim.

“How about we make this a bit more interesting?” Edgar smiled competitively.

His skill began to glow red and his movements got even quicker.

“Check it out! I got a new skill too, it’s called Overdrive!”

He zoomed around her at top speed, but she smiled, summoning a ball of water and waiting. Sure enough, a few seconds later Edgar’s skill wore off and his speed vanished.

She waved her hand, launching another orb of water. This time, she got him. Edgar tumbled backwards, drenched.

“Oof!”

She walked over.

“You’re enjoying this way too much.”

She offered him her hand. “It’s been awhile since I had a decent sparring partner. Do you want a potion?”

“Nah I’m fine, let’s save our resources for now. Just give me a few minutes by the fire.”

He grasped her hand and she hauled him to his feet. He beamed at her. “Nice hit, Mirai.”

She found herself smiling back.

Maybe the boy who knows nothing had some redeeming qualities.

~~~~~~~~~~

* Check out the Stats Page for this Chapter here